[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
My coil status/problems
Original poster: The MCP <ejkeever-at-comcast-dot-net>
Hello, y'all. I've finally got my new 15000/30 NST (after I irreparably
broke the 5000/20:() and I must say it's kicking some SERIOUS butt! I've
rewired the whole thing
However, I've got a serious problem. During the first runs with the new
transformer when I got the system into decent resonance, I was still
using a tiny little racquetball covered in foil as a topload. However,
it was practically worthless; I ended up shooting lightning not into the
air, but rather across the coil. So now the entire top half of it is
shorted out!
However, when I added a real toroid (Made of about 3 or 4 feet of 4"
aluminum ducting) and retuned it, it started shooting sparks again - Out
of the middle. These are massively more impressive than anything I've
gotten before (8+ inches), but still pretty pathetic when you consider
the amount of power that's being dumped into the system.
So now I've got a coil that's half-shorted-out! So I've definitely got
to build a new secondary and coat it this time. Some other questions
I've got for the list:
* Toroid : Major diameter 16", minor 3.5" (Just measured); Is it
good/bad/indifferent?
* Cap bank : I'm using all three of the 40KV caps, resulting in 6nF of
capacitance. According to JavaTC, the NST is resonant with 5nF; Will
this generate a dangerously high voltage rise? However, since I have a
single-static gap, will this simply fire if the voltage rises too far?
* Spark gap : How large of a spark gap should I use? I'm thinking about
using two pieces of .75" copper tube that are between 4 and 5" long.