Re: synchronous RSG or not

[FutureT-at-aol-dot-com (by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>)]

In a message dated 7/30/00 10:30:33 AM Pacific Daylight Time, 
tesla-at-pupman-dot-com writes:

> .now for the question
>  one must ask...why do most perfer synchronous rsg's?? what is the point.. 
it
>  did seem that a spark gap can be tuned for a specific power level....does
>  synchronous operation tend to mostly protect the caps or the 
transformer.....
> i
>  realize that the 60hz a/c cycle can be optimized, sort of,, by selecting a 
> rpm
>  on a rsg that tends to "hit" at the peak of each cycle...but i really did 
> not
>  see this..thanks everyone.
>  

Until recently, hardly anyone used a sync rotary gap.  THe non-sync
gap has some advantages for a non-NST powered TC as you have
seen.  You can find the best breakrate for the coil.  Sync gaps are
becoming more popular for two reasons:  1) they give good results
using NST TC's,  2) they can be run at 120 bps which seems to give
the best "efficiency" in a properly designed and optimized TC.  As
an example, I can get 42" sparks using 570 watts using a 120 bps
sync gap and a potential transformer in my TC, but if I use a non-
sync rotary, I have to use about 1000 watts to get the same spark
length.  

If you have a large pole pig, etc, you might not care about getting
the very best efficiency.... you can still get long sparks with a non-
sync gap.

Cheers,
John Freau