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Re: Capacitors, coils, xformers, oh my....

HI! and welcome Sundog,

At 04:29 PM 03/16/2000 -0500, you wrote:
>   woohoo!  My first post
> Well, I caught the bug....I scrounged up a flyback from a dead mono monitor
>(being a computer tech/geek is fun), and rigged up a HV generator in short
>order.  Loved it.  Gots to have more of it...Soooo...I'm slowly gathering
>parts for my first coil...I'm only wanting to start with a 4" secondary, and
>a single 15/30 NST (already begged for and got!  Jacob's ladders are
>*sweet!*)  Now, I have stared at the math till I'm having nightmares about Q
>and LC and inductance.  But I'm *gonna* figure this out.  I have tinkered
>with leyden jars long before I knew how dangerous they could be (figured
>that one out fast though :)  Anywho, to keep the drivel to a minimum, I
>fully intend to experiment with this, and above all have fun (safely).  My
>questions...
>
>  I am going to try both SW caps and making my own MMC.  Will the same
>capacitor types used for the MMC for tesla application also work for an EM
>can-crusher&/or quartershrinker?

I would almost suggest skipping the salt water "experience" and go for MMCs
right off.  Tesla caps are say 20kV at 0.025uF while the big caps they used
to crush quarters are the size of a car tire.  Like 20kV at 10uF or
something like that.  There are all commercial I would think at that size.
A Tesla caps stores maybe 10 joules of energy where the quarter squishing
guys use kilo-joules...  Perhaps someone more familiar could contact you
off list about that since can crushers are off topic here.

>
>  Magnet wire...I live here in (sometimes) sunny FL, but nobody wants to
>sell me the 1000' of wire I need (before you freak, I'm only needing ~400ft
>for a secondary, but have a few other projects going too that could use it,
>and bulk=cheap!)  Something about "liability" or some lawyer-induced
>hysteria...  Soo...looks like online ordering for me.  Any good links or
>sources?

I would think any local motor rewinding shop would be more than happy to
sell you magnet wire especially for $7.00 a pound where they make some nice
profit.  No need to tell them you are going to wire up 500000 volts in your
basement with it.  There are a number of on-line sources that have been
mentioned recently but I don't have them handy.

>
>   HV wiring...In my browsing I've seen many a cap and other HV components
>hooked up using thin PVC insulated wire & alligator clips.  I know it isn't
>a permanent setup.  But how well can they handle that current?  Or are they
>just there to prevent the residual buildup of the caps? (I have ~200ft of
>solid 16awg copper wire insulated by what looks like about 1/8" thick
>teflon. Label was peeled off the roll, but it seems to be *heavy* duty
>stuff.  so far, works beautiful)

For low current / high voltage at say 30mA.  Any gauge wire will work that
has an insulation thick enough not to blow through.  I use test lead wire
these days (the rubber kind from DigiKey).  I have also used bare wire if
you keep it spaced away from things.  Solid copper core spark plug wire
from the hot rod auto store works fine too.  There is "real" HV wire too
but the other sources are usually easier and cheaper.  For the high current
primary (1000 amps peak 15 amps RMS) you really need some big thick wire
with darn good connections. Avoid aluminum and steel and other ferrous
materials.  Brass and copper are the best and all I use now.

>
>
>  For my coil, I think using a conical primary will work the best, but I may
>be wrong.  Either way, I won't mind re-bending the tubing to helical or flat
>spiral if need be (and will probably do it to see what happens anywho :)

Flat spirals are far easier and work just as well.

>
>When I figure out my specs I'll post them here for dissection by the pro's.
>wintesla & good old pen& paper are my friends.  Anywho, thanks for your time
>:)

Neat!  sounds like your are having much fun which is what its all about!

Cheers,

	Terry

>
> Sundog..encrypted-eese for "Let's blow the main breaker"
>