Re: Hello from The Newbie

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Original poster: "Steve Cook" <steve@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

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----- Original Message -----
From: "Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, January 16, 2005 3:27 PM
Subject: Hello from The Newbie


> Original poster: "Chris Watkins" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>
> Hi all!
>
>     Chris here, with my first post. Location: 35 miles west of Atlanta,
GA.
> I've been scouring websites, reading articles and posts about Tesla Coils,
> for a few weeks now. The list kept popping up, so of course I subscribed
:-)
>
> I've been in awe of Tesla coils since seeing a demo in school, too many
> years ago... but I never considered actually building my own. After seeing
> that it doesn't appear to be "rocket science",  I've decided to "Just Do
> It".
> (With assistance from you who have "been there and done that", hopefully!)
>
> I haven't decided all specs... but my first will surely be a bit on the
> small-ish side,
> especially compared to some monster coils seen here and elsewhere on the
> net.
> I'm not greedy, yet!  If it's capable of  ~4-6" sparks, after tweaking and
> tuning,
> I'll declare success. Anything more is gravy. I'll set higher goals for my
> next coil.
> Maybe I'll venture more than $25, to build that next one. This one will be
> junk.
>
> I'll be scrounging for most items, whenever practical. As a packrat, I
> expect to find
> enough "junk" laying around to come up with most of the ingredients for
the
> project.
> If I happen to mention a thing you *know* does not work, by all means clue
> me in!
> If something is "not optimal, but may work", I'd appreciate that knowledge
> as well.
>
>
> OK...
> For starters, I think I'll wind the secondary. I'm not expecting it to be
> gorgeous
> or perfect, but I'll do the best I can. Scrounging around, I'm not finding
> much
> in the way of coil forms. The first two possibilities are: A paper towel
> tube, or
> a Pringle's chip can. Using partial specs below, which one would you
> choose...
> if you were forced to wind a functional Tesla secondary using one or the
> other?
>
> (Note: I'm not opposed to butting two items together if necessary. ie...
on
> first
>   thought, I'm guessing 2 Pringle's cans, 6:1 with ~1000 turns might work
> well.
>   I'd rather use only one item, but will use two if it's felt that one
just
> won't work)
>
>
> Pringle's Can (with aluminized liner & steel end cap removed)
> 2 15/16" Diameter
> 3:1 Aspect ratio
> ~500 turns of 26 gauge wire
>
> Paper Towel Tube
> 1 3/4"  Diameter
> 6.2:1 Aspect ratio
> ~625 turns of 26 gauge wire
>
>
>
> I'm sure I'll have a couple dozen more questions before the year(week?) is
> over :-)
> Thanks in advance for any response.
>
> --
> Chris
>
>
>