Singing tesla coils

Tesla coils and other high voltage equipment that make sparks are always interesting. For that reason ArcAttack is an interesting performance art group that specializes in playing music through a combination of home made, high tech instruments, and more traditional instruments. The main attraction of their performance is the use of two custom built Singing Tesla Coils, which have been modified to play musical notes by modulating their spark output.Their web site has some interesting videos.

Arcattackfaraday
Image source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Arcattackfaraday.jpg

34 Comments

  1. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Army Creates a Directed Lightning Bolt Weapon
    http://tech.slashdot.org/story/12/06/28/0245258/army-creates-a-directed-lightning-bolt-weapon

    “Army researchers at Picatinny Labs in New Jersey have developed a prototype weapon which uses a directed lightning bolt to destroy vehicles and unexploded ordinance.”

    Picatinny engineers set phasers to ‘fry’
    http://www.army.mil/article/82262/Picatinny_engineers_set_phasers_to__fry_/

    Scientists and engineers at Picatinny Arsenal are busy developing a device that will shoot lightning bolts down laser beams to destroy its target. Soldiers and science fiction fans, you’re welcome.

    “We never got tired of the lightning bolts zapping our simulated (targets),” said George Fischer, lead scientist on the project.

    The Laser-Induced Plasma Channel, or LIPC, is designed to take out targets that conduct electricity better than the air or ground that surrounds them.

    “If a laser beam is intense enough, its electro-magnetic field is strong enough to rip electrons off of air molecules, creating plasma,” said Fischer. “This plasma is located along the path of the laser beam, so we can direct it wherever we want by moving a mirror.”

    “The plasma channel conducts electricity way better than un-ionized air, so if we set up the laser so that the filament comes near a high voltage source, the electrical energy will travel down the filament,” Fischer elaborated.

    Reply
  2. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Modulator box connects iPod to Tesla coil
    http://hackaday.com/2013/01/30/modulator-box-connects-ipod-to-tesla-coil/

    This pass through audio modulator lets you playback stereo audio on two Tesla coils. But don’t fret, you can just use mono files if you only have one coil on hand.

    Stereo Audio Modulator for my SSTC’s
    http://www.megavolts.nl/en/projecten/tesla-spoelen/168-stereo-audio-modulator-for-my-sstcs

    What this device basically does is compare the audio signal with a reference voltage (8mV). It turns the teslacoil on if the signal is higher than the reference and off when it gets lower. This effectively ruins the sound and provides a very crude (but effective) way of modulation. Only the lowest notes in a signal will display correctly.

    It has an input band pass filter wich only passes all frequencies from 20Hz to 20Khz, which automatically limits the duty cycle to 50%.

    Reply
  3. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Massive Tesla Coil Plays Music in the Snow
    http://hackaday.com/2015/01/11/massive-tesla-coil-plays-music-in-the-snow/

    One of our tipsters stumbled across a pretty impressive video of a giant Tesla coil playing music — in a snowy forest! The forum showing off the video is in Finnish but Google Translate does a pretty good job getting the point across.

    This massive Tesla coil dubbed the BiggerDR was built by [Kizmo], who lives way up north in Finland.

    https://www.youtube.com/user/Kizmox

    Reply
  4. Tomi Engdahl says:

    It’s not a Maker Faire unless there’s fire
    http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/serious-fun/4440444/6/It-s-not-a-Maker-Faire-unless-there-s-fire

    Normally, if you walk through a crowd of people 9 out of 10 would be able to tell you who Edison was and 1 (if you were lucky) would know who Tesla was. Not so at a World Maker Faire.

    At this year’s event, start-up oneTesla showed off its commercially available audio Tesla coil kit series, ranging from $25 to $400, with the top line coils able to light florescent blubs a few feet away, shoot sparks at 20 inches long, and play full spectrum audio.

    OneTesla just started its third Kickstarter round to fill out the line of “shockingly” cool coils.

    http://onetesla.com/

    Reply
  5. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Tesla Coil Dubstep: Badinerie on oneTesla
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=60&v=5xbQr9f9VXs

    Build your own DIY musical Tesla coil like this one at http://onetesla.com/

    A dubstep remix of Bach’s Baniderie, generously provided by Ringtones for iPhone Ltd.

    The kit featured in this video is the original oneTesla Musical Tesla Coil Kit, which has been discontinued in favor of the new and improved oneTeslaTS!

    Reply
  6. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Bare-bones Musical Tesla Coil is Tiny and Tinny
    http://hackaday.com/2016/08/21/bare-bones-musical-tesla-coil-is-tiny-and-tinny/

    We’ve seen musical Tesla coils aplenty on these pages before, and we’ll be the first to point out that [Kedar Nimbalkar]’s musical high-voltage rig doesn’t quite qualify as a Tesla coil. But it’s dirt cheap, and might make a pretty cool rainy-afternoon-with-the-kids project.

