Tesla coil, first timer....?

Question

I am an electrochemist trying to get into some electical engineer teritory and am looking for ways to make a tesla coil on the cheap. Any insight is appriciated.

Answer 1

This might be a little more involved than what you think.

But still doable.

Do a little homework first, and come back with more questions about how to move forward.

Check out these sites to get started:

http://deepfriedneon.com/tesla_guide.htm...

http://www.angelfire.com/80s/sixmhz/tras...

http://www.montagar.com/~PATJ/tes1.htm

Answer 2

I built one when I was in high school.  The cost to do the same thing nowadays would be a few hundred dollars; the expensive parts were a high voltage transformer and a large vacuum tube.