Re: REVISED Need NST

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

Original poster: "Jim Lux by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <jimlux-at-earthlink-dot-net>

Actually, much as for capacitors, nobody is interested in selling to the
Tesla Coiler market, per se.  We tend to be pretty hard on the equipment,
with overvoltages, transients, etc., not to mention that your basic TC
design isn't what you would call well controlled and well defined in terms
of requirements.

Interestingly, when I was buying some big HV transformers from Peter Dahl
(a small/medium builder of custom HV transformers, mostly for the radio
transmitter market in the 2-10 kVA range), they mentioned that they hated
dealing with Tesla Coilers... They wanted cheap transformers, had no idea
of the real requirements, and tended to send back the transformer for
warranty after having destroyed it either by overloading or overvoltage. 


There ARE multi-million dollar companies making transformers for the TC
market: Actown, France, Allanson, etc. for high leakage inductance current
limited units; and GE, Magnetek, ABB, Siemens, etc., for the higher power,
non current limited unit.

And, their products are quite reasonably priced for NEW units built to some
consistent catalog specifications (which may or may not align with what a
TC builder might want).

A few years back, I actually put some thought into what the "ideal"
transformer specs for a TC might be.  Say, 110V in, 10-15 kV out, around
1-2 kVA. As it happens, standard commercial potential transformers happen
to fit the bill quite well, and are reasonably priced on both the new and
used market.

Granted "reasonable" from a manufacturing cost and retail markup standpoint
(i.e. several hundred dollars) might not be "reasonable" for a hobby
scrounger, but, just the cost of the iron and copper in a decent
transformer is a pretty sizable chunk of cash, and adding the R&D cost,
assembly, testing, quality control, shipping, etc. and it adds up.  For
these sorts of things, if you figure that the raw parts cost is roughly
1/10th of the retail price, you won't be far off.  If you've bought
enameled copper wire new, you realize that $30 for the parts cost on a 5
kVA pole pig probably isn't unrealistic

Tesla list wrote:
> 
> Original poster: "mbarbani by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>"
<mbarbani-at-yahoo-dot-com>
> 
> Welcome to the world of Tesla coil building..where very little is cheap
or easy
> to come by! The Neon Sign Transformer--manufactured exclusively for, you
> guessed it, neon signs..not Tesla coils! That's the pickle we're all in,
and if
> some company were to make transformers especially for our coils it would no
> doubt be a multi-million dollar outfit by now. I got my NST from a sign shop
> for $25..not free like some say. Only thing I can say is don't give up!
You are
> destined to find one. Good luck and Godspeed in your quest! Marc B.
> 
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