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Re: Nathan's Saga Update...
Terry, all,
I don't have any variacs running the coil.
On the note of the wierd corona coming off the wires that aren't connected
to anything, I had some similar strange problems before.
When I first added a grounded strike rail around the primary, I used the
same quarter inch refrigeration tubing to build it as the primary is
constructed of. I made posts of the tubing and used a ton of hot glue to
attach them to the vertical legs of the triangles supporting the primary.
I then used foil tape to attach the strike rail to the vertical posts, so
there was reasonable continuity to between the posts and the rail. For some
dumb reason I attached the wire from the ground to one of the posts, instead
of to the rail. There was still good continuity... but I should have put it
on the rail itself to insure good connection.
When I turned the coil on, loud yellow sparks began emitting from where the
two ends of the rail itself were taped together. I didn't consider it
necessary to solder the rail together since there would be 0 ohms around the
other the rail anyway.
The only explanation I have for that is that the potential was so
drastically different from each side of the ring-strike rail that it had to
spark? But it wasn't even a blue arc, it was yellow sparks that looked like
they were fireworks. I had it taped together with foil tape.
>From the motor of my rotary gap, I have the wires from the motor going to
two L brackets attached to the 2x4 frame of the coil. the L brackets are
screwed into two pieces of pine that are glued to the 2x4 to try to prevent
conductance between them; it seems to have worked.
THe wires of the motor are alligator clipped to these, and there is the
extension cord that is alligator clipped to the L brackets as well, so I can
quickly take the coil apart. For 120V, low amperage draw from the motor, I
think these connections are adequate to run the motor.
The extension cord then comes down and is zip tied every foot to another
extension cord which runs the 120V line from the outlet to the NST on the
frame of the coil.
Both cords terminate at the other end with plugs, but the motor cord has a
speed control right before the plug for the rotary gap.
When I have been running the coil, I have it hooked up so that the RQ gap is
in series with the rotary to try to enhance quenching, and so when I run the
gap on "static gap only" mode, the rotary gap is simply lined up with its
electrodes to act as two more gaps in series.
The rotary's rotor is a 3/8" by 6 1/2" dia lexan plate, with the electrodes
on a 6" diameter. The electrodes are all connected electrically with wire
on the back, and so I have my fixed electrodes across from one another, 6"
apart, so they will fire in one side, out the other when the electrodes come
into proximity.
The electrodes have no connection whatsoever to the input wires to the
motor. Those are the wires that connect to the L brackets, to which is
connected the extension cord, which is emitting very visible corona when I
run the coil.
It also melted a little bit of the carpet.
My dad doesn't want me to run the coil (the way I have been, using the
"static" rotary in series with my RQ gap) until I figure out what's
happening with the corona discharge from the end of the cords.
Oops! I failed to mention, the cord that emits the corona is not plugged
into anything because I havn't been using the motor which it runs. Only the
cord zip tied to it is plugged in, because it runs the NST.
Sorry this is such a long letter, but I want to be as specific as possible
to try to find out what's going on with my "phantom corona".
Really, though, any of you ever perform an exorcism on a possessed coil? ;-)
thanks,
Nathan
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