I've probably seen the same pages... I once subscribed to a tesla list at te...@pupman.com where you can get a lot of coil info. It's as busy as the JoeList. Because of my interests in both Tesla stuff and hi-fi, I'm really interested in the plasma tweeter thing too. I don't think they'd be too difficult to build. If you get any good ideas, post them here. I'll look around and do the same.
James Bednar wrote: > I've finally lost my marbles, the B+ of a 211 amp no longer scares me, so > I've decided to take another step forward and start fiddling around (albeit > very carefully) with plasma tweeters/loudspeakers. Anyone else out there > tryed them out? There are a few pages on the web with some smaller > implementations that look promising, but I'd like to try to go for something > a bit bigger. I've seen a couple tesla demonstrations that have prove that > low frequencies and high outputs are possible...
I found this: http://members.aol.com/uhaumann2/plasma/ion.htm Note Dr. Siegfried Klein invented both the Ionovac/Ionofane and the Magnat Tweeter. A personal geek golden moment is when Jon Dahlquist introduced me to this fascinating engineer (Dahlquist was going to distribute Magnat in the US) I've been running highly modified Ionovacs for years as super tweeters. Wildly impractical (but hey, you can say that about most gear we RATs own!)I was attracted to them for their engineering intrest. I've taken mine pretty far with a direct-drive amp (ECC803S/6CG7) built right into the tweeter case, and no horn. Flat (at least electrically, I certainly don't have the mike to acoustically measure) to ~85kHz they are as open and transparent as I've ever heard with the exception of some other exotic tweeters (Technics 10TH1000 leaf tweeters, various ribbons, etc.) Good luck rolling your own!
* Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet's Discussion Network * The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet - Free!
I've finally lost my marbles, the B+ of a 211 amp no longer scares me, so I've decided to take another step forward and start fiddling around (albeit very carefully) with plasma tweeters/loudspeakers. Anyone else out there tryed them out? There are a few pages on the web with some smaller implementations that look promising, but I'd like to try to go for something a bit bigger. I've seen a couple tesla demonstrations that have prove that low frequencies and high outputs are possible...
>I've finally lost my marbles, the B+ of a 211 amp no longer scares me, so >I've decided to take another step forward and start fiddling around (albeit >very carefully) with plasma tweeters/loudspeakers. Anyone else out there >tryed them out? There are a few pages on the web with some smaller >implementations that look promising, but I'd like to try to go for something >a bit bigger. I've seen a couple tesla demonstrations that have prove that >low frequencies and high outputs are possible...
>Anyone?
Haven't built any myself (has anyone?) but I do have a pair of speakers with a plasma tweeter built here in Germany by Otto Braun named the Corona (not to be confused with the like named beer, both good BTW). They require a certain amount of maintenance but are without a doubt the finest tweeter I and many others have ever heard. Mating other drivers to them is a problem but if one could build one that is fullrange that's it! LIVE!
I've been offered a pair of Magnat tweeters,which I think would fit in admirably with my M-L CLS IIs.My listening enviornment is approx.2000 sq. feet.Would these tweeters pose a health hazard?I do most of my listening with closed windows.Thanks,Raanan
> >I've finally lost my marbles, the B+ of a 211 amp no longer scares me, so > >I've decided to take another step forward and start fiddling around (albeit > >very carefully) with plasma tweeters/loudspeakers. Anyone else out there > >tryed them out? There are a few pages on the web with some smaller > >implementations that look promising, but I'd like to try to go for something > >a bit bigger. I've seen a couple tesla demonstrations that have prove that > >low frequencies and high outputs are possible...
> >Anyone?
> Haven't built any myself (has anyone?) but I do have a pair of speakers with a > plasma tweeter built here in Germany by Otto Braun named the Corona (not > to be confused with the like named beer, both good BTW). They require a certain > amount of maintenance but are without a doubt the finest tweeter I and many > others > have ever heard. Mating other drivers to them is a problem but if one could > build > one that is fullrange that's it! LIVE!
In short, yes, they do pose a health hazard. If I am remembering correctly, the Magnats do not use helium as the plasma medium(?). They use the air itself, and because of this, some ozone is created in the process. Ozone isn't the best thing for you to be breathing in. However, on another note, I worked in a big print shop for a while with a row of giant Siemens laser printers. The smell of ozone was VERY distinct and couldn't be missed, all day long, all week long, the whole time I worked there. (If you don't know what ozone smells like, go up to an old tv set (one that crackles when you touch the screen) boot it up, rub your hand all over the screen, and smell, you cant miss it).
Just think of it this way, your fixing the hole in the ozone layer :).
If you don't want those Magnats, I would really LOVE to get my hands on them.
> I've been offered a pair of Magnat tweeters,which I think would fit in > admirably with my M-L CLS IIs.My listening enviornment is approx.2000 > sq. feet.Would these tweeters pose a health hazard?I do most of my > listening with closed windows.Thanks,Raanan
I wouldn't worry about unhealthy levels of ozone from plasma tweeters. My Ionovacs put out such a small amount that there is only a faint odor right near them when they first fire up. Hill Plasmatronics are quite another thing!
* Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet's Discussion Network * The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet - Free!
In article <12419838.a0845...@usw-ex0103-086.remarq.com>, David Ginsberg <ginsbergNOgiS...@catskill.net.invalid> wrote:
>I wouldn't worry about unhealthy levels of ozone from plasma >tweeters. My Ionovacs put out such a small amount that there is >only a faint odor right near them when they first fire up. Hill >Plasmatronics are quite another thing!
>* Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet's Discussion Network * >The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet - Free!
I'm seriously considering building a pair of Plasma Tweeters out of EL509's. Is there anyone out there who has tried this themselves?
> In short, yes, they do pose a health hazard. If I am remembering correctly, > the Magnats do not use helium as the plasma medium(?). They use the air > itself, and because of this, some ozone is created in the process. Ozone > isn't the best thing for you to be breathing in. However, on another note, > I worked in a big print shop for a while with a row of giant Siemens laser > printers. The smell of ozone was VERY distinct and couldn't be missed, all > day long, all week long, the whole time I worked there. (If you don't know > what ozone smells like, go up to an old tv set (one that crackles when you > touch the screen) boot it up, rub your hand all over the screen, and smell, > you cant miss it).
> Just think of it this way, your fixing the hole in the ozone layer :).
> If you don't want those Magnats, I would really LOVE to get my hands on > them.
> -jb
> <reylon8863...@my-deja.com> wrote in message > news:8aopa8$4p0$1@nnrp1.deja.com... > > In article <20000315123840.02810.00002...@ng-bh1.aol.com>, > > gart...@aol.com (Garthap) wrote: > > > From: "James Bednar" jbed...@isbgroup.com
> > I've been offered a pair of Magnat tweeters,which I think would fit in > > admirably with my M-L CLS IIs.My listening enviornment is approx.2000 > > sq. feet.Would these tweeters pose a health hazard?I do most of my > > listening with closed windows.Thanks,Raanan
In article <12419838.a0845...@usw-ex0103-086.remarq.com>,
David Ginsberg <ginsbergNOgiS...@catskill.net.invalid> wrote: > I wouldn't worry about unhealthy levels of ozone from plasma > tweeters. My Ionovacs put out such a small amount that there is > only a faint odor right near them when they first fire up. Hill > Plasmatronics are quite another thing!
> * Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet's Discussion Network * > The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet - Free!
But how will the rised ozone levels affect the rest of the gear? Syntetic rubber are quite sensitive to ozone, so whay does this mean to - say - a woofer? Or wiering? /Pär
An old friend, John Fink, once said that plasma tweeters are the only hifi pieces that can literally destroy the competition! Anyway, years of Ionovac use have not produced any damage to butyl rubber surrounds or my Strathern mylar. Just another .02
* Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet's Discussion Network * The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet - Free!
Wow! I completely had forgotten about the flame loudspeaker! Popular Electronics (probably in the '60's) had an article about building one; if I recall, take a blowtorch and have the flame hit a metal plate. Hang the secondary (or was it the primary??!!) of an audio transformer between the metal nozzle and plate. Drive the other side of the trannie and sound comes out. The article also suggested some added stuff like salt water drizzled into the flame helped. Someone out there please do a search and find the article. Let us know how it works.
* Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet's Discussion Network * The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet - Free!
David Ginsberg <ginsbergNOgiS...@catskill.net.invalid> wrote: > I wouldn't worry about unhealthy levels of ozone from plasma > tweeters. My Ionovacs put out such a small amount that there is > only a faint odor right near them when they first fire up. Hill > Plasmatronics are quite another thing! > * Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet's Discussion Network * > The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet - Free!
to really fire things up why not go with propane? in grade school,before out of control lawyers Bell labs put on a demo one day to show their high-tech stuff of the day. the last thing was a yard long burner with a wire a foot or so above it. after lighting it he asked us all listen carefully. then he threw a few switches,turned a knob and there was music! not loud but very clean highs as I recall,and watching the flame change shape with the sound was cool. you think a musical barbeque grill would sell?
Waaayyy out of my price range. 950$ will buy a lot of 6KG6a/EL509's, wire for tesla coils, and spare parts (if you get my drift). Man, why can't I be an internet millionaire. Oh well..
There seems to be a couple of ways to do it, the most popular involves driving a coil (tesla coil) with the audio signal modulating a high frequency carrier wave. Basically, the way I see it working is this:
Tesla coil resonates at a fixed frequency, causing arcing at the electrode. By modulating the amplitude of this resonating frequency with the audio signal, sound is made.
Simple... right?
-jb
Bill Sheppard <oldc...@webtv.net> wrote in message
Being entirely new to the concept, I would guess it's a Tesla-type setup running in class A on smooth DC, with amplitude modulation. A wind is produced by corona discharge from a sharp point, and pressure fluctuations of this wind reproduce the audio. How good is the guess?
(Tesla "pinwheels" spin from the corona-discharge wind off a couple of points.)
I built one of these ( we called it the "Talking Flame" ) back in the sixties when I was in Tech School as an open house project fro the school. I will attempt to remember the hook up ....
We used a large tube type power amp ( mono ) ( about 150 watts ) with it's input hooked a music source. We had a similar audio output transformer as was in the power amp. We hooked the 8 ohm output of the power amp to the 8 ohm output of the separate transformer ( thus making it an input ) Then we hooked about six 300 volt power supplies in series to get about 1500 volts at 1 amp ( I think it was about one amp, may have been more ) of power. These were hooked in series with the input ( now output ) side of the separate audio output transformer. Also in this series circuit were a pair of welding rods with the flux knocked of them. The were held by separate clamps and positioned about an inch apart. A flame from a butane torch was positioned between the two welding rods and with careful positioning of the rods, and continues spark ( arc ) would develop between the rods through the flame. The 1500 volts would be modulated by the music in the separate audio output transformer.
As I recall, I thought it sounded like the greatest tweeter of all times in clarity. I remember it was a big hit at the open house.
"Bill Sheppard" <oldc...@webtv.net> wrote in message
Nelson Pass, of Pass Audio Labs, made plasma speakers years ago. He used copier charger filament wire. Apparently it worked quite well but a great deal of ozone was emited, and he suffered ozone poisoning. He said he couldn't go near a copier for a year after that. Folks reported his speakers they were the best speakers they'd ever heard. I read all this in a Stereophile interview years ago. I wouldn't buy Stereophile today, but the story stuck with me. Why not contact him through his business site. Search for "Pass Audio Labs". Robert Thompson Live and let live!
I heard a story about the Pass Plasma speakers recently from a major speaker manufacturer who shared exhibiting room with Pass at a show - CES, I think. Pass' speaker was said to resemble a yogi's "bed of nails." They were hooked up to some monstrous amps, of course of Mr. Pass' design. He roped them off due to the high voltage present. At some point late in the day a ruckus was heard which turned out to be paramedics taking Mr. Pass away on a stretcher due to ozone poisoning.
The speakers were said to sound very clean, but even with the big amps did not produce much in terms of volume.
> Nelson Pass, of Pass Audio Labs, made plasma speakers years ago. He used > copier charger filament > wire. Apparently it worked quite well but a great deal of ozone was emited, > and he suffered ozone poisoning. He said he couldn't go near a copier for a > year after that. Folks reported his speakers they were the best speakers > they'd ever heard. I read all this in a Stereophile interview years ago. I > wouldn't buy Stereophile today, but the story stuck with me. Why not contact > him through his business site. Search for "Pass Audio Labs". Robert Thompson > Live and let live!
OK, I've done this one. I used a Meeker burner (Bunsen would work), with one side of the output connected to the burner, and the other to a center electrode pulled from a spark plug. The ionization level in the flame was elevated by bubbling the fuel (natural gas, in this case) through a flask filled with salt water. The sound is clean, but speaker efficiency is very low. Fun to do , though. I've always envisioned a heavy metal band with 20-foot high flame speakers, driven by a few kilowatts.
> Wow! I completely had forgotten about the flame loudspeaker! > Popular Electronics (probably in the '60's) had an article about > building one; if I recall, take a blowtorch and have the flame > hit a metal plate. Hang the secondary (or was it the primary??!!) > of an audio transformer between the metal nozzle and plate. > Drive the other side of the trannie and sound comes out. The > article also suggested some added stuff like salt water drizzled > into the flame helped. Someone out there please do a search and > find the article. Let us know how it works.
> * Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet's Discussion Network * > The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet - Free!
Doak Wattigney wrote: > I heard a story about the Pass Plasma speakers recently from a major > speaker manufacturer who shared exhibiting room with Pass at a show - > CES, I think. Pass' speaker was said to resemble a yogi's "bed of > nails." They were hooked up to some monstrous amps, of course of Mr. > Pass' design. He roped them off due to the high voltage present. > At some point late in the day a ruckus was heard which turned out to be > paramedics taking Mr. Pass away on a stretcher due to ozone poisoning.
> The speakers were said to sound very clean, but even with the big amps > did not produce much in terms of volume.
> -Doak-
> Buffstereo wrote:
> > Nelson Pass, of Pass Audio Labs, made plasma speakers years ago. He used > > copier charger filament > > wire. Apparently it worked quite well but a great deal of ozone was emited, > > and he suffered ozone poisoning. He said he couldn't go near a copier for a > > year after that. Folks reported his speakers they were the best speakers > > they'd ever heard. I read all this in a Stereophile interview years ago. I > > wouldn't buy Stereophile today, but the story stuck with me. Why not contact > > him through his business site. Search for "Pass Audio Labs". Robert Thompson > > Live and let live!
