Modeling a flyback transformer Tesla coil

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

Original poster: "Brian Howden by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <bhowden-at-shaw.ca>

I am attempting to use ORCAD to model a transistor driving a flyback
transformer for a small solid state tesla coil.  What would be a reasonable
approximation of the inductance I am driving (10 turns #14 wire added to the
core)?  I am attempting to model a
snubber network to minimize damage to my driver transistor.  I am assuming
the idea is to absorb enough of the energy released by the collapse of the
field to protect the driver but that any energy I absorb is taken from my
spark output so the trick is to absorb enough to bring the voltage spike
down below what the transistor can withstand and no more.  Have I got the
basic idea correct?

 ORCAD seems like an amazing thing.  I get many of the same frustrations I
get with real circuits (when they don't do what I expect!) without any of
the smoke.  I can't get over wishing I had had something like this when I
was a teenager trying to learn all this stuff in the first place.

Brian Howden