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RE: Super simple beginner coils



Hi, Terry !
One reason NOT to use automotive coils :  They cant be easily tuned. You
could vary the primary capacitor, though.
Will

> ----------
> From: 	Tesla List[SMTP:tesla-at-pupman-dot-com]
> Sent: 	Wednesday, October 28, 1998 19:42
> To: 	tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
> Subject: 	Super simple beginner coils
> 
> Original Poster: Terry Fritz <terryf-at-verinet-dot-com>
> 
> Hi All,
> 	
> 	I have received a number of off-list requests for a simple beginner
> Tesla
> coil that could be built by someone at say the junior high level.  No big
> high power sparks or pole pigs, just a nice little easy to make table top
> coil that would be good for science fairs (and getting an A in science).
> Preferably nothing super lethal but be able to make a few inch spark and
> demonstrate the principles of operation.  It would have to be simple,
> cheap, and use standard parts so that a set of easy plans would work for
> everybody.  Of course, getting consistant parts is the key.
> 	What I was thinking of is this.  A GM ignition coil is cheap and
> easy to
> get at the cheap auto parts store or junk yard.  Not quite a Tesla coil,
> but real easy to get and solves a lot of problems building the primary and
> secondary to specs (they are pretty consistently made I hear).  A little
> plumber's putty could be used to seal a tube with a small terminal on the
> output (copper toilet float perhaps).  The primary could be run from a
> small home made dry cap to a set of easy plans (foil and poly between
> planks of wood).  The spark gap would probably be any two nails probably
> very close together.  The power perhaps could come from a discarded
> disposable camera flash unit.  Of course, the primary could also be a
> relay
> operating as a set of breaker points as in a car.  But, perhaps, that
> would
> be a little too non Tesla coil like.  Old TVs also have HV rectifiers that
> can be very useful for turning sparking things into something that could
> charge a primary cap (this probably would not be a 400BPS rotary gap
> machine :-))
> 	I would think there is a good chance of whipping something like this
> up
> that anyone could build.  If anyone has any ideas this would really help
> the "real" newbies out!
> 	I have a bunch of GM coils laying about so I'll try to tinker with
> this.
> If anyone already has it done, well... that would make it real easy :-))
> They have iron cores and such, so there is a bit of "real" engineering
> that
> needs to be looked into to be sure it would work.
> 
> Of course, if anyone has any super easy beginner coil plans available,
> please mention them. 
> 
> Any ideas would be appreciated by many of those that rarely post (the
> other
> 90% of us) :-))
> 
> 
> 	Terry
> 
> 
>