Re: ~First Light!!!~

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

Original poster: "Barton B. Anderson by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <tesla123-at-pacbell-dot-net>

Malcolm,

I agree. Back in MN (a past life), my large coil (the only one at the time)
ran excellent in the winter,
and some of these conditions were in temps below -18 Centigrade, very dry
(the coil handled the cold
better than I did). Those temps were also the reason I chose flexible spar
varnish for secondary
coatings instead of hard urethanes.

Bart

Tesla list wrote:

> Original poster: "Malcolm Watts by way of Terry Fritz
<twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <m.j.watts-at-massey.ac.nz>
>
> Hi Terry,
>
> On 4 Mar 2002, at 21:13, Tesla list wrote:
>
> > Original poster: "Terry Fritz" <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>
> >
> > Hi Jonathon,
> >
> > As far as I know, air temperature does not affect Tesla coils.  Frost may
> > develop on the coil and cause arcing along the secondary or something, but
> > normally, "cold" should not matter.
>
> Not directly I'd agree, but it is often that case that in air that is
> cold enough, moisture content is at a minimum. Certainly, my coil
> here at work is up to its best on a frosty morning. Coincidentally,
> an E.S. meter I placed in a carpeted room shows the highest generated
> voltages by someone walking over the carpet in suitable footwear in
> such conditions.
>
> Regards,
> Malcolm
>
> > A 12/60 should do 45 inch arcs according to John's formula.  I think you
> > just need to open up the primary gap more and get those safety gaps working
> > ;-)  The arc length is proportional to the firing voltage, so set the
> > safety gaps properly and just go for it.  You only have about 0.075 inch of
> > primary gap now which is low.
> >
> > Cheers,
> >
> >       Terry
> >
> >
> > At 08:38 PM 3/4/2002 -0500, you wrote:
> > >Hello, everyone....
> > >
> > >First off, I would like to thank all of you so much... After all those
> > >questions, I am proud to annnounce the "First Light" of my 6 inch coil...
> > >
> > >Outdoor conditions:
> > ><b>CRAPY</b>
> > >temp: 7 degrees
> > >wind speed: 15mph?
> > >felt like -5 degrees
> > >
> > >I had to run this thing out doors, because of the limited space in my
> garage
> > >and shed....
> > >
> > ><b>Coil Specs:</b>
> > >12/60 NST
> > >Safety gaps
> > >Terry filter
> > >.017uF geekcap
> > >segmented static gap (which was set at only 3 gaps)
> > >10 turn pri coil (tuned at about 9)
> > >6" secondary, 30" of #20 AWG for ~900 turns
> > >Toroid made of 4" dryer duct
> > >
> > >I got a max of about 22". Is this due to the cold?
> > >I couldn't get the SG to fire reliably even at three gaps, (each set to
> about
> > >.025).
> > >The safety gaps never fired once, this because of the cold too?
> > >If it weren't for the MOVs, I probably would be reporting a dead NST
now...
> > >Any other suggestions (other than running it in warmer conditions??)
> > >
> > >And no, I'm not crazy, science fair is thursday, and I <b>HAD</b> to get
> > >these tests done.... You'd have to be crazy or madly in love with tesla
> > >coiling to do this in these conditions....
> > >
> > >Thanks again....
> > >Jonathon Reinhart
> > >hot-streamer-dot-com/jonathon
> > >
> >
> >
> >