Concerns that are non-technical

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Concerns that are non-technical

Postby bytecode77 » Sun Sep 28, 2014 8:56 am

Hey guys!

I really dreamed of a musical tesla coil ever since! I'm very well capable of assembling one, but...

there are concerns. I live in an apartment flat in Germany. 3 apartments per floor and 7 floors.

So the questions are:

  1. I simply couldn't figure out if it is legal to own a tesla coil in germany let alone if customs will not simply confiscate it, throw it away and sue me to my death!
  2. Living on an island is different then living where other people live. I have absolutely no idea how loud this is. Is it comparable to loud music or is it so loud, that people get scared the crap out and call the police because they think an apocalypse is about to happen?
  3. And my other concern about using it at home is that people will get very annoyed because in a diameter of 100ft no WiFi will be working and light will be flickering like in a horror movie.

True concerns or horror fiction?
Should I still decide to assemble a tesla coil?

Greetings!
Last edited by bytecode77 on Tue Oct 21, 2014 4:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Concerns that are non-technical

Postby Alex » Sun Sep 28, 2014 8:02 pm

1. You should check with your laws. The only I know of in Germany is a noise law?

2. It's around 70dB, comparable to a blasting home sound system. (minus the heavy bass/subwoofer)

3. It shouldn't affect your wifi, and unless there are lights within 10 feet of it it shouldn't make it flicker.
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Re: Concerns that are non-technical

Postby Scrat » Mon Sep 29, 2014 3:15 am

Moin moin,

I am also from Germany.

1) perfectly legal. Had to pick mine up in Braunschweig customs office. Very kind staff there. No problems at all.

2) quite loud but no problems experienced on my side. (good neighbours)

3) no flickering lights in my workshop. Wifi has always been unreliable. As long as you do not put a "Tesla coil Owner"-Sticker on your front door, no one will find a connection between your music and the troublesome wifi.

Go for it!
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Re: Concerns that are non-technical

Postby Moors7 » Mon Sep 29, 2014 6:38 am

Hey,

Nice to see that you're interested in coiling! I'll try to address some of your concerns:

1) legality: I know of some people in Germany that have either built or bought a tesla coil, so I'm fairly sure it's legal. It could be that it takes a while to get through German customs, since most people don't know what a tesla coil is, and they might mistake it for something else. Having said that, I'm sure there are people in Germany that already happily own their oneTesla. It's highly likely that'll you'll have to pay custom/import fees, so take that into consideration.

2) I'm not sure what you mean by "living on an island", since Germany is pretty big, and definitely connected to the rest of Europe ;) Guessing that you're talking about living in an apartement, the following can be said: tesla coils are pretty damn loud! Depending on how forgiving your neighbors are, you might get away with it. I'd recommend you inform them about the coil, and tell them to not worry when they hear strange noises, because they're definitely going to hear it! I've done a (really really bad) measurement with my iPhone, about 1.5m away, which told me it produced over a 100dB in an enclosed bedroom. Some things can be done about that, the most obvious one being: turn down the power. Volume is directly related to the Spark length, which means that it'll be louder if you want it to go bigger. You'll have to decide for yourself (and your neighbors) where the balance lies between performance and loudness. Seeing that you should also ventilate the area in which you're using the coil (due to hazardous gasses being formed, like ozone), you'll have to open some windows through which sound can also "escape".
Concluding statement: yes, musical tesla coils are loud, but I've you've got some nice neighbors, you should be able to work something out. Try not to run it at night due to a lot of people (children) sleeping, as well as early in the morning. And perhaps not run it every day for hours on end, the sound can become annoying after a while, unless you're really into it ;p
You could also start out with a tinyTesla, to see how that goes, and later get a oneTeslaTS ;)

3) I've run my coils on several locations, all with computers/electrical equipment in the direct vincinity. I have yet to encounter any problems doing so. I also haven't noticed any problems with wireless network so far. As far as lighting goes: yes, you can wirelessly light a bulb, but no, it won't go that far. In the direct vincinity, let's say <3m, you can definitely light something up. Anything further than that will be tough, unless you have some sort of antenna attached. The same thing applies as with the sound: inform your neighbors beforehand, to prevent any scary surprises.

