Neon Suitability

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

Original poster: "john cooper" <tesla-at-tesla-coil-dot-com> 

Regarding neon transformers not being suitable for Tesla coils:

While they don't have the 'punch' of a pig and are not nearly as rugged, I 
have never lost a neon as long as I had 500pF to 550pF bypass caps from 
their hot sides run to ground.  I have only lost a neon when that cap fails 
and one other time when a local 'expert' (and he was and is) told me I 
didn't need them (big oops here), so I removed them, respecting this expert 
advise, ran the coil and promptly lost the transformer.  Could have been 
carbon tracking on that one, don't know, I just put it back together with a 
new transformer with the bypass caps.  3 year warrantees on neon 
transformers make it definitely worth buying new units, see N. Glantz and 
Sons in Anaheim, CA, probably others offer that same warrantee as well.
John



Original poster: "makinglightning comcast" <makinglightning-at-comcast-dot-net>

 >I still don't think neon xfmrs are built good enough for tesla work.
 >