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Dec 28, 2012 -
Jan 24, 2013
(27 days)
- First created · 4 backed
- Heidi Baumgartner 622 friends
- Website: onetesla.com
Pledge $10 or more
66 backers
Thanks for supporting oneTesla and the maker movement! To show our appreciation, we'll mail you a "Danger High Voltage" sticker, and we'll publish your name in our user manual and website (if you so desire!).
Estimated delivery: Jan 2013Add $3 to ship outside the USPledge $30 or more
113 backers
Get a sexy oneTesla board! It's sleek and shiny black, and as much a work of art as a powerful Tesla coil driver. Use this board to build a Tesla coil with your own components, or keep it as a token of our gratitude for your support.
Estimated delivery: Feb 2013Add $3 to ship outside the USPledge $50 or more
49 backers Limited (1 of 50 left)
Get a oneTesla driver board and an interrupter board! Great as a starter for building your own Tesla coil (components not included).
Estimated delivery: Mar 2013Add $5 to ship outside the USPledge $209 or more
50 backers All gone!
220V version of the oneTesla kit for use outside the US. Everything that's in the original kit is also included.
Estimated delivery: Feb 2013Add $20 to ship outside the USPledge $209 or more
100 backers All gone!
Get a oneTesla kit: everything you need to make beautiful singing sparks by yourself! You'll get printed circuit boards for the main controller and interrupter, all electronic components, laser-cut chasses for the controller and interrupter, wound & varnished secondary coil, toroid, printed & bound user manual, and power supplies. All you need is soldering equipment, common hand tools, glue, and a multimeter.
Estimated delivery: Feb 2013Add $20 to ship outside the USPledge $249 or more
100 backers All gone!
More oneTesla kits, round 2: LATE WORM SPECIAL. Whoa, so much demand! We're scrambling to rearrange our lives around producing more oneTeslas. As an unfortunate result, these will arrive later and cost a bit more. (This contains everything that's in the $209 kit.)
Estimated delivery: Mar 2013Add $20 to ship outside the USPledge $249 or more
50 backers All gone!
More 220V oneTesla kits, round 2: LATE WORM SPECIAL. This contains everything that's in the 220V $209 reward.
Estimated delivery: Mar 2013Add $20 to ship outside the USPledge $250 or more
100 backers All gone!
The full Tesla coil kit, round three. Due to high demand, we'll fulfill these by April.
Estimated delivery: Apr 2013Add $20 to ship outside the USPledge $250 or more
50 backers All gone!
The full 220V Tesla coil kit, round three. Due to high demand, we'll fulfill these by April.
Estimated delivery: Apr 2013Add $20 to ship outside the USPledge $299 or more
99 backers Limited (1 of 100 left)
Round 4 of the 110V kits! These will fulfill in May, and cost a bit more because of the massive demand for previous rounds.
Estimated delivery: May 2013Add $20 to ship outside the USPledge $299 or more
50 backers All gone!
Round 4 of the 220V kits! These will fulfill in May as well.
Estimated delivery: May 2013Add $20 to ship outside the USPledge $599 or more
8 backers All gone!
Completed and tested oneTesla Musical 10" Coil. We will send these to you built and tested. Just hook 'em up to a MIDI source and watch the sparks fly!
Estimated delivery: Mar 2013
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Show older commentsCreator Charles Butkus about 3 hours ago
How's them 'roids going?
Creator oneTesla 4 days ago
An update from the toroid manufacturer says that he's gotten pretty close to wrinkle-free toroids and he's got guys coming in this weekend to make the (hopefully) final adjustments. Here are the pictures from his latest attempts: http://mit.edu/heidib/Public/toroids_21.jpg http://mit.edu/heidib/Public/toroids_22.jpg http://mit.edu/heidib/Public/toroids_23.jpg
Creator George Klinger 4 days ago
Good luck on your finals!
Creator oneTesla 4 days ago
We've kitted a bunch of parts and we're currently interviewing people who we'll hire for help this summer. First shipments will be out the door in just a few more days! We'll be picking up speed as soon as our final exams are over.
Creator George Klinger 4 days ago
I was wondering if any kits have been yet shipped without the toroids? I can certainly wait for the toroid, as it will probably take me a week or two just to do the soldering and testing.
Creator James Bailey 5 days ago
+1 to the separate shipments, I'd love to get building! Don't even mind if that involves me chipping in more. :)
Creator oneTesla 5 days ago
@Rob: Yup, we're planning to do two shipments for those of you who want it.
