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I know people have done LED lighting on Monoliths, and that Tesla Coils are far to dangerous to have it on when you actually play, but is it possible to build a TESLA COIL MONOLITH with the plastic "Cages" on the sides being the loop completion part?

This may require the monolith to be coated with some rubber/insulation to prevent the model from melting/exploding but the effect would be the most epic custom model job EVER.

Sounds wildly dangerous. And what's the power requirement of a Tesla coil ? - I've never seen a battery-powered one.

One visual effect I've considered is a plasma globe - you can get small USB-powered ones pretty cheap. I can't think of any way to mount on in a monolith, except as the portal door thingy perhaps, but it could be a very cool addition to a terrain piece, especially some sort of Warp gateway.

Sounds wildly dangerous. And what's the power requirement of a Tesla coil ? - I've never seen a battery-powered one.

Not insanely high. Off the top of my head, a tiny Van de Graaf generator might work a bit better (having worked with the things before), but the arcing isn't going to be very visually impressive and the thing will whine like a four year old on meth who just got told Santa isn't real.

Laughing Man wrote:

Sounds wildly dangerous. And what's the power requirement of a Tesla coil ? - I've never seen a battery-powered one.

Not insanely high. Off the top of my head, a tiny Van de Graaf generator might work a bit better (having worked with the things before), but the arcing isn't going to be very visually impressive and the thing will whine like a four year old on meth who just got told Santa isn't real.

I would probably just let it go. If the only feasible power source isn't enough power for the effect you're looking for, and the power sources that do what you want aren't feasible (aka AC current or such), pass and come back later.

The plasma globe idea sounds pretty cool, and powering a USB with a few 9v batteries should turn out pretty cool.

A jacobs ladder might be more feasable (might work best replacing the crystal), you can run those off the same transformer as a neon sign, and they do make battery powered versions of those.

It's been a while since I last worked with neon, but I'm sure that you could just google a supplier and find about what you are looking for. Only issue I'd see is you might need to have significant battery power, but I suspect you could get enough inside the model itself to power the transformer, though you might have to spill out uner the monolith and into the "base" of the model if the transformer is too big.

Health Risk: Both the ladders and Tesla Coils do produce ozone and nitric oxide when in operation so extended exposure in an enclosed environment isn't recomended, but if you were fire it up for the first turn or so and then shut it down once the crowd was suitably wowed, I think it would probably be ok. Leaving it running the whole game (unless you're playing outside, in a garage with the door open, or some other suitably vented space) is probably a bad idea.

Glossary:
jacobs ladder - two wires/conductive rods in a V arrangement connected to a high-volt low-amp electrical current resulting in a climbing arc of eletricity between the rods. Commonly seen on old (and sometimes new) moster/mad scientist movies.

I made a Jacobs ladder for Science class once, it was simple and very cool, but it was also pretty dangerous, specially for a tabetop game. People are generally stupid, and would want to touch it for some reason. Infact one kid in my class nearly had that happen, when I turned it on, the dumbshit instantly said "Oh how cool" and started reaching for it.

The tesla coil idea suffers from miniaturization problems. I know they're large, but that's a lot of transformer/capacitor to cram inside of a monolith. Combined with needing to mount a torroid on top of it, which ruins the blocky aesthetic of the 'lith, the power issues previously mentioned, and lacking a good electrical ground for the whole deal (hint, your power outlet is a 'bad call' assuming you like everything plugged in on the circuit), you also have to worry about cooling the spark gap which I'm assuming you're going to conceal inside the monolith, otherwise it will heat and result in an inconsistent output from the torroid. You'd either have to have the door open and vent the heat out via a fan, or have a "4-way" gap that alternates which one is active via a small motor.

Insulating (in an electrical sense) the plastic itself wouldn't be a huge concern as plastic is a natural insulator, and as long as you have a low resistance return mounted around the 'lith, you probably wouldn't need to worry about a cage, long as no one reached inside of it. Melting point of the plastic would be a concern though, especially if you're not ventilating the spark gap sufficiently.

On power issues: Tesla coils operate off of AC. You would either need to plug it into a wall, have a small generator, or use a battery combined with a power inverter, which would be bulky and generate a surprising amount of heat, especially under load.

Unfortunately, portable tesla coils are not really easily viable. I frequently daydream about weaponizing one.

Thought you might get a kick out of this... It's not my own creation but I saw this on the Ctan Support Group UK Forum a while back. Original Thread


- Thorvald's Super Heavy Monolith

daedalus wrote:On power issues: Tesla coils operate off of AC. You would either need to plug it into a wall, have a small generator, or use a battery combined with a power inverter, which would be bulky and generate a surprising amount of heat, especially under load.

Not true, I made a neon project back in school that was supposed to run off battries and the transformers I used were only about 3x2x2 inches in size. Only reason they didn't work was the tubes I was hooking em up to were too large for the transformers to light them up bright enough for the look I was going for.

