Re[2]: HELP WIRING NST PLEASE WEIRD

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

Original poster: Mike Poulton <mpoulton-at-mtptech-dot-com> 

Tesla list Wrote:
 > Original poster: "Nightmare" <nightmare-at-bak.rr-dot-com>

 > yea im still here, sorry i was winding my secondary so i couldnt answer. My
 > Dad is helping me and i will make sure to ground myself before touching
 > anything and discharging everything with a grounded rod attatched to a pipe.
 > Believe me i do n ot want to die, so could you guys gimme a few more
 > pointers on how not to get killed?

Do not ground yourself!!! Ground the equipment, not yourself! At the
very least, avoid intentionally grounding your body when working
around high voltage. Depending on the situation, it may be appropriate
to intentionally isolate yourself using rubber floor mats or insulated
platforms, but that's beyond the scope of what you're doing. You need
to think about what you're doing and understand why you should take
the precautions that you do. Think about why grounding yourself is a
really bad idea.  Understand this before you do anything.

Furthermore, your grounded shorting stick should have an insulated
handle, not a metal pipe!  What if the ground connection is bad?  You
will suddenly be connected directly to the high voltage you are trying
to discharge.

 >  On the internet i saw pics. of 12 people
 > holding hands and the first guy touching  a streamer directly and the light
 > in the last guys hand lighting up? Is this possible? Can i touh the
 > streamers? I heard the RF burns bad and blows holes in arteries and veins!

The general rule is not to touch streamers.  Usually it can be done
with no problems, provided the arc hits a metal object you are
holding, not bare skin.  However, low-frequency components of the
output waveform can cause electric shock and possibly even death -- it
depends greatly on the specific coil and how it operates.  The
resistive heating from current flow through your body can also cause
damage, but that requires a great deal of power before it becomes an
issue.  I have taken arcs from a solid state coil operating at around
1kW, and could feel warmth at the interface betweent he metal
electrode and my hand, though it caused no injury.  For now, you
should probably avoid touching the streamers.

-------------------------------------------------
Mike Poulton
MTP Technologies
mpoulton-at-mtptech-dot-com
KC0LLX (70cm AM ATV, 33cm/12cm FM ATV, Omaha, NE)