Re: Pocket neons/ neon sticks etc.

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

Original poster: "David Speck by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <dave-at-davidspeckmd-dot-org>

Jolyon,
In my experience, these devices are close to the solid state or vacuum 
tube tesla coils that are described in this group.  They generally have 
a simple one transistor oscillator circuit that drives a step up 
transformer at 25 - 50 kHz.  Some are amplitude modulated to give a 
variable length glow in the tube.

I do not believe that they would be much good for driving a larger 
display, as their power output is limited to a few milliwatts, and they 
run from a couple of batteries.  

The SSTC and VTTC folks are doing just what you describe, only using 
very  much higher rated power handling components.

There is an outfit called "Information Unlimited" that sells, 
inexpensively, bare light saber power supplies, as well as scripting 
solid state inverters for neon, and a large variety of other HV RF power 
supplies as well.  Interesting and pleasant folks to deal with.

See:

http://www.amazing1-dot-com/plasma.htm

HTH,
Dave Speck

Tesla list wrote:

>Original poster: "Jolyon Vater Cox by way of Terry Fritz
<twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <jolyon-at-vatercox.freeserve.co.uk>
>
>
>Pocket neons/ neon sticks etc
>
>Re clubber s neon sticks aka pocket neons as well as the expensive Star Wars
>"lightsabres" that contain neon tubes -are these in effect small tesla coils?
>
>Powered by internal batteries, all of these contain an inverter and a small
>tube which is terminated only at one end maybe then only by a wire that is
>attached to the outside of the tube -the AC voltage between the wire and the
>surrounding environment alone being sufficient to ionize the gas.
>
>Also could the inverter from any one of these, or from a PC cold cathode case
>lamp, be used to drive a small tesla coil - or could a larger version of the
>same, built from common parts, be used a practical source of HV for a
>not-so-small tesla coil?
>  
>