Final conclusion: get yourself a Tesla Coil! Those things are really awesome, and a great way to get to tinker around with electronics. Also great for parties, presentations, getting attention, and becoming known as "that guy with the lightning machine!" Definitely recommended, you won't regret it!

Also, zum Schluss: viel Spaß!
Take a look at my website for oneTesla compatible MIDI files. Enjoy.
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Re: Concerns that are non-technical

Postby bomber315 » Mon Sep 29, 2014 10:52 am

The noise is comparable to load music. You can always run on a lower power setting, and just turn it up until you think the neighbors will complain.

Lights should not flicker, i have never really noticed any wifi interference but thats not to say it wouldnt.

Honestly if you can get it through customs you should be ok. It would be a lot more fun to take it to someones house where you can be loud and not care however.
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Re: Concerns that are non-technical

Postby bytecode77 » Wed Oct 01, 2014 1:36 am

It is a goddamn dream of mine to have one! :D

If customs are fine, then I think that should be no problem. I sent them a request via email but they just sent me the default reply, a law text which includes all basic info. These people are unbelievably lazy.
The volume can be turned down, but don't have to be. So I will run it at lower volumes and only some times at higher volumes.

About the jamming: It is illegal in Germany to build a jamming device. I've read on some German forums that they had trouble such as their neighbor trying to call the police but simply couldn't because all telephones failed. And the light? Well, one floor down, there might be lights directly beneath my tesla coil without me knowing. I don't know how my neighbors will deal with that, neither if it is good to tell them beforehand.

I just don't want to loose my coil to the police the first day of use or having to sign a restraining order rendering it useless...
I'm still a little ambivalent...
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Re: Concerns that are non-technical

Postby Scrat » Thu Oct 02, 2014 1:56 am

Mach es Dir nicht zu kompliziert! Gib den Leuten nicht die Steine, mit denen sie nach Dir werfen sollen.

Remember: A tesla coil is NOT a jamming device (which is illegal) but a scientific device that may only be used by trained personnel (you!).
So do not ask too many questions.

I just went to Braunschweig custome office, answered their questions (short and precise and giving no unnecessary information that could upset them). The person in charge knew nothing about tesla coils so I told him the basics.
"It is just a kit"
"Yes, kits like this are also available in this country"
"I went for the american kit because of the quality"
Do not talk about lightning, arcs, high voltage...that might just cause more questions.
The only problem was that he could not find any matching category in his system so I suggested "Electronic spare parts" which he accepted at once.
Very friendly staff there. It took less than half an hour (including 15mins waiting for my turn).
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Re: Concerns that are non-technical

Postby bytecode77 » Fri Oct 03, 2014 5:34 am

Of course I will not debate with them about the security issues. I will just about say anything so the coil doesn't get confiscated. Your tips for that are great :) I will remember them.

I bought a oneTesla kit and I hope it will be great and satisfy my expectation! And I hope I don't get in trouble, but when you don't try, you'll never know, right? ;)
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Re: Concerns that are non-technical

Postby jeanrenaud » Fri Nov 07, 2014 8:57 pm

As stated in the manual, Tesla Coil could disturb biological/electronic devices (pacemakers, etc), so these guys must not be in the vicinity of the coil. What is the vicinity ? Well they say that a normal person must be 10 feet away from the coil. I've also read somewhere that for pacemakers the distance should be twice the average person... so 20 feet.

There could be for sure people at less than 20 feet in the apartment over or under you. This is a thing you can check - or ignore at your own risk... i've choosen to ignore.

Pacemakers are supposed to tolerate some level of EMF. I've read somewhere that manufacturers of pacemakers will test their products to up to "100 µT magnetic field" and "6 kV/m electric field". Unfortunately, there is no spec in the manual about the electric field strength according to distance.

A EMF measurement device could help on that. A properly grounded faraday cage built AROUND the Tesla coil - instead of around a person - could also block the EMF from radiating around. The Faraday case must be enough big so the spark do not hit it (unless you want it, but it is not recommended to have too much ground discharges).
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