Plasma Speaker / Tweeter - Fun In The Dark :)

[magicstix0r]

Nice. I'm assuming the frequency response you can get out of this thing is directly related to the length of the arc?

[dumle29]

are these for sale?

[cjellwood]

Now thats what I call 'Live Music' lol!  (ouch)

[barbienipper]

Are you using tungsten electrodes?

[xxmrbloodxx]

what happens if you touch it?

[mifdsam]

@xxmrbloodxx You get jolted, duh

[aaa801]

how would i go about making one of these

i have the equivelent of a radioshack near me

[XxApecxX]

Hello I have just uploaded a couple videos of my first plasma speaker and I'm looking for some feedback pls check out my page and thanks for any replies

[julijus1987]

Can you said me where i can find this plasma speaker schematics?

[robot797]

could i buy it

[ImprobableWizard]

Clearly the low frequencies are limited but the length of the ionized gas i.e. distance between electrodes. What is the maximum possible distance between electrodes? Could this be made say a metre high like current floor standers? What are the practical implications?

[timetec]

@ImprobableWizard

You need 1.1KV (1100 Volts) per millimeter, to create an arc in air. So, a 1" plamsa arc between 2 fixed points requires approx 26000 volts. A meter long discharge would require well over 1 million volts with 50% relative air humidity.

[Henzzman]

@timetec This can be done with a walton-cockroft multiplier or with a marx generator.The thing is how to modulate the arc to music.Though i think that a tesla coil may also be easily capable for 1 meter arcs and still playing music.No doubt all this will draw insane amounts of power,to create a sound that is beaten by the cheapest speaker there is.Still a cool idea.

[jct9999]

dude wicked sick i mean like dammmmmmmmmmmmmmm nice plasma speaker man its the best of all plasmas so keep up the work for it and hopfully that u find away to put a cover over it that u can see the arc and the flashy lights O_O and make it shine brother make it shin :)

[jct9999]

dude wicked sick i mean like dammmmmmmmmmmmmmm nice plasma speaker man its the best of all plasmas so keep up the work for it and hopfully that u find away to put a cover over it that u can see the arc and the flashy lights O_O and make it shine brother make it shin :)

[robot797]

could you post the total circut so i can build 1 for my self?

[AndiGS94]

How is sound qualiy ?

[IronyIsGood]

i wish that just once i could hear death metal or classical music through a plasma speaker.

that would be epic.

[Twistx77]

@Falloutman1990 not when you have an amperage limited power supply :)

[arfyness]

Certainly not for the average consumer, but these things will be available (if not already) in high-end "toy" markets, for people with more money than sense.

[Drowningtrout]

they are already available, and have been around since the 60's, they are just not practical for various reasons.

[ThaTyger]

The reason why these speakers are not for sale are pretty simple. 1. The arc has a high ampage, that makes it quite dangerous / lethal. 2. It only produces hight frequency output. 3. It uses a lot more power then a conventional speaker adding nothing to the sound quality (it might be cleaner sounding on a spectroscope but I doubt you could hear the difference).

Still a great phenomena , and this is one of the best builds I have seen on youtube.

[maclover201]

I actually doubt that this arc is drawing much in the way of AMPS... but it certainly would have to be a lot of voltage.

[all4atlantis]

not high amperage, extremely high voltage, big difference. but yes the amperage is high enough to be fatal if the charge went through your heart or brain. if not causing significant internal damage of course.

[legomaniac150]

The ampage on the arc is much less compared to a standard wall socket!

[darkthero]

Takes voltage too, not only amperage

[TheHarperad]

@darkthero

You can have 1000000 V combined with 0 A and you will still live. It is the combination of A with V that is lethal. Some electricity has to move so that the voltage can reach you.

[AznGunGrave]

Ahh, if I could see that in real life. Amazing work :]

[spazmasster5000]

OMFG i am building this!

how loud is it?

[lanz1987]

what is the primary power source, and what is the voltage and amperage?

[algorista]

The most amazing speaker ever !

