Re: All pain no gain

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

Original poster: "Nathan Morris by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>" <themfam-at-home-dot-com>

All,
Thanks for all of the suggestions.  Here are the specs on my coil and more
information on my attempted first light setup.

I used the JavaScript Tesla Coil Designer
For Classic Dual-Tuned Resonant Transformers
JavaTC 7.04
Copyright © 2000 by Barton B. Anderson

My primary is 23 turns of insulated #10 AWG stranded.
My secondary is #30 mag wire on a 19 x 4.5 PVC form.
My torroid has an ID of 8 inches an OD of 16 inches and a chord of 4 inches.
For the first light attempt I was running small a 7.5 kv 20 ma NST (no
variac)
My cap is two rows of four .02 uf 3kv caps.  The two rows of four are
parralled for a total tank capacitance of .01 uf.
My gap has 4 gaps that are quenched by a 120 VAC microwave blower.  Each gap
is individually adjustable.  Before energizing my primary I set the gap so
that all 4 were sharing the duty.
JavaScript Tesla Coil Designer suggests a primary tap at turn 25.  I got
shorted on my wire from the hardware store so I was using the length of my
primary.  I thought it might be close enough to get me started but to be
quite honest I believe it is the main issue with my current setup.
Oh yea, almost forgot, I was using the wall outlet for grounding my
secondary.  While mowing the yard however, I did find 2 inches of a copper
ground rod sticking up near my service entrance/breaker pannel.


----- Original Message -----
From: Tesla list <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
To: <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 07, 2001 8:27 AM
Subject: Re: All pain no gain


> Original poster: "Bert Hickman by way of Terry Fritz
<twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>" <bert.hickman-at-aquila-dot-net>
>
> Nate,
>
> Did you use any design tools (WinTesla, JHCTES, etc.) to aid you in the
> calculations/design of your coil? If you have a small coil (~500 VA or
> less), you can get by with using the power line ground (although its
> really not recommended). There are many reasons why you may not be
> seeing breakout, but in order to figure out what to do more information
> is needed about your system. Please provide the information below and we
> should be able to suggest some fixes. The fact that your gap is firing
> loudly is a good sign - it appears that your HV source and tank cap are
> operational.
>
> Some possible reasons for failure to break out can include:
> 1. Tank cap is too small (energy/bang too small)
> 2. Toroid radius of curvature too large
> 3. Coil is severely mistuned
> 4. Secondary is internally shorting
> 5. Coupling coefficient is too low
> 6. Primary circuit miswired
>
> In the interim, try forcing your secondary to break out by using a short
> piece of wire sitting on your top terminal, and tune for best (longest)
> spark. If you can't get breakout even using a breakout aid, you may have
> a wiring error in the primary circuit - double check your wiring.
>
> 1. Power Source:
> Voltage:
> Current:
> Type (NST, Oil Burner Transformer, MOT, etc...)
> Are you using a variac to control voltage to the HV transformer?
>
> 2. Tank Capacitor:
> Type:
> If type salt water cap, type of bottles and how many?
> If MMC, capacitance and voltage/cap
> If MMC, number of caps/string, and number of strings:
> Estimated tank Capacitance:
>
> 3. Primary:
> Style: (i.e., flat, helical, inverse conical)
> If inverse conical, angle of rise?
> Inner diameter:
> Turn-turn spacing:
> Material used for winding:
> Wire gauge or tubing diameter
> Estimated inductance:
> Tapping point point (Number of turns) for best performance:
>
> 4. Spark Gap:
> Brief description of the type of gap:
> electrode materials used:
> Number of Gaps
> Spacing/Gap
> Do you use forced air cooling, and if so how?
>
> 5. Secondary:
> Form material:
> Diameter:
> Winding Length:
> AWG and type of wire:
> Height of bottom turn of secondary versus versus innermost primary turn:
>
> 6. Topload:
> Type of topload (i.e., sphere, toroid)
> Type of construction if home-built
> Physical dimension(s):
>
> Safe coilin' to you!
>
> -- Bert --
> --
> Bert Hickman
> Stoneridge Engineering
> Email:    bert.hickman-at-aquila-dot-net
> Web Site: http://www.teslamania-dot-com
>
> 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.
> >
> > --Nate
>
>
>
>