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Re: B00ya! NSTs?
Hi
In his saltwater system, the most easily, and needed component that needs
to be replaced would be his capacitors. Of course, I'd love to say "go buy
those 45kv .04 Maxwell caps", but lets face reality. Most of us don't have a
few hundred to thousands lying around to buy a brand new cap. Then again, its
not like everyone that has a new cap is willing to part with it that soon.
Therefore, the next possible routes are building yoru own out of poly or MMC.
Poly's end up costing the same as MMC, but aren't as durable, turn out to be
oily messes, etc.. Practically speaking, an MMC is most worth it. Don't get
me wrong, I'm not stating that throwing an MMC on a coil will cure-all
problems, but they sure as heck will help out when compared to a Salt Water
Gap. As Mike stated already, he already has the RQ/TCBOR 6 gap static gap
setup. As much as many say that the gap is the most important component that
can be upgraded and will usually cut output, I would disagree. My first coil
used a crap gap(literally, the gaps weren't evenly spaced, etc). I still was
able to push a 40" arc using just a 15/90 nst with a coil massivly off tune
with a torroid that was way to small. Had I run saltwater caps, I would have
immediately switched to MMC's only because they are the only economically
sound caps that i can afford and know that will last. I agree that eventually
all of us want to go with bigger and more power, but on a first coil or your
first few, you can't go on dreaming. All you can do is refine what you have
and make it look the best and run the best. Until you get the money,
experience, and neighbors that will allow for such a big coil, the best you
can do is to keep in touch with reality with your "smaller" coil and make
that one kick.
-Alan
In a message dated 11/12/00 5:17:16 PM Pacific Standard Time,
tesla-at-pupman-dot-com writes:
<< Original poster: "Albert Hassick" <uncadoc-at-juno-dot-com>
Hi All. I can only say that I meant that once you are hooked on coiling,
you are really hooked, nothing can save you when you get the first small
sparks to creep up off your coil! Hey, why are you list members so testy
when it comes to capacitance? Is the MMC the only way to get a better
coil? You want big sparks? Get a bigger tranny, get better caps and most
of all, build a good spark gap, the spark gap is the true common
denominator of any Tesla system, why all this talk of MMC caps? or any
caps for that matter, I have fried MMC's, doorknobs, blown up salt water
caps and cracked the plate glass in flat caps and blown out my oil
immersed poly caps. Now are the caps the that only thing that will give a
big spark? I think not! There are many caps available to be built or
bought and they all cost money. Even good MMC's cost some bucks and will
need a bleeder resistor bank and a suitable perfboard, solder, time etc.
But one thing I know for sure, I like all types of caps for Tesla
systems. I like the MMC's too, but they are not a common cureall for
what ails your coil. You want big sparks? Get hi voltage and moderate
current into your coil and then build a good spark gap. Then add
capacitance as needed for max spark. Too much is mentioned of these
MMC's lately, they are not a cure all. I do agree that the MMC's can be
a very reliable and indestructible source of capacitance as long as they
are rated above rms. A good spark gap and well tuned and coupled primary
is the most efficient way to get your coil to produce big sparks. How
many of you really take the time to couple your primary/secondary? And
most of all, you must rate your caps to withstand double the A/C voltage
that they will ever endure,including random peaks of voltage, if you do
that, then you will have a fantastic cap setup that will last and last
and will be capable of upgrading easily to a bigger higher powered
system. I like my latest coil with the one and one half turn primary.
That is true efficiency! AL. >>