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Re: classic demo, and motor modification

Hi Grayson,


At 11:01 PM 5/10/99 -0400, you wrote:
>Just how dangerous is the stunt of connecting one's self to the
>secondary's output, and letting the arcs splay off rods held in the hands
>or thimbles on the fingers?
>Assuming a reliable system, adequate insulation (mainly distance, I would
>guess) from any ground, and no strikes to the primary, then the actual
>stunt shouldn't be dangerous, right?
>I, and several of my HV-loving friends, would love to try this. Sort of
>like becomming a demigod for a few seconds, eh?
>Seeing how most people don't seem to be doing anything of this sort,
>short of a few advanced coilers in California, then I'm well aware I may
>recieve hardy no-go advice from you listies, but it can't hurt to ask.

Although there have been a few people who have done these dramatic "shows".
 I would not recommend doing this at all.  There at too many bad unforseen
things that could happen (like your hair catching fire!).  If one sits back
and thinks through all the disasters, you are left realizing there is no
way you could have thought of them all.  Unfortunately, many could and one
has been lethal.  Since we now belive that the RF currents go through ones
body instead of the old theory that they went over one's body, you done see
many people "playing" with the high voltage any more.  It just isn't
safe...  I certainly would not risk anyone else's life doing this!

>
>BTW- I'd be using a future version ( poly caps, maybe sych rotary) of my
>current coil, which tosses ~36" sparks from a 12000V 60ma NST. And it
>only uses SW caps, with a sloppy RQ-style gap. I hope to achieve an extra
>foot on top of that with rolled poly caps and a better gap. I'm currently
>attempting to modify an induction  motor to AC-synch operation, which
>brings this to my next question.
>
>Is there any easy way of telling if  motor is spinning in synch to the AC
>signal? Would viewing it under incadescent or flourescent lights do the
>trick? I've machined, more or less acurrately, four flats into the rotor
>of a split-phase induction motor, one of 1725 rpm. Will the odd speed
>effect the synching effect? The thingg still runs, but I'd like to know
>if I've succeeded, so I'll use the motor in place of a universal one for
>a rotary SG I'm making. 

I have learned to sync my gap with the florescent lights.  It takes a bit
of trial and error practice but it works well for me.  I have investigated
many ideas like timing lights and all that but they all seem to have their
drawbacks.  The florescent lights really are the ways to go.

>
>BTW2- Will 1/2" HDPE be a sufficient material for a rotary disc? It is
>only about 5.5" in diameter. I'm thinking 4 electrodes, spaced evenly,
>with removable stationary electrodes totalling either 8 or 12 at max per
>side. That could give a great flexibility of break rates, ranging from
>the very slow to the very high. It would lend itself to creative
>series/parallel connections as well. 

I use this.  I cut mine from a poly cutting board.  My electrodes stay cool
so I am not worried about the plastic melting.  However, I use only an 1800
RPM motor for this.  Higher speeds may be "bad".  When in doubt, simply
encasing the rotor in some box to contain loose flying parts is good
insurance.  Remember, that if it does loose something, the rotor may be
very unbalanced which can lead to dramatic damage...

	Terry

>
>Any comments?
>thanks,
>
>
>With silent lightning in my hands,
>-The Electrophile-
>Grayson Dietrich
>visit my HV page!
>www.geocities-dot-com/WestHollywood/Stonewall/2509/index.html
>