No Subject

AS> I heard that Tesla himself build a 10 story coil that was
AS> capable of lighting up bulbs 20 miles away....

The tower of the Wardenclyffe commercial plant built in 1901 was
167 feet tall (air terminal) on a stone and concrete foundation
that exended 50 feet below the water table (the ground terminal).
The power station built near the tower had footings poured for
four massive multi-phase generators to drive what at the time was
the largest capacitor bank in the world. The coil was steam
powered, with one boiler and generator operational.

AS> ... (the coil) caused all the corn fields within a 20 mile
AS> radius to spontaneously combust :) -Andrew

Nothing like this ever occured, though many of the effects of his
oscillators were even stranger. He experimented with mechanical,
and electromechanical, oscillators in addition to the purely
electrical devices such as the Tesla coil.

ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
Date: 06-05-94 00:24
From: Andrew Sempere
To: Richard Quick
Subj: 10KVA TESLA COIL
ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
* Original From: Norman Cardillo (1:324/114)
* Original To : Andrew Sempere (1:324/114)

Somebody once said that power should be transmitted with Tesla
Coils instead of using wires, because those wires running every-
where cause a health problem. This would probably cause more
problems than transmission lines.

! Origin: AEOLUS - Andover, MA, USA - (508) 474-0328 (1:324/114)

ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
Date: 06-06-94 18:25
From: Richard Quick
To: Bob Patten
Subj: Tesla Coils
ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
-=> Sez Bob Patten to All <=-

BP> I'm interested in building a Tesla coil using a ham
BP> transmitter as the power source (if it's possible).

There are at least two ways that I can think of to run a coil
from a driver such as this. But I would not advise doing it.
The ham equipment, powerful as it is, is not designed to drive
a coil to spark.

You would be better (and it would be much safer for the HAM
xmittr) to design a tube driven or spark gap excited tank circuit
to drive a coil.

ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
Date: 06-07-94 01:22
From: Bob Patten
To: Roy J. Tellason
Subj: Tesla Coils
ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
-> BP> I'm interested in building a Tesla coil using a ham
-> BP> transmitter power source (if it's possible).
->
-> Why would you want to do that?

Because it's there! (The Kenwood TS-430S on my desk). I have an
RF source, I don't have a neon sign xfmr, etc. For economy, out
of curiosity, etc.

! Origin: Bashful Pervert BBS (305) 472-7715 (1:369/120)

ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
Date: 06-07-94 18:07
From: James Meyer
To: Roy J. Tellason
Subj: Tesla Coils
ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
On 06-05-94, ROY J. TELLASON wrote to BOB PATTEN and said:

RJ> BP> building a Tesla coil using a ham transmitter as the
RJ> BP> power source (if it's possible).
RJ>
RJ> Why would you want to do that?

Efficiency, Roy. That and the fact that it would be much
easier to only have to wind and tune the high voltage
secondary. You don't have to mess around with neon sign
transformers and spark gaps.

If Tesla were alive and experimenting today, he wouldn't
still be using spark gaps to produce his RF to drive his
coils with.

Jim
! Origin: (Durham, NC) 919-286-4542 (1:3641/224)
ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
Date: 06-08-94 07:07
From: Dave Mcknight
To: Richard Quick
Subj: 10KVA Tesla Coil
ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
RQ> Nothing like this ever occured, though many of the effects
RQ> of his oscillators were even stranger. He experimented with
RQ> mechanical, and electromechanical, oscillators in addition
RQ> to the purely electrical devices such as the Tesla coil.

Although this might be off topic, could you post a brief
explanation of the mechanical and electromechanical oscillators
Tesla experimented with? I've read a number of books on his
coils, but this is the first I've heard of this.

! Origin: (614)861-8377 (1:226/110)

ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
Date: 06-08-94 01:18
From: Bob Patten
To: Richard Quick
Subj: Tesla Coils
ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
-> There are at least two ways that I can think of to run a coil
-> from a driver such as this. But I would not advise doing it.
-> The ham equipment, powerful as it is, is not designed to drive
-> a coil to spark.

-> You would be better (and it would be much safer for the HAM
-> xmittr) to design a tube driven or spark gap excited tank
-> circuit to drive a coil.

