RE: Non-copper components (fwd)

["Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 15 Jun 2007 23:20:35 -0400
From: "Lau, Gary" <Gary.Lau@xxxxxx>
To: Tesla list <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: RE: Non-copper components

The answer depends a great deal on the nature of your coil and the power
level you're using.  Solid-state IGBT-based coils are the bleeding edge
of coiling technology, and run with extremely high primary currents.  If
a steel bolt is used in one of these as a main conductor path, it may
indeed get hot.  But in a conventional spark gap coil using an NST power
supply, I think we often tend to overkill on conductor sizes.  Are you
using an NST, or a pole pig?

As far as avoiding steel near the tank due to being ferromagnetic - I
believe steel has been over-vilified.  A couple bits of steel hardware
are not going to make any observable difference in performance.  

All of the MMC caps I've seen do not have steel leads.

The primary tap however is something that I WOULD try to use copper,
brass, or bronze on, for oxidation as well as resistance reasons.

Regards, Gary Lau
MA, USA


> Date: Fri, 15 Jun 2007 15:46:55 +0100
> From: Tom Trevethan <t.trevethan@xxxxxxxxx>
> To: Tesla list <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> I've been 'lurking' on the list for a while now - soaking up lots of
useful
> information. Now I have a question to ask: how critical to performance
are the
> materials that make the tank circuit? I've read that steel is best
avoided (due
> to it being ferromagnetic) - but it is dificult and expensive to
construct the
> circuit entirely out of copper and tungsten. In my coil I use thick
copper
> cable (8 awg) with copper pipe lugs and I've tried to use brass bolts
where
> possible (but I use steel nuts and bolts in some places). My primary
tap is
> made of steel and I also recently found out that the 'brass' bolts I
am using
> for stationary electrodes in my rotaty gap are actually brass plated
steel. Am
> I likely to see significant improvements in performance if I go to the
effort
> of replacing these parts? After all, it seems overkill when the wires
leaving
> the capacitors of my (and everybody elses) MMC are made of (thin)
steel.
> 
> Thanks in adavance for any advice.
> 
> Tom