Re: LC III

["Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>]

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

Terry,
Very well spoken, indeed, however I must speak out for us new to 
electronics and coiling. Although I have been trying to teach myself about 
electronics and electricity in general for several years, my background is 
Computer Science, I still certainly consider myself new and certainly less 
than journeyman as far as electronics goes.

My point is that, IMHO, it would be daunting to say the least to attempt to 
jump into building Tesla Coils if one has to learn enough about electronics 
to build a solid state control unit to replace the very simple spark gap. 
Heck, I'm still leery of attempting to build a rotary spark gap. When I 
left off, I don't even remember the distinction being made between 
synchronous and asynchronous spark gaps. It through me when I discovered I 
would need a synchronous motor and have to worry about phase relationships 
in spark propagation. (I think I said that correctly{:-))

I was all set to build my first Tesla Coil about 4 years ago, until I was 
abruptly halted due to blindness as a result of diabetic retinopathy. 
Fortunately for me, thanks to modern medicine and after a half a dozen eye 
surgeries, they have managed to restore enough site in my left eye to where 
I can read and use the computer with assistance. Although I am still 
legally blind, I have slowly revived my interest in electronics and coiling 
and just recently started researching the web to see "where things have 
gotten to" and subsequently joined this list. I, very much like you have 
described, was completely shocked at the way things have progressed and 
changed. I am still coming to grips with the demise of 1/4 wave theory and 
(thank god) messy, difficult to build, oil filled caps.

Undaunted, I have continued following this list, asking questions, and 
accumulating parts. Thanks to the patience and help of many of you on this 
list, I believe I have saved myself a lot of trouble, expense, time, and 
grief in attempting to build myself a first coil.

So, Terry, I have a question for you. After what you have said, what is 
your recommendation to someone fairly new to electronics who wants to learn 
and wants to construct their own small Tesla Coil? Would you recommend that 
they wait until they have learned enough about electronics to build a solid 
state control unit or go ahead and "get their feet wet" by building and 
testing a relatively simpler spark gap coil.

Thanks and thanks again for the kind comments and recommendations you have 
made. Everything is greatly appreciated.
Paul Brodie
Think Positive
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, March 27, 2005 11:06 PM
Subject: Re: LC III

> Original poster: Terry Fritz <teslalist@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>
> Hi,
>
> The speed of light and 1/4 wave wire resonance was used by Tesla and pretty
> much everyone else for 90 years...
>
> Unless one was listening to the vast but very recent discussions here in
> the past few years, to suddenly be told that it is not right, is a bit of a
> "shock"!!
>
> We need to sort of cut those that have not "heard the news" a little slack
> and allow them to catch up on things.  Bill Wysock, Richard Hull, DC Cox
> (?), Richard Quick, Duane Bylund, Nikola Tesla, the Corums...  All have
> supported the older theories.  We have to understand that those of us that
> might suggest they were all a bit wrong here and there, are going to meet
> with resistance!!  Only John Couture ignored with lengths as a factor of
> the 1/4 wave speed of light in designing Tesla coils (before it was 
popular)...
>
> I am sure "today" that these folks more or less agree with the recent
> findings, but there are vast numbers of folks out there that simply have
> are not aware that things have REALLY suddenly changed!!
>
> So we need to help them to understand.  They often look at us like we are
> fools to disagree with the "facts" of just a few years ago and often think
> "we" have no brain.  They just don't know of the vast background and amount
> of work that has been done in the last "very few" years.  They don't
> realize that we probably know more about the 1/4 wave ideas and such better
> than those that created it.  They don't realize that we "HAVE" studied it
> in vast detail and picked out the flaws and errors and have "fixed"
> them...  Instead of symposiums and quarterly journals, we took advantage of
> the "instant" communications of the Internet to bring hundreds of top Tesla
> coiling minds together to change the world of coiling in only a few
> years...  Probably 70% of "todays" Tesla coiling theory was developed in
> the last "five" years...  If you were not here, you missed it!!!
>
> I try not to "just say" they are wrong, but teach, demonstrate, and explain
> the new techniques and knowledge.  At first they will hesitate, but facts
> will grow on them in a little time ;-))
>
> Just like those that suddenly join the list and tell us they have just made
> a great oil filled cap, there will be those that think they have a great
> new 1/4 wave coil idea...  We are "both" shocked that the other's ideas are
> so weird...  One side just does not understand why we seem "not to care"
> about oil caps and 1/4 wave wire lengths.  We just don't understand why the
> are not using MMCs and GEOTC JAVA based web coil design applications...
>
> We both underestimate the amount of time and effort the other has put into
> their view.  We have worked on the new ideas very very hard, they have
> worked on the 1/4 wave stuff very very hard...  The "collision" is never
> pleasant.  We gain joy in seeing them learn and come up to speed, they are
> fascinated at how well things are "all figured out"!!
>
> One simple test is to look at folk's "first coils".  Those of us that made
> our first coils in the 1/4 wave theory days know how they all turned
> out...  Today, people's first coils tend to be pretty stunning fire
> breathing dragons :-)))
>
> Even Terry has a few 1/4C wave Tesla coils around :o))  But they are
> "old"...  I have to admit, any Tesla coil that does not have IGBTs, seems
> very old to me now too...  Just like we do not care about oil filled
> homemade caps and trying to figure out the wire length for a 100kHz coil as
> a function of C/(4*Fo), I find I no longer care about spark gaps, NSTs, and
> variacs...   I laughed as I threw my "old musty" small coil drive system
> into the corner since it was "in the way" of my DRSSTC, and wondered if I
> would ever turn that old archaic "state of the art (2001)" thing on again...
>
> The pace is relentless...
>
> Cheers,
>
>         Terry
>
> At 01:21 PM 3/27/2005, you wrote:
>>Can't this topic die already!!!  Everyone with a brain
>>knows Paul is rght. Everyone without a brain will
>>never be swayed. Are we OT yet???
>>
>>Adam
>>
>>--- Tesla list <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>> > Original poster: Paul Nicholson
>> > <paul@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> >
>> > Jared wrote:
>> >  > you are misapplying transmission line theory.
>> >
>> > No I'm not.  You're ignoring all the evidence of
>> >
>
>
>