The KW amplifier is tube drive, but lowest frequency it works on
is 3.5Mhz. So what are the two ways that you can think of? I'm
just trying to collect all the possibilities before I decide how
to go. I may end up shopping for a neon sign xfmr and building
the conventional design...

! Origin: Bashful Pervert BBS (305) 472-7715 (1:369/120)

ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
Date: 06-08-94 20:37
From: Michael Diresta
To: Richard Quick
Subj: Tesla Coils
ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
Thanks Richard, That info should keep me busy for some time. I'll
let you know how I make out. (508) 474-0328 (1:324/114)

ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
Date: 06-09-94 18:03
From: Andrew Sempere
To: Richard Quick
Subj: 10KVA Tesla Coil
ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
RQ> "Reduced power" on the Wardenclyff machine would be around
RQ> 250 KVA guesstimate. Note that this is not the Colorado
RQ> Springs machine which processed around 250 KVA when maXed.
RQ> ... Colorado Springs, insects took flight covered in
RQ> St. Elmo's Fire, horses were pulling electrical arcs (not
RQ> static electricity) from the ground to their shoes, local
RQ> atmospheric illumination (corona type effects) around the
RQ> machine, etc..

Really very interesting... I think I might do some research on
Tesla myself, sounds quite fascinating. Do any of Tesla's
plants (besides Niagra) still exist? What about the Wardenclyff
plant? -Andrew - Andover, MA, USA - (508) 474-0328 (1:324/114)

ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
Date: 06-08-94 03:46
From: Greg Purvis
To: Norman Cardillo
Subj: TESLA COIL, But Power & O
ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
NC> Somebody once said that power should be transmitted with
NC> Tesla Coils instead of using wires, because those wires
NC> running everywhere cause a health problem.

I read an article in the New Yorker some years back which I tore
out and kept, about some people who were hunting down evidence
that powerline EMF's were causing their own honorable amount of
havoc with white cells, fetal gestation, and other problems
within the systems of people who lived close to HTWires and
transformers, and so on. I've since seen other references (and I
DON'T have copies, unfortunately) to one or more people mentioned
in this first article which refutes either the motives of these
people or the conclusions that they've come to. The New Yorker
article is several pages each over three issues, so if you are
interested in reading it, please let me know where I can send
photocopys. I'm afraid it's too much to scan and have our NEC's
travel along on their dime.

I can't and don't dwell on this subject about how the raw bi-
product(s) of electricity may harm people. Who can? Still,
if within my lifetime and my financial means there is a way to
identify problems and compensate for those problems, I'd like to
know of them, and how I may be able to take part in a 'cleaner
electrical future'.

I need information too, so just leave a note to me if you want
copies of this article and you've got it. I look forward to more
discussion on this topic.

... Three types of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics - Mark
Twain

Pembroke Ont. CAN. 613-735-5170 (1:241/12)

ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
Date: 06-08-94 19:44
From: Andrew Sempere
To: Randy Dixon
Subj: Tesla coils
ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
RD> I knew a Guy whom made one and lit up a guy 2 houses
RD> down whom was using his telephone, so please be careful
RD> when testing these toys... Randy

Hmmmm... I can think of a few people I'd like to light up :) Just
kidding, thanks for the warning, I'll keep it in mind when it
comes time to flip the switch.. Andrew (508) 474-0328 (1:324/114)

ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
Date: 06-10-94 20:54
From: Richard Quick
To: Dave Mcknight
Subj: 10KVA Tesla Coil
ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
-=> Sez Dave Mcknight to Richard Quick <=-

DM> Although this might be off topic, could you post a brief
DM> explanation of the mechanical and electromechanical
DM> oscillators Tesla experimented with? I've read a number of
DM> books on his coils, but this is the first I've heard of
DM> this.

OK, Real brief...

Tesla invented some very accurate mechanical and electro-
mechanical oscillators. Several of these were patented.

These oscillators were steam or compressed air fired. The
electromechanical oscillators were made to produce a frequency
stable alternating current by mounting a coil around a
mechanically oscillating armature.

