instructables

Tesla Coil - the Russian Slayer Exciter

by emdee401

In this instructable Ill share my build of a small SSTC Tesla Coil.There is a video on YouTube that inspired me: https://youtu.be/mFCHe0wEVls

Although that looks very cool, my main question was:

"Really? And Can I build it?""Really? And Can I build it?"

So I dive right in and designed a PCB along the way. That way it's easier to reproduce and a little bit safer to build.However, Be warned! This is high voltage. Touching any part of the circuit or even the output of the coil CAN KILL YOU.Rebuild and use at your own risk…Supplies:

You will need the following components:

PCB is available here:

https://www.tindie.com/products/21237/

Capacitors Capacitors 1x 1u / 400V Maplin SC88V I used Wima MKP4 1x 22u Digikey P5877-ND I used NMG 105°C 22uF/450V Resistors Resistors 2x 10k 2 Watts 1x 10k 2 Watts 1x 1k5 2 Watts 1x 22R 17 Watts, or use 2 x 47 Ohm/ 10 Watts in parallel Integrated Cir.Integrated Cir.1x BT152 I also used a 3pin screw terminal for easy exchanging And use a small heatsink 1x IRFP460 I also used a 3pin screw terminal for easy exchanging And use a small heatsink 1x HFA08TB60 I also used a 2pin screw terminal for easy exchanging And use a small heatsink 3x 1N5408 1x 1.5ke15 1x 1.5ke440a 1,5ke400a will also work 1x Fuse 5AT Fuseholder with 5A slow fuse 6x TBLOCK-I2 2pin screw terminal 1x TBLOCK-M3 3 pin screw terminal

Misc.Misc.Potmeter 22K Make sure it has a plastic dial, not Metal!2 power switches to operate the inductive loads

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Step 1: Warning - Working Safely Is Working Best!

4 ballast transformers ( uorescent light transformers) I used Tridonic EC30 C502KAnd you'll need a power cord to connect the circuit to your outlet. I would recommend using a isolation transformer forsafety

Also, you'll need some small heatsinks for the 3 semiconductors on the side of the board....remember to isolate their bodyfrom the heatsink electrically.

Secondairy coilSecondairy coilIsolated copper wire AWG 32 (0.2 mm2)1000 windings This is approx..25m total lengthPVC Pipe 90mm diameter Length 30cmIsolation varnish - Make sure to apply a thick layer of varnish to increase electric isolation

Primairy coilPrimairy coilThick isolated wire AWG 14 (approx. 2 mm2) 4 windingsPVC Pipe 120mm diameter Length 30cm

Disclaimer:Disclaimer:

I, Mark Donners, The Electronics Engineer, may or may not endorse various Do-It-Yourself (DIY) projects and all DIYprojects are purely “at your own risk”. As with any DIY project, unfamiliarity with the tools and process can be dangerous.Posts should be construed as theoretical advice only.

If you are at all uncomfortable or inexperienced working on these projects (especially but not limited to electronics andmechanical), please reconsider doing the job yourself. It is very possible on any DIY project to damage belongings or voidyour property insurance, create a hazardous condition, or harm or even kill yourself or others.

I will not be held responsible for any injury due to the misuse or misunderstanding of any DIY project.

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Step 2: The Electronic Circuit

By using the information provided by me, (Website,Youtube, facebook and other social media), you agree to indemnifyme, a liates, subsidiaries and their related companies for any and all claims, damages, losses and causes of action arisingout of your breach or alleged breach of this agreement(disclaimer).

The materials on this site are distributed “as is” and appear on the site without express or implied warranties of any kind,except those required by the relevant legislation. In particular I make no warranty as to the accuracy, quality,completeness or applicability of the information provided.

The information provided is for entertainment and promotional purposes only. You may not rely on any information andopinions expressed in it for any other purpose.

Disclaimer short version:Disclaimer short version:

This is a DIY project, use any provided information and/or materials at your own risk! I am not responsible for what youdo with it!

Make sure that you know what you are doing! High voltage can kill!Make sure that you know what you are doing! High voltage can kill!

The circuit of this "Russian Slayer Exciter" has some similarities with a standard Slayer exciter circuit.

It uses a FET as switching device for the Tesla coil and it 'rides' on the inductive power of a few Ballast coils that arenormally used for uorescent lights. A thyristor is used to set the trigger level to determine how often the ballast coils areloaded with energy. A potentiometer is used to change this trigger level. By changing the resister value of the

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Step 3: Winding the Coils

potentiometer by turning it's dial, the pulse rate can be adjusted.

There is one major disadvantage to this methode. NEVER TOUCH the open end of the coil ( any any part of the circuit forthat matter) depending on how it is wired, you could be touching the power line of your outlet directly.!This is a typical"Watch but don't Touch" kind of coil.

