oneTesla’s spark-throwing Tesla coil.

Are Tesla coils making a comeback? As interest in eccentric inventor Nickola Tesla ramps up, tinkerers across the country have demonstrated deep curiosity for his namesake creation.

A group out of Bethlehem, Pa. is currently running a Kickstarter campaign where, for $50, you can get everything you need to build your own Tesla coil. The campaign has already crossed its funding threshold, and, with $9,320 raised, is on its way to quadrupling it.

TeslaTronics aimed their project at making an inexpensive home Tesla coil so safe that you could use it to power your Christmas tree—which is something you wouldn’t want to try oneTesla’s kit.

oneTesla—who wrapped up their Kickstarter campaign in January with 928 backers and $169,155 raised—built their rig to impress. Their kit cost $209, can play music and shoots sparks two feet long.

Clearly, the latter kit isn’t for everyday use; two-foot sparks have a way of putting off visitors. But, just between these projects, more than 1,000 people are tinkering with ways to wirelessly broadcast electricity. With all those heads working on one problem, might we see a cheap practical—and possibly open-source—solution to wireless power?

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