Re: The simple problem with Tesla coiling now... Re: Xfmrs

["Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Original poster: Dan Williams <coilerdude@xxxxxxxxx>

I have 3 young kids in the house.  All of my coiling gear is in the garage.

I ALWAYS unplug the variac, unplug the coil from the variac and make 
REAL SURE nobody can put power to anything in my shop.

I must agree with allot of what this post said.  The only thing I can 
add is that the experienced coilers will need to take on the 
responsibility of attempting to educate the masses.