Creator Rob Bonner 5 days ago
Going to bump my question: If you suspect this will take a while, is there any chance of 2 shipments? (Would be cool, we could get started building the components, and add the toroid at the end)
Creator oneTesla 5 days ago
@jpmiller: Our toroid manufacturer says that the toroids are very close, and he hopes to ship us the first samples next week :)
Creator jpmiller 5 days ago
Are we due for an update? How are those wrinkly toroids coming?
Creator James Bailey on May 7
Oh right, so I could visualise the current interrupter functioning as two sine waves, where they sum their 'peak' is now too high (with corresponding overloading peak on the tesla), and with each additional note the number and 'height' of these collisions would be too much for the tesla, leading to bad-sounding 'limiting'.
Hmm, I wish I knew more about this (my background is in audio), it seems as though with a more detailed table that considered harmonics, you could have the interrupter represent a more complex series of bursts that more effectively represented multiple notes:
- Play the note down one octave when expecting a collision (double the period) so that each note has more chance of playing separately. The change in timbre will be hardly noticeable as it will not 'clash' and the other note will help colour it. This would also give it a character (many instruments have similar harmonic distortions that are pleasing to the ear).
- If your tesla can deliver a 'smaller burst' (less than 10 4µs bursts) then you could salvage bandwidth there at the expense of volume allowing you time to play both notes with less collisions.
- Allow more notes at a lower frequency, have less notes at higher frequencies. This would be very interesting to produce pieces to take advantage of this!
Or maybe I'm still not getting it (I am assuming 4µs discharges, 10 of which take 80µs, leading to a maximum frequency of 12,500µs at the maximum 10% duty cycle if the tesla was tuned to 250khz).
I'm enjoying this new world of bottled lightning!
Creator oneTesla on May 7
@James:
The grounded target is not necessary for operation. Usually you want the streamers to arc to free air; it reduces current draw, and in our opinion, looks cooler. In Australia and other countries which mandate RCD/GFCI, you want to tie the secondary ground to a natural earth, not mains ground (more on that in an updated manual which will be released sometime in the near future).
So more on the interrupter: When the interrupter is instructed to play a note with frequency F, it looks up the burst with in a hard-coded lookup table, and then fires bursts of that length at frequency F for the duration of the note. When the interrupter is instructed to play multiple notes and once, it logical ANDs two sets of these pulse trains, one per note. The problem here is sometimes, inevitably, the pulses will overlap, resulting in long pulses. The longer the pulse, the higher the current, which is bad for the coil. With three or more notes, you have a much higher chance of "pulse collision", and the overlapping pulses start getting longer as well. At some point, you have to actively truncate these long pulses, which makes the output sound bad.
Creator James Bailey on May 7
@Mitch/oneTesla: Thanks for the info!
So I'll need a grounded target in my home? I'd use a natural earth like the kitchen sink/plumbing pipes, but I'm pretty sure all houses in Australia have RCD (residual-current device) protection, am I right to assume it would set it off? Is there a ground on the oneTesla you could connect to?
1000W, wow awesome, didn't realise it was so powerful. In some rooms that might be enough to dim the lights for dramatic effect! ;)
I guess I'm not understanding exactly how the interrupter functions, for simplicity let's say that it instructs the tesla to release 10 4µs bursts over 80µs, and then wait 320µs for a duty cycle of 10% (and no particular note). Then to produce a note, you fire the 4µs/80µs bursts but with a gap of 3831µs (to produce the 261Hz of middle C). It seems as though since that is only a duty cycle of 1% that you could produce many more notes (at least down low)? Or perhaps I'm misunderstanding something?
Creator oneTesla on May 7
@James: great questions! Good to see our backers excited enough to be reading up on the technology behind the kit :)
You can pull arcs to a grounded target, obviously take appropriate safety precautions. Also, keep the pulsewidth down to avoid coil stress - direct ground arcs draw significantly more current.
Yes, it runs without MIDI input, there's a little toggle switch on the interrupter for that.
EVR's coil is a class-E coil; it only produces a couple inches of spark; as Mitch said, higher frequencies stress the IGBT's more.
The problem with running more notes is that the duty cycle needs to be kept low. As you add notes, you run out of "bandwidth" (not really since this is not a classical switching amplifier system, but you can think of it that way) to reproduce the notes.
The coil peaks at somewhere between 700 and 1000W; we've blown a 7A fuse but never the 10A fuse (on a 110V line). The last time I hooked up a power meter to the system I measured around 770W. You can adjust the pulsewidth to linearly vary the power consumption.
Creator Mitch Fidler on May 7
@ James ill answer what i can:
We should always be using a grounded strike target, if we do not, we could strike the primary coil which would be very bad.
