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Re: neat



Tesla List wrote:
> 
> >From kcravens-at-sound-dot-netThu Jun 27 20:54:38 1996
> Date: Wed, 26 Jun 1996 22:35:16 -0500 (CDT)
> From: Ken Cravens <kcravens-at-sound-dot-net>
> To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
> Subject: neat
> 
> Anybody catch the "world of wonder" thing on the Discovery channel last
> night? (tue. 25th)  Had a quick little "Tesla" segment...showed some good
> clips (video) of a huge Tesla coil, built by Bill Wysock (think that was his
> name) pretty impressive! I could be mistaken, but I thought they said 100'
> sparks?? Coulda been "their" mistake...or just a little exaggerated for T.V.
> ? maybe? Or does this thing really kick 'em out? Didn't see the whole show,
> just channel surfin' and the lightning caught my eyes  8o) Said it was a 50'
> diameter coil? Where is this thing, and can anyone go see it? Anyone know?
> I've heard the guys name on here, but I can't remember where.  On the show
> they said he built them for others. Hope they start showin' more Tesla
> related stuff on the tube!
> 
>                              Ken Cravens

Ken, all,

I have spent several hours with Wysock and the coil seen on TV.  He was 
gracious enough to invite me to privately watch the setup and testing in 
Colorado Springs in 1994.  The sparks are not 100 foot - they are not 50 
foot - they may be 30 foot, maybe.

The magnifier system is made up of about a 12-15 foot diameter by 7 foot 
tall pri/secondary (wood).  The secondary is about 6-8 foot in diameter 
and about 15 feet long (wood).  It sports an all to tiny toroid of 8 feet 
in diameter by 3 foot cross section.  This system would easily support a 
20 foot by 6 foot toroid and double the spark length.  He supports the 
coils on large tall insulators and the final toroid height above ground 
is well over 25'.  I have a complete still photo/slide section 
consisting of about 40-50 shots at this 94 setup and test firing on one 
of our video report tapes.  Wysock has not, to my knowledge, ever 
published any data on the system in the literature.  The coil, when I saw 
it (mid-1994), was at a very early stage of development (just completed) 
and was a terrible performer.  16-20 feet of spark for 80,000 watts 
input.  He had made absolutely no allowances for any form of tuning of 
the single turn primary at that time (this stunned me).  Since then he 
has improved the system by about 100%. 

 In a special video segment obtained by me of the coil running recently, 
I note that he now tunes the primary circuit by adding tank capacitance. 
 He was running it at around 108,000 watts, actually voltamps, (meters 
captured on video) and from my measurements from printed still video 
frames, I estimate the sparks to approach 30 feet in a straight line path 
length. This is a calibrated scientific estimate based on extant imaging 
and is always better than a lie or gee-whiz eyeballing! Until we see a 
scientifically calibrated test of the system on video (may never happen) 
we will have to rely on the word of whoever has seen it or the hype of 
the media, etc.  Note that this is always good for an additional "fish 
story" 20-50' tacked on to reality.

The coil is not set up anywhere!!  You can't go and see it!!!  The public 
is never invited on the rare occassion of its firing!!!  It takes a crew 
of 4-8 people 10 hours or so to assemble the giant system and the 
requirement of a 100' crane is needed to lift the giant primary/secondary 
pieces into position.  I have been there and seen it, so I know.

Therefore, it reposes in hidden storage for 99.99999% of its existence.  
It is just too big to have a permenant set up area.  It must be run out 
of doors in open air and a building the size of a large aircraft hanger 
would be required to permanently display a working setup of this coil.  
It must have 480 VAC polyphase industrial power available with a capacity 
of 200 amps or more.  Not the kind of outlet found in the average field.

  My thought is that it will ultimately be sold or installed at some 
point in the distant future in a more public location.  The only chance 
to see the system might be on a rare and scheduled appearnce at a Tesla 
conference somewhere.  I note that he is not planning to bring it to this 
year's Symposium in Colorado Springs or if he is, it is not hyped the way 
it was in the fatal 1994 symposium debacle. It is only at such a conclave 
that the general public has even the remotest chance of seeing the 
system.  And forget a closeup of the guts.  In 1994 he was keep the "down 
at heel" and "great unwashed masses" 150' back from the system even in 
the turned off mode!  There is some logic to this while setting up, 
(don't need to get tangled up in gawkers while busy with setup).  I 
respected this and just quietly walked about during the 12 hour setup, 
staying out of everyone's way.  However, once set up, he should have 
allowed a walk through photo shoot by interested coilers.

Still, Wysock's magnifier represents the largest and most powerful Tesla 
coil system in the world today!  Wysock is the oldest supplier of Tesla 
coils to museums and institutions in the world.  They are all in the 
multi-kilobuck range even for a very small one.  They are all joys to 
look at, unlike our stuff which remains perenially half finished and 
looks slapped together!  (Works though).  I have written this up to 
aquait you folks with my impressions of a first hand account of Wysock's 
large magnifier system which now is much improved, but not nearly doin' 
what Ken heard on the airwaves. And it ain't 50 foot in diameter!


Richard Hull, TCBOR