Original poster: "Derek Woodroffe" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Steven,
No you are not "bummed"..... Unless you give up...
Listen. Do what people have been suggesting on the list.
Re wind your secondary into a single layer using 800 or so turns of
enamelled copper wire on to a piece of PVC pipe, or toilet roll. Stick your
door knob on top connected to the end.
Measure size of the secondary you have produced, length and
diameter.
Find out what the diameter of copper wire you used for the secondary
is.
Download a copy of wintesla.
http://members.aol.com/rscopper/index.htm
Plug in the size of the secondary the diameter of the wire, the size
of your top load doorknob (treat it as a sphere). No Maths required...
Play with the values of primary coil until you get to a capacitor
you can make with what you have got.
Build the primary coil as described in wintesla, but add a couple of
turns as your measurements are approximate and you can alter where the coil
is tapped any time you like.
Start with the number of primary turns as shown by wintesla and tune
for maximum spark. You may only start with 1/2" sparks, but tuning will
improve this.
If you are stuck, post the text results of Wintesla with your
question.
Learn to ask specific questions e.g. how do I make a capacitor of XX
for VV volts out of the xx rated mm uF caps I have ? Not It wont work no
matter what I try.
Google it first ... You will learn much more if you find the answers
yourself and you will not lose the support of the list that way. There is a
huge amount of information out there.
People help those who help themselves..
Even if it doesn't work. You still should get a good mark for your
assignment, as along as you can explain why well enough and If you can prove
that you have made a really good effort.
Also ask your lecturer, I'm sure some one can help. I don't think
you would be marked down for asking advice, they are there to teach you...