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Re: poor performance
From: Bert Hickman[SMTP:bert.hickman-at-aquila-dot-com]
Reply To: bert.hickman-at-aquila-dot-com
Sent: Friday, November 28, 1997 9:54 PM
To: Tesla List
Subject: Re: poor performance
Tesla List wrote:
>
> From: kevin[SMTP:wawa-at-spectra-dot-net]
> Sent: Friday, November 28, 1997 6:57 AM
> To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
> Subject: poor performance
>
> I'm not quite sure why, but lately the performance of my coil has
> greatly decreased. I've tried about everything i can think of but
> nothing seemed to work. Actually, I started out getting decent results
> and ended with near nothing. Does it have anything to do with the cold?
> Also, after adding some more capacitors, when I turn up my variac
> nothing happens until over half the power. While I'm turning it up I
> can hear a little hum/fizz from my caps. And finally I have a question
> about rolled caps. If you roll up a cap and then put it in PVC and it
> expands a bit is that bad? Say you have two caps, both of the same size
> materials. One is rolled tighter than the other to fit in a smaller
> radius, would they essentially be different capacitors?
>
> Thanks
> Kevin Wahila
Kevin,
You may have lost one side of your neon transformer or a cap. With all
power off, disconnect everything from the HV outputs of your neon. Hook
up one end of a piece of HV wire to the case, using the grounding nut on
the transformer, and tape the other end of the wire to a wooden stick of
snall diameter PVC pipe. Now CAREFULLY see if you can draw similar sized
arcs off each bushing at full power to the loose end of the wire.
Oftentimes, when a transformer fails, one side has acrced over to ground
(case/core), so that the transformer is only putting out about half the
voltage of a good one. If this is your problem, it's time to take the
transformer apart and repair it! The archives should contain information
on how to do this... and welcome to the world of coiling - you've just
gone through the initiation rite!
Could you have you added too much capacitance for the current rating of
your transformer? What size transformer do you have and how much
capacitance are you loading it with? Regarding your cap question - all
things being otherwise the same (i.e., the same active plate area and
dielectric thicknesses), the more tightly rolled cap will probably have
somewhat more capacitance since the plates will be pushed more tightly
to the dielectric.
Safe coilin' to you!
-- Bert --