Not sure of the duty cycle, i will doubt it will have a continuous duty cycle if that's what your asking.
First of all this is a Dual Resonant Solid State Tesla Coil (DRSSTC) not just a Solid State Tesla Coil (SSTC) which is what that 4Mhz plasma speaker from EVR is, its a whole different setup.
a low resonant frequency allows for larger arcs as the capacitors in the system will be able to charge up for longer; the 4Mhz audio modulated SSTC from EVR has quite small arcs because of this reason, also there might be excessive switching losses in the IGBT's at higher frequency's too.
Usually they are around 500W's i think, not sure.
Creator James Bailey on May 7
So excited to get this, been reading all I can about Tesla coil design. Can I ask:
- In many science shows, I see that the demonstrator has a ground return that is connected to the machine? Can we do that with this unit?
- Notwithstanding the interrupter duty cycle of 10%, can this device be run in 'continuous' mode without MIDI input?
- What made you decide on a resonant frequency of 230kHz? I notice that the far less powerful coil on the EasternVoltageResearch site runs at 4Mhz which allows them to reproduce analog audio, are there too many compromises in such a design?
- If the interrupter can produce two notes, why not more? What happens if it breaks the 230kHz into 3 or 4 notes (as though I played them incredibly fast on a keyboard so as to make them indistinguishable from continuous tone)?
- What is the continuous wattage of this coil (230V edition)?
Basically I'm just curious about all your design criteria and why they were chosen! :)
Creator oneTesla on May 4
@Jim: send us a message with your address and we'll check whether we shipped yours out.
Creator Jim Tolley on May 4
I have received nothing from you yet.
You say you have shipped the circuit boards?
What gives?
Creator David Christal on May 3
Update?
Creator Ira Burton on April 30
Ahhhhh, finals.... Good luck with those!
Creator Matthias Lange on April 29
Can't wait! ;)
Good luck for your exam! :)
Creator oneTesla on April 29
We'll post an update after our exam on Wednesday :)
Creator Ira Burton on April 28
Update? It has been a while. Are they looking any better.
Creator BlackX on April 27
Therefore such things are made by spin forming:
Maybe you ask this guy: http://www.megavolts.nl/en/projecten/tesla-spoelen/151-hand-geforceerde-aluminum-toroid-voor-teslacoils
But perhaps the crinkles are technically not bad. Looks like a unique design.
Creator Charles Butkus on April 24
Estoy deseando pantallas de alta tensión con la música
Creator Matthew Jones on April 24
How goes it? Any updates on expected shipping dates? Can't wait!
Creator Mark on April 19
Hope you guys (and everyone else) stay safe and well!
Creator Rob Bonner on April 18
Completely agree with Tyrone Mackintosh. If you suspect this will take a while, is there any chance of 2 shipments? (Would be cool, we could get started building the components, and add the toroid at the end)
Creator Tyrone Mackintosh on April 18
I knew from beginning that this was an Epic kick starter project on a grand scale, and i am totally all good about the extra waiting time for my kit. I Appreciate what you guys are doing.
Creator oneTesla on April 15
Hi Matt, sorry to leave you hanging. Yes, we still do plan to have the "complete your kit" option! However, there has not been much of a point in taking "complete your kit" orders before we ship out the first rounds of full kits. As soon as we ship out the kits that are already paid for, we plan to take "complete your kit" orders, after which we'll go down the waiting list at http://tinyurl.com/onetesla.
Creator Matt Stultz on April 15
Hey guys, I received my circuit board in the mail today. Thanks for shipping it out. Still wondering about the complete your kit option. I have asked a few times and thus far my comments have been ignored. Is this still going to happen?
Creator Mark L on April 13
Your toroids manufacturer might have better results with progressive stamping instead of a single stage, due to the deep draw of the die. [though he likely does not want the expense of multiple dies]
Creator Mitch Fidler on April 11
hot dam thats some wrinkly toroids!
Creator Ira Burton on April 10
This is not a typical Kickstarter deck of cards, table book, or 5V electronic device, so I would not expect the T&C's to be typical.
No lawyer in the world would let them proceed without a very carefully designed document. There are too many people that would rather sue than take responsibility for themselves.
If you don't carefully follow the instructions for building and operating this thing, or if you make a stupid mistake, you could seriously hurt yourself or nearby equipment. If you can't take responsibility for that then claim your refund and walk away.
I personally will be keeping mine and loving every minute of it.