[Blayros]

can this be put into a speaker line that people can buy cause I'd like to see a tweeter like that in my speaker set..... I don't know much about this thats why I ask.... I really hope you will reply because that thing is awesome!

[demonsparkx]

kool listen to music and zap bugs at the same time lol

[QuantumCarl]

Haha.

Although I would imagine that would interrupt the sound. :P

[RCthingsrock]

Where did you get the schematics for the plasma speakers that you build? Especially this one, this one, with the lights and all that is so sick. Could you post the schematics or email them to me please. Your plasma speakers are the best I have seen so far.

Thanks in advanced!

[poisas69]

why anyone tries to put finger in ? :) some one has tried i'm sure :D

[TwoThirdsPi]

They would be dead. These things use some serious voltage - one zap from one of these babies and, unless you have a very steady heart, you're dead. That's why no one's poked it (yet =D)

[SwedishPhoenix]

Voltage doesn't kill, current does.

[LeNingster]

Haha yeah... You'd just get a nasty shock.

Take physics biznatch.

[demonsparkx]

amperes

[undulaatikko]

i don't think they would die to that

you can get a high voltage shock with burnt hand and get away with it, but 2v battery can kill you if it's connected to blood supply.

it's current flow that's giving you a heart attack, not voltage, and it matters if it's direct or alt current.

if the flow gets close to the frequency of your hearts sinuatrialis it can cause dysfunction, which either stops or makes your heartbeat abnormal

[QuantumCarl]

Amperage kills.

[Falloutman1990]

@QuantumCarl yeah but amperage is dependant on voltage and resistance

[Frezkee]

A plasma speaker is no toy.

Unlike the ordinary speakers, the plasma speaker are dangerous high voltage device, do NOT attempt to build this device unless you know what you are doing... And do NOT even attempt to build one if you have heart problems or weak heart or wearing a pacemaker, because one little shock from this thing can put you out.

[roidroid]

maybe you mean it's not a Child's Toy.

it certainly is a Toy, a dangerous Toy. Like a model rocket, a sports car, or aeroplane.

We never grow outof playing with toys.

Most limit-pushing and experimentation is basically just an adult version of the kindof "playing" that kids do.

[lukescythe]

These on a much larger scale in a club would be amazing

[globalmaster90]

i was thinking the same thing

[girrrrrrr2]

yes... yes... but it would be too dangerous...

[vigge42]

what happens when you (toutch?) the plasma?

[rapunkill]

you don't!!

[godschoolbites]

You get electrocuted. And the music stops

[koviack]

think lightsabre

[nvysel24]

think dead

[NovaKast]

Awsome as hell ^.^

[NovaKast]

This is Awsome

And I am Really Interested in tha Kits if they are still in tha "Things to do" list.

Great work you got there ^.^

[robelicit]

h3y this is def the best version of art/plasma speaker setup that i've seen posted here or instructables or dailyMotion..

Would be great if you could post info for stuff like the questions below ((how to get a "kit" version for those of us who havn't done electronic/circuit stuff for a long time;-)..

AND let us know about the audio-Quality if u get a chance to keep tweaking it,, p3ace,, rob =][=

[NewtonicProductions]

What do you think the frequency response is? That sound really clear. do you think plasma speakers would some day substitute for tweeters?

[darkshadowofthewolf]

they exist as a novelty .. big problem with using plasma modulation is the medium .. in this case Air. which as the nasty byproduct of being a very efficient producer of ozone. an allotrope of oxygen which is toxic if it builds up.. So this device is only useful in a well ventilated room or outside.

[imyourfather101]

very nice! Highest fidelity i've heard from plasma yet. But not much heard on the bass. How come?

[tristian1022]

to make bass freqs, you would nees and arc thats about 4in thick and 6 feet long to be able to move enough air to make you "feel the beat". if you can make one this big, feel free to let me know :)

[NotnaRed]

The arc you can see in the Video can produce frequencies down to about 300 hz.

