[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]

grounding, misc thanks



Subject:  grounding, misc thanks
  Date:   Thu, 8 May 97 04:11:27 UT
  From:   "William Noble" <William_B_Noble@msn.com>
    To:   "Tesla List" <tesla@poodle.pupman.com>


1. thanks for all the discussion of why heavy grounds - it was as I
suspected. 
 In my case I am using a small coil with a 2 foot run to a piece of
burried 
electrical conduit for my ground - but I haven't gotten the primary 
capacitance high enough to have the streamer strike anything 

2. re glass "plastic capaictor" - as my coil now stands, the sparks fade
out 
after about 15 seconds due to gap heating so I don't see a risk right
now, but 
I did notice a small temperature rise.  I don't think this capacitor is
a DC 
only type because it's got #8 studs at each end - that implies to me
that it 
ought to handle some real current, although perhaps not as much as the
coil 
demands of it on a continuous basis.

3 another question - I can get sheets of vinyl (like convertible windows 
stuff) in 30 mil thickness at a local plastic store for about $5 per
sheet (as 
I recall the sheets are 2ftX3ft), and they have some other plastics,
plus 
acrylic and lexan and mirrored acrylic.  Vinyl isn't one of the plastics
I saw 
listed for a dialectric, and my knowlege of plastics isn't good enough
to tell 
what it is chemically.  reccommendations???  what about aluminized
plastic of 
some kind - even aluminized mylar with additional (non mylar) dielectric
- 
that would be easier to roll up, but I'm not quite sure how to get a
good 
electrical connection to it for terminals.

4 unrelated money saving remark - Hayes (the modem company) has an
upgrade 
offer to their new 56K acura modem - if you have any old hayes modem the 
upgrade is $89 plus tax and shipping - since many of us frequent swap
meets, 
you will all know that you can get discarded hayes 300 or 1200 bps
modems for 
a dollar or two, so this may be an extra thing to look for at those
meets.  go 
to www.hayes.com and see what you think.  they say it could be up to 3
weeks 
before they are ready to send the new modem, and they want the old one
sent in 
first