Re: New to tesla coils

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

Original poster: Mark Broker <mbroker-at-thegeekgroup-dot-org> 

On Sun, 28 Sep 2003 14:56:47 -0600, Tesla list <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com> wrote:

>Original poster: sean <sean-at-nc.rr-dot-com> For the secondary, someone 
>mentioned 26 gauge wire, I also heard it
>should be 200 C magnet wire.  Do I have to find magnet wire, or can I
>just get some 26 gauge wire?

That was me.  Sorry for the confusion, but I did mean 26 gage magnet 
wire.  200deg C wire has a heavier/thicker insulation and is probably the best.


>Also, for the primary circuit, is 10 gauge wire right?
>
>Finally, I have seen 2 main designs for the primary circuit.  One has
>the spark gap in parallel with the transformer, and the capacitors in
>series.  The other is just the opposite.  Which design is recommended?


10 gage is fine for a small coil.  If the primary starts to get warm, then 
upgrade to 1/4" tubing.  IMO making an adjustable connection to 1/4" tubing 
is much easier than 10 gage wire - a 1/4" inch fuse holder works amazingly 
well ;)

Always wire the spark gap in parallel with the transformer since this 
decreases the chances of overvolting the transformer.  I think Terry has a 
paper on that at http://hot-streamer-dot-com

Cheers!

Mark Broker
Chief Engineer, The Geek Group