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Re: First Coil Confusion
From: Chip Atkinson[SMTP:chip-at-XiG-dot-com]
Reply To: Chip Atkinson
Sent: Monday, November 10, 1997 3:01 AM
To: Tesla List
Subject: Re: First Coil Confusion
Alex,
I have a schematic diagram on my web site that may answere a lot of your
questions. Go to http://www.pupman-dot-com and check out the "How-to's and
other construction info" in the links part of the main page. From there,
click on index. Click on the circuit.gif and circuit.txt links. That
should help you a bit.
To explain, the HV transformer should be connected in parallel with the
capacitor, and does indeed charge, discharge, and reverse charge the cap,
if the rest of the circuit is *not* running. The primary circuit consists
of two parts connected together. The first part is the high voltage
charging component, and the second part is the tank circuit. The tank
circuit consists of the primary coil, spark gap, and capacitor. This
capacitor needs to be charged before you can discharge it into the tank
circuit. (The term "tank" refers to the capacitor, which is an electron
tank that dumps all the electricity into the primary coil (loosely
speaking)).
The secondary coil is not physically connected to the primary circuit. It
sits nestled in the middle of the primary coil and gets the energy from
the electromagnetic fields created by the primary coil. The base of the
secondary coil is grounded, but not to the house ground. I suggest a
dedicated RF ground that is separate from the house or water pipes.
Do you know about tuning, and how to tune the primary circuit? Where do
you live? One of the best ways to increase your knowledge is to talk with
someone who has done coiling. Perhaps you can go over and visit them, or
talk them into coming over.
Chip
On Sun, 9 Nov 1997, Tesla List wrote:
>
> From: Alex Parker[SMTP:axparker-at-javanet-dot-com]
> Sent: Sunday, November 09, 1997 7:11 PM
> To: tesla-2-at-emachine-dot-com
> Cc: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
> Subject: First Coil Confusion
>
> Hi all,
>
> Excuse me while I raise a question which has probably been asked to death.
> Despite the enormous amounts of literature, schematics, and books I've read
> on Tesla coils, I have yet to find one that gives detailed instructions on
> how to wire the whole apparatus together. I have recently completed the
> construction of all my coil parts, and I attempted to wire them together in
> what I thought was the correct way, according to the schematics that I
> have. When I turned on the juice, the spark gap immediately started firing,
> stinking up my basement and waking up the neighbors. I let the thing run
> for a full 5 seconds, but no spark issued forth from the terminal, or any
> part of the coil other than the gap. Being a beginner to the HV field, and
> the electronics field in general, I haven't got the slightest clue what
> might be going wrong. Here are my questions:
>
> My plans say that the capacitor should be connected in parallel across the
> HV legs of the transformer. Does this mean that I should have 2 leads going
> into the capacitor, and two leads going out; or a 2 lead cap with each one
> of it's lead's across one of the HV legs? Also, I am in the dark about how
> the secondary coil is connected to the rest of the circuit, or if it is
> connected to the rest of the circuit at all. If anyone could take the time
> to explain the wiring to me, or knows where I can find some DETAILED
> instructions, it would be greatly appreciated.
>
> Thanks for listening.
>
>
>
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Chip Atkinson; Xi Graphics 1801 Broadway, Denver CO 80202
(303)298-7478voice (303)298-1406fax (800)946-7433sales
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