Re: bummed

["Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Original poster: "Harold Weiss" <hweiss@xxxxxxxxxx>

Hi Steven,

When I started coiling, my first coil was a disaster too.  1000T of #20 on 
a 4" hunk of pvc drainpipe.  A ceramic capacitor MMC, bolt head spark gap, 
a 14T helical tubing primary that went 2/3 of the way up the secondary, and 
a 6/30 NST.  The caps liked vaporizing, and all I could get was a 1/8" 
spark drawn from a grounded tip broom handle.  Saltwater caps soon replaced 
the ceramic MMC and had to add or subtract them to tune.  The sparks still 
didn't break off the 6" sphere but at least they grew to 3".  That coil 
looked like a crazed moonshine still.  I then built more designs and 
increased it up to 5".  Then I left the helical primary behind and went to 
a flat 6 turn, dual bolt gap, 9/30 power, .012 uf cap and spacewound 
secondary.  That coil could break almost 24" on the startup pulse, and run 
18" from then on for 5 min or more.

Back then, I didn't have the list or computer programs to rely on.  It was 
all build and see.  There was also a lot of crap information out there, and 
the good information was in real short supply.  I have 80# of scrap wire 
from all the failures getting ready for the scrapyard.

So don't get bummed, just keep on trying.  You'll get there!

David E Weiss


> Original poster: "Steven Steele" <sbsteele@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>
> I'm bummed cuz i tried my tc and id did exactly what i expected it to do, 
> nothing. I can't find out what the resonant freq is. i don't even know 
> that my retarted tc even has one. i aint got a clue as to the math i need 
> if i were to go about getting my caps oriented to whatever freq i ned to 
> put them at. basically, i'm up the creek without a paddle, and theres 
> probbly a waterfall.
>
>            Steven Steele