RE: noob questions

["Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Original poster: "Qndre Qndre" <qndre_encrypt@xxxxxxxxxxx>

Hey Jay,

welcome to the list. There are two "big" categories of coils. 
Continuous wave (CW) and damped-wave. The damped-wave designs are the 
"real" TCs, they rely on the same principle as the coils of Nikola 
Tesla. They use a spark gap in the primary resonant circuit to excite 
the oscillation once the capacitor has charged to a high enough 
voltage to make the spark gap fire. The voltage will then decay due 
to EM radiation and thermal losses. These coils can create longer 
sparks at a given output power than the CW ones, which use either 
MOSFETs or vacuum tubes. The arc of a CW coil of sufficient power is 
hot enough to melt through glass while the sparks of a spark gap coil 
can pass through insulators without damaging them due to capacitive 
coupling. The arc of a CW coil will mainly generate nitrous oxides 
while the arc of a damped-wave coil will mainly generate ozone. A CW 
coil is relatively quiet in operation while a damped-wave coil is 
creating very loud discharges. If you get into contact with the 
high-frequency output of a CW coil (which is absolutely not 
recommended since skin-effect in organic tissues seems to be a myth 
according to many experiments which have been done about this topic) 
your skin is very likely to be burnt while you may not feel the 
current flow (depending on power and frequency). A damped-wave coil 
will for sure make you notice the current but will not burn your 
skin, at least if power is not too high.

Since you are new to this I suggest you to read the safety document 
on Pupman's website: http://www.pupman.com/safety.htm

I hope you enjoy coiling.

Regards, Q.

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Original poster: "Jay McDonald" <jay.mcdonald@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>


I just joined the list, and am going to ask some quick newbie questions. I
know very little about how Tesla coils work, or even electricity for that
matter - but, my nephew (a professional electrician) is going to work with
me to get something going. Is there any sort of intro to coil theory and
building that is available on the web that would get us quickly up to speed?
I have done a lot of looking, but everything seems fragmentary and technical
- it often presumes prior knowledge. What's something good that will give us
a comprehensive understanding of the various principles and options for
building?

I have seen that most seem to fall into either spark gap, vacuum tube, or
solid state. Then after that, some seem like they have more adjustments than
others. What are the pros and cons of each? From my admittedly ignorant
perspective, the vacuum tube ones seem the most interesting.

Are there designs which run quietly, instead of the characteristic loud RAT
TAT TAT? Are some designs inherently safer than others?

What about the structural design? Most coils seem to follow the standard
look of the Tesla's original with a tall, thin, pole-like design. But what's
the story with something like these:

http://mysite.verizon.net/res07cmo/hv/goldman/goldman.htm


And lastly, are there any builders in my area? USA, New Jersey, Northern
part, along route 78.



Thank you,




Jay McDonald

Hexatrope Creative Studios, LLC
[908 996 0680]  |  www.hexatrope.com