[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

RE: New to tesla coils



Original poster: "Lau, Gary" <gary.lau-at-hp-dot-com> 

Hi Sean:

Comments interspersed:

 >Original poster: sean <sean-at-nc.rr-dot-com>
 >
 >For the secondary, someone mentioned 26 gauge wire, I also heard it
 >should be 200 C magnet wire.  Do I have to find magnet wire, or can I
 >just get some 26 gauge wire?

I don't think the temperature rating is something to be concerned with.
Under normal conditions, the secondary won't become more than barely
noticeably warm, if at all.  And in the event of a strike from the
streamers or racing sparks, the temperature of the plasma is far in
excess of 200 degrees.  No insulation will survive that.  The wire just
needs to be copper, solid, and insulated with thin enamel.

 >Also, for the primary circuit, is 10 gauge wire right?

For a small to medium NST-powered coil, that will be adequate.  But if
you're talking about using insulated wire, it's difficult (though not
impossible) to experimentally tap into various points.  Copper tubing is
nice in that you can tap anywhere easily.

 >Finally, I have seen 2 main designs for the primary circuit.  One has
 >the spark gap in parallel with the transformer, and the capacitors in
 >series.  The other is just the opposite.  Which design is recommended?

Either configuration will perform comparably.  But the gap in parallel
with the transformer is usually favored, because when the gap is firing
and the tank circuit is active, the essentially-shorted gap keeps high
voltage RF out of your transformer.

Regards, Gary Lau
MA, USA