Web page and MOT coil

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

Original poster: "Jason Johnson by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>" <hvjjohnson13-at-hotmail-dot-com>

Well as promised I've started on my page for the MOT coil. The main page is
pretty bare yet but is at:
 
<http://teslapages.freeservers-dot-com/>http://teslapages.freeservers-dot-com/
 
The MOT coil page is coming along nicely but I cannot get any pictures of the
sparks. I tried tonight with my digital camera but it works the same as my
cheap regular camera and the disposable camera I tried. The sparks are all
washed out or the whole picture is just black. I've either got to much or to
little light for the pictures. 
 
Also tonight I ran into a problem. After I adjusted the spark gap electrodes I
fired the coil up and seen the reflection of a bright orange spark from the
base of the coil off the snow (I positioned the coil so the transformer blocked
the light from the gap, so I couldn't see anything going on down there). I shut
the coil down and inspected. I believe that it was from the MMC to a piece of
flattened copper tube that connects to the gap. I don't know for sure it was a
LONG way for 4800 volts to jump. I fired it up again and had a primary strike.
I shut it down and readjusted the toroids. I turned it back on, the contactor
pulled in, the variac hummed, but nothing happened. I think it has to be my MMC
but there is no visible damage, and the measured value is still within 6% of
the original, the resistance across the whole cap bank is infinite (20 Mohm
setting, as high as my cheap meter goes) and each cap/reseitor checks fine on
the meter. After I pulled the cap off and measured the values I was to cold to
continue messing with it tonight so I went in the house. Ideas besides putting
it back in and trying it? I'm going to put on a strike rail :-)
 
Jason Johnson