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Consistency Problem (resolved)
Hello,
I've been fighting what I call a consistency problem since I first fired up
my 6.5" coil (PT powered at 2kva) .
Symptom - The coil produces a strong breakout for 1-3 seconds then
performance drops for the next 5-10 seconds. After that the coil spits,
coughs, and sputters along. Any increase in input V here causes the
safety-gaps to go wild. Let it sit for a minute then it's ready to go again.
Most of my focus has been on the ballasting system since any minor change in
it reflected directly on the consistency (usually in a negative way). After
much tweaking I came to the conclusion that my problem was due to poor
quenching. With this in mind, I took apart my RQ style gap and re baffled
it so the air-flow is now forced between the gaps. This made a tremendous
difference. I can now run the coil for as long as I dare with no degradation
in performance. My input current has also increased and doesn't fluctuate
wildly as before.
Performance before the recent change has been a couple of 60" strikes and
regular 50" streamers. I'm now looking forward to getting it back outside
(when the weather permits) and see what it can do. I'm also thinking about
increasing the top-load by adding a second toroid (maybe a small one on the
bottom to control the e-field and a large one on top?).
Hope my experience is of value to others.
Regards,
Brian D. Basura
http://fp2.hughes-dot-net/brianb/tesla.htm