Re: Beginners, lost?

To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
Subject: Re: Beginners, lost?
From: Esondrmn-at-aol-dot-com
Date: Wed, 12 Jun 1996 19:52:05 -0400
In a message dated 96-06-11 14:45:17 EDT, you write:

>
>Yes, you require a top metal electrode of some kind. I toriod would be 
>ideal.
>Just a few things to remember -
>Keep the diameter of the top electrode at least 2 or 3 inches 
>(preferably more) greater in diameter than the diameter of your 
>secondary coil.
>
>If you're using a flat pancake primary coil, it might be an idea to make 
>the diameter of the electrode (I am assuming a toroid), just a little 
>larger than the diameter of the primary coil. This helps for field 
>stresses and helps to promote the arcs to stream outward in a horizontal 
>fashion.
>
>Try to keep the electrode raised perhaps 4-10 inches above the top of 
>the coil - vary this height with experiments, there probably isn't a set 
>specific height, and you will only get the best position by trying 
>different heights and experimenting.
>
> From this you will notice that the arcs will start streaming downwards 
>(when electrode is very close to the secondary top), then as you raise 
>the electrode more, you will notice the streamers will start moving out 
>horizontally, then more to an upward direction.
>Be carefull not to go too high as the last few windings of the 
>secondary will start to break down - This is not good when that happens.
>
>

This is true, however you also use the toroid to affect the frequency of the
secondary to help dial it in to match the available range of the primary.
 Since the capacitor value of the primary is often fixed, and you want the
primary taped out near the last turn or so for best performance, sometimes
you will need to increase the toroid (adding more secondary capacitance) to
bring the frequency down to match the primary.

Ed Sonderman