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Re: strike rail??

Subject: 
            Re: strike rail??
       Date: 
            Thu, 10 Apr 1997 12:01:39 -0700
       From: 
            Bert Hickman <bert.hickman-at-aquila-dot-com>
Organization: 
            Stoneridge Engineering
         To: 
            Tesla List <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
 References: 
            1


Tesla List wrote:
> 
> Subject:
>         strike rail??
>   Date:
>         Tue, 8 Apr 97 05:12:31 UT
>   From:
>         "William Noble" <William_B_Noble-at-msn-dot-com>
>     To:
>         "Tesla List" <tesla-at-poodle.pupman-dot-com>
> 
> please explain "strike rail", and when one is needed.  I presume it's a
> grounded ring above the primary to protect the "low voltage" side of the
> coil
> from strikes from the secondary - do I need to know anything else???
> 
> I'm slowly building a small coil to run on a 15KV or less neon sign
> transformer - I've just about finished winding a primary using 1/4
> copper
> tubing in a flat spiral affixed to an acrylic base - 50 ft of copper
> starting
> with a 6" inner diameter and spaced with 1/4" acrylic bar stock glued at
> intervals throughout the spiral - my plan is to tune the coil and then
> invert
> the primary so that the acrylic (1/4 inch acrylic base) is between the
> secondary and the primary to further reduce arcs from primary to
> secondary
> (and to keep all that nasty dust off my nice looking copper spiral)

William,

Yep... that's exactly what it is and what it's for. Leave about 1.5" of
clearance between the strikerail and the primary, make sure the
straikerail is not a shorted turn, AND remember to connect it to the
base of the secondary (and, in turn, to a good RF ground). When I first
enlarged my coil, I forgot to ground the strikerail. After firing up the
coil, it performed beautifully until the first power arcs from the
toroid hit the strikerail, flashed over to the outer winding of the
primary, and let the smoke out of both 15 KV 60 mil trannies! :^(

Safe coilin' to ya!

-- Bert --