Tesla Coil DIY Soldering Kit, PEMENOL 10cm+ Plasma Arc Generator, STEM Electronics Assembly Project Requires DC 12V-36V Power Supply for Hobbyists and Engineering Students Father's Day

the components list said 12 pc 45uf capacitors but only were 2pcs 45uf and 11 pcs 35uf capacitors that are not on the components list , the instructions have no wiring diagram or ledged , the package was not good and looked like it was seriously rattled , many times . I repackaged it nicely but I would not accept the components being different from the components list

This kit is easy to build. But the instructions were incorrect for the parts that were delivered. The wire they said was in the kit was not supplied. After completing the build it would not work. There was no support from the company for my questions. I tested and replaced parts and found thy transformer that was supplied in the kit was bad. I replaced it with one of my own and everything works now. To expensive of a kit to be supplying my own parts. Especially the transformer which is the most expensive and important part of the kit.

This is has a very bright spark gap, and it's loud. You really know you are working with some power when it is operating. First, soldering is required. It's easy, it's fun, but if you don't know how then order a learning kit at the same time and build it first. Also, look for online instruction and videos in addition to the learning kit. I built half of mine with lead-free and the other half with leaded solder for practice. You will need hot melt glue. You do not have to use hot melt glue but gluing sure is fast and easy if you do. You will need a way to scrape or sand a little enamel insulation off of some wires. Finally, you will need a way to put some small holes through micro plywood. I suppose punching might work, but drilling is easy and accurate. I think there was enough wire in the kit to build it, but it was easier and cheap to add some solid conductor of my own. I used 18ga, which seemed about right for building the capacitor bank and as a longer ground wire. Again, all of the parts were easy, with no super tiny soldering connections. I'll start with what I had to go back and redo. I did not notice that the two ends of the main coil are finished differently. One has a wire that wraps over the end of the coil. This wire needs to be in contact with the stainless steel ball. There is no need to remove insulation; you will have all the volts you need to punch through the enamel on the wire. The other end of the coil has the wire that you thread down through a hole that you made in the upper micro plywood. This end will need to have some enamel removed because you will be soldering it. The second mistake I made was how I built the capacitor bank. The thin resistor leads will not handle the current and actually glowed orange in a dark room. That was pretty cool looking, but I knew I had to add heavier wire. The manual showed the capacitor leads bent over and soldered to the next capacitor. I decided it was a bit cleaner at that point to add some of my 18ga Cu wire, and it worked great. One more item, my flyback transformer had fewer pins than the one in the manual. I followed their pictures for which wire to connect where and it worked The instructions indicate an optimum voltage of about 19VDC at up to 80watts. 80 W divided by 19V = 4.2 Amps. There are plenty of 12VDC power supplies that will power it. You can also use a 12VDC gel cell, or car, or motorcycle battery. Interestingly, a little bit stronger laptop power supply is perfect and low cost on Amazon. Many of these are around 19V at up to about 4.2A. Higher amps are OK, so are higher volts. The instructions indicated 12 to 36VDC, 60 to 80W. For operation, I mentioned that it is loud. You will easily be able to hear it in an average bedroom or classroom. The brightest spark is the spark gap. I think the circuit uses power transistors to oscillate, providing alternating current to the first step-up transformer. The spark gap is a tunable high-power way to generate the high frequency and high power used to drive the main coil. The first test I did was to check for noise on an AM radio tuned between stations. It was pretty fun to hear a friend on a cell phone tell me they could listen to me clicking the kit on and off 200 ft away! I guess this might operate similar to an early Marconi transmitter. You are probably wondering if you can feel the voltage. I could, it was unpleasant, so I avoided getting too close to the output. The answer depends upon the frequency, and in a kit, the output can be a combination of high and low frequency. High enough frequency, and you cannot feel it. Lower and you do feel the electricity. But do not touch the spark gap when it is operating. When you see the bright spark and hear it, you won't want to. However, the main output coil can produce big, long sparks but be difficult to feel when there is no low-frequency energy in it. Regarding the voltage, I could make a fluorescent light fixture tube glow up to about 3ft away. I would keep sensitive electronics away from it. I used a cell phone for the pictures, and it worked well. Regarding the pictures, you should be able to hear the spark superheating a thin thread of air. There are two types of high voltage phenomena producing light. First, the air is an insulator; the electrons are tightly bound to the atoms. Think of voltage as pressure, or push force. When the voltage is high enough, it forces electrons to flow, producing the lightning spark you see. This review will get way too long if we explain all of the interesting concepts, so I'll stop here. I used 1-2-3 blocks from Amazon to aid in constructing the spark gap. You can't adjust the gap when it's running, but that's where you tune it. So plan for access later. For the capacitor bank, I hotmelt glued the caps together, then soldered the interconnecting wires, then hotmelt glued the module to the provided board. As mentioned above, do not rely only on the resistor leads for capacitor interconnection, as my picture shows. Do as the kit instructions show and use capacitor leads, or add your own heavier wire and solder the connections. I had my reservations about gluing to the end-grain of the dowels. After some research, I discovered that some people recommend hot melt glue for end-grain, and it worked! I'm careful when handling the device, but so far, no problems. Besides, I built it; I can re-glue it if I ever needed to. Although this has modern parts, it is kind of easy to imagine working in an old wooden laboratory with Tesla, in a darkened room where you can see the sparks better, and with the sounds of high voltage. It inspired some online research where I learned some things and had fun doing it.

