[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: Hello from The Newbie

Original poster: FutureT@xxxxxxx

In a message dated 1/16/05 10:28:58 AM Eastern Standard Time, tesla@xxxxxxxxxx writes:


Original poster: "Chris Watkins" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

Hi all!

    Chris here, with my first post. Location: 35 miles west of Atlanta, GA.
I've been scouring websites, reading articles and posts about Tesla Coils,
for a few weeks now. The list kept popping up, so of course I subscribed :-)



Chris,

Welcome to the list.  Your idea of scrounging around for parts is
highly prized among many coilers and can give excellent results.
There's a certain satisfaction in being able to get good sparks without
spending a fortune for components.  The performance results obtained
depends as much upon the design as on the component quality.

Consider spark gaps for example.  Many newbies just toss something
together using a couple of nail or bolt heads as an afterthough after
building the rest of the coil.  However the spark gap is the heart of
a tesla coil in many ways.  It can be cheap and made of junk, but
it should use a suitable design.  For example a multiple series
gap type is far superior to a single gap type in most cases.  The
single gap can work well if air blasts are added, etc.  A multiple
gap can be made from sections of scrap copper pipe or tubing.
Perhaps a muffin fan can be added for cooling and quenching
and the whole thing assembled into a short section of wide
PVC pipe thereby creating the so-called TCBOR type gap.
But many other simpler designs work well on a small coil.

A cardboard secondary will work fine.  You may be able to
find a length of PVC plastic pipe instead.  You can get a piece of this at a
construction site or at a dump most likely.  I have a whole
collection of these pipes that I found over the years.  I don't
even bother picking them up anymore.

My website which gives some ideas for coil building, shows
my TT-42 coil and other information, is at:

    http://hometown.aol.com/futuret/page3.html

Cheers,
John