Ok, so maybe we will have plenty o' NSTs : )

To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
Subject: Ok, so maybe we will have plenty o' NSTs : )
From: "Nathan Ball" <nateburg-at-hotmail-dot-com> (by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>)
Date: Tue, 28 Dec 1999 06:43:35 -0700
Approved: twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net
Delivered-To: fixup-tesla-at-pupman-dot-com-at-fixme

dear Terry and all,

*beware... this is a bit of a long message... :) *

I am glad you already know about it. And i am more glad (And I hope you are 
right :) ) that we may be able to have access to a new supply of NSTs.

What I heard is that it's a simple GFP (Ground Factor Protection or 
something) Circuit breaker that is thrown when the transformer is shorted 
(Or when the spark gap would fire) and cause the NST to overheat.

Probably if the circuit breaker was taken out and the transformer depotted, 
it would work fine... we can only hope.

I have a question about variacs as well.  Where can I get used ones? I need 
one to control the 1000 RPM motor I just got for a rotary spark gap and also 
a couple rated to about 2500 kVA to control current and voltage on the 
control box of my coil. (Input will be about 15kV and 150 mA hopefully)

I tried an electronics surplus store but they were fresh out. >:(  Are there 
any common appliances i could take some out of at the junkyard?  It would be 
really nice to be able to control the speed of my motor.  I understand It is 
very easy to burn out NSTs with a rotary gap.

I see that if you run it too fast it causes your caps to charge and 
discharge at rediculous speeds and then blow up, but what does it do to the 
transformer? If I ran the rotary gap at the correct calculated break rate 
for my coil would my transformers be safe?

I know if you run a static gap at the widest setting it makes your 
transformer run at it's highest voltage.  Would I be right thinking if you 
make your BPS too fast it does the same to the transformer?

One last thing: I was looking around for plastic for dielectrics, and saw in 
Brent Turner's Tesla Coil Book that Polyethylene Teraphthalate has a 
fantastic voltage rating (About 4000 V/mil) and also a dielectric constant 
of about 3.  I called around to a bunch of plastics companies, and nobody 
recognized that name.

One man I talked to said that it was probably PETG, Polyethylene 
Teraphthalic Glycol or something, and that it was the plastic used to make 
two liter bottles and such.  Is this right? has anybody out there tried 
using two liter bottle plastic in their caps? It averages about 13 mil on 
the micrometer... so that's about 52,000V if the listing for the dielectric 
strength in The Tesla Coil Book is accurate.

That would mean 0.026 mil and a 100,000V dielectric strength! Is this too 
good to be true?

Regards, Nathan Ball
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