Ignition Coils for power supply

["Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Original poster: "Paul B. Brodie" <pbbrodie@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>

Malcolm,
I'm jealous! WATT a perfect name for a coiler!!!{:-)
Seriously, I'm intrigued by the photo of your ignition coil driven TC. Can 
you give me some details of the construction, offline if not appropriate 
here? I used to drag race cars, pretty serious stuff at the tracks, not 
street stuff. Anyway, I have in my possession several beefed up higher than 
stock voltage racing ignition coils that we used with aftermarket 
"Capacitive Discharge Multispark Ignition" systems. Most of them are the 
yellow Accel Super Coil rated at 50 kV. They are about twice as massive as 
stock ignition coils for better heat transfer and more room for secondary 
turns. I also have one coil that is rated 60 kV, which is also much more 
massive than the stock ignition coils. The marketing information that came 
with the coils states that they are designed for a faster rise time than 
stock, whatever that means.

Anyway, to the point, I have seen several schematics for driving these 
coils for use as high voltage power supplies, including one for running one 
off home 120 vac through a motor startup capacitor. I have been having 
trouble running down these old schematics and I was hoping that you might 
have some valid, practical information you can share with me. I have been 
told not to expect much in the way of sparks if I use them to drive a TC. 
I'm hoping that since they are designed to run at higher voltages and are 
built much more ruggedly, one marketing blurb states that they use brass 
connectors internally instead of aluminum and contain more cooling oil, 
that I can run them at higher input voltages, amps, and frequencies. I know 
that they are also designed to be run at higher RPM than stock which 
translates into higher frequency.

Back when I was racing, I didn't know much about electronics (as if I do 
now :-)) and barely even understood the significance of multi-spark 
capacitive discharge ignition. I sincerely wish that I still had one that I 
could play with or at least a schematic. I do remember trying to get into 
one that failed, the ignition module not the coil, but it was potted with 
epoxy, which defied all attempts at removal. I knew absolutely nothing 
about Tesla Coils back then but now, the term "capacitive discharge 
ignition" reeks of Tesla Coil to me.

Well, I see that I have gone to windbagging again. Anything you or anyone 
else can throw my way in regard to driving these ignition coils, please do. 
By the way, if anyone would like to work along with me on a little project 
to see what I can get out of these "Super Coils," I will gladly donate one 
and ship it to the lucky person that wants to work on this with me.

Paul Brodie
Think Positive

----- Original Message -----
From: "Tesla list" <<mailto:tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: <<mailto:tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, April 03, 2005 8:22 PM
Subject: Golka Photos

> Original poster: "Malcolm Watts" 
<<mailto:m.j.watts@xxxxxxxxxxxx>m.j.watts@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
>
> Hi all,
>         I scanned a couple of photos I obtained a long time ago from some
> Science magazine of Robert Golka's early replica of Tesla's CS coil. Terry
> has kindly put them at:
>
> 
<<http://hot-streamer.com/temp/Malcolm/>http://hot-streamer.com/temp/Malcolm/>http://hot-streamer.com/temp/Malcolm/>http://hot-streamer.com/temp/Malcolm/
>
>       FWIW there are also a couple of photos of mine there, one being my
> very first working coil run from a transistor interrupted ignition coil off
> a 12VDC power supply complete with ceramic cap "MMC" c. 1979, and the
> second being an action shot of the last serious coil I built c. 1993. All
> my coiling since then (and there has not been a great deal in the past 3 or
> 4 years) has been experimental.
>
> Malcolm
>
>
>
>
>