The Learning Curve, was Re: liberating pigs-Part 2

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

Original poster: "Christopher Boden by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>" <chrisboden-at-hotmail-dot-com>

>Original poster: "Jim Lux by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>" 
><jimlux-at-earthlink-dot-net>
>
>Hmm.. as one who flamed Chris several times (but nicely, I hope, not
>abusively) I have to agree with his comments.

Yup Jim, you always give some of the best flames :)I've noticed that the 
longer I'm on this list the less flames I get. It's a combination of 
learning a lot, and learning what details to include. The biggest thing to 
remember when posting to this list (Newbies take note) is INCLUDE ALL THE 
DETAILS!!!!! Coils are flakey things. There are at least 50 variables in any 
given coil, if you are asking a qustion about why something works, or how to 
improve your setup, remember to include EVERY possible detail, especially 
the specs of your coil. Tesla Coils are a balance of many subtle details. 
Don't expect the list to remember your setup (Especially since if you're 
like most people it's changing daily), and include it with each question. 
Sometimes chaging a VERY small thing can have a profoud impact (Try moving 
your primary tap point half a turn to see this in action, or place a pop can 
on your topload).

As a rule you will only get flamed if you are about to do something that:

1. Can get you killed, burned, blind or bleeding.
2. Can burn down your house.
3. Will damage things for the rest of us.
4. Is universally stupid (this is a common one, taking hits from your coil 
is Universally Stupid)

Those are the biggies. :)



One of the best pieces of
>advice on HV that I got from a wise old (operative word there) HV guy was 
>to
>buy or build a biggish Van deGraaf generator (one that will hurt but not
>kill if you get zapped).  There is nothing like working around a 400-500 kV
>VDG to get a real feel (literally) for corona, HV fields, etc.  A few
>inadvertent zaps to the head when you lean too close, or through the feet
>when you get charged by induction, and you learn.

The Group should build a good VdG in the near future....Mark (or is it Marc) 
brought something about this up recently didn't you?


>
>With a TC, even a small one, there is so much going on when trying to tune
>it, and all that noise from the spark gap, that you don't really pay much
>attention to the subtleties of the field, etc.


Even running in complete darkness (in the booth) I have yet to see the 
Christmas Tree Effect....I'm hoping though. I hear it's VERY faint.


And with a smalish NST
>powered coil, when you do take a secondary hit ( only twice now for me), it
>doesn't hurt all that much, so it isn't the surprising and painful learning
>experience that the VDG zap is.
>

I've come close a couple times, but never taken a secondary hit yet. This is 
only because I was lucky and have quick reflexes, lol I HAVE hurt myself 
trying to jump out of the way though. And I quit counting the times I've 
been electrocuted, burned, or scared beyond belief. The secondary discharge 
isn't the part to fear the most. The PRIMARY TANK CIRCUIT is the serious 
danger. This WILL kill you. Only one person has died from a secondary 
discharge (and this is because it connected with Ground (or did it get into 
LF (60hz) power?), all the other TEsla deaths are the result of contact with 
the LOW voltage side. I can't imagine how painful it would be to contact the 
primary coil while in operation.



>The pig powered coil is going to have all sorts of problems that the NST
>coil didn't, and you don't want to get so wrapped up in fooling with it 
>that
>you forget and get toasted.
>
>That said, I looked in vain for a cheap (<$100) used/surplus pig here in
>SoCal.  They aren't to be found.  I acquired a wide variety of other HV
>transformers in the mean time.  I finally got a pig with Jeff Parisse's
>group buy for $200 (and I haven't even gotten around to picking it up.. I
>think he finally sold it to someone else).  The most frightening pig
>acquisition story I have is mentioning that I'd be willing to pay $100 for 
>a
>pig  at the special effects shop where I used to work, and one of the
>younger guys with more guts than brains took it into his mind to grab the
>handy chain saw, some bolt cutters, and so forth. He ventured into the 
>hills
>to "acquire" a pig for me. He figured that he could just chainsaw the pole
>and it would fall down, breaking the live wires, and he would then be able
>to leisurely (at night of course) chop the sucker loose.    It was quite 
>the
>experience, from what I heard. All manner of problems: chainsaw binding in
>the pole, etc., and the net result being a pole slightly tilted hanging 
>from
>the live lines... Thank god he didn't kill himself or start a brush fire.
>
> > new to this (wow...did I say that?) I'm a VERY new coiler, and a newbie 
>to
> > HV as well (less than 5 years), but I've gotten to the point where, by 
>the
> > types of questions you're asking, I (and most others out here) can tell
> > where in the learning curve you are to HV work.
> >
> >
> > I don't want to discurage you, and I don't want to sound like I know
> > everything, because I'm a HV moron. But I've spent a few years getting
> > flamed, trashing gear, blowing copious amounts of cash, getting 
>blistered,
> > and wasting months of work. I know a LOT of what NOT to do. I've asked a
> > million dumb questions (and answered quite a few). I've paid a lot of 
>dues
> > in here. We all have.
> >
> > The guys in here will bend over backwards to help you, it's part of the
> > deal. They will also FLAME YOU HARDCORE (with the emails your posting 
>I'd
> > hate to see what your getting offlist by now). IT's OK, don't get
> > discuraged. HV is a weird hobby. With trains, if you screw up, you start
> > over, no biggie. With HV, the learning curve is rather severe. This is a
> > VERY pass/fail hobby. If it doesn't burn down, you pass, if you're alive
>at
> > the end of the day, you pass, get it?
>
>
>
>

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