Common Edge-Triggered Coils
These types of musical Tesla coils typically use edge-triggered interrupters and work great with this app.
Mini Musical Coil
10cm arc, Bluetooth/audio input
Desktop Coil
10-20cm arc, USB powered
Plasma Speaker
High-fidelity ionic tweeter
Educational Kit
Transparent design, 5-8cm arc
Compatibility
Edge-triggered interrupters
Triggers on rising edge with independent PWM control. Works perfectly.
Small musical/Bluetooth coils
Most consumer-grade musical Tesla coils handle pulse width internally.
Duty-cycle dependent coils
Coils that use the input signal's duty cycle directly. See below.
Why 50% duty cycle can be dangerous
The current audio engine outputs a square wave with a fixed 50% duty cycle. The problem: ON time changes with frequency.
DIY coils are often designed for ON times of 100-300 µs. Playing low notes at 50% duty cycle can result in ON times 10-50x longer than safe limits, causing rapid overheating and potential IGBT failure.
Coming soon: Variable pulse width
We're working on a proper solution: fixed ON time regardless of frequency.
- •Power slider will control pulse width (ON time in µs), not amplitude
- •Duty cycle will automatically decrease at lower frequencies
- •Safe for all interrupter types
Reference: Safe operating values
These are typical values from the Tesla coil community. Always check your specific coil's documentation.
Edge-triggered = worry-free
If you have one of the musical Tesla coils shown above (or similar), you don't need to worry about duty cycle. These coils detect the rising edge of the signal and handle pulse width internally, so they're safe at any frequency.
Why this guide matters
Interrupt mode is one of the most important concepts for anyone trying to connect browser-generated audio to a real Tesla coil safely. This page is intended to work not only as an in-app help page, but also as a public technical reference for people searching for Tesla coil interrupter guidance, edge-triggered vs level-triggered behaviour, and safe musical Tesla coil setup.
That makes it one of TeslaCoil’s strongest knowledge-resource pages and an important target for search and AI-assisted discovery.