Not a bad product, some of the instructions aren't as clear and you have to download them. I think the company puts a piece of paper with a barcode link you can scan to download the instructions digitally. You will need a power supply. Review Ohms law if you are not familiar because the instructions don't give exact detail about how much voltage the circuit boards with resisters and capacitors can handle, so be wear and take caution. I had to purchase more wire because the wire you are given and the measurements in the instructions that it calls for is definitely less. Pemenol's Customer services is good. I would give four stars but it was quite a hassle getting through the confusion of the instructions. Could just be to language barrier. Not bad for a DIY project. Parts could be a little better.

The enigmatic Tesla Coil! A testament to the audacious dreams of a maverick inventor, promising to illuminate the world with wireless power. And now, intrepid tinkerers, the opportunity to construct your own miniature marvel awaits! The PEMENOL Tesla Coil DIY Kit beckons, a gateway to the electrifying realm of electromagnetic induction. But before embarking on this scientific odyssey, a word of caution is prudent. A Project for the Adept Assemblers: This is no mere child's plaything. The kit arrives in a state of beautiful potential, a collection of parts awaiting your soldering expertise. While the instructions assure that the process is straightforward, a shaky foundation in the art of solder will leave you stranded on a sea of uncooperative wires. Be warned, this is a project best suited for the seasoned electrician or the determined student with a thirst for knowledge (and a hefty helping of soldering practice). A Spark of Genius, a Hint of Frustration: Imagine conjuring miniature bolts of lightning at your fingertips! The Tesla coil, when complete, promises a dazzling display of high-temperature plasma, capable of igniting fluorescent lamps and mesmerizing onlookers. The 10cm arc of sparking fury is a sight to behold, a testament to the ingenuity of the original inventor. However, a dark cloud looms on the horizon – the kit itself falls short of the grand vision. The Incomplete Equation: The PEMENOL kit, like an unfinished symphony, lacks crucial components to complete the masterpiece. The provided copper wire and 12-gauge insulated wire are woefully inadequate for the task at hand. Those embarking on this electrical escapade must be prepared to source additional materials – more copper and more 12-gauge wire – to bring their Tesla coil to life. Consider it a test, a minor hurdle to overcome on the path to scientific enlightenment. A Flawed, Yet Fun, Endeavor: Despite its shortcomings, the PEMENOL Tesla Coil DIY Kit offers a thrilling glimpse into the world of electrical phenomena. For the tenacious tinkerer, the challenge of assembly and the satisfaction of sparking a miniature lightning storm are rewards enough. Just remember, this is a project best approached with a well-stocked toolbox, a thirst for knowledge, and perhaps a healthy dose of ingenuity. In Conclusion: The PEMENOL Tesla Coil DIY Kit is a curious contraption – a spark of genius held back by a lack of materials. For the experienced hobbyist, it's a weekend project brimming with potential. For the novice, it's a crash course in electrical engineering, albeit one requiring a trip to the hardware store. But for those with a spirit of adventure and a soldering iron in hand, the PEMENOL Tesla Coil DIY Kit offers a unique opportunity to unlock the secrets of electricity and create a dazzling addition to your collection of scientific oddities.

