We've launched an exciting new project of our own! Introducing the Kickstarter app for iPhone!

Funded! This project successfully raised its funding goal on January 24.

We're shocked by the demand for our Tesla coils! (Also, important info.)

Update #5 · Jan 3, 2013 · 9 comments
We're pretty speechless as we're watching the huge flood of orders come in after the Kickstarter newsletter featured us. Did we ever expect to raise over $120K in a week? Nope. Not by a long shot. We're so excited that oneTesla is popular, and we're putting our heads together to figure out how to keep up with demand.

Please keep in mind that we’re full-time students! We're now going to be packaging, shipping, replying to messages, doing maintenance of our documentation, the forum and our website, and above all, providing more customer service than we initially expected. Doing all of that while juggling a full-time class load is what makes additional kits more costly.

And look at this crazy trend! Within two hours of the Kickstarter newsletter, we doubled the amount of pledges.

Some important reminders.

We just want to give you a friendly reminder about what it takes to build a oneTesla kit. You're going to be shipped printed circuit boards and a bag of parts, and you'll have to solder it all together yourself, with the help of our instructions. You'll need your own soldering iron, multimeter, and hand tools. You shouldn't be surprised if it doesn't work the first time, or the second. As is typical when you're assembling a complex circuit, a single bad solder joint can keep you scratching your head for hours.

Tesla coils are inherently dangerous devices, producing about a quarter million volts and shooting two-foot sparks. We enumerate the hazards in the FAQ on the Kickstarter page and on the first pages in our manual. The Tesla coil should only be operated in an open space, away from people, sensitive electronics, and anything flammable. We'll give you all the guidance we can, but it's up to you to ensure that you can work with the hazards of high voltage safely. That said, thousands of hobbyists have successfully built Tesla coils. And if you plan to do so, the best way is using the guidance of our manual and the community.

We're honored to have had such overwhelming success, and we just hope that every one of our backers will be happy with the kit they receive. Please recognize that given the safety hazards and technical challenge of assembling the kit, oneTesla is not for everybody. With this in mind, if you want to cancel your order, no hard feelings. Otherwise, we look forward to guiding you on a high voltage adventure.

Comments

    1. Fb_profile_picture.small

      Creator Tristan on January 4

      Fabulous work guys, I've "dabbled" previously but excited to find a neat looking kit like this. Kickstarter brings so many like minded people together that i've never seen a good project fail to exceed expectations so far, very well done :)

      Speaking as someone who did a little enterprise typing up English student essays during my studies don't forget how many people there are looking for a bit of extra beer money. If you have a few $ in the fund that can be allocated to some resource, press-gang a few of the poorer students into an assembly line ;)

    2. Onetesla_logo_blackonwhite_large.small

      Creator oneTesla on January 4

      That's awesome, Robert! Could you share a link?

    3. Missing_small

      Creator Robert Baker on January 4

      Dr. Bob Drake posted a link to your video on the NSTA physics listserve.
      Good Job!!

    4. Onetesla_logo_blackonwhite_large.small

      Creator oneTesla on January 3

      Having a scope never hurts, especially when something goes wrong and you need to diagnose what it is.

      The troubleshooting portions of the manual are going to be revamped in the coming weeks, and be expanded with pictures. I'm just waiting for the whole team, as well as a friend with a nice camera, to be back from visiting family for the holidays. :)

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      Creator DaveTheK on January 3

      Good news indeed. Sounds like you've through this through well and can handle the scale of your success! In reading the instruction manual I have a few comments/suggestions I'd like to make. Also, the guidance around test points along the way and troubleshooting if the sparks don't fly look like they will take lots of help as we start to assemble our kits, without the array of tools you folks might have at your MIT lab...I'm considering whether I need to buy a scope...

    6. Onetesla_logo_blackonwhite_large.small

      Creator oneTesla on January 3

      You make good points, Julia and DaveTheK. Fortunately, the project is relatively scalable because we aren't manufacturing anything ourselves (other than a handful of complete coils), just shipping parts that we've already arranged suppliers to make, and then providing customer support. The increase in volume actually helps us, because hopefully people will be able to help each other with questions on the forum.

      So that's our appeal to our backers: when the time comes, ask questions and help each other!

    7. Img002.small

      Creator DaveTheK on January 3

      Well the good news is that you have done a world-changing thing here by taking the math, electrical engineering, and practical know-how around this complex project and brought it it many of us without the skill to design and build our own musically-linked Tesla coil. For me, you are definitely making a dream come true, and at a price that seems too good to be true. The assembly instructions alone are like a master's level course in high-voltage electronics, and well done.

      And - we all want you to finish your studies and graduate. Seems to be a likely conflict here. Good news - you should be able to recruit lots of volunteer labour to assemble kits. From a project management standpoint, many of these KS projects get overwhelmed, so you have to be judicious in limiting your rewards, and then deciding where you need some pro help vs. volunteer. Be sure the labor-intensive parts are outsourced; laser cuts, coil winding, and find your critical path to completing the kits.

      Keep us up to date with your challenges and successes - you haven't just crowd-sourced the Tesla coil, we're your crowd, and you can ask us for help!

    8. Missing_small

      Creator Julia Takarada on January 3

      Great project. I understand your constraints. Doing all this while going to school full time is going to be tough. Regarding your cautions about the difficulties of construction and use, it's good to warn often and with large letters. I suspect you guys don't have liability insurance. It may be a good idea to consult a liability lawyer on the wording of your cautions and the responsibility of the person making it from the kit.

    9. 1-2_carbon_steel_sparking_white__still_only_about_10-12_sec_running_at_.99_pf.small

      Creator Josh Campbell on January 3

      Great job to all involved and congratulations on your success!

928
Backers
$169,155
pledged of $20,000 goal
0
seconds to go

Funding period
Dec 28, 2012 - Jan 24, 2013 (27 days)

Onetesla_logo_blackonwhite_large.medium

See full bio

  • 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 2013
    Add $3 to ship outside the US
  • Pledge $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 2013
    Add $3 to ship outside the US
  • Pledge $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 2013
    Add $5 to ship outside the US
  • Pledge $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 2013
    Add $20 to ship outside the US
  • Pledge $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 2013
    Add $20 to ship outside the US
  • Pledge $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 2013
    Add $20 to ship outside the US
  • Pledge $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 2013
    Add $20 to ship outside the US
  • Pledge $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 2013
    Add $20 to ship outside the US
  • Pledge $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 2013
    Add $20 to ship outside the US
  • Pledge $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 2013
    Add $20 to ship outside the US
  • Pledge $299 or more

    50 backers All gone!

    Round 4 of the 220V kits! These will fulfill in May as well.

    Estimated delivery: May 2013
    Add $20 to ship outside the US
  • Pledge $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