Tesla also held patents on high speed, high frequency
alternators. By using the frequency stable output from a steam
fired electromechanical oscillator to excite the field windings
on the high speed alternator, a high power, frequency stable, CW
RF current was produced. This is radio.

Tesla continued to develop the circuit for power and efficiency
and included many variations and modifications in his patent
applications covering all aspects of his grounded tuned circuit
(multiplexing, receiver circuits, power supplies, etc) 1890-1893

The radio circuits are not that obvious until you look at the
steam fired generator sets that were used power them. The RF
alternators were weighing several hundreds of pounds by 1893;
they were steam engine driven (later turbine), ran up to 20,000
RPM, and produced 8 KVA (plus) of RF signal. The field coils on
the high speed alternator could be excited by frequency stable AC
signal from an electromechanical oscillator (these were running
10+ horsepower in 1893) and the steam pressure was closely
regulated. The signal from the antenna was very stable CW.

The high speed alternators were patented under the description
"System for Arc Lighting", and indeed, he did sell a generator
set to the city if New York for powering several blocks of his
arc lamps. Run unregulated, they could be used to make killer
light shows, run with speed regulation they made excellent CW
RF power supplies.

By this time he was also patenting vacuum sealed oil capacitors,
high speed mechanical breaks (sparkgaps), air core (coil)
transformers, to name a few.

The Complete Patents shows the parallel development in these
areas; both the complexity of the circuits, and the power of the
steam driven alternators and electromechanical oscillators. I
should note here that many patents were issued years after they
were submitted (and many years after their invention), and many
many more ideas and techniques went unpatented.

Photos, sketches, and the related patent numbers and dates of
much of this equipment is discussed by Tesla in his depositions
to his attorneys, and these depositions are published as: Nickola
Tesla On His Work With Alternating Currents and Their Application
to Wireless Telegraphy, Telephony, and Transmission of Power.

Note this work was all done after he patented a motor based on a
rotating magnetic field (AC induction motor) and other key
elements of our "modern" power grid, and that this was before his
high powered resonator work at Colorado Springs and Wardenclyff.

ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
Date: 06-10-94 22:43
From: Richard Quick
To: Andrew Sempere
Subj: 10KVA Tesla Coil
ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
AS> Do any of Tesla's plants (besides Niagra) still exist? What
AS> about the Wardenclyff plant? -Andrew

Not to my knowledge, all the later stuff... gone. Wardenclyff was
broken into by vandals who smashed Tesla's lifetime accumulation
of tubes, xfmrs, radios, robot projects, etc.. The thieves stole
for scrap what they could not smash; all the boiler brass, copper
motor/generator windings, etc.. were stripped. Witnesses stated
that after one particularly bad week of vandalism all the windows
had been smashed, office furnature lay broken outside in the
rain, and pages of Tesla's hand written notes were blowing in the
wind. At this point Tesla was close to destitute and could not
afford a caretaker at the uncompleted plant.

ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
Date: 06-10-94 22:25
From: Richard Quick
To: Bob Patten
Subj: Tesla Coils
ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
-> There are at least two ways that I can think of to run a coil
-> from a driver such as this. But I would not advise doing it.
-> The ham equipment, powerful as it is, is not designed to
-> drive a coil to spark.

BP> The KW amplifier is tube drive, but lowest frequency it
BP> works on is 3.5Mhz.

Tube coils work best around 450 kHz or less. Your output will be
more corona than lightning at 3.5 mHz; excellent for lighting up
vacuum tubes and what not, but not a good sparker.

BP> So what are the two ways that you can think of? I'm just
BP> trying to collect all the possibilities before I decide how
BP> to go. I may end up shopping for a neon sign xfmr and
BP> building the conventional design...

The first way is to wind ~3.5 mHz coil, then carefully match the
frequency output of the transmitter to the frequency of the coil,
(they must be within a few kHz). When both xmitr and coil are at
the same frequency, the output of the xmitr may be run directly
into the coil base wire. This is a base fed secondary coil driven
by an RF current. Problems include impedance matching, and
frequency drift.

