Re: First spark !

To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
Subject: Re: First spark !
From: Esondrmn-at-aol-dot-com
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 1997 22:13:44 -0500 (EST)
Subscriber: Esondrmn-at-aol-dot-com Mon Jan 13 22:11:41 1997
In a message dated 97-01-13 00:55:31 EST, you write:

<< I just finished my first coil. The secondary is 1400 turns of 1/2 mm
diameter 
 enameled copper wire on a 7 1/2 cm diameter PVC form. The primary is 20
turns of 
 flat strap rising in a 45 degree angle. The static spark gap is made from a
couple 
 of heavy bolts. The capacitor is made of six wine-bottles. These are approx.
 700 
 pF each.  The coil is powered by two 3000Kv/50mA neons where the secondaries

 are connected in series (Thanks to Kristian for the neons!). The neons are 
 connected across the spark gap. This is in series with the salt-water caps
and the 
 primary. The top turns on the secondary emits a heavy corona, and I get
aprox. 15  
 cm streamers out in free air (still some tuning to do...). 
 
 This may be a small coil compared to what the people on this list are 
 experimenting with, but it sure got my adrenaline pumping ! The sound from
spark 
 gap, the streamers, the smell of ozone and NOX, the UV (and the mad
girlfriend 
 complaining about the noise...). This is sooooo *FUN* !!!
 
 Some questions to the gurus on the list:
 
 1) How long streamers can I hope to get with 300W in an optimal system ?
 
 2) How can I get a good RF-ground in an apartment building (second floor). I
don't 
 want to fry any computers, TVs (or neighbours...)
 
 3) Do I need RF chokes to protect my neons with only 300 W ?
 
 4) Is there such a thing as an optimal frequency for a Tesla Coil ? I
 estimated the 
 resonance frequency om my secondary to be 400kHz. This is perhaps a bit high
? 
 
 5) Have anyone tried to excite a laser with the RF from a Tesla coil ? My
coil 
 already looks like something from a Flash Gordon movie, so why not stick a 
 nitrogen laser in there ? ;))
 
 
 Hans J|rgen
 Still some tuning to do...
  >>
Hans,

Congratulations, first sparks are always exciting.  You are probably hooked
now.  You should be able to get about 12" discharges with 300 watts.  The
salt water caps may hold you back some.  I get 15" sparks with 360 watts and
a rolled poly cap.

A good RF ground in a second floor apartment is going to be a problem.  Any
chance of driving in a ground rod and running a wire up to your apartment -
up the outside of the building?

I would at least use a 3000 ohm in series with each high voltage lead from
the transformer.

For longer sparks, the lower the frequency the better.  You are limited
however by the size of your secondary.  A coil operating under 100 khz would
certainly be too large for your apartment.

Ed Sonderman