    Chances are good you have the parts needed for this build lying around the house. All that’s needed is an audio power amplifier and a high-voltage source. [Kedar] used a Class D amp board and a 3V to 7kV high-voltage module sourced from eBay for a couple of bucks;

    DIY Mini Singing Musical Tesla Coil Music Box for 5$ !
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KWiDo-Gqvs

    Reply
  7. Tomi Engdahl says:

    A Singing Arc Lighter
    http://hackaday.com/2017/01/02/a-singing-arc-lighter/

    We’ve all been guilty of buying things we want, but don’t need. And that’s how [PodeCoet] found himself in possession of a couple of double-arc electric lighters, thanks to those far-eastern websites purveying cheap goods. ‘Tis the season of giving after all, justified [PodeCoet]. Being a hacker, the obvious thing to do was to make them belt out tinny tunes. If you’re still holding on to your gas lighters, don’t — because these electric ones are ‘oh so hackable’. Dual-arcs are the same, but twice the fun.

    Modulated Arc Lighter
    (AKA “We are Number One – But on a Lighter”)
    http://ultrakeet.com.au/write-ups/modulated-arc-lighter

    Reply
  8. Tomi Engdahl says:

    That Sucks! Death of a Tesla Coil
    http://hackaday.com/2017/04/06/that-sucks-death-of-a-tesla-coil/

    [Electroboom] always has some entertaining videos. He recently tried to run his Tesla coil in a vacuum. The video shows some interesting results, along with his usual bleeped out expletives as he drills into his hand and suffers other indignities in the name of electronics.

    Arcs change shape in my vacuum! RIP Tesla Coil :(
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM25pUsrODk

    Reply
  9. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Little eBay Tesla Coil Gets an Upgrade
    http://hackaday.com/2017/04/30/little-ebay-tesla-coil-gets-an-upgrade/

    Like so many of the projects we feature, this one started with a cheap eBay module purchase. In this case, it was a little Tesla coil that made decent sized arcs but wasn’t quite good enough. The result was a super-sized solid state Tesla coil with better results and room to grow.

    As [GreatScott!] discovered, the little eBay Tesla coil has a pretty neat design. The exciter is a Slayer circuit, a super simple one-transistor design. His reverse engineering revealed that the primary coil is simply a loop trace on the PCB under the secondary coil.

    Make your own Tesla Coil (Part 1) || Slayer Exciter Circuit
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbTyEratSTI

    Reply
  10. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Tesla Coil uses Vintage Tube
    https://hackaday.com/2017/09/14/tesla-coil-uses-vintage-tube/

    We’ve seen a fair amount of Tesla coil builds, but ones using vacuum tubes are few and far between. Maybe it’s the lack of availability of high power tubes, or a lack of experience working with them among the younger crop of hackers. [Radu Motisan] built a vacuum tube Tesla coil several years back, and only just managed to tip us off recently. Considering it was his first rodeo with vacuum tubes, he seems to have done pretty well — not only did he get good results, he also managed to learn a lot in the process.

    His design is based around a GI-30 medium power dual tetrode. The circuit is a classical Armstrong oscillator with very few parts and ought to be easy to build if you can lay your hands on the tricky parts.

    The use of a 20W fluorescent tubelight ballast to limit the inrush current is a pretty nice idea to prevent nuisance tripping of the breakers

    this circuit has lethal high voltages in addition to the obvious ones, since it operates directly from 220 V utility supply.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcnVhbGNGPg

    Reply
  11. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Handheld TESLA COIL GUN at 28,000fps – Smarter Every Day 162
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_fTC_Ud_k3U&feature=share

    Reply
  12. Tomi Engdahl says:

    LARGEST TESLA COIL IN THE WORLD (3 million volts discharged)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fS2y2QqLdhc

    The “Shock the Rock” event in Little Rock, Arkansas brings the world largest Tesla Coil to life with a 3 million volt discharge stretching out 60 feet!

    World’s Largest Tesla Coil – Full Power Demo
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiwYvr7X0Yg

    Reply
  13. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Alan Walker – Faded on Twin Singing Tesla Coils (Bobinas de Tesla)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8QpeE6ZHLA

    The main loud music really comes from the tesla coil sparks. They are literally playing the music due to the programmed phase, pulse width and firing frequency! So, there are no speakers, no audio / video special effects. It looks even better in person and sounds almost the same, just without the beat / percussion backing track.