Case in point, check out the ladder kits on this site:
http://www.amazing1.com/jacobs-ladder.htm
The second one looks like it could be adapted to fit (mostly) in a monolith, and it runs off batteries OR a wall. Granted it probably eats those batteries like a gamers eats cheetos...

Also they do have tiny tesla coils too that with some thought and a little know how might work, but those look like you're stuck to the wall (still, the one on this page does look small enough to cram into a monolith if you truely feel the need).
http://www.amazing1.com/tesla.htm

You can get a device that produces the same effect, sure, but at the risk of being pedantic, is it really a "Tesla" coil if it doesn't use AC?

I really like the idea of a Jacobs Ladder alot, and it would be a good deal more feasible for a tabletop miniature, with certain safety regulations set up. Also, i think your right about the Tesla Coil ruining the block-y effect of the pyramid.
Its a project I need to start, what do you think the price for the whole assembly would be (Including the actual monolith, as my current one is to s****y to use as a housing)

Jacob's Ladder seems much more simple. A high voltage source like a neon sign transformer or a flyback transformer from an color TV, and a couple of those old copper wire clothes hangers oughta do the trick. You'll want some, probably metal, fixture to mount them in. Then it's just a matter of watching the fingers and make sure no one sticks anything in between the poles.

EDIT: When testing, make sure that you either have someone by the circuit breaker to kill it if things go bad, or you use a deadman's switch on the device. That way, if you get zapped, it doesn't keep pumping high voltage into your unconscious form.

Also, I am not an electrical engineer. Any advice I am giving is for entertainment purposes only.

If you really wan to go this route, I'd say get the kit for safety reasons. It comes fully assembled, but I bet with some good wiring you could easliy (and safely) reposition the conductors to the top of the monlith. Also you may just want to call the company, they might be willing to customize the build to your needs. It won't be cheap, but you want have to worry about cooking off your fingers or model, so that might help justify the cost.

If you want to do more the DIY route then I agree, be VERY careful as you are dealing with a lot of volts here. If I can find the catalog from back when I made my neonman I'll post a link to their site and the kind of transformer you probably need, but it's one of those companies with an oddball name, so google is failing me.

And yes, as someone who's gotten zapped quite well, safety, safety, safety. I got nailed by our high voltage shop transformer once. I was a noobie and burning in a tube I'd just finished and stpidly forgot about the whole A/C thing an flipped the on switch while holding a contact. Current went up my arm, through my chest and out the other arm into the switch. No permanent damage to myself or the gear thank goodness. Had it been the bombarder used to cook off all the gunk inside the tube before fillling it I would mostly likely be (at best) typing this with my feet.

Electricity is like a horse. Respect what it is and treat it well, and it'll do wonderful things for you. Get lazy and rub it the wrong way, and it'll kick you in the face.

Electricity is like a horse. Respect what it is and treat it well, and it'll do wonderful things for you. Get lazy and rub it the wrong way, and it'll kick you in the face.

I may add that to my sig, but ya I think im going to go for a Kit.

It will be a cool model if I do it right, but I would like to see the magazine, so I can get the right parts and not fry myself alive

From what I know about Tesla coils (very little) it sounds a bad idea. For a really crazy idea, how about a mini lava lamp?

check out the worlds smallest tesla coil at the bottom of the page, it's $60 and looks just about perfect

Ya I checked it out and honestly, that his the perfect thing I just have to Wire the top of the monolith correctly and find an appropriate power inverter.

I think the pattern should look like

http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/276721-.html

The gray is the Tesla Coil

The wires also extend up through the side things on the monolith

The thing and its partner that are located on far left middle

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2011/4/22/213272_sm-Magnet%2C%20Monolith%2C%20Necrons.JPG

and the arch thing on the back (the piece in the above picture below the 4 flux arc projector turrets

srry for the confusing imagery

any comments on the wire layout, btws that means 7 wires total and the lightning projections should be fairly random.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Thank you Cornerfag~ for the parts picture, but I do feel awkward to mention you name.

the smallest tesla coil ive ever seen in my robotics class would drain 15 9v box batteries in about 3 seconds...and could kill you if didnt know what you were doing...

Jeeze, to set up a jacob's ladder requires high voltage, like live mains voltage direct. If you put your hand near it you're likely to be killed. Leave it in the hollywood horror movies.



I thought one of these luminglas things would be quite good. They are like those lights the borg have in Star Trek.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTrGWhxHp_k

Don't know how small they go though, might make a cool base.

The smallest tesla coil, while probably going to drain two 6v batteries very quick, gives only mild electrical burns.

He says with concern for his own sanity

But really, they are not that dangerous comparative to your robotics class death machine

http://www.scientificsonline.com/mini-plasma-ball.html

Thanks for the link, and if i was going for the Plasma ball, it would be the model. I may try and get the parts to kitbash the two highly dangerous electric devices.