Safety

Safety and radio interference

Before you build or operate this device, you should know these two risks.

High voltage

Tens of kilovolts live inside the apparatus. This is not a toy and not "safe for everyone".

Mandatory

Lid interlock
Bleed resistors on the capacitor bank
Residual-current device (RCD)
Shut-off timer
Chassis earthing
Ventilation — the spark gap produces ozone and UV

Must not enter the field: people with pacemakers or implants, pregnant women, people with epilepsy.

Radio interference

A spark transmitter pollutes the airwaves across the board by design: continuous noise ≈0–1500 MHz, ≈−45 dBm at 5 m in the 100–120 MHz range. A running apparatus disturbs radio reception within ≈100 m.

Spark transmitters have been banned by international radio regulations since the 1930s. The only clean solution is operation in a shielded room / Faraday cage. The shielded cabin has its own line in the budget.

"For home use" without a word about shielding is a red flag.

This is an engineering research project. The device is not a medical product, is not certified, and is not intended to diagnose, prevent or treat any disease. We give no medical advice. For health concerns, see a doctor and don't put the visit off.