Re: Do toploads help? was, Geek Gap Mark-1

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

Original poster: "by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>" <FutureT-at-aol-dot-com>

Message to newbies,

I would not want newbies to be misled. Most coils
will give much longer sparks when the properly
sized toroid is used.  I have to admit that I've never yet seen a coil
that does not benefit from the use of a properly sized toroid.   To
give just one example, my old coil that gave 40" sparks from a 
12/30 NST, gave only 26" or so with no toroid.  My newer coil gives
the longest sparks (42") using a 4" by 13" toroid.  If I replace that with
a 3" by 10" toroid, the sparks are reduced to about 33".  Of course
I tune for longest sparks in every case.  Of course a spherical
topload can give excellent results also.   The bottom line is that
not only do Tesla coils benefit from the use of a toroid or sphere
on top, they also benefit from having the *properly sized* topload.
There is a topload size *range* within which the results will be similar.

Of course besides giving longer sparks, toploads also provide other
benefits such as; shielding the top secondary turns from corona,
aiming the sparks horizontally, giving a more spectacular display,
brightening the sparks, etc.

Cheers,
John