Re: First Light Great, Second Time Not So Great...

["Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Original poster: Gregory Hunter <tesla_39560@xxxxxxxxx>

> I finally finished my first coil.  It is a 12/30
> 16" X 3.5" coil.  I ran
> it on Friday and it was great, I just guessed on the
> tunning by looking at
> the spark output.  Then on Saturday I was going to
> run it for some friends
> and family.  I plugged it in beforehand and
> something happened.  It started
> arcing from the middle of the secondary (24 AWG
> coated many times with
> polyurethane) to the bottom of the secondary (didn't
> arc to primary
> though).  Also, streamers were coming out of the top
> winding on the
> secondary, not just the toroid (6" steel ball).  I
> tried lowering the top
> load but it didn't help.  It was more humid on
> Saturday than Friday, not
> sure if that matters.  Any ideas?  Thanks
>
>

If your secondary is not ruined, I have a few
suggestions:

Try raising the secondary a little (1/2" increments)
relative to the primary.

Lower the steel ball until it is nearly touching the
top turn of the primary.

Place a breakout point (thumbtack or something) on top
of the steel ball to guide the streamers up & away
from the secondary.

Greg