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Re: Arcs off the fingers and getting killed in the process...
Hello Coilers;
I've been lurking for a while, and this is a good time for me to introduce
myself.
Terry's posting is quite relevant:
snip
> With the recent TV show about Dean Ortner shooting sparks off his fingers
> and the other stunts pros like Brent turner and Robert Krampf perform,
> there is the question of how we should handle this whole matter...
>
> Today, a relative newcomer in the Tesla coiling hobby can build darn
> powerful coils in the first try without the "typical" high voltage learning
> curve. Before, we generally assumed someone with a high power pig system
> knew exactly what they were doing through years of experience.
I made my first Tesla Coil in junior high/middle school, in 1967. It was from
plans in Popular Electronics. I used a 12/30 NST, secondary approx. 3' in
length. Produced arcs of about 2'. After that project was completed, I
remember using the NST for a Jacob's Ladder. One day I was showing the ladder
to two science teachers at school. The two teaches and I were standing side
by side, probably two inches apart from each other, with the Jacob's Ladder
on a large lab table. It had stopped firing. The teacher closest to the
ladder decided the horizontal conductors needed to be adjusted to start the
arc, and without thinking, touched the bare metal conductors connected
directly to the NST secondary/output. I remember thinking just as he was
reaching for the conductors that he must know what he's doing by virtue of
his age, position as teacher, experience, etc. Well, I was about to
experience a "lesson" that I've not forgotten...
The next thing I remember was being punch-knocked to the ground. All three of
us ended up on the floor, starring at the ceiling (no one else was around, it
was after school hours). Luckily, no one was injured, with the exception of
my teacher's ego. That ended the 'play' for that day.
Here's to another day,
--Jim.