RE: Experimental tesla coil using Radfio Shack Megacable Speaker wire as primary

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: "Harvey Norris" <harvich-at-yahoo-dot-com> 


--- Tesla list <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com> wrote:

 > Original poster: "Steve Conner"
 > <steve.conner-at-optosci-dot-com>
 >
 >  >120 pf, which is slightly below
 >  >1/4 of the 30 ma NST's charging ability
 >
 > Surely you mean 1/40? These capacitances are all
 > much smaller than typical
 > primary capacitors, even in very small TCs. And
 > earlier you said that a
 > similar NST could charge 4nF (4000pF)?
Yes, thanx for pointing out my error, I got confused
and was thinking a hundred fold difference between pf
and nf, but it is 1000 as you note. This would imply
that the energy transfer across capacity will be very
small indeed, so I shouldnt expect much performance
with this design. The tesla list becomes handy for
throwing ideas out there, and to see what your peers
think of them. Thanx for replying here and noting my
serious error.  But the idea may still be useful with
some other related pursuits.  Particularly the
bothersome project of creating a tesla coil with the
meager power available from my AC converted car
alternator.  In this scheme of things the voltage rise
can be obtained from source frequency resonance,
instead of the conventional approach of using a
transformer. In the second stage of resonant voltage
rise at 480 hz, I can easily create at least 10,000
volts, using a high induction coil of 23 gauge wire.
These high induction coils resonate near values of 1
nf. I can create two of these voltage rises in near
opposite phasings,(making near 20,000 volts potential
difference between them, since three phases are
available from the alternator), and converting 120
phasing to those near 180 degree phasings is no big
deal.  Between those resonant voltage rises I can try
this experimental set up that will only use .12 nf, so
the outer values of 1 nf capacity can be slightly
reduced, and the midpoint pathway with the added .12
nf will actually be a pathway more resonant to the
combination of capacities both outer coils can
resonate to. However even this seems questionable,
since a small capacity in series with larger ones
would sum to a value closer to the smaller one. All I
can do is try it and see what happens anyways.  I can
see now that it would be far better to persue this
strategy, then to fool with trying it with a 60 hz
NST.
 >  >scopings are obtained WITHOUT
 >  >ANY EXCITATION MADE ONTO THE TESTED COILS, WHICH
 > IS
 >  >TERMED AN AMBIENT SCOPING.
 >
 > I have noticed this effect too. If you scope the
 > base current of a Tesla
 > resonator you can sometimes see it ringing ever so
 > slightly even with no
 > apparent excitation. Touching the topload makes the
 > signal disappear.
In my case placing the hand over the secondary causes
the frequency to go slightly lower, indicating the
addition of body capacity decreases the resonant
frequency.
 > The Tesla resonator makes a very sensitive "antenna"
 > at its resonant
 > frequency and it seems to pick up broadband RF crud
 > floating around in the
 > environment (spikes from light dimmers, motors,
 > switching power supplies
 > etc) of which there is a lot nowadays :(
Yes this might explain the expansion of signals I
observe when the nearby halide light is turned on.
 > Steve C.
 >
 >
 >