Re: My First Tesla Coil

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

Original poster: "Chris Fanjoy" <zappyman-at-hotmail-dot-com> 


   Well thanks so much for your initial advice, everyone. I'm just now 
beginning to get a grasp of the fundamentals, and I must say it's a very 
empowering feeling to finally begin figuring out something that seemed so 
mysterious to me, for so many years. Some comments on the advice I was given:

   Capacitors. You've warned me that mylar caps aren't necessary very good. 
Maybe I haven't described these caps as well as I should have. These are 
NOT the round foil types, such as the ones in old radios. A few of these 
are "orange drop" types, and the rest are quite similar though they come in 
different colors and slightly different shapes. Values vary widely; I have 
quite a few in the 0.2 - 0.47 uF -at- 200VDC, right up to 0.068 uF -at- 1600VDC 
(commonly found in the horizontal output stages of old TV's). Maybe it 
would be more helpful if I could post a picture to a newsgroup such as 
alt.energy.high-voltage. It's very possible that I don't know as much about 
capacitors as I thought I did.

   I expect to spend at least another month acquiring and assembling the 
different components. I hope to start working on the secondary coil within 
the next week.

   I can already see that this could become a very addictive hobby........

   One last question, regarding spark gaps. From what I've read, these 
things produce a lot of noise. Is it possible to build the SG into some 
kind of enclosure, that would absorb most of the noise yet still allow for 
forced-air cooling? Such as putting it in a PVC pipe, and fitting the ends 
with a "silencer" similar to those used on some weapons.

   You'll probably here from me again soon. If anyone is interested, I 
could post a picture of some of the capacitors in question, to the 
aforementioned NG. And if you need some MOT's, don't hesitate to inquire, 
or just look on Ebay, where I've been selling quite a few recently. I still 
have at least 30 remaining, and I'm always acquiring more.

   Thanks again.