VTTC Safety

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

Original poster: "sundog by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <sundog-at-timeship-dot-net>

Hi All,
         With all the talk about spiral vortices going around, I thought 
I'd drop a safety note about VTTC's.

  They're just as dangerous as a spark gap coil, possibly more so. The 
plate supply circuit usually employs a MOT and the doubler, which is lethal 
on it's own.  The tank circuit is moving a tremendous amount of current at 
high frequency, and because tube coils are usually pretty efficient, a very 
substantial part of the input power makes it into the output.  Just because 
it doesn't have all the crash and bang, doesn't mean it's not 
dangerous.  The Quad 833 pulls about 2600+ watts from the wall, and the 
output can incinerate almost anything you put in it, including GP03.  The 
breakout point gets white hot, and the rest of the components get toasty too.
         Then we get into the subject of RF burns.  The Quad 833 coil can 
definitely ruin your day if you come into contact with a high-powered 
streamer (as in burn the end of your finger off).  If it'll charcoal GP03, 
it'll roast a finger or hand. I also get RF burns from my body sucking up 
the radiated power then touching a grounded object.

   So anybody planning to do work like this, be careful and don't get 
careless because it's quiet.  Also be aware that the breakout will probably 
catch fire if it's flammable, and flames are highly conductive.   Oh yeah, 
the big power tubes also get extremely hot (the 833's will burn you if you 
touch the envelope after an extended run).

Take care all!


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Shad (Sundog)
G-2 #1203
"Ever stop to think, and forget to start again?"
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