Re: HF Arc starter/stablilizer

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

Original poster: "J. B. Weazle McCreath" <weazle-at-hurontel.on.ca> 


Hello Coilers,

Years ago I had an opportunity to check out the insides of a
big Hobart TIG welder.  The H.F. portion was similar to our
Tesla coils, except the coupling between the primary and what
we would call the secondary was very tight.  Essentially, it
was like a coaxial line wound into a helix of around a dozen
or so turns.  The outer portion was heavy walled copper tube
with a centre conductor of a small, very well insulated wire.
The actual welding current flowed through the copper tubing,
but had the HF imposed on it by transformer action from the
inner conductor.  It formed the primary of a Tesla coil tank
circuit along with a small spark gap, capacitor, and a high
voltage transformer.

73, Weazle, VE3EAR/VE3WZL

Details of my "Hyperbaric Gap" and Tesla coil are at:
http://www.hurontel.on.ca/~weazle