The second way is to inductively couple a coil set. A primary
coil is made up of 5-8 turns of heavy conductor. One end of the
primary coil is grounded with the xmitr housing, the other end is
fed the xmitr output. The 3.5 mHz coil is set inside (or placed
in close proximity to) the heavy primary coil, and the base wire
of the secondary is grounded as well. The coil will be excited by
induction from the energized primary. Problems include low
efficiency (due to low coupling coefficients, and low peak
powers), and difficulties in frequency matching the two circuits.

Depending on the nature of the experiments to be performed, each
method has it's advantages and disadvantages. You would probably
end up switching back and forth between these two.

The driver (radio transmitter in this instance) will not give any
real goose to a Tesla coil (which is simply a 1/4 wave
resonator). In practice tube coilers tend to operate at much
lower frequencies with a Class C type amplifier, where additional
power tubes may be ganged up for more KVA. But all of these CW
(Continuous Wave) circuits are peak power limited: In other words
your peak coil discharges are not much greater than the rms
ratings of your power tube(s).

When you go to spark gap excited tank circuits you lose most of
your CW (unless your are a real spark gap engineer) but your peak
powers climb through the proverbial roof. Even a cheapy, home
built in three hours, salt water capacitor will give you a much
greater peak power than your 3 KVA xmitr run flat out. A cheapy
salt water cap is much less expensive to replace or simply scrap
than a quality power tube(s).

If you are really serious about tube coils, use the proper
frequency range class C amplifier circuit.

VACUUM TUBE INDUSTRIES, INC., 506 North Warren Ave., P.O. Box
2009, Brocton, Massachusetts, 02405-2009, specializes in 450
kHz power tubes for use in commercial RF induction heaters. They
carry a full line of filament xfrmrs and HV plate xfmrs, cooling
jackets, power controllers etc.. These are the ideal type tubes
for Tesla Coils that are driven by Class C amplifiers.

ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
Date: 06-10-94 23:21
From: Richard Quick
To: Randy Dixon
Subj: Tesla coils
ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
-=> Sez Randy Dixon <=-

RD> I knew a Guy whom made one and lit up a guy 2 houses
RD> down whom was using his telephone, so please be careful
RD> when testing these toys... Randy

The biggest thing missed for safe coil operation is a heavy,
dedicated, RF ground that is completely electrically isolated
from all other ground points. If you have a ground loop problem
(Tesla Coil), and your ground is the same as Ma Bell is using,
then you can expect some complaints/problems.

Tesla coil experiments require that the system ground have
enormous surface area in contact with moist earth. All ground
connections must be short, direct, and traversed with large
surface area conductors such as strap, heavy coax shield, copper
pipe, aluminum strips etc..

Don't ground to the water pipe! Don't ground your coil to your
breaker box! Avoid: telephone, cable TV, antenna or power utility
grounds, and gas pipes. Don't ground to conductors that stick up
in the air: gutters, downspouts, fences, etc..

Do sink pipes and rods into the ground. Bury wire screen mats.
Throw aluminum flashing into a water filled ditch, well, stream,
pond, or lake. Connect iron or galvinized sewer pipe and
culverts. Grounds should be kept wet. All connections should be
short with lots of surface area. I like a bunch of 8' copper
pipes driven into small depressions around a back yard: soldered
connections, 1/2" ground strap, central connection made no more
than 20 feet from the base of the coil. Another favorite: buried
hydraulic car lift lacking a direct metal connection to the
compressor.

ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
Date: 06-08-94 07:07
From: Dave Mcknight
To: Richard Quick
Subj: 10KVA Tesla Coil
ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
RQ> Nothing like this ever occured, though many of the effects
RQ> of his oscillators were even stranger. He experimented with
RQ> mechanical, and electromechanical, oscillators in addition
RQ> to the purely electrical devices such as the Tesla coil.

ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
Date: 06-10-94 20:54
From: Richard Quick
To: Dave Mcknight
Subj: 10KVA Tesla Coil
ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
-=> Sez Dave Mcknight to Richard Quick <=-

OK, Real brief...

Tesla invented some very accurate mechanical and electro-
mechanical oscillators. Several of these were patented.

By this time he was also patenting vacuum sealed oil capacitors,
high speed mechanical breaks (sparkgaps), air core (coil)
transformers, to name a few.

ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
Date: 06-10-94 22:43
From: Richard Quick
To: Andrew Sempere
Subj: 10KVA Tesla Coil
ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
AS> Do any of Tesla's plants (besides Niagra) still exist? What
AS> about the Wardenclyff plant? -Andrew

ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
Date: 06-08-94 19:00
From: Don Kimberlin
To: Terry Smith
Subj: Tesla Coils
ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
TS>You could quite easily turn a Tesla coil into a transmitter,
TS>generating sign types not approved for HAM use, at strengths
TS>well above Part 15 limits. Below 9 kHz such limits would not
TS>apply.

TS>Other than by only operating it well inside the boundaries of
TS>a BIG piece of private property, I wonder what kind of induced
TS>and radiated signal strenght are produced by large Tesla
TS>coils. I'd guess that what sounds like a 50 KVA unit
TS>discussed here probably substantially exceeds Part 15
TS>unintentional radiator emmissions limits.

TS>If Richard, or the others playing with toys, notice... Over
TS>what range of frequencies are you guys producing emmissions,
TS>and at what kind of field/distance? I'd imagine some coils
TS>produce an unstable (in terms of frequency) output over a 10
TS>or 100 to 1 range, while others may be stable within 5% or
TS>less. Is this a reasonable presumption?

TS>Have any of these coils been monitored with field strength
TS>meters, or spectrum analyzers with calibrated antenna sets?

...I hate to raise that ominous spectre, but I've heard a couple
of non-tech blurbs over the past year or so about such matters.
One was a chap somewhere around San Francisco who got hold of an
old Federal enclosed arc generator (Federal made U.S. versions of
the Danish Poulsen arc, the largest of which was a megawatt,
placed in the WWI US Navy sparker at Bordeaux, France as a
back-up in case the Germans cut the transatlantic telegraph
cables to the U.S.), and another story - might have been the same
person - purchased the RCA Marconi-made 300 kW sparkers from
Bolinas, CA (just north of SFO) for junk prices. Seems the
government people got right on his case, cited "safety reasons"
more than RFI. Seems like that stuff generates spurs clear up
beyond daylight, at least so the government was supposed to be
claiming...not a nice thought, if one has the Feds on their
tail...kind of like a "forbidden fruit" of electronics, mayhaps?
Concord,N.C. (704)792-9241 (1:379/37)

ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
Date: 06-11-94 00:14
From: Terry Smith
To: Richard Quick
Subj: 10KVA Tesla Coil
ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
RQ> The tower of the Wardenclyffe commercial plant built in 1901
RQ> was 167 feet tall (air terminal) on a stone and concrete

RQ> "Reduced power" on the Wardenclyff machine would be around
RQ> 250 KVA guesstimate. Note that this is not the Colorado
RQ> Springs

Trying to do some projections, was this system designed to
operate at around 15-20 megavolts, with around 15-40 mA current
being sustained?

Is your 10 KVA coil discussed here operated around 2 MV, 5 mA ?

That "little one" almost sounds safe to play with! <g>

Terry

ps: On thinking about FCC considerations, it's pretty likely
that these Tesla coils are highly in violation of today's rules
and regs. Even some of the little units used in labs to ignite
gas mixes probably exceed Part 15 limits.

What are the frequency extremes you've used for various coils?

Do you think a Tesla coil could be built in such a manner as to
confine primary emmissions to 6.78 MHz +/-15 KHz? This is the
lowest frequency of the ISM band (FCC Part 18), in which power
and signal emmissions in band are unlimited. The 2nd and 4th
harmonics of 6.78 MHz are also ISM, and therefore unrestricted.
Out of band signals would have to be less than 10 uV/m at 1600 M
to be legal on such frequencies, or if operated outside ISM bands
at substantially over 500 watts.