Creator oneTesla on April 9
Hey everyone, we've gotten the first pictures of the toroids from the manufacturer! They're coming our wrinkly, which is kind of surprising to us, but he's working on fixing it. He's going slow in shaving down the die to make adjustments, as it's a very hefty chunk of precision-machined steel the he doesn't want to remake.
Here are the pictures: http://mit.edu/heidib/Public/toroids.jpg http://mit.edu/heidib/Public/toroid_die.jpg http://mit.edu/heidib/Public/toroid_die2.jpg
Creator Andrew Holmes on April 9
I'm totally ok with the T&Cs. as they've said, they're selling a pretty dangerous piece of equipment - but we all know the risks and we all know that if you build it and someone gets hurt, it's not their fault. And the return policy is exactly the same as every other kit company i've ever come across. I've got no qualms with this.
Creator loic on April 9
@oneTesla, thanks for the clarification. I understand your wish to protect yourself but as mentioned am a bit disapointed that this comes so late in the process. I was really supportive of your project and looking forward to building the kit but will probably not be able to accept these T&Cs.
@lawrence thanks for your advice.
Creator Caleb Cotter on April 9
You guys should post a pic of that awesome die for the toroids! I think we'd all love to see it.
Creator Mitch Fidler on April 9
The terms and conditions are restrictive, as YOU would expect, due to the nature of the device, its a tesla coil! Its not your mild, run of the mill science project.
High voltage (greater than 1000V), low voltage mains (less than 1000V), strong magnetic fields, sensitive electronic components, Radio frequency's etc. So much can go wrong, there are so many risks, they are only covering their ass's in-case someone does something stupid with it.
Creator Lawrence "Saker" Collins on April 8
@loic
I'd recommend you consult with an attorney on the T&C.
It has provisions disclaiming, among other things, a warranty of merchantability:
http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/merchantability
There's a provision for Backers indemnifying oneTesla:
http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/indemnify
You'd be giving up the right to a jury trial, and would have to arbitrate any dispute---in Boston:
http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/arbitration
The T&C is a legally significant document. Read it and understand it before agreeing to it.
Creator oneTesla on April 8
@Charles: Specifically, the toroid manufacturer said that the centers of the toroids keep popping out after he stamps them, and he's working on making changes to the die so that stops happening. His last email described the die as a "a pretty impressive looking chunk of steel and parts (it weighs about 350 pounds and that doesn't include the frame)." We're as excited as you are to see the toroids when they're ready!
Creator oneTesla on April 8
Sorry, but we're selling an dangerous kit, and the unfortunate reality is that we live in a country full of trigger-happy lawyers. We also didn't expect this order volume to begin with, and we stopped taking orders (possibly even too late) because we realized that we had a lot to figure out about how to set up a proper business. A few months later, we've learned a ton about forming a company, sourcing and maintaining inventory, bookkeeping, doing business taxes, and protecting ourselves legally in the unfortunate case that someone decided to sue us. The Terms & Conditions are just one part of the many things that are essential to running a business. We'll gladly refund you if you don't wish to agree to them.
To briefly summarize the legal language of the T&Cs, it has two main purposes. The first is to limit our liability in case something happens due to improper construction and use of the Tesla coil, which is something that we have no control over when it's in your hands. The second is to define a return policy, which is that we won't accept returns once the bags of components are opened or solder touches the parts.
Creator loic on April 8
went to quickly have a look at the proposed T&Cs and it doesn't feel like the kickstarter spirit.
Anybody with a legal background to give some advice on what we are giving up by accepting this?
OneTesla, you want to give us some more background on why these very restrictive terms and conditions now that we have already backed your project and not before?
Creator Charles Butkus on April 8
Jawsome, thanks! Got my hopes up last night with the survey.
Creator oneTesla on April 8
@Charles: Our manufacturer said they're a couple weeks away as of a week or so ago; we'll keep you all posted.
Creator Lawrence "Saker" Collins on April 8
Everybody should carefully read the Terms & Conditions before agreeing to them:
http://onetesla.com/kickstarter-terms-and-conditions
Note the clauses on warranties and indemnification.
Creator Charles Butkus on April 2
Any eta on the toroids? emphasis is understood on the estimated :D
Creator oneTesla on April 2
@David: The kits are still waiting on toroids; we'll be sure to ship out as soon as they arrive. Most of the stickers (except for a few with malformed addresses) have been shipped out. Board rewards will soon follow; we have those on hand now.
Creator David Christal on April 2
Now that it's April, how about a status report for the January 24 delivery?
Creator Rob Bonner on March 22
So excited, the new soldering iron arrived today! The Weller WES51, probably the nicest iron I have ever owned!!