Mini Tesla Coil Base

thingiverse

I stumbled upon numerous videos on YouTube showcasing simple Tesla coil builds that even play music. To get started, take an empty roll of toilet paper and wrap a thin wire around it about 276 times - the exact number of turns isn't crucial, just fill it up as much as you can. The coil will easily slide onto the center core; insert a wire into one of the perimeter holes and connect the circuit. The videos demonstrating how this setup works seem overly dramatic, but I managed to get one attempt working, albeit briefly, before the transistor started smoking. A weak battery might be a better option for this project - I'm not entirely sure, but it did work once. December 30, 2016 Update I've successfully got the coil operating at extremely low voltages that aren't enough to light up a lamp, but sufficient to display 7V-p-p on a 5-volt supply using a 2n3904 transistor and utilizing the base of the secondary as feedback to the transistor base. Additionally, I applied a direct 5-volt across the primary coil via the collector-emitter on the transistor. To get the frequency started, I set up a 555 timer as a pulse generator at 4 kHz; once it ramps up, the coil jumps to about 5 MHz, and you can visually see the voltage across the collector rise to 7 volts using an oscilloscope. Note that the secondary is useless in this configuration - after experimenting, I wrapped two turns of 24 AWG phone wire for the primary halfway up the coil, where I achieved maximum feedback and highest junction voltage. Eventually, I plan on creating a YouTube video showcasing my project.