A Slayer Exciter is an air-cored transformer that steps up a very low DC voltage to a very high AC voltage. This creates an electromagnetic field around the coil that is capable of lighting up fluorescent and neon light bulbs. It is fairly similar to a Tesla Coil.
The Slayer Exciter was the brainstorm of Dr. Stiffler a few years ago. It has since been modified and improved, resulting in a community of people whose hobby is to revise and improve them.
In this Instructable, I will show you how to build a small Slayer Exciter and will also give an explanation as to how it works.
There are several parts that make up a Slayer Exciter:
- The power source supplies the voltage and amperage.
- The driver circuit takes the electricity from the power source and prepares it for the transformer.
- The primary coil creates a magnetic field from the electricity.
- The secondary coil converts the magnetic field back into electricity and steps it up to a much higher
voltage.
- Finally, the top load acts as a capacitor, greatly increasing the strength of the electromagnetic
field.
The whole project only costs about $15 and can easily be completed in a weekend. It can be used as a centerpiece for the dinner table that will "wow" any family members or guests. It is also easily transportable which can make it a great conversation starter if you choose to bring it to school or work.
Here is a video of it in operation!
--------WARNING---------
The Slayer exciter creates an electromagnetic field that may negatively affect electronic equipment in the immediate area; including pacemakers. Exercise caution and common sense when operating a Slayer Exciter.
The Slayer Exciter was the brainstorm of Dr. Stiffler a few years ago. It has since been modified and improved, resulting in a community of people whose hobby is to revise and improve them.
In this Instructable, I will show you how to build a small Slayer Exciter and will also give an explanation as to how it works.
There are several parts that make up a Slayer Exciter:
- The power source supplies the voltage and amperage.
- The driver circuit takes the electricity from the power source and prepares it for the transformer.
- The primary coil creates a magnetic field from the electricity.
- The secondary coil converts the magnetic field back into electricity and steps it up to a much higher
voltage.
- Finally, the top load acts as a capacitor, greatly increasing the strength of the electromagnetic
field.
The whole project only costs about $15 and can easily be completed in a weekend. It can be used as a centerpiece for the dinner table that will "wow" any family members or guests. It is also easily transportable which can make it a great conversation starter if you choose to bring it to school or work.
Here is a video of it in operation!
--------WARNING---------
The Slayer exciter creates an electromagnetic field that may negatively affect electronic equipment in the immediate area; including pacemakers. Exercise caution and common sense when operating a Slayer Exciter.
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Signing UpStep 1: Parts List
For this project you may need to do a little shopping. Luckily, everything can be found around the house or bought on Ebay. The total cost for the project can easily be kept under $20.
Items Needed:
- At least a 6" long tube that's 1" in diameter, it must be hollow and non-conductive! I used a
piece of PVC pipe. - ~$5
- A platform to mount everything onto. I used the bottom of a CD case. - Free
- Approximately 3' of 14 - 26 AWG wire. - ~$1
- Approximately 100' of 30 AWG enamel wire. - ~$5
- Some sort of round sphere to use as a top load. - ~$1
- One 47,000 (47k) ohm resistor. - $1
- Two UF4007 diodes. - $1
- One TIP31C transistor. - $1
- Screw terminals (Optional). - $1
- Transistor heat sink (Recommended if exceeding 18 volts) - $3
Feel free to experiment with different transistors, most transistors should work as long as they are NPN type. However, if the transistor gets hot to the touch you may want to consider the TIP31C, the TIP31C should only get warm to the touch unless you exceed 18 volts. The resistor value can also be changed, it merely limits the current going into the transistor so a change of a few thousand ohms either way should not make much of a difference. If your transistor feels hot to the touch you may consider increasing the resistor value.
I would also recommend using a piece of pipe that's several inches longer than what is required, you can always cut down the pipe to the right size after wrapping the secondary coil.
