dorian Posted February 7, 2000 Share Posted February 7, 2000 Possibly the most exotic of the DIY's to date! Not sure if this even belongs on these boards, but of course I wanted you all to share in and enjoy the madness: Using a plasma discharge to produce sound without moving parts. Apparently the idea is old as dirt, and several systems have been produced with it over the years. Ok, this will make it relevant to Klipsch: since the efficiency is rather low (~80dB), I would certainly like to try putting a horn onto it and see how that affects the SPL. I haven't built electronics for quite a long time, and this seems to be rather more dangerous than anything I've ever done. Also not sure if I can get all the parts from a minimal number of dealers (ah, when I lived in Boston there was always the MIT flea every month!) Actually, the valve is quite common, and most of the rest. Just not sure about the RF coil, and also would be nice to find a transformer that outputs both the 230V and the 6.3V (which I think is quasi-standard for building some tube amps anyway?) If anyone else is interested, I'd be glad to hear about it. Esp. advice from tube-amp building type peoples, I know you're out there... The page: http://members.aol.com/uhaumann2/plasma/plasma.htm Here's the page in English, but a little less information and not quite as understandable as the German: http://members.aol.com/uhaumann2/plasma/eplasma.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Warren Posted February 7, 2000 Share Posted February 7, 2000 Electro-Voice and Dukane both beat you to it back in 50's. The horn loaded Ionovac tweeter was manufactured by EV as the T3500 and was used in the Patrician 800 (I think). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dorian Posted February 7, 2000 Author Share Posted February 7, 2000 Yes, I realize that some of the retail systems produced with this technology have used horns (Ulrich's page lists several of them, including ) My comment on trying horns was more to marginally keep the thread relevant to this bbs In any case, I'm more interested in making this just because it is so darned cool, than for serious use (ozone, heat, high freq. current...nasty) ...probably would not end up having a horn on it: would require horizontal rather than vertical orientation of the tesla coil for one; and I prefer it as visual and audio device, not purely audio. See plasma gallery: http://members.aol.com/uhaumann2/plasma/ion.htm the ionophones are there, and also the more modern looking acapella. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Warren Posted February 7, 2000 Share Posted February 7, 2000 The EV Ionovac can be seen at: http://community-1.webtv.net/KerrB/VINTAGETUBEAMPHORN/page4.html Scroll to the bottom of the page. jw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BobG Posted February 8, 2000 Share Posted February 8, 2000 There have been other iterations beyond Ionovac (which sounds GREAT done right and horn loaded). Hill Plasmatronics sounded very nice but the ozone was a problem - to say nothing of the industrial size tank of gas needed to operate the tweeter. I have seen other experimental massless drivers. Remember one where you had to wear lead pants to minimize exposure to radiation. When it comes to choosing between my ears and my DNA, I go with DNA every time. There are lots of fun things you can do with a Tesla coil. Careful of the 50 KV. It's a bumma' man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dorian Posted February 8, 2000 Author Share Posted February 8, 2000 I thought Hill used helium, hence the tank? Plus, I think it's illegal to sell something that produces ozone... Wow, lots of other beautiful old designs too. Thanks for the link! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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