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Septic ground

 * Original msg to: Esondrmn-at-aol-dot-com

Quoting Ed Sonderman:

 ES> My wife did suggest that I buy a prefab metal building to    
 ES> move the coil out into.  She is probably thinking about a 8  
 ES> x 10 building that you buy to store the lawnmower in.  I     
 ES> think I would need at least 20 x 20 and then there would not 
 ES> be much room for the operator.  I don't think she has any    
 ES> idea how much a decent building would cost.  A 20 x 30 pole  
 ES> building with steel sides and roof would probably be         
 ES> adequate - and cost 8 to 10 thousand. 

This is the trouble with big-bang spark production. If it is any
consolation, Tesla constructed the lab in Colorado Springs partly
because he had run out of room in the New York lab, and partly
because his neighbors there were complaining constantly about the
disturbances...

 ES> No, I have not tried the septic ground idea yet.  It is not
 ES> conveniently located close to the coil and would add at      
 ES> least 40 feet to the ground path. I bet it would provide a   
 ES> better ground than I have now.  

The idea is to fool the coil into thinking that the true
electrical ground point is very close to the base of the
secondary, which your present ground should do. By running a
strap from your present ground forty feet out to the septic tank
you reduce the total ground path impedance and take some of the
load off the existing ground rods. Despite the extra distance,
your overall Q should improve.

 ES> My two ground rods are driven in just outside the basement   
 ES> window right next to the coil.  They are close to the        
 ES> foundation, probably only two feet away.  That is all the    
 ES> farther I can go out without getting into the lawn.  It does 
 ES> provide a short path, probably about 15 feet from the bottom 
 ES> of the secondary to the first ground rod.  

15 to 20 feet is an ideal distance. How bright does a fluorescent
tube glow when you touch one end to the system ground while the
coil is firing?

 ES> I have another new ground rod but have not driven it in yet  
 ES> as I would like to build a better ground system and am still 
 ES> thinking. 

I hope we have floated out a few ideas you might find helpful!

Richard Quick


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