Re: Very Small TC's

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: "J. B. Weazle McCreath by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>" <weazle-at-hurontel.on.ca>

At 08:18 PM 25/12/00 -0700, you wrote:
>Original poster: "Alexander Rice by way of Terry Fritz
<twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>" <ajjrice-at-yahoo-dot-com>
>
>The problem was that the OBIT's I used only lasted a few minutes which was
>depressing - no sooner had I got ot tuned than it would die.  I abandoned
>OBITS in favour of a 9-60 NST which is still goi strong.  Motto: don't try
>using OBIT's unless you are desparate or experienced enought to design an
>effective prtection system  - or regard them as disposible.
>
>Jus' my opinion tho'
>
>Alex
>

Hello Alex,

It sounds as if you've just had some bad luck.  My first two coils used
OBITs and I've given them a lot of abuse and they're still going strong.
I built the first coil long before I was aware of the Tesla list and as
a result I had quite a few things wrong, like no protection circuit, 
too wide a gap, cap rather than gap across the OBIT, etc., yet it still
worked fine.  My second coil used three paralleled OBITs and they too
are still working fine.  I use them for two reasons, 1) I can get all I
want for free from a local heating contractor, and 2) there is no neon
sign shop within miles of here that I'm aware of where I could get NSTs.
In short, I've found OBITs to be quite reliable.  Sure, the voltage is
a little low, but paralleling can boost the current up, which makes up
for that pretty well.  Terry's proven filter circuit provides all the
required protection, and it's easy to build.


73, Weazle, VE3EAR/VE3WZL

Listening: 147.030+ and 442.075+
E-mail:    weazle-at-hurontel.on.ca
           or ve3ear-at-rac.ca
Web site:  www.hurontel.on.ca/~weazle