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Rockingit

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Thought I might do something interesting with mini-me as a holiday project and make a Jacob’s ladder - anyone have any advice and/or a suitable HT coil I can barter for?

R.
 
One for @Lucien Nunes I think!

I know some folk use old neon lamp transformers from 50Hz mains but they are deadly if not used very carefully (not that I doub't your skills, but we all make mistakes from time to time).

If it were me I would be looking to use a higher frequency AC supply (kHz region) so far less risk of fibrillation on contact, so something like an old car ignition coil or the line/flyback transformer of an old CRT TV.
 
Depends on the scale you have in mind!
At the lower end it can be all done for you:

or things can get dangerous ⚡
 
Last edited:
Depends on the scale you have in mind!
At the lower end it can be all done for you:

or things can get dangerous ⚡

Call me a wuss, but I think I'd stick to the 1st one!
 
Maybe a slighty easier and safer project to start with would be making the Leyden Jar capacitor, charging it, and discharging it creating an arc....
Summer hols project - Jacob’s Ladder 1627828573111 - EletriciansForums.net
 
Let us know when you are planning on playing around with it. I'm in Somerset until the 15th. I would like to know when we are going to be blacked out ? I assume it'll look something like the northern lights followed by the blue flashing lights of the fire engines?
 
I built a little tiny one when I was at school, the psu was an old TV flyback transformer, run with a simple drive circuit, the primary winding was hand wound around the exposed ferrite core. The current and voltage weren't all that high so it wasn't very spectacular! I must still have it somewhere...
 
Maybe a slighty easier and safer project to start with would be making the Leyden Jar capacitor, charging it, and discharging it creating an arc....
View attachment 88191
safer??? who wants safer??? one life, live it.
 
How good are you at distraction burglary?
Basically you need to find where the nearest primary sub keeps their spare 132kV instrumentation potential transformer...
 
Jacobs Ladder was a song by Huey Lewis and the News.
Album name : Fore. 1986 ish

Same album as Power of Love and Hip to be Square

 

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