Re: Non ballasting a pig?

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

Original poster: "Ed Phillips by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <evp-at-pacbell-dot-net>

Tesla list wrote:
> 
> Original poster: "Jason by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>"
<jasonp-at-btinternet-dot-com>
> 
> Greg,
> 
> > If I get a vote, then I vote "no"--do not run it
> > without a ballast. In my (admittedly limited)
> > experience, it is a risky thing to do. I was fortunate
> > enough to be in attendance at the first ever UK
> > teslathon at Corby. I saw a bloke there run a pole
> > xfmer coil with no ballast.
> Hmm if you are referring to Mike T's coil, the BM2/BM3, then it was
> ballasted with a large inductor. I remember trying to pick it up! See here:
> http://freespace.virgin-dot-net/michael.tucknott/Ballast.htm
> 
> > However, he used a 10,000
> > RPM ASRG with only 2 flying electrodes. Apparently.
> > this limited the current adequately.

	In the "good old days of spark" (1902-1926) all of the handbooks showed
schematics with a current-limiting inductor in series with the primary
and power line, and point out that without it the gap, once it has
broken down, forms a short across the secondary of the transformer,
leading immediately to power line frequency arcing; if this arc is hot
enough it won't exctinguish between half cycles.  Needed then, and seems
to me it has to be needed now.  Of course, NST's have built-in
ballasting due to the leakage reactance caused by the magnetic shunts.

Ed