[tso420]

Sweet, just need to filter down some of the high frequencies

[MtnManTromboner]

hmmmm i would love to see amplifiers for instruments using this same system i think that would be cool and any band to use them would instantly make the most epic show ever

[hydojenk]

Great Job here, Any update on how to get my hands on this in kit form or other-wise? Also would you be willing to share a schematic with me? TIA and Awesome job!

[TranceGirl808]

I am very amazed at the frequency response. i have heard they can get as low as 400 Hz and as high as 90Khz. Impressive.

[4nim3cube]

never seen anything like this, it's like I'm looking into the future

[ollyb360]

well done. :)

are these hard/expensive to make?

i would love to see a set of these in my bedroom, around my house and in my car.

[monstercrackhead]

even if this couldnt be used in cars and stuff,itd still make one hell of a surround sound system in the house or somethin.could always have the volt flow covered by plexiglass or somethin.these would be perfect for a bandpass sub box.

[acronus]

This is the best plasma speakers I've seen on youtube so far. I however doubt that plasma arc speakers will ever reach anything more than novelty status, and here are the reasons.

The points wear out and have to be continually replaced.

The voltages used are too dangerous for the inexperienced.

Plasma arcs produce Ozone gas, which is toxic.

They are a bit of a fire hazard.

And it is difficult to get high volume levels from them.

That being said...

I'd still love a set.

[timetec]

Thanks for your comments, but...

The electrodes do not wear due using this design - but may need a clean every 100 hours or so.

The voltage will give you a jolt - the current is far too low to kill.

No detectable ozone is produced with this system.

Fire hazard : so is a cooker, electric fire, hair dryer etc. Latest model shuts off when not exactly upright.

The volume levels are very good indeed.

[CRSpeedemon]

@timetec What about sound quality? It's hard to tell through these videos, but does it create a wide range of frequencies?

[darrenhello2]

@timetec what kind of material did you use to limit the wear and tear of the electrodes? Also, what voltage levels are you using, I did one using a 30Vpp input on a 5 turn coil I manually did on a flyback transformer but could only get a 1" arc.

[wchiolo]

@timetec

It only takes .006 amps to disrupt a humans heart rythym and cause death and volts push amps.

However he said the voltage was dangerous didnt he. Do you know what kind of burns 26000 to 1 million volts causes to a person?

I work with plasma generation and it always generates ozone. Typically you will vent through a destruct unit to convert the ozone back to oxygen gas.

[JonnyDude2009]

@timetec VOLTAGE DOES NOT KILL AMPS DO!!!

[robot797]

@timetec do you sell it?

[proton33rd]

Please verify the data before you post something stupid, ok?

[myroflcoptergosoisoi]

HAHA, acronus just got... 0WN3D!

[seriousamm]

@acronus

lol so true. its pretty badass

[BadAndUgly]

Do you amplitude-modulate the power of the arc?

[timetec]

Not directly.

[Grundalizer]

Did you modulate the amplitude of the flux capacitor?

[Mattersmatter]

timetec...i'm not the type that complements someone that i'm jealous of...but good work, really. ok genius, now it's time to do your homework. check out this site for the history of the device you rediscovered, and compare yours the the late 1980's version by Plasmatronics. read the rest of the article too. Your device would make the author of this article drewl. It is worth $100 Billion. To replace every single speaker in the consumer and commercial world (maybe military also) with this!

[0jkensler0]

Hmmm awesome,

but how did you get multiple outputs from the ripple counter (multiple counters?). Also, have you ever thought of making a different type of casing out of Plexiglas/lexan with a wire mesh (such as seen on mics) to eliminate static?

[timetec]

Binary ripple counter - eg 0010 / 0110 / 1011 etc. For Plexiglass, see my El Hormiguero TV show video ;)

[0jkensler0]

nice,

I guess your already ahead of me, just went and checked it out.  Good job, very professional looking, funny show too (consiguió amar la televisión española).

Hopefully U'll hit the big time w/ these.

