Re: Does a "regulating" coil really waste energy?

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

Original poster: "by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <FutureT-at-aol-dot-com>

In a message dated 5/30/02 1:22:23 AM Eastern Daylight Time, tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
writes:

Hi Winston, all, 

I don't think this SRSG coil skips any firings at 120 bps.  I've never
seen that happen on the scope.  Also, since this coil tends to
resonantly build up, if it misses a firing, this should cause
the safety gap to fire, but it didn't.  Also, if it skips a firing, the
next stronger firing should cause breakout.  I didn't hear any
unsteadiness of the gap firing.  I don't think my line
voltage is changing much, but I guess it could be.  Regarding
your coil, static gaps can do some strange things. 
Also, some ionization can survive at 60 BPS, especially indoors
as I'm operating.  It still seems to me that if the breakout voltage
was dropping to near zero during subsequent streamers, as Dave
suggested, then my coil would be unlikely to stop firing.  Or 
maybe I misunderstood what Dave meant?  It would seem to
me that the breakout voltage may be rather high even for
subsequent bangs of a TC, despite residual ionization and/or
heating of previous streamer paths.  I could be wrong though,
because there are still TC mysteries.

Cheers,
John


>
> Hi John.
>
>     I was thinking... It may be a combination of things.  If you were
> running at 120 BPS, one "bad", or missed break might let enough time
> pass to let the spark channel de-ionize almost to the pre-breakout
> state.  I've had this happen at 120 BPS with my SRSG, when it isn't
> quite phased right (it still isn't right on).  It happens more with my
> big toroid and static gap.  The coil breaks out for a few seconds, then
> stays quiet, breaks out...etc.   It usually happens more when it's windy
> enough to blow the sparks around, but I can't run long enough to make
> good observations because of my polyester :-( caps.  Also, the line
> voltage around here drops every 15-20 seconds (predictably), and I often
> lose breakout briefly.  Just a few thoughts...
>
> Winston
>
>
> > Dave,
> > 
> > I have a coil which barely breaks out.  Sometimes it can
> > run for about 10 seconds before it breaks out.  One time it stopped
> > breaking out after it started breaking out.  This seems to suggest
> > to me that the breakout voltage remains rather high even with
> > subsequent bangs/breakouts.  I would think that if the breakout
> > voltage falls to almost nothing, then the coil would not have stopped
> > breaking out after it once started.  Unless I missing something?
> > 
> > Cheers,
> > John
>
>