Items Needed:
- At least a 6" long tube that's 1" in diameter, it must be hollow and non-conductive! I used a
piece of PVC pipe. - ~$5
- A platform to mount everything onto. I used the bottom of a CD case. - Free
- Approximately 3' of 14 - 26 AWG wire. - ~$1
- Approximately 100' of 30 AWG enamel wire. - ~$5
- Some sort of round sphere to use as a top load. - ~$1
- One 47,000 (47k) ohm resistor. - $1
- Two UF4007 diodes. - $1
- One TIP31C transistor. - $1
- Screw terminals (Optional). - $1
- Transistor heat sink (Recommended if exceeding 18 volts) - $3
Feel free to experiment with different transistors, most transistors should work as long as they are NPN type. However, if the transistor gets hot to the touch you may want to consider the TIP31C, the TIP31C should only get warm to the touch unless you exceed 18 volts. The resistor value can also be changed, it merely limits the current going into the transistor so a change of a few thousand ohms either way should not make much of a difference. If your transistor feels hot to the touch you may consider increasing the resistor value.
I would also recommend using a piece of pipe that's several inches longer than what is required, you can always cut down the pipe to the right size after wrapping the secondary coil.
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I coiled L2 with 500 turns abs L1 with 4.
Thank you so much .
I just have a question , I know that the ratio of input and output voltage is equal to the ratio of turns in a transformer, but then can't we make L1 one turn and L2 , say 1000?
Also , when I had 9 turns in L1 , I noticed very little voltage in L1 but as I reduced it to 4 turns, 7 volts began to pass through it with a total input of 9 volts into the entire circuit .
Is it a discrepancy or is it a phenomenon I haven't been taught yet ?
Thank you so much again .
I hope I'm not annoying you but I have another problem.
You told me to switch the leads of L1 which allowed about 0.5 volts to pass through even though the EC terminals had about 10 volts passing through them.
I think I should try a wire of another diameter (Currently using 0.25 mm diameter) for L1.
Any suggestions ?
L1 has about 9 turns and L2 has about 350.
But there is still no current in L1.
I ran about 14 volts through the circuit and it registers 14 volts between C and E and C and B and about 0.67 between E and B ,but when I check the voltage between the two ends of L1, there is nothing ?
also, just to confirm, the rim on the diode is aimed at the resistance right?
Is there a way to know which terminal in a transistor is which without a multimeter just by looking at it?
I know the base is the middle but what about the other two?
great work though.
1- Am I missing something?
2- Why *two* diodes?
Thanks for your advice/comments
2. They protect the transistor base-emitter junction from excessive reverse bias during the negative half-cycle. One diode would also work but would give a much smaller output from the secondary.
500 secondary (32 AWG), 3 primary
30V step-down transformer to bridge rectifier
57k ohm to 2N3055 base
1cm plasma discharge (when a conductor is brought near)
lights up 11W fluorescent tubes at moderate intensity ~3 feet away
I will be selling these Slayer Exciter kits, a link is at my YouTube channel "GBluer"
The kits will come with a premade 1.5 volt Slayer Exciter, with extra parts to make a high power Exciter if you wish.
In order to try and identify the problem I redesigned the circuit by adding in LED's at various locations on the circuit...Please see attached picture...
Note: Not all the labels and values are accurate on the image, software limitation
When power is applied D1 lights but is very dim(there is only a 10 ohm resistor at R1, not 100 ohms). D2 lights and is a lot brighter than D1. D6 is the brightest LED.....however there is no light coming from the D5......When the primary leads are swapped the same results occur with the LED's........
This has lead me to the conclusion that the Tesla coil is not oscillating and therefore nothing is coming back to light up D5.....Do you concur with my assessment?????If so, what could i do to ensure correct working function of the coil before connecting it to the circuit....Also, what exactly do we expect to come back from L2?????Again, thanks in Advance for any help
for second slayer u also use this circuit ? or change this ? i think this is simple and basic circuit . u can use MOSFET for more power :)
This is great. Thanks for this great circuit.
Just one question: does it work without a top load ?
A few words about safety considerations (high voltage, etc) would be a welcome inclusion in this instructable.
could you please help me find the base ,collector and emitter of the transistor.
Is the base the middle one ?
And instead of making the coil 6'' long ,if i made it 3'' but with the same number of turns i.e 400 or same length of wire wound - will it cause the exciter not to work ?
and also ,the diodes in the circuit diagram, are they sketched in the wrong direction , because i learnt in school that -ve terminal of the battery should be connected with -ve of the diodes ?
i want to ask 1 question that how a single transistor can convert dc source to ac source which is feed to primary coil ?