The pcb is available at Tindie.com:

https://www.tindie.com/products/21237/

https://www.instructables.com/ORIG/F1Z/L2DB/KEH3UV3W/F1ZL2DBKEH3UV3W.pdf

Download

Secondairy coilSecondairy coil

As you can see in the photo, the secondary coil has a diameter of approx. 90mm and I applied approximately 1000windings of 32AWG isolated copper wire.

Make sure that you apply enough isolated varnish after winding the coil to isolate it properly.

Also, the beginning of the winding should be as short as possible in regards to connection terminal.Same goes for theoutput end. You should prevent unnecessary length of wire 'hanging' around in the inside of the coil because this mightcause a ash-over later.

Primary CoilPrimary Coil

The primary coil is made up of 4 windings in the range of awg12 ( approx 2mm2 or similar). Wind them around a piece ofPVC pipe with a diameter of 12 cm.( a bit smaller or wider will also work). Make sure the wire is isolated because this is thehigh power end!

Wiring of the Primary Coil.Wiring of the Primary Coil.

Keep in mind that if you see only little sparks when all is assembled and you're doing a test run, that the polarity of theprimary coil plays a major part in being successful. Changing the polarity might make all the di erence. Trail and error.

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Step 4: Connecting the Dots

Connecting the parts.

When you have assembled the PCB and nished winding the Primary and secondary coil, it is time to hook it all up.

- Connect the Ballast coils 2 pairs (each pair consists of 2 ballast coils in parallel)

- Hook up the 2 switches to operate the coils

- connect the potmeter if you haven't done so already

- connect the primary and secondary coils

- place the primary coil over the secondary coil

- Connect the mains but don't plug it in just yet!

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Made it, with small modifications, see the video description. Works like a charm!https://youtu.be/bJiXZILjZS8

Is there any chance you could give me the current or inductance values I should aim for with theballast? I made a ballast by adding an air gap to an old 12v transformer and it limits current fromthe wall to about 1.6amps. Approximately 170mH of inductance. I wound some other outputs thatdo more current, but am wondering what the max should be. Also I am using 120v, so I reducedall the resistor values by about half, does that sound correct to you?

No Idea about the current, it is actually the in-rush current that is important. I used this balast:TRIDONIC EC30 C502K al it says is the nominal current of max 0,4A and a labda of 0,32. Noinductivity is mentioned. Maybe you can google it. I dont have a LCR meter to measure it for you.A regards to the resisters: NO! thats not how this works. You can play around with R1 and R2 butthats about it.

Nikola Tesla, the inventor of the Tesla Coil was American, so I don't quite understand what youmean by "Russian Slayer Exciter" also, what you say about two hands is incorrect in this situation.That rule is only applicable when your hands are touching oppositely charged sources. In thiscase, the electricity goes from you to ground, not across your heart, at least not in the samefashion. If you want to touch it,you can either 1. make sure the frequency is above 20 KHZ, andthen when you touch it, you will feel a slight burning sensation instead of electric shock. Thegood thing about this is that there is no feasible way for the electricity to hurt you if you don't do it

Step 5: Fire It Up!

Ok, so everything is ready right?

a few last notes:

Make sure the secondary coil has a breakout point. This can by a nail or piece of hard wire that point up in the air towardsthe ceiling. If you leave it out, a breakout of sparks might happen at the top of your coil which is something you don'twant for sure!

Did u double check your circuit board and connections?

If you have an isolation transformer or Variac trafo etc, this might be a good time to use it.

Remember, sparks or no sparks, When it's plugged in to the net. NEVER touch the circuit, the heat sinks, or the output ofthe coil!.Always unplug your setup from mains! Always!!

Remember the one hand rule: "I've got one hand in my pocket...and the other is touching electricity...." That way you willdecrease the change of current going trough your heart when you are unfortunate to electrocute yourself.

No Fire it up!!

Did you get the same nice long sparks is seen in my video?

//www.youtube.com/embed/Im6iXEeVaww

https://youtu.be/Im6iXEeVaww

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too much. (If you do it to much it will cause damage, but a little will not cause any damage).Alternatively, you could make a Faraday cage by getting a metal glove of some sort, and thenconnecting the glove to a ground source (the middle pong on your wall outlet). Another thing to point out is that having a nail of some sort or any object with a sharp end willresult in the charges running away from the Tesla coil, and you will see less electricity. Iabsolutely LOVE this circuit though!

No no, the one hand rule does apply. Because you can touch the output of the coil with one handwhile the other hand is touching a ground like for example your heater or some metal pipe/rod...that wat it can run trough your heart. The danger of this circuit is that the output is directlyconnected to one wire of your outlet. In some countries the wiring is not set by law. Meaning faseand neural can be swopped.

Ahh, I assumed you meant touching the tesla coil with two hands, both connected to the samesource. Also, all circuits have to be connected to two sources (+ and - or - and gnd) to allowcurrent to flow.

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