Re: SRSG or VSRSG operation possible?

["Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Original poster: "Gerry  Reynolds" <gerryreynolds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>

Hi Scott,

Yes, Terry's SISG system is simple and that does have beauty.  For 
those trying to squeeze the most out of a given PS,  Im wondering how 
Terry's SISG compares to a SRSG or ARSG.   If the RSG wins then maybe 
the next step is to build a SISG that emulates the RSG.  Once we find 
what produces better sparks then we can be challanged to make it simple :-))

As for a ARSG,  probably no need for the SIDACs.  One can just feed a 
triggering pulse into the stuff that turns on the IGBTs.  For the 
SRSG, the SIDACs are replaced by a peak detector.   If we can find a 
good equivalent for the IGBT that can be optically controlled,  a 
whole new world of experiments can easily be done.

Gerry
----- Original Message -----
From: <mailto:huil888@xxxxxxxxxxxx>Scott Hanson
To: <mailto:gerryreynolds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>Gerry Reynolds
Sent: Saturday, July 15, 2006 12:45 PM
Subject: SISG: SRSG or VSRSG operation possible?

Gerry -

I had corresponded with Terry a while ago on a similar (but 
different) topic: With suitable drive electronics, would it not be 
possible to set up a SISG system so the firing rate was variable, 
like a variable-speed RSG?

I think one of the most spectacular audio-visual displays that a 
Tesla coil can provide is a DC system with a variable-speed rotary 
spark gap. As you slowly crank up the RSG speed, the character of the 
arcs change, the system goes in and out of minor resonances, and the 
sound of the coil and the arcs becomes ever-more frantic. Its like a 
build up to a tremendous crescendo, you are expecting that the system 
will suddenly explode because it can't possibly process more power.

Now part of this effect may be from the screaming RSG; if this is 
absent in a SISG system, the A/V effects may not be quite so 
pronounced, but I'm sure that it would still be more interesting than 
just a fixed-break-rate system.

The key to the SISG system is its simplicity, to any break-rate 
control would need to be simple variable speed oscillator, not a 
microprocessor-controlled system.

I'm waiting for my SISG parts to arrive from DigiKey on Monday or 
Tuesday, so I should have a fixed-break-rate system running shortly. 
I'd like to have a plan evolving into a variable-break-rate system ....

Regards,
Scott Hanson