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Carts

 * Carbons Sent to: usa-tesla-at-usa-dot-net

Quoting mconway-at-deepthnk.kiwi.gen.nz (Mark Conway)

 > Well I have finally finished rolling my 4 polyethylene caps- I 
 > have just finished submerging them in mineral oil. It took me  
 > ages to make them - if they dont work or blow up on the first  
 > run I will be heading for the nearest bridge :)

I would not blame you. Just let them sit in oil for a few days 
and run them in series/parallel, you should not have a problem.

 > I should be ready to run them in a jury rigged setup in about  
 > a week or so. I think that the Tesla circuit that I will run   
 > them in will be the one where the gap is connected across the  
 > High voltage line. This setup is meant to be best for          
 > preserving caps and neon sign transformers as any kickback     
 > will hopefully be shorted across the conducting gap. 

Good circuit.

 > Some people (I think Duane Byland is one of them) even reckon  
 > with such a setup you do not need a safety gap as the normal   
 > gap does the same job here? 

No, the safety gap should be right next to the step-up xfmr. If
you are using RF chokes and bypass caps, then the safety gap and
the main tank circuit spark gap are really part of two different
circuits. The safety gap will attenuate kickbacks FROM the tank
circuit, the main spark gap IS in the tank circuit.

 > I guess I will probably still use a safety gap just to add a   
 > bit of extra protection although it does seem to be reduntant  
 > here. What do you reckon? 

Well, if you don't use a safety gap with a grounded center post
then where is your ground reference for the high-voltage wiring
and tank circuit? It is not safe to operate neons without some
type of ground reference on the high-voltage wiring. There is
nothing redundant when you consider that the safety gap is the
only location in your HV wiring where excess energy can escape to
ground.  

 > Unfortunately I cannot leave my Tesla equipment setup so       
 > instead of reconstructing it every time I want to use it I     
 > plan (if the thing works!) to mount a lot of the parts on a    
 > movable cart. I was thinking of having the capacitors on the   
 > top shelf along with the sparkgaps. On the bottom shelf I      
 > would have the neons, safety gap, bypass capacitors and        
 > <RF choke> toroids. The primary and secondary would rest on    
 > the top of the cart. I would use RG213 to connect mains power  
 > to the cart from the variac. Aluminium strike shields would be 
 > mounted around the cart to protect the caps and neons. Do you  
 > think that such a setup would work?

Sounds like a very reasonable and workable plan.

 > Also would the strike shields make the coil lose power due to  
 > eddy current losses? 

Not much if you are careful. Do not allow "shorted turns" (loops)
to form out of your strike shields or ground path. Strike shields
are generally placed low. If they are placed low, and shorted
turns are avoided, then your loss will be quite acceptable when
compared to the protection you get.

Richard Quick


... If all else fails... Throw another megavolt across it!
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