[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]
update on power supply
I fired up my 16 kv power supply the other night, and it seems to be
working
fine. I used 4 mots, center tapped, and each side voltage doubled for a
total of 16
kv. I had some initial difficulties in designing the doubler circuit since
it is
double-sided. I first tried hooking both sides of the center tap to
capacitor banks
of 8 Microwave oven capacitors (two groups of four in series), both banks being
shorted together by 2 diodes. The center lead of these 2 diodes was
connected to
ground, and the output was across them. During the first half cycle, both
capacitor
banks charge to plus and minus 4kv, each utilizing the center tapped ground
(for
some reason they won't charge sufficiently without it), and during the
second half
cycle both discharge, adding to the existing voltage across the 2
transformers, for
16 kv. However, it seemed that this arrangement didn't work after the first
instant, because as soon as the 2 caps fired, they couldn't recharge
sufficiently
again in the following cycle, because the output arc was effectively
shorting the 2
transformers-- at least this was my impression. Upon hooking up diodes to the
output terminals, so they could only conduct during the second cycle, it
seemed that
I got a stable DC arc. I still don't know, however, what this looks like--
I guess
I'll just have to trust my judgement. Now I plan to mount the entire
assembly in a
purple heartwood box (I have an inexpensive source : ) along with a current
limiter
of some type, probably a variable inductance choke of the type being
described on
the list, or perhaps more shorted Mots. Hopefully I'll post some pictures
on the
list when it's done-- I know Tesla enthusiasts often derive as much
enjoyment from
the aesthetics of their coil than the result. Although my question still isn't
pressing, since building a coil is a little ways off-- are DC coils any
different
from AC ones?