Hi Terry,
I tried your test to make sure my gap did not widen from when I set
it at 0.06" a few weeks ago. I built the primary section first, and
that test was one of the first I did then to accurately set the
gap. The gap fires smoothly with just the NST across it at a variac
setting of 90% which is 108 VAC into the NST. That should
correspond to an output voltage of approximately 5090 VAC peak. It
does not look as if my gap is set too wide. One of the rules of
Gary's competition states that you may not run with a wide open
gap. I was careful to follow those rules to the letter in order to
qualify, and to protect my little NST.
Also, did you see any reason ScanTesla predicted only 6.4" streamers?
My earlier post contained the input and and output files I used in
the program.
Karl
On Jun 6, 2006, at 5:38 PM, Tesla list wrote:
Original poster: Vardan <vardan01@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Hi Karl,
The resonant capacitor value for the modified transformer is:
Cres = 0.038 / (2 x pi x 60 x 4000) = 25.2nF
so the 25nF capacitor in the coil is right at resonance. Just like
an NST system, the voltage at the gap can be pretty high and well
over the rated voltage with a resonant size cap. So instead of the
firing voltage being 5524V it might be much higher. I suspect it
is closer to 15kV!
There is an easy way to check. Disconnect the cap and primary coil
so "only" the transformer and gap are in circuit. With just the
gap as the load for the transformer, it should put out its rated voltage.
Then see if the gap fires. If it does, then the gap is set to 5524.
However, if the gap does not fire and the electrodes need to be
moved closer, then the gap was set for a higher voltage. Once the
gap is set for 5524V I think the spark length will go way down
:-( Like 7 to 10 inches. So set the gap back to where it was :-))
Cheers,
Terry