Re: Will this particular Arc Welder work as a ballast????

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

Original poster: "Nicholas Field by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <nick.field-at-hvfx.co.uk>

> lets hear from you guys and gals as to why a controlled current (
> variable) is more advantagious than controlled voltage... ( well
> excluding laser power supplies)

The ability to change the charging reactance is absolutely _key_ to
understanding and tuning a sync gapped Tesla coil.  To stick at one inductor
value is the Tesla coiling equivalent of driving a car without changing
gear.  A variac current limiter demonstrates this to best effect.

At a Teslathon a while back I was demonstrating my Isis, which has fully
variable V and I controls, and I could literally see 'the light dawning' on
people's faces as they realised that less ballasting can actually make the
sparks shorter as well as longer!  The ballast is not a simple 'spark length
control', it is part of a complex resonant circuit.  Tuning the charging
circuit properly not only allows better performance, it improves power
factor and makes for much smoother running with fewer kickbacks and a
generally easier life for all the components concerned.

Safe Coiling
Nick
_______________
Nick Field, HVFX
www.hvfx.co.uk