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Re: RQ Schematics

Subject:  Re: RQ Schematics
  Date:   Sun, 20 Apr 1997 18:19:29 +0500
  From:   "Alfred A. Skrocki" <alfred.skrocki-at-cybernetworking-dot-com>
    To:   Tesla List <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>


On Fri, 18 Apr 1997 08:50:08 -0400 Thomas McGahee
<tom_mcgahee-at-sigmais-dot-com> wrote;

>... Oh, what the heck! My own personal favorite is any circuit that 
> has the main spark gap across the transformer.

Thomas, this arrangement has always intrigued me when in illustrations 
of the arrangement with the spark gap across the transformer we see 
the safety gap also across the transformer. What intrigues me is that 
the safety gap will never fire! The operating gap will always be 
smaller than the safety gap otherwise the 'safaty gap' will become 
the running gap! Consequently in the arrangement with the spark gap 
across the transformer the safety gap is a waste of time, or one 
could say there is NO SAFETY in that arrangement.

> People who put the capacitor directly across the transformer are
> unnecessarily jeapordizing their neons.

How!? If you have a safety gap across the transformer and the spark 
gap is in series with the transformer it will be totally protected  
UNLIKE the condition of the spark gap and safety gap being 
across the transformer where the safety gap CAN'T fire! In the 
arrangement you describe the only function the safety gap would serve 
would be to protect someone from opening up their gap way too far!
In the arrangement with the capacitor across the transformer and a 
safety gap across the transformer with the operating gap in series we 
have full protection from high voltage surges and kick-back to the 
transformer for this would fire the safety gap! The only condition 
the gap would not protect against is a total short of the capacitor 
but the neon transformer is designed to take a dead short for a 
limited period of time besides that condition would cause excess 
current flow in the primary which would trip the protective breaker 
that should be in the primary circuit.

                               Sincerely

                                \\\|///
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                           Alfred A. Skrocki
                   alfred.skrocki-at-cybernetworking-dot-com
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