Re: [TCML] How critical are overlaps, kinks, or crosses on a secondary coil?

[Ethan Lee <ethanlee@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Thanks all,

Here's a link to a picture of the finished secondary. 
http://cl.ly/image/3W3s2W3C0M1M

Note that the overlaps are mostly in the bottom third. I plan on calculating tuning with the JavaTC calculator.
Does it look like I need more varnish or should it be ready to test?

Ethan

On Jun 9, 2013, at 6:29 AM, David Rieben <drieben@xxxxxxx> wrote:

> Hi Ethan,
>  
> As David T. has pointed out, kinks can pose a problem and possibly lead to spark breakout at
> the kink (which is definitely NOT where you want to have sparks!) I was always careful in winding my 
> secondaries to avoid kinks and overlaps, as probably most coilers are. If the wire overlapped while I was 
> winding (and it always will, at times), I would unwrap and correct the overlap. As far as kinks, I tried to
> make sure that the wire was neat and clean and was careful during feeding it to the form to try at all
> cost to avoid kinks, for both asthetic and functional purposes. Also, your secondary is fairly small
> so hand winding shouldn't be that problematic. For large secondaries, it's worth the extra effort to
> build yourself a winding jig.
>  
> David Rieben
> 
> From: David Thomson <tcbuilder@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: Tesla Coil Mailing List <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx> 
> Sent: Sunday, June 9, 2013 6:59 AM
> Subject: Re: [TCML] How critical are overlaps, kinks, or crosses on a secondary coil?
> 
> 
> The kinks by themselves will not cause shorts.  The shorts are caused by
> bad tuning and over powering the dielectric between the windings.  However,
> if the kink is located near a first harmonic node and the coil is out of
> tune then the short will likely occur where there is a defect in the
> winding.
> 
> When you wind your coil, first put a coat of polyurethane on the coil form
> and let it get tacky.  Then wind the coil.  Do not put the outer layer(s)
> of polyurethane on until about 24 hours later to give the wire time to
> permanently stick to the coil form.  If you put the polyurethane on too
> soon, it will cause the wires to unravel and slip by each other.
> 
> Kinks are the worst defects in a coil.  A kink, depending on how sharp it
> is, will cause a premature leaking of the electrons and hence the electric
> field regardless of where it occurs.  You want the wire to be as smooth as
> possible and the connections to be fully insulated.
> 
> A Tesla coil as used on this list is an electron fountain.  If there is a
> leak in the plumbing, it will decrease the pressure at the head (top load).
> The goal is to have perfect resonance and a finely crafted instrument such
> that the electrons are taking full advantage of their own geometry as well
> as the geometry of the instrument and the environment.
> 
> Practice on your present project and then build a better one later to see
> the difference in operation.  That is part of the fun of Tesla coiling.
> 
> Dave
> 
> 
> On Sat, Jun 8, 2013 at 8:29 PM, Ethan Lee <ethanlee@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> 
>> Hello all,
>> 
>> I've finished winding and varnishing my first secondary coil for a DRSSTC,
>> oneTesla design, and there seems to be a few overlaps here and there. After
>> scouring the Web to see the results of such windings, there are some people
>> who say it only affects looks (which is fine for me) and others who say
>> that it will cause shorts (not fine for me). I can link to a picture if you
>> need one, but it's a small secondary coil, 2.5" in outer diameter and 10"
>> high. Most of the overlaps are in the bottom third and are pretty spread
>> out, and there's one small kink at about half.
>> 
>> How badly will this affect the operation of the coil, and can I prevent
>> damage with more coats of varnish?
>> 
>> Thanks,
>> Ethan
>> _______________________________________________
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>> Tesla@xxxxxxxxxx
>> http://www.pupman.com/mailman/listinfo/tesla
>> 
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