    Reply
  14. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Iron Man with Musical Tesla Coils, a Robot and MIDI Guitar
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Snibt3CNqBA

    From a show in Arkansas with ArcAttack (www.arcattack.com) and Yago de Quay (www.yagodequay.com).

    Reply
  15. Tomi Engdahl says:

    First ever QCW DRSSTC MIDI orchestra. Moscow 2018
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R18nwlPJxzc

    Reply
  16. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Queen – Don’t Stop Me Now! Meets Large Tesla Coil + Faraday Cage
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NopTJdWfrRk

    Don’t Shock me Now! I composed the coil’s channel and synced it with the original track.
    The average power is limited to 6kW due to mains impedance, but this coil is able to work at 12kW!
    *Important: The loud music really comes from the sparks and for who think that its fake, please, do a little research on solid state tesla coils.

    Reply
  17. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Star Wars Imperial March on Tesla Coils – ArcAttack at MakerFaire 2013
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9ePilqnsLs

    Reply
  18. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Tesla Singing Coil – The most powerful in the world. Guiness book record holder.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeN00WdZSYI

    This singing Tesla coil is a record holder for the type of coil and runs a fluorescent light WIRELESS. No wires are on the light at all. Enjoy and thank you.

    Reply
  19. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Hellcat Bipolar Tesla Coil
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj5UPufwGRw

    World’s Most Powerful Musical Bipolar Tesla Coil auditioned in Black Canyon City, Arizona on November 21, 2015

    Reply
  20. Tomi Engdahl says:

    This (mostly) Transparent Tesla Coil Shows It All
    https://hackaday.com/2020/10/20/this-mostly-transparent-tesla-coil-shows-it-all/

    You’d be forgiven for assuming that a Tesla coil is some absurdly complex piece of high-voltage trickery. Clarke’s third law states that “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”, and lighting up a neon tube from across the room sure looks a lot like magic. But in his latest Plasma Channel video, [Jay Bowles] tries to set the record straight by demonstrating a see-through Tesla coil that leaves nothing to the imagination.

    SEE-THROUGH Portable Tesla Coil ( DIY, Museum Quality)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMgG3qrt-JM

    Powerful, Portable, and see-through. This acrylic Tesla Coil is the ultimate weekend project.

    Reply
  21. Tomi Engdahl says:

    3 Million Volt Test at Tesla’s Wardenclyffe Tower
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdZIuB9K6zE

    Celebrating Tesla’s birthday by throwing some 210,000 watt arcs at his old Wardenclyffe tower site. The 3 million volt Tesla tower we brought is a 1/3 scale model of the 121ft towers we want to build for lightning research. We believe this is the first full-power test of Tesla’s original Wardenclyffe ground system!

    Reply
  22. Tomi Engdahl says:

    “DJ Bobo Random Techno” – Musical Tesla Coils
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qmMMV19IwQU

    Reply
  23. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Iron Man with Musical Tesla Coils, a Robot and MIDI Guitar
    https://youtu.be/Snibt3CNqBA

    Reply
  24. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Iron Man with Musical Tesla Coils, a Robot and MIDI Guitar
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Snibt3CNqBA

    Reply
  25. Tomi Engdahl says:

    IEVAN POLKKA on TESLA COIL trio
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7oD9j814nQ

    Challenge accepted: Loituma – Ievan Polkka on musical tesla coils!

    For those who did not understand what is going on this video, here’s a brief explanation: The main loud music really comes from the tesla coil sparks. They are literally playing the music due to the programmed phase, pulse width and firing frequency! So, there are no speakers, no audio / video special effects. It looks even better in person and sounds almost the same, just louder than people expect!

    Reply
  26. Tomi Engdahl says:

    A Builders Guide For The Perfect Solid-State Tesla Coil
    https://hackaday.com/2021/10/31/a-builders-guide-for-the-perfect-solid-state-tesla-coil/

    [Zach Armstrong] presents for your viewing pleasure a simple guide to building a solid-state Tesla coil. The design is based around a self-resonant setup using the UCC2742x gate driver IC, which is used in a transformer-coupled full-wave configuration for delivering maximum power from the line input. The self-resonant bit is implemented by using a small antenna nearby the coil to pick up the EM field, and by suitably clamping and squaring it up, it is fed back into the gate driver to close the feedback loop. Such a setup within reason allows the circuit to oscillate with a wide range of Tesla coil designs, and track any small changes, minimizing the need for fiddly manual tuning that is the usual path you follow building these things.

    The Easy, Powerful Solid State Tesla Coil
    https://hackaday.io/project/182391-the-easy-powerful-solid-state-tesla-coil

    An easy, half-bridge SSTC that can produce beautiful, 12″ sparks with only a few watts of input power

    Reply

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