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Re: Terry's remote tuning idea
Hi Terry, all,
I love your remote tuning ideas. I have always wondered if longer
sparks could be obtained by dynamically adjusting the primary tuning
to a lower frequency as the secondary spark grows. I would be very
interested to know the answer if anyone has already managed to do
this test ?
I wanted to try skewing the phase of the AC drive to the gap
motor in an attempt to control the phase remotely but the leadscrew
idea is so much simpler. The simplest ideas have the best chance of
working, I find !
I think changing tap on the primary would be the "most-desirable" way
of changing primary tune from a scientific point of view. This is
because it does not effect the power transfer process between the
rotary and the tank capacitors. I guess that changing primary tap
is just not a practical option, since contactors would have to
switch the full primary current ?
Changing primary tune by switching in capacitors is a great idea. The
only drawback is that the rotary phase may need to be adjusted
slightly for each capacitor change. But wait a minute, you can do
that remotely too !
I guess the resistance of the contactors will have to be very low
if the ringdown of the primary is not to be compromised. I know my
coil is very sensitive to any resistance added into the pri circuit,
but I guess big power contactors should be OK. Will they be expected
to switch under power ?
The key to discovering more about tesla coil operation must be to try
lots of new combinations. The more controls you have available the more
combinations you can try in real time. Someone even suggested a
dynamically inflatable toroid some time ago ! Then you could retune
the whole system on the fly. I don't know how practical this is,
but it would be excellent for experimental work.
Let us know how you get on with this one,
Cheers,
- Richie,