Re: Vacuum Triggered Spark Gap

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: "Jim Lux by way of Terry Fritz <teslalist-at-qwest-dot-net>" <jimlux-at-earthlink-dot-net>


You NEED the high voltage from the HEI coil (i.e. 30-40 kV) to breakdown 
the gap.  The 6 kV NST just won't have the voltage.
I'd stick with the HEI coil design..   The dimmer makes nice impulses to 
fire the HEI. The capacitor is the energy storage for the system (and a 
current limiter).


At 05:09 PM 6/30/2003 -0600, you wrote:
>Original poster: "Jeremy Scott by way of Terry Fritz 
><teslalist-at-qwest-dot-net>" <supertux1-at-yahoo-dot-com>
>
>Hi,
>
>I'm going to build one of those 'sucker' type static
>gaps that use a vacuum motor assembly and copper pipe.
>
>I'm using 3/4" copper pipe with a 'ring' of 1/8"
>tungsten rods strapped around it that protrude
>slightly longer than the copper pipe.
>
>It will probably function fairly well by itself
>without any triggering, as most designs of this
>type do. However, I want to have the option of
>making it triggerable.
>
>I've studied the plans for the HEI coil/lutron dimmer
>circuits at
>http://www.classictesla-dot-com/download/tgap.pdf
>
>I'd like to make something similar, but instead of an
>HEI coil, I was considering a small NST. (6KV/20mA)
>
>Provided the current and voltage are acceptable from
>the NST to initiate breakdown, would a standard 5A
>unmodified Lutron dimmer work for it's phase control?
>
>Could I eliminate some of the discrete components that
>are in the web plans listed above since the NST should
>be more current-capable than the HEI?
>
>
>Thanks,
>
>Jeremy