First Lights

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

Original poster: "S & J Young by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <youngs-at-konnections-dot-net>

List,

This is a report of first lights (as in one light per twin coil) from a DC
powered twin TC with an unusual RSG.  The RSG is configured to work like a
SPDT switch.  It has 8 rotating electrodes and two pairs of stationary
electrodes.  The design is such that one pair of electrodes fires every 45
degree of rotation, and the other pair likewise fires, but 22.5 degrees
later.  So, for example, at 0 degrees, the DC supply charges the tank cap,
and at 22.5 degrees, the tank cap discharges through the primary.  This
completely isolates the power supply from the tank circuit.  No ballast or
filters are needed.

It works!  Independent control of input power and break rate is fun to play
with.  It is amazing how the discharge length dramatically increases with
break rate.  Going from about 16 BPS to 240 BPS roughly triples the spark
length.

Also interesting is how puny the arc is for the RSG charging (power supply
side) electrodes compared to the sound and fury of the arc across the
discharge (tank circuit) electrodes.  One would think they would be the same
magnitude (energy into the tank cap =energy out of the tank cap), but they
aren't.  I do have a 750 ohm 110 watt resistor in series with the power
supply feed to the RSG to keep from popping microwave oven diodes in the
power supply (peak current limited to be about 1.3 amps).  I suppose that
could account for the difference in the electrode arcs.


--Steve