One way to tune a coil is to use a breakout point, and a nearby grounded target. Progressively move the target farther away and retune as necessary. As to the racing sparks, your coupling could be too tight. Might want to try raising the secondary.
________________________________
From: Kuba Anglin <kubaanglin@xxxxxxxxx>
To: Tesla Coil Mailing List <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, April 6, 2014 11:51 PM
Subject: [TCML] Secondary Coil Sparks
Hi,
Today I just finished my first Tesla coil and tested it. The spark gap was
firing perfectly, but there were no sparks being emitted from the toroid. I
retried adjusting the primary coil tap and the spark gap length until I saw
sparks. However, these sparks came out of the bottom of the secondary coil,
arcing up about several inches before disappearing. The toroid emitted no
sparks. I don't know what to do. Below are some images of my new coil.
http://s23.postimg.org/tm1xzbll7/Tesla_Coil_Pic_1.jpghttp://s12.postimg.org/urt4j5dfx/Tesla_Coil_Pic_2.jpg
Thanks,
Kuba Anglin
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