Re: small coil

["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>



Tesla list wrote:
> 
> Original poster: "Mccauley, Daniel H by way of Terry Fritz
<twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <daniel.h.mccauley-at-lmco-dot-com>
> 
>         Actually, I have to disagree.  Spark gap coils are not that easy to
> build.  In a conventional coil, there are much more "mechanical"
> difficulties and complexities to worry about then say a solid state coil.
> Just building a spark gap can be a daunting task. 

Naahhh.. not for a simple gap good up to several kW.  A couple or three
pieces of copper pipe on suitable supports works just fine as a simple
static gap.  Sure, to get the ultimate performance, or the ultimate piece
of furniture, you've got to spend some time.  Spark gap coils are also
pretty forgiving of "screw ups", unlike a solid state coil where you get to
destroy expensive semiconductors.

I've seen, and built, some pretty rough lashups for spark gap coils, and
they have the virtue of almost always working, at least a bit.