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Re: Secondary coil form questions
At 12:27 AM 2/7/97 -0700, you wrote:
>Subscriber: ccrochet-at-premier-dot-net Fri Feb 7 00:06:44 1997
>Date: Thu, 6 Feb 1997 01:05:12 -0600
>From: Chris Crochet <ccrochet-at-premier-dot-net>
>To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
>Subject: Secondary coil form questions
>
>
>Hello,
>
>I am a Tesla Newbie! (Don't look so shocked, and pardon the pun. <g>) I
>intend to fix that very soon though, I am collecting information and
>materials right now for my first real coil.
>
>I've found plenty of wonderful information on the Web and here, but there
>are a few things I'd like to understand better, if anyone can answer these
>questions.
>
>I know PVC is a cheap and available coil form, but has high RF loss and
>absorbs water. I've heard that there are far better materials, like
>Plexiglas, polyethylene, ABS, etc. Fortunately, I am blessed with a local
>supplier that carries most of these materials. My question is, given a
>choice of any material, which would be *the best*? Second best? If I use
>one of these materials, can I skip the drying/sealing phase which PVC needs?
>I'd especially like to hear from people who have used these materials in a
>real working coil, so I can find out the particular quirks of the material
>(like if certain sealants have problems adhering to them, brittleness, etc.)
>
>Another thing I've heard is that the coil form should be made of the
>thinnest material possible, but I've never heard why this is desireable. If
>the coil form should be as thin as possible, should the coatings on the form
>or windings also be as thin as possible? Or is thickness the goal there?
>
>Thanks in advance,
>Chris C.
>
>
>
>
Chris,
One of the highest Q coils I ever wound was on 4" diameter styrene with a
.030 wall thickness. I never coat my coils with anything any more.
Yes, make them thin walled tubes from the lossest loss material possible.
Avoid coating, if possible. This assures highest Q!... If that is what you
are after!
Richard Hull, TCBOR