[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]
First Light!!!
From: Richard Staron[SMTP:rstaron-at-widow.aracnet-dot-net]
Sent: Monday, September 22, 1997 8:25 PM
To: Tesla List
Subject: First Light!!!
I DID IT!!!!
Well I finally got first light on my first coil. Always wanted to build
one and now its working. Gotta thank Robert W. Stephens for being a
good mentor during the building stage. Thanks Robert!
I am getting about 18" streamers from the toroid and still experimenting
with different toroids sizes and shapes. This coil looks like it needs
a lot of capacitance on top.
SPECS:
Primary: 1/4" copper tubing, spaced 1/4" apart
ID: 6" OD: 20" approx 15 turns
Tapered primary at 30 degrees
Tapped at about 9-10 turns from center
Secondary: 18" long x 4-3/16" white drain pipe
22 gauge wire inductance approx 12 mh.
Coil can be moved up and down within the primary.
Next coil has been wound with #26 wire 21"long x 4 3/16"
inductance approx 30 mh. (waiting for varathane to dry :) )
XFMR: 15kv-at-30ma neon.
Capacitor: .005 ufd -at- 50KV
Chokes: 2 1 in each leg of xfmr
3.8" od x 1" id x .5 wide homemade plexiglass bobbin.
#26 wire wound randomly until filled.
Toroids: 17" Diam x 4" stacked over 12" diam x 3"
(more toroids I stacked, the more spark I got!)
Still playing around here.
Spark gap: 2 gaps -at- .080" wide using 3/4" ball bearings as electrodes.
No air over gap (yet!)
Safety gap: 1 gap -at- .5" using 3/4" ball bearings as electrodes
Ground: 3/4" copper braid to cold water pipe in basement.
Results so far: 2-3 Streamers breaking away to a distance of about 18"
Stacking toroids seems to increase streamer length.
Safety gap fires about 5% of the time.
A lot of ozone!!!
Trembling knees :)
Future enhancements: Insert new secondary coil
Build a new multi gap spart gap.
Find an old vacuum cleaner motor!
Take a bunch of pictures.