Coil success on first big run - but (help) safety gap fires a lot!

To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
Subject: Coil success on first big run - but (help) safety gap fires a lot!
From: Alex Crow <user-at-alexcrow.clara-dot-net> (by way of Terry Fritz <twf-at-verinet-dot-com>)
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 22:28:13 -0600
Approved: twf-at-verinet-dot-com

All,

Just to say I've got my coil up and running and am working on tuning. I
have got 29 inch sparks for 1000w in, so it's only a start. It was
really beautiful once it got dark though! I was wondering how critical
the tuning was - would say 1/2 a 1/4 turn adjustment on the primary make
a lot of difference? I have it at 6.5 turns at the mo with a small
topload (a garden soil riddler!). I may try going for the big 24 inch
toroid tomorrow, but I will need to set up a stike rail before this.

Also, after about 5 seconds the safety gap would begin to fire for a
second or two at a time, when the main gap would stop firing. After this
I noticed that some of my MMC caps had quite a residual DC charge on
them, so I was wondering if this was building up during this first five
seconds and then the Safety gap was cutting in, draining it off and
starting the cycle again. There must be some rectification here. Any
ideas? Would equailising resistors help here by draining this charge
away as it builds up? This is the only thing that is worrying me right
now!

Alex Crow