Original poster: "Barton B. Anderson" <bartb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>Pulling the arc means nothing. You need the NST to arc across an air gap without any caps hooked up. The sparkgap should be in parallel for this test. The size of the electrodes will greatly influence the air gap. Because it is a low 6kV NST, I recommend starting with a needle gap (two sharp nails should do the trick). If you can get a decent distance with this needle gap, then try something larger such as 1/4" bolts. Once you find the air gap required to reliably arc the air gap, keep the setting as is and don't change it. The reason: Arcing the the air gap with the NST and sparkgap alone (no caps involved) sets the "safe" voltage level for the NST. NST's will die easily from overvoltage of the secondary winding (and usually caused by the coiler setting the gap too wide). You don't want that, you simply want to find the reliable air gap needed for the electrodes you choose to use (it's that simple).
This is a low 6kV NST, so realize that the gap is going to be a very narrow gap.
BTW, larger coils are easier to get going. Smaller coils are a little more difficult and lower voltage NST's only make the task more difficult. Just be aware of that and don't be disheartened if things don't always go as planned. Just keep in touch with the TCML of your results and we'll eventually help to get the coil working the best we can.
If you need help with the Javatc program, I'm probably the guy to ask. There are some quirky things we are forced to deal with using a JavaScript type program doing the kind of stuff Javatc does. The main quirk is "waiting" for results. Browsers will always pop an alert (the script is causing the browser to run slow. Do you want to cancel?"). Always say "No, I don't want to cancel". This annoyance is "not" the program, but the browser itself. Only Microsoft (or whichever browser) can stop that message alert. That means, we are stuck with it. I "highly" recommend Internet Explorer 6 or higher. Netscape sucks for document object handling (that stupid message will pop up 10 times in a simple run, where Internet Explore is usually just once). Other browsers are sometimes ok depending on the version. But Internet Explorer is by far the best for this particular task. Just a tip if you happen to play with Javatc.
Take care, Bart Tesla list wrote:
Original poster: jhowson4@xxxxxxxxxxxWhen I have the transformer connected to just the spark gap I can pull an arch of about 1 inch. And even when the gap is slightly working with all 20 (6000volt 0.015 caps) in series there is hardly any noise and that way I can pull a gap of about 4mm. I can get about 3mm if I use a tin foil glass cap that I made. Just the transformer and gap without capacitors makes more noise than when it is connected right.-------------- Original message -------------- From: "Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx> > Original poster: acmq@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx > > > Original poster: jhowson4@xxxxxxxxxxx > > > > I tried using the capacitors 2 in series and 3 2's in parallel and > > nada. Its one of the same problems I had before the spark gap does > > not fire. There is a little zap (like shorting a 9 volt battery) If > > I tap the electrods together which is easy because of the base. But > > thats about it. > > Or your capacitor is short-circuited, or it is too big and acting as a > short-circuit, or your transformer is not working. How long is the spark > when only the transformer is connected to the spark gap? > > > > >* type of spark gap and how constructed > > & gt; &g t;2 bolts mounted in lexan or something with a large computer cooling > > > >fan sucking are through it the bolts are about .08 mm from each > > > >other (which is as far apart as they will go while still allowing a > > jump) > > > > > > That is fine. > > 0.8 mm, maybe. 0.08 is too small. 6 kV should jump at least 7 mm. If > your transformer does not produce a spark several mm long when connected > alone to the gap, something is wrong with it. The connection of the > primary circuit in parallel with the gap should result in almost the same > spark length at the gap, but with much higher noise. If the spark at the > gap reduces to a fraction of mm with the primary connected, there is > something wrong with the primary capacitor, or the connections. > > Antonio Carlos M. de Queiroz > >