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22 June 2026

3 min read

котушкифізикавимірювання

What the coil does: signal, winding, field

The question we get most often is «what does it actually do?». The short answer: it makes a weak rotating field. The long one is about the sine wave, the winding pattern and what you can measure yourself.

AWT Team

AWT Technologies

What the coil does

The question we get most often is «what does it actually do?». Short answer: it makes a weak rotating electrostatic field around itself. Then comes the long part — how exactly, what it depends on, and what you can do with it.

The signal

The generator feeds the coil a sine wave. Not a pulse, not a square wave — a sine specifically: it has no sharp edges and does not heat the wire with unnecessary harmonics. The frequency comes either from the device's own generator or from an app on your phone through a 3.5 mm jack.

Our devices work in the audio range, roughly 100 Hz to 20 kHz. These are not radio frequencies: the field does not travel far and does not pass through walls. Half a metre away the field tester already shows almost nothing.

The winding

This is where the models start to differ.

A flat disc wound as a spiral gives a field concentrated in the plane of the disc. A torus wound as a 12- or 14-point star gives a more complex picture: the turns cross at an angle and the field gains a pronounced axis through the centre. More rays means a denser winding and a finer structure.

This is not a metaphor. Take the tester from the box, move it around the disc and then around the torus — the readings differ both in magnitude and in where the maximum sits.

What you can measure yourself

The build is open on purpose: the winding is visible, the terminals are exposed, nothing is potted in compound.

  • Current draw — a multimeter in series with the supply. Shows how much actually goes into the coil at different frequencies.
  • Waveform — an oscilloscope on the terminals. Shows whether the sine sags under load.
  • Presence of the field — the tester from the box, or a home-made loop of a few turns of wire with an LED.
  • Heating — your hand or a thermocouple. A coil that warms by more than a few degrees is wound or connected wrong.
  • If your numbers disagree with ours, write to us. We keep a measurement log for every series and we are genuinely interested in comparing.

    What the coil does not do

    It does not treat. It does not diagnose. It does not replace a doctor. It is a device for experiments and that is exactly how we sell it.

    The field it makes is weak — considerably weaker than anything a physiotherapy machine in a clinic produces. If someone promises you a clinical effect from a coil like this, ask what they measured it with.

    Where to start

    Never held a signal generator before? Take the kit with the timer: everything is in the box, including the field tester and a 60-page manual.

    Got an oscilloscope and the urge to dig in? Take a bare coil and drive it from your own source. On request we wind to a different pitch, diameter and connector.

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