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TESLA COILS

 * Originally By: Mconway-at-deepthnk.kiwi.gen
 * Originally To: Richard Quick
 * Originally Re: TESLA COILS
 * Original Area: UUCPE-Mail
 * Forwarded by : Blue Wave v2.12

From: mconway-at-deepthnk.kiwi.gen.nz (Mark Conway)
To: richard.quick-at-slug-dot-org
Subject: Tesla coils
Date: 09 Apr 1995 03:49:49 GMT
Organization: Deep Thought NZ, Auckland, NZ

Hi Richard,

Just thought I'd drop you a line and let you know how my coil is coming
along. I still haven't finished my cap yet but I hope to make big progress on
it over Easter. I have joined a night school engineering class and am making
a lot of the parts for my Tesla coil there- I have already made a much better
safety gap than my original jury rigged one and I have almost finished making
the primary coil. I have used plexiglas for the supports of the primary coil.
The coil slopes at a 30 degree angle with the inner turn being 9 inches in
diameter and the outside turn (15 turns later) being about 36 inches in
diameter. I am using half inch soft copper water pipe to wind the coil with.

BTW I managed to fix my solid state Tesla coil (Duane Byland's) so that it
works properly! The problem was the 110 volt transformer that I was using. In
Duanes design he uses 110 volts to power the transistors that power the
transformer. Since our mains supply over here is 240 Volts, I used a small
110 step down transformer to power it. Unfortunately (and unknown to me) this
transformer was not capable of providing the current required by the coil
with the result that the coil was gutless. Anyway I found a bigger
transformer the other day and I wired it up to the coil- result 4 inch
streamers coming out of the doorknob terminal! It's absolutely amazing to see
a solid state device producing such a display.

One interesting thing I notice about high voltage work is that you are never
satisfied with the results of your work for long. The first day I got my
solid state coil working I was over the moon but today when I look at it I
find that I am already wandering if I can power it direct from 240 Volts to
get bigger spark. I found exactly the same after I got my salt water coil
going. Does this ever stop? Is there a coiler out there who is ever truly
permanently happy with the output of their coils?

BTW- I seem to remember reading a message of yours saying that you were
getting married this month. If I havn't got the month mixed up I wish you
every happiness.

Best Regards,
Mark

-- Mark
       _/_/_/   _/_/_/_/       Mark Conway
      _/    _/    _/          Deep Thought BBS, Auckland, New Zealand
     _/    _/    _/          A FirstClass(tm) Macintosh GUI BBS
    _/_/_/      _/          Internet: mconway-at-deepthnk.kiwi.gen.nz
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