Upgrade the Tesla Coil

Tesla Coil

Project Description

We are now working on improving our Tesla coil that was created back in 2018! For this quarter, we will focus on upgrading the power supply to make bigger sparks, and making more music to play.

Tesla Coil Music

Our Tesla coil can play pre-made MIDI tracks, and we’re working on getting a piano keyboard or possibly electric guitar working with it so it can be played live. If you know how to make or play music, we’d love your help!

We also may work on a program to allow us to more easily convert existing songs in audio form into MIDI data.

Skills/Interests

Tesla Coil Power Supply

We will work on developing a much more complex and powerful (10kW?) AC-to-DC power supply for the Tesla coil. This will allow it to produce much bigger sparks and possibly improve the sound quality.

The power supply will involve a unique power electronics topology and will use a digital control loop. If you’re interested in following along with the engineering process, or to help out with the design, stop by the meetings!

Skills/Interests