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Re: Lightning from the fingers, ect...



Original poster: "Justin Hays by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <pyrotrons2000-at-yahoo-dot-com>

Hi All,

(snips from Adam)
> A while ago, I asked this question and I think people are afraid 
> that if you tell someone, they will try it, but I won't. Anyway, I 
> have always wanted to know how they do the famous lightning from 
> the fingers trick.

Yeah, like I asked this guy if I could have his x-ray transformer
because he wasn't using it. He's a good friend of mine, and has seen
my website many times. But he keeps saying stuff like "you know that
high voltage is mean...and (beep) happens with that stuff...promise
you'll be careful with it? And so I'm thinking.......how many times
have you been to my website? People just don't get the idea. Not even
when you show them pictures of yourself playing with voltages 5 times
that of the highest voltages on the power grid IN YOUR BACKYARD!

But anyhow, of course people are afraid you will try it. Because,
eventually, you will.

> someone explain to me how this works. once again, I am not trying 
> (or planing) to do it, I am just a curious person. Also, to hook up

> all the components of a TC, does it matter what gauge of wire you 
> use? I was thinking 10 gauge.

It's real simple. You sit on top of a Tesla Coil, raise your hands,
and it will arc out of your fingers.

If you are asking questions such as the one above, about what wire
gauge to use, in my opinion you are NOT ready for the stunt. Build a
pretty coil that reliably arcs 6 feet, and I imagine people will be
more willing to discuss the topic.

For component hookup, if it's a small coil, 16 to 10 gauge is fine.
Bigger than 10 is overkill. I like 14 gauge for little coils, 10 or
12 for 4" and 6" coils. We used 4 gauge welding cable for our 12" and
it only got slightly warm. 

> another question, where can I get an RF filter. I think that is 
> what I need, I need something that will stop the high voltages from

> going back through the wall. When I am running my tesla coil (very 
> small at the moment), my parents complain about the TV becoming 
> very staticy, is this from the RF? If it is from the RF, is it 
> going through the air to the TV, or through the wires in the 
> house to the TV. What would i need to stop the static problem?

If your TC is close to the TV (no rhyme intended!) then your problem
is most likely radiated and conducted EMI/TVI. Radiated is, of course
through the air, and conducted is through the wires. Line filters do
a great job with conducted EMI but there is almost nothing you can do
about radiated EMI. Basically you have two choices: move the coil
away, or build a faraday cage around the coil or TV.

Grounding issues are also important. Make sure you've got a low
impedance (kinda big wire, short distance, good connections) ground
from the bottom of your secondary to earth. If you've got more than a
few feet of metal stuck in the ground and less than 10 feet of wire
between, you're probably OK.

> thanks
> Adam   

You will know how to do the stunt when you are ready for it.

Take care,

Justin Hays
KC5PNP
Email: justin-at-hvguy-dot-com
Website: www.hvguy-dot-com