Re: 1st Tesla Coil WONT LIGHT HELP PLEASE!

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

Original poster: "Jim Lux" <jimlux-at-earthlink-dot-net> 

If you have no ground, then you'll have no sparks (and you'll also greatly
increase the odds of "bad things" happening)..

What is your secondary connected to on the bottom?  Should be ground, not
the primary.

If nothing else, get some sheets of aluminum foil and lay them out under
your coil and connect them to the ground (both the "greenwire" (for safety),
and the bottom of your secondary.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
To: <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
Sent: Sunday, January 25, 2004 10:49 AM
Subject: Re: 1st Tesla Coil WONT LIGHT HELP PLEASE!


 > Original poster: "Nightmare" <nightmare-at-bak.rr-dot-com>
 >
 > ok, i added caps for a total of 12 bottle caps, filled with SW and topped
 > with motor oil, i connected and wired everything right and the biggest
 > sparks i got were about 3/4in when i touched a rod to the bolt sticking
out
 > of top, i took the toroid off. the spark gap has about a 1 in wide spark
 > that moves back and forth across the gap, i thought it was sposed to be
one
 > big long spark that is continuous across the whole gap? Is somehing wrong?
 > ive tried tuning it but same thing( i only tuned out 4 times moving 3/4 of
a
 > turn each time,so... i could not ground anything because it was raining
all
 > day and the ground is out side. Please help, i added the caps and still
the
 > same thing? i cant even breakout a spark without touching a rod to it!
whats
 > wrong???
 >
 > Ravi
 > ----- Original Message -----
 > From: "Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
 > To: <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
 > Sent: Saturday, January 24, 2004 2:55 PM
 > Subject: Re: 1st Tesla Coil WONT LIGHT HELP PLEASE!
 >
 >
 >  > Original poster: "Hydrogen18" <hydrogen18-at-hydrogen18-dot-com>
 >  >
 >  > I really suggest you move to glass bottles, I have been experimenting
with
 >  > glass saltwater caps recently, and the glass seems to be a much better
 >  > option. I have had 10kilavolts puncture some cheap plastic bottles even
 > when
 >  > not immersed in a liquid. You might find some very large cheap bottles
at
 >  > the store and just buy them, empty the liquid and use them. I scrounged
 >  > "Community dumps"(read: wilderness areas with household trash dumped in
 >  > them) to get some glass bottles for the capacitors I am making.
 >  >
 >  > ----- Original Message -----
 >  > From: "Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
 >  > To: <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
 >  > Sent: Saturday, January 24, 2004 3:37 PM
 >  > Subject: Re: 1st Tesla Coil WONT LIGHT HELP PLEASE!
 >  >
 >  >
 >  >  > Original poster: "Nightmare" <nightmare-at-bak.rr-dot-com>
 >  >  >
 >  >  > NOO, i dunno whats wrong, i emptiesd the caps, refilled them with
salt
 >  >  > water,and a layer of motor oil, wrapped in foil, put in foiled pan,
and
 >  > when
 >  >  > i fired the coil, the gap fired, and there was also a REALLY REALLY
 > BRIGHT
 >  >  > AND LOUD spark on one of the terminals of the caps, then after a
second
 > it
 >  >  > stopped getting loud and the spark on the caps just stayed there, i
 >  >  > unplugged it. This happened twice, can someone tell me what the -at-!#$
 > just
 >  >  > happened? how do i fix it, i still only got 1 inch spark max when i
 >  > touched
 >  >  > a rod to the topload, otherwise no spark! Please help
 >  >  >
 >  >  > Ravi
 >  >  > ----- Original Message -----
 >  >  > From: "Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
 >  >  > To: <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
 >  >  > Sent: Friday, January 23, 2004 4:47 PM
 >  >  > Subject: Re: 1st Tesla Coil WONT LIGHT HELP PLEASE!
 >  >  >
 >  >  >
 >  >  >  > Original poster: "Aaron Aab" <striker754-at-earthlink-dot-net>
 >  >  >  >
 >  >  >  > pop bottles are plastic, at least around here
 >  > msnip.............
 >  >
 >  >
 >  >
 >
 >