I always wanted to have a Tesla coil, probably has to do with growing up in the 1960’s and liked watching sci-fi movies, so when I saw this kit on Amazon, I had to buy it. I read a few reviews before buying it and being a fairly experienced kit builder I was confident I could build it successfully. I did use a few tips that were mentioned in the reviews. The first thing you have to do is scan the QR code and download the instruction manual. I found it to be very complete, first numbered instructions and then instructions with step by step pictures to identify the components and show the proper orientation. My kit contained everything except the 30 cm of ground wire, and hot glue. You can use any wire, single conductor small gauge, can even use some speaker wire if you have any laying around. My transformer was exactly as pictured in the instructions. The 100uh choke was already prepared with the leads stripped and tinned. I followed the instructions exactly as written, except for a few steps. As mentioned in other reviews, I hot glued all the capacitors together in the configuration shown in the instructions before soldering them and adding the resistors. I used crazy glue and screws to assemble the wooden frame and dowels, instead of hot glue. To strip the enamel insulation off the wires I used a razor blade to scrape off the enamel and then used 150 sandpaper to do a final cleaning. It’s very important to get it all off for a good solder joint. The place I deviated most from the instructions was for the primary and secondary coils. When I saw how thin the secondary transformer wire was (30 ga) I followed a tip from a review. I very gently scrapped off the insulation and used sandpaper to clean the secondary wire. I used a 4-40 screw, nut and 2 washers to secure the thin wire instead of soldering the 30 cm ground wire to it. I first hot glued the secondary coil centered on the top piece of wood. I drilled a 1/8 hole where the secondary wire came out from under the coil. I then put the secondary wire under the washer and on the under side of the board I attached the 30 cm ground wire under the washer, then tightened up the nut, this removes all stress off the 30 ga secondary wire. Then I hot glued the Primary transformer core to the board, centered over the secondary coil. I drilled a 1.5mm hole for one side of the primary winding from the spark gap to go through the board, wrapped the one turn around the form, hot glued in place, then drilled another 1.5mm hole for wire to go back to the capacitors. I used an old Dell laptop power supply, 19.5 volts, 6.7 amps. I first adjusted the spark gap to around 2mm and attached the ground wire to a 7” carpenters speed square that was laying on the work bench. I plugged the power supply and it worked! A very bright, loud spark was generated at the spark gap. I was able to light a fluorescent bulb from about 1 foot away and create about a 2-3” spark. I am pleased with this Tesla coil kit and had a good time building it.

Updating my review based on recent experience. If you want something to "just work" I would not recommend this kit. But if you are up for a challenge that will force you to learn then this might work. My 13 yo son assembled this on his own, but mistakenly connected the earth ground wire to the ground of the power supply which quickly fried the resistors in the capacitor bank. After replacing them and verifying everything worked we got the coil working well. We started off running it for short periods like 30 seconds at a time, but it failed on the last round and it does not work anymore. It turns out the transformer was fried. And this is my main problem. I’ve killed 2 transformers already and have only used this coil for about 3 minutes in total. I am an electrical engineer so can debug the circuit but it would not be obvious to anyone who does not know the fundamentals. I also wish they included more details such as a schematic, the # of turns on the transformer, and the # of turns in the secondary coil so that we could calculate the output voltages. I finally received some specs from the supplier so that was helpful, but it took weeks of back and fourth.

Absolute crap. Missing parts had to get replacements to have all the required parts. Didn’t work at all like the video. Being an engineer and built one that was less complex w out a kit and worked fine. This again was not with working modules