Re: Noob Questions

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

Original poster: "Dr. Resonance" <resonance-at-jvlnet-dot-com> 


A good start would be a 4 inch dia. sec coil with a 4.5:1 height to dia.
ratio (winding length).  Wind with #28 AWG wire.  Use a 12 x 3 or 14 x 4
inch toroid.  Power with a 12 or 15 kV 30 mA neon sign transformer.  Perhaps
a simple dual stationary sparkgap with carriage head bolts.  MMC caps of
.016 uF capacitance.  This design would be simple and relatively inexpensive
to produce.

If your group is clever you could probably get a local neon sign shop to
actually "donate" the transformer.  It all could be assembled on a simple
plywood base.

Hope this helps get you started --- good luck.

Contact me off-list if you have any more questions.  Sounds like a fun and
rewarding project.  What part of the US are you located in??

Dr. Resonance

Resonance Research Corporation
E11870 Shadylane Rd.
Baraboo   WI   53913
 >
 > My friends and I have done some electronics stuff before, but this will be
 > our first Tesla coil. Can someone please tell us about how small a coil we
 > can make? We want to start out with one about as small as possible, both
 > for safety and simplicity concerns. Any other suggestions for beginners
 > would be appreciated as well.
 >
 > AMCHS Tesla Coil Team