Re: Vacuum tubes

["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 10/20/02 6:54:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time, tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
writes:

John,

Unless you're building a DC tube coil, a rectifier won't be useful,
and solid state rectifiers are a lot simpler to use anyway.  The tube you
saw may be a mercury thyratron, which is also not useful for
a typical tube coil.  Typically a vacuum triode is used for a 
traditional tube coil.  Tetrodes and pentodes work too.

John


>
> In an old welding shop one day, and one of the guys was holding the largest
> tube that I had ever seen.  I seem remember that he said it was out of an old
> DC welder, or maybe it was from some huge antique battery charger.  Is anyone
> familiar with one of these, and would it have any practical application in
> building a VTTC?  It seems that everyone is worried about overdriving their
> plates, and common sense would dictate that a rectifying tube of this type
> would be nearly indestructible.  Am I dreaming, or is it possible that this
> has
> some relevance?
>
> Thanks,
>
> John Richardson
>
>