I suspect this means that to be legal, any large Tesla coils
would have to be built outside the US. I presume you are
operating well below the lowest ISM frequency and emit signals
that would create more than a barely audible crackle on a radio
with an AM detector 100 feet away? (The latter being a rough
translation of 10 uV/m -at- 1600 M to .5 mV/m -at- 100')
! Origin: Charges filed under Ohms Law! (203)732-0575 BBS
(1:141/1275)
ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
Date: 06-12-94 14:59
From: Andrew Sempere
To: Bob Patten
Subj: Tesla Coil
ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
Thanks for the tesla coil plans! I got them on Wednesday (Sorry
about the extra stamp) Thanks also for the section on Kirlian
photography, I'll let you know how it all turns out... -Andrew
Andover, MA, USA - (508) 474-0328 (1:324/114)

ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
Date: 06-12-94 08:28
From: Richard Quick
To: Don Kimberlin
Subj: Tesla Coils
ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
DK> ...I hate to raise that ominous spectre...

DK> old Federal enclosed arc generator (Federal made U.S.
DK> versions of the Danish Poulsen arc, the largest of which was
DK> a megawatt,

and

DK> person - purchased the RCA Marconi-made 300 kW sparkers from
DK> Bolinas, CA (just north of SFO) for junk prices. Seems the
DK> government people got right on his case, cited "safety
DK> reasons"

But it must also be understood that both the HF generator and the
Marconi coil were designed specificlly to transmit RF. These
designs aimed for power, (at the time thought essential for long
distance xmission), and not so much for a stable frequency.

I have photocopies of pictures taken of the Marconi coils. No way
could a clean signal be produced by this work. And there IS the
"safety problem"; the spark gaps, boilers, generator sets, etc.,
should be considered hazardous. I know that in Illinois where
they have steam tractor meets, all steam boilers must be
inspected and licensed by the state.

ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
Date: 06-13-94 22:29
From: Richard Quick
To: Terry Smith
Subj: 10KVA Tesla Coil
ﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄﾄ
RQ> "Reduced power" on the Wardenclyff machine would be around
RQ> 250 KVA guesstimate.

TS> Trying to do some projections, was this system designed to
TS> operate at around 15-20 megavolts, with around 15-40 mA
TS> current being sustained?

Boy are you ever in the stone age on this subject. 15 - 40 mA????

Tesla's peak power ran over a gigawatt. (work it backwards...)

TS> Is your 10 KVA coil discussed here operated around 2 MV, 5
TS> mA ?

My 10" coil has a peak power of over 2 megawatts.

TS> That "little one" almost sounds safe to play with! <g>

yea right..., and you are almost an order of magnitude out of the
ballpark with your deductions. You clearly show that you have not
even looked up or attempted to understand a simple spark excited
tank circuit. Much less a resonate transformer. Now you proceed
to go off about the legal ramifications of a circuit you do not
understand.

TS> ps: On thinking about FCC considerations,
TS> it's pretty likely that these Tesla coils are highly in
TS> violation of today's rules and regs.

It's even more likely you don't have a clue...

TS> Even some of the little units used in labs to ignite gas
TS> mixes probably exceed Part 15 limits.

Are you paid to do this with your time or do you volunteer? Do
you have a job?

TS> What are the frequency extremes you've used for various
TS> coils?

I would have to open up my lab journal, but I can tell you what
FIDO extremes I have seen.

TS> Do you think a Tesla coil could be built in such a manner as
TS> to confine primary emmissions to 6.78 MHz +/-15 KHz?

Sure, why don't you spend a minute and sketch a circuit diagram
and design a resonator for this.

TS> This is the lowest frequency of the ISM band (FCC Part 18),
TS> in which power and signal emmissions in band are unlimited.
TS> The 2nd and 4th harmonics of 6.78 MHz are also ISM, and
TS> therefore unrestricted.

Humm, I know you are unrestricted. Frequency Extremes...

TS> Out of band signals would have to be less than 10 uV/m at
TS> 1600 M to be legal on such frequencies, or if operated
TS> outside ISM bands at substantially over 500 watts.

Oh, yes I am sure this applies....

TS> I suspect this means that to be legal, any large Tesla coils
TS> would have to be built outside the US.

Boy you suspect me too... even after I posted my name and address
to the whole world....

TS> I presume you are operating well below the lowest ISM
TS> frequency and emit signals that would create more
TS> than a barely audible crackle on a radio with an AM detector
TS> 100 feet away? (The latter being a rough translation of 10
TS> uV/m -at- 1600 M to .5> mV/m -at- 100')

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