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Re: Arcs off the fingers and getting killed in the process...
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tesla List" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
To: <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
Sent: Sunday, February 06, 2000 06:51
Subject: Re: Arcs off the fingers and getting killed in the process...
Dear List,
I have never got any bigger shocks from any of my coils (vacuum tube TC and
some other flyback/ignition things made for fun), except the one time I
operated my coil near a small yucca palm tree on my table, the plant
probably absorbed some RF from the coil and when my hand brushed against the
leaves, it gave me an unpleasant jolt. I could smell burnt flesh... heheh
A few weeks ago I got an email from someone who had been on my site and was
asking for tesla coil plans. I told him that I don't have any general plans.
I sensed he was a newcomer, so I told him I could help him make a "sort-of"
tesla coil using car ignition coil and a relay wired as an oscillator
Then, a few days after that, I received a mad email from his father telling
me that I would have been held responsible had the kid harmed himself or the
others with his experiments, because I provided the info.
I should have realized that the "88" in his email address meant the year of
his birth!
As it have been noted, many unexperienced newcomers to this hobby go
directly to pigs and powerful NSTs. What if we could make beginners to start
with something easier, just like the ignition coil thing? Ofcourse if there
is a website which provides you with information how to get 10 foot sparks,
why would you build an ignition coil thingy which gives you only very small
discharge to a grounded object? I don't know, maybe if we exaggerated the
costs and trouble involved, as someone suggested...
Would it help if there was a link to "First TC Project for a Beginner" in
the Pupman safety faq, or somewhere else where the beginners would be
guided?
The project would consist of some theory and then the instructions. The coil
would be made of an ignition coil, a 12v car battery, ordinary relay wired
as an oscillator, a car ignition system condenser, wires and switched etc
Advantages of this approach would be:
-12v battery, so the beginner wouldn't have to play with mains
-small parts count
-parts can be obtained easily at any car parts shop
Disadvantages:
-12v battery, 12v battery charger could be used instead
And one more thing: If you touch the output of the ignition coil, it *will*
hurt, and maybe steer the youngster away from the pig and 10 foot sparks
filled dreams... :-)
Just an idea,
Tero