Re: All pain no gain

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

Original poster: "Malcolm Watts by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>" <m.j.watts-at-massey.ac.nz>

Hi Nate,
         I assume you don't have suitable instrumentation to tune 
your coil. Here is a simple procedure that will help.

On 6 Mar 01, at 22:26, Tesla list wrote:

> Original poster: "Nathan Morris by way of Terry Fritz
> <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>" <themfam-at-home-dot-com>
> 
> I need some help figuring out why my TC is not breaking out.  After
> months of planning and building I am afraid that this thing is a
> lemon.  Ground is ground right? Isn't earth ground the same as an RF
> ground?  Shouldn't I be able to tie the bottom of my secondary to
> ground via an extension cord and wall outlet? How close to tuned
> (number of turns) does the primary tap have to be before I will see
> breakout.  Maybe I was in the wrong neighborhood.  My primary is 23
> turns.  I will add another 2 turns. How often should the safety gap
> across the cap fire?  I adjusted the gap distance from loud blue light
> to none at all. This had no effect.

The bottom of the secondary should be well connected to a dedicated 
RF ground, NOT the mains. To do otherwise compromises safety and 
greatly increases mains-bourne noise.
     Safety gaps across the cap are not healthy for the cap. If they 
don't fire, they are not needed. If they do fire, your cap is 
subjected to some huge peak currents and may die. All firing voltages 
should be controlled by the main gap setting. Ensure this is not more 
than the peak voltage your transformer can deliver with *just the 
gap, NO cap* connected across it. Set this up first. 
     Rig up a discharge rod connected to your RF ground. Set it 6" 
from the top of the secondary. *Briefly* switch the coil on.

Output discharge: move the rod further back and try again. REPEAT 
until the is no further discharge. THEN, tap the primary in a turn. 
Does the discharge now appear? Y - tap the primary in another turn 
and repeat. N - tap the primary out a turn.
Note that you should be progressively increasing the length of the 
secondary discharge if all's well. Once you have arrived at the 
primary tapping for maximum spark distance, try increasing/decreasing 
the coupling in the same way, and be prepared to to adjust the 
primary +- one or two turns while doing so.

No output discharge: move the rod to 3". If you now get a discharge, 
go to the procedure above.

Still no output discharge: something is seriously wrong and to 
continue will probably destroy your primary components. Double check 
your wiring and circuit.

Malcolm