Re: Introduction - New TC

["Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Original poster: "J. Aaron Holmes" <jaholmes@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

Hey there, Doug!  I wouldn't count on using up even
*one* of those 50' rolls of tubing.  You'll probably
only need ten or so turns on your primary.  As for
toploads, lots of folks have had good luck with the
dryer duct toroids.  Spun aluminum toroid are sure
nice to look at, but can cost literally 100's of
dollars!!  Unless you're after a museum piece, I'd
avoid costs like that in a first coil.  For my current
coil, I bought two 14" stainless mixing bowls from
Ikea and welded them together.  Alternatively, you can
tape them together with aluminum tape.

Picture of my Ikea-bowl topload in action is here:
http://silicon-arcana.com/tesla/tesla.jpg

A so-called "Terry filter" is probably what you want
to protect your NST with.  Google ought to turn up the
recipe straight away (if Terry doesn't get here
first!).  As for a spark gap, a static gap is probably
the way to go for a first coil.  If you have a leaf
blower or Shop Vac, using this to quench your static
gap can result in much better coil output.  There are
many recipes for quenched static gaps, each of which
has its advantages and disadvantages.  For a first
coil, you might opt for one that is easiest for you to
build so that you don't lose momentum.  Once you have
a working coil, revisit the gap and tune for
performance.

Have fun and play safe!
Regards,
Aaron, N7OE


--- Tesla list <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Original poster: Tesla Coil list
> <tesla@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>
> ok...let's try this again...thanks for the help
> Chip....anyways
>
>
>
> Hi all, been lurking in the archives for a few weeks
> and finally joined
> the list.....just wanted to say hello, introduce
> myself...
>
> My name is Doug, I'm a recovering EECE expat. at
> UNM, now focusing on a
> BFA in art studio (photography and jewelry)....
> got my amature lic about 10 years ago, KC5QFV,
> innactive, but I'm on
> lists for disaster stuff....
>
> I got turned on to pupman from The Geek Group and
> Google searches for
> Tesla stuff..... that's what I'm doing right now,
> building my first
> coil. Currently my coil is:
>
> 12kv/30ma NST
>
> 4.5" PVC form coil, #26 wire, ~960 turns
>
> 2x 50' spools of 1/4" copper tubing (planning to
> solder them together
> if I have to, for the primary coil)
>
> 32x CDE 942C 2kv 0.15uF caps on order from Rell
> (lady on the phone said
> they were the last ones they were getting, ever???)
>
> 8' of 4" dryer duct and Al tape.
>
> .... so besides a SG and a filter.... what am I
> missing?  I was planning
> to make a toroid from dryer duct, but it looks like
> there's someone here
> who sells spun toroids, I might have to go that
> route.  Sizes? Current
> prices?
>
>
> You can find pictures of all my HV stuff at
> http://www.greymatter.org/tesla/   I'm especially
> proud of the jaccobs
> ladder pics.
>
> Anyways, hello everyone... expect more questions
> soon :)
>
> -Doug
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>