JLK

[zezimashock]

how you got the arc so silend?

[yootomuch]

WOW how long did it take you?! AMAZING!

[tantou]

Nice scope.

[SupaK64]

Where did you get that and how can i get one?

[Darkr12]

He built it himself. He's making kits to be sold in the future.

[oliax]

audio quality is amaaaazing

if I have the cash would you be able to build me one and if so how much would you be looking for?

[demonsparkx]

hahah how many watts can those run at max? or do they use like kilawatts? lol wow.how loud are they? fuking awsome.

[timetec]

Power consumption is 30-40 Watts - fairly loud at 110dB @ 1 metre distance.

[demonsparkx]

hmm thats not half bad for a speaker with no coil and magnet,now do you just hook it up to a stereo?,or is there a special way you have to use it?

[tantou]

I'm guessing it's just a regular headphone jack (P2/ 3.5mm jack) or speaker wire + pincher jacks

[fairfieldproductions]

If you watch the "Plasma Speaker / Tweeter - Completed Working Setup" video, you can clearly see that it is hooked up directly to his ipaq with a normal headphone jack.

[c3h89]

Could you build 5 of theise with the transformer and circuitry intagrated into a mid-sized speaker for a home theater and show us?

[djhenyo]

I would be VERY interested in ANY kind of kit (jacobs ladder or plasma speaker, or both in one) if all I had to do was some soldering I could handle it easily. You could make a good bit of coin with this and really show the world something that would inspire. Please, let us get this somehow, and not by doing hours of research and designing myself. Message me if you have any plans for this idea, or if you ever decide to make the kit.

[HKAnalogKid]

I second that! I need plans!! :D

[elfavax]

make a guide or complete toutorial please...I'm italian ad I'm very intrested in that project

[racerxdl]

Can you send the schematics of the RGB led control? I dont know how did you filter the sound to get this nice effect with a binary ripple counter

[ParadiseChristmas]

If you'd make a kit I'd definitely be interested!

Thanks

[RedNex3829]

Cool, but this is needed why. Its like a light in a speaker to me. lol. xD

[Puntaltenses]

The sound is comming from the plasma.

[timetec]

For technical info, read the description of the prototype I made (video ;)

[AnoniiViii]

Ok this is really weird. for like the last 6 months i have had an idea like this. but instead of leaving the front open i thought about having the plasma inside an enclosed cylinder made of glass or something like that.

its really cool that you are doing this. i think it could be a really cool speaker system.

[pekepowah]

Absolutly awesome and the final design too. My congrats!

P.D: I have suscribed to your videos for futher releases :)

[leonardomalacara]

Can you make a "How to do it" guide?

[timetec]

Once the design is finalised & 'tweaked', I'll most likely put together KITS for it, if there's enough interest.

[Dioxinis]

aproximately how much would said kit cost? cause this is friken sweet and i would totaly want one of these in my room

[Seadogstudio]

count me in I am interested

[inuyasha4409]

I'm interested, how much will kits cost (approximately)

[macdesire]

nice ... do you know the name of the music ???

[timetec]

Saint Etienne - "He's On The Phone"

[macdesire]

Thanks!!!

[diymania]

Is it using a halfbridge or a single transistor flyback drive ?

[mumish13]

i have a 555 oscilated flyback transformer and i dont have idea how to make a musical arc; if change the capacitor (10-20nF),or the R1 or R2. say me plis?

[timetec]

You can feed audio to pin 5 to get pulse-position modulation.

[jmartis2]

Very nice. Actually the biggest problem of my singing arc was the volume without distortion, is the volume enough to "fill" the room?

[timetec]

Most audio distortion is caused by core saturation & the wrong drive frequency. You don't want to generate any audible harmonics.. A small transformer works much better than a big one that needs lots of drive ! Limit the current & keep the modulation well below clipping levels...

And yes, it's more than loud enough to fill a room with just a small reflector :)

[AerykR]

Congratulations on your work. It has extremely clear and sharp sounding. And looks neat also.