Re: Hello from The Newbie

["Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>]

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


> Original poster: Chip Atkinson <chip@xxxxxxxxxx>
>
> Hi Chris!
>
> Welcome to the list!  Starting small is a good idea.  Cheaper and you can
> get a good feel for things.

Of course... the last time I got "a good feel for things" in the HV-RF
world,
it was at the anodes of a pair of 6146A's, inside an old ham rig. I noticed
one of the metal caps loose, and couldn't resist reaching down to secure it.
 Hopefully I have a much better understanding of safety, 20-ish years later.


> I think you'd be better off with something a bit on the thicker
> side just to provide a firmer surface to avoid getting 50% done only to
> accidentally crush the thing or to have it crush and shed all the turns
> you have so lovingly put on it.

Ouch! A horrible thought --and one that hadn't crossed my mind at all.
I'm starting to feel the love for a more sturdy form. If I do use cardboard,
I think I'll at least epoxy the inside... or use a thick mail tube or
something.


> I have found that if I go to electric motor shops I can often get the
> tail end of a roll of wire and not have to pay winding costs to have it
> put on a spool.

Haven't scored "free" yet... but I did find one that will sell me partials
for $5/pound... less than a third of online prices, and no shipping costs.


> You can use beer bottles for capacitors as well.  I haven't done that
> myself, but it's a cheap way of making capacitors.

Unless I get extremely lucky at a hamfest or something, the beer bottle
caps are exactly what I had in mind, to start out with.


> Hope that can get you started.
>
> Chip

Thanks!