opening spark gap and racing sparks

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Original poster: "Justin Wright by way of Terry Fritz <teslalist-at-qwest-dot-net>" <justin-at-tracesofnut-dot-com>


Hello All,



I tried increasing the spark gap on my coil a bit (415kv 150ma) and noticed 
a single spark that started near (or above) the top of the windings and 
wend down the surface of the secondary for about 12 inches.  It only 
happened once and I turned the coil off immediately.



I wound the gap back in and it didnt happen again.



Is there an obvious relationship between the gap size and racing sparks (is 
this the correct term?).  I forgot to notice what my safety gap was doing 
at the time.



My toroid (6x 18) is about 3 or 4 above the top of the sec winding.  I will 
measure everything tonight.





Regards



Justin.