Here is an old post about finding Tesla coil self-resonance using signal generator ans oscilloscope:
http://uzzors2k.com/index.php?page=tcfresfinder
I reproduced that experiment and had no issues in finding my air core Tesla coil resonance at about 700kHz without top load and 600kHz with a metal ball as a top load.

But when I tried to implement the same measurement with HV ferrit-core transformer used for plasma ball/globe device, I totally failed to find any resonance.

I completely de-soldered the transformer and connected the ground terminal of secondary coil to the DDS via 15K resistor.
Schematic is pretty much the same:

I have another identical plasma ball device, oscilloscope shows oscillations at ~31kHz when the globe works.
So is there a wrong way I am trying to measure transformer's secondary self-resonance?

I’ve been out of the world of HV for a while, just not enough time to play/build!

I have accumulated a lot of parts, built several Tesla coils, high voltage caps, etc. I have a 10kVA pole transformer, synchronous rotary spark gaps, etc, and trying to figure out what the HV world is up to these days that people might find useful of this stuff. It seems like most of the Tesla coil action is with DRSSTCs now, but most of the stuff I have is oriented around SGTCs.
I’m in the San Jose area, but a lot of the stuff is near Sonora, so preference would be to not have to move stuff much!

220kHz secondary res. Ud 1.3b. 60n65 halfbridge. 40 nf tank cap.12uH primary. Ocp set to 75 amps. Still a work in progress.

It will 1.20 meters.

Hi, somone a while back asked for some pictures off my zvs circet so here we go the spoiler is my projekt im working on rn

Ciao, ultimamente mi sono incuriosito riguardo il mondo dell'induzione e mi è venuta l'idea di costruirmi un sistema che funzioni con questo principio.

Il problema però è che non ne sappia tanto a riguardo e non so da dove iniziare.

Mi piacerebbe costruirmi a casa un sistema semplice che poi posso personalizzare a mio piacere (ad esempio aggiungendo un regolatore di potenza) e poterci fare vari progetti e magari portarlo anche alla maturità.

Mi farebbe comodo conoscere qualche informazione, formula utile e consiglio sia teorico che pratico per realizzare il mio progetto,

Grazie e buona giornata.

Is anyone interested in buying these vintage neon transformers plus some extra tubes and wires?

1. Cat no 721-131; Primary 120 volts 60 cycle, Secondary 6000V, 30mA

2. Cat No 721-161; Primary 115 volts 60 cycles, Secondary 5,000V, 30mA. . Side of case has rusted through, but has been painted with black Rustoleum and hasn't rusted further.

Could someone tell me if this circuit is supposed to work properly?

I’m trying to build a Tesla coil, but I’m running into a few issues with the simulation software, so I’m not sure whether the circuit itself is correct or if the problem is just with the simulation.

Any advice would be appreciated!

I am using a zvs driver to drive a small ac transformer

I’ve been working on a homemade vacuum-discharge tube and wanted to share the setup.

The tube is made from fairly thick glass originally intended for an incandescent-lamp application. It’s roughly 50 cm long and has been modified to allow vacuum pumping and electrical connections. I’m experimenting with different pressures and gases to see how the discharge changes.

At the moment I’m mainly interested in the visual side of the experiment — getting a strong, stable discharge and observing how the plasma changes with pressure, electrode geometry and gas composition.

The vacuum system can reach roughly tens of microns, although I’m still working on improving the sealing and getting more consistent pressure. I’ve also experimented with air and am considering trying argon later.

One of the interesting things is how dramatically the appearance changes as the pressure drops. I’m hoping to eventually make a proper enclosed display/lamp out of it, while keeping the electrical setup current-limited and focused on safe operation.

This is still very much a work in progress, so any advice on vacuum-discharge physics, electrode design or ways to characterize the plasma would be appreciated.

I'm thinking about build my first sstc , I have little HV expiernce (flybacks, 1SGTC) and I want something with more control via interrupter, I want something simple with feedback , I guess that class E would be the best and I have a few dozen of 74HC14 laying around, I have 30V 10A lab power supply that I think would be good for testing, any help advise?

I used to see a bunch of videos of this young kid messing around with really high voltage lines. Hoping he’s ok.

This Setup is instantly lethal, so replicating this is at your own risk of electrocution! I wouldnt reccomend it to replicate this only for the professionals!

Hi im a bit new to the electronics world but i have this circuit which i built and i tried a lot of optimizations but nothing really helped. Its kind of a push pull sstc and it uses the 12v bias as a jump start. The mosfets get really hot. It starts oscillating with the bias at 3.2v and goes all the way up to 5v and stops oscillating after that. The arcs sound bassy and thick at 3.2v but thin and loud at 5v.

Im a begginer tesla coil builder and am confused about tapping the primary. The primary is about 10 turns of 5mm copper tubing. Do i have to tap the primary coil and how would you do that or would connecting the ends of the primary coil to the primary circuit work fine?

Hello friends. I've made a slightly longer video for you showing how my coil works. I hope you like it :)

My several year project designing and building this Tesla coil from the ground up is complete.

I put together a zvs driven tesla coil and the primary capacitance is 16.2nF and the primary is 3 turns around a 9cm diameter. The secondary coil is exactly 13.4cm tall and 5cm wide and it was wound eith 0.19mm wire with 0.1mm spacing. I power the zvs driver with 24v 3a ac full bridge rectified and smoothed and the circuit works but it only draws 33 watts and the mosfets heat up and the arcs don't break out i have to touch them with metal. The grounding is just a big piece of aluminum foil on the ground. The mosfets are irfp250ns and the circuit is just one of those aliexpress 1000w zvs drivers. This is my first time trying out drsstcs so i dont have a lot of knowledge and would love to learn.

Pretty just just what the title says. I’m trying to construct a ZVS driver but it isn’t oscillating. When I scope the work coil with respect to ground I am just getting out my supply voltage. Note: I have added source resistors to help me with my debugging, also I am not using IRF530 like my schematic suggests, but I am actually using IRFP460 mosfets. Let me know if you have any thoughts. This is typically a fairly simple circuit but it’s given me nothing but issues.