JHCTES software review

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

Original poster: "Gregory Hunter by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>" <ghunter31014-at-yahoo-dot-com>

Dear List,

I recently downloaded the demo version of J.H.
Couture's JHCTES software.  I thought I'd share my
experiences with you.

Installation was quick and uneventful.  The first time
I ran the program, it complained that my system files
were out of date and asked if it could update them.  I
selected "OK", and rebooted my system.  (PIII/600Mhz
PC Clone, 96MB RAM, 30GB HD, W98 1st Edition).  The
next time I started the program, it came up without
any problems.

The user interface is a simple "fill in the blanks"
format, and I didn't bother reading the instructions. 
Just for the sport of it, I typed in the numbers for
my 6" x 30" pole pig system and pressed "calculate". 
Along with the usual data on resonant frequency, coil
inductance, etc., it predicted a spark length of 89
inches.  This got my attention, as my maximum measured
spark length is 82 inches, and I'm certain I've seen a
few longer ones--perhaps 90 inches or so.  In other
words, JHCTES predicted my max spark length almost
perfectly.  Hmmm...  I didn't know a computer program
could predict that.  I always assumed spark length
prediction was more of an empirical thing based on
experience.

My interest thus piqued, I plugged in the numbers for
my 4" x 24" 1KW NST coil.  This time, JHCTES predicted
a max spark length of 38 inches, very close to the
actual max spark length of 36 inches.  Another solid
hit.  Neat.

One of the most common questions from newbies on the
Tesla Coil mailing list is " if I build such & such
size coil, with X amount of NSTs, what length sparks
can I expect?"  I have always passed on such
questions, because I thought the only real way to know
spark length was to build it and see.  While the two
test cases above are hardly an exhaustive test series,
JHCTES certainly made a good first impression.

The bottom line?  This is useful software that is easy
to use.  It may contribute to one's enjoyment of the
art and science of Tesla coil construction.  It can
also allow the coiler to make an accurate forecast of
performance before sinking time and bucks into a
project.  I think it's a keeper.

Best Regards,

Greg
http://hot-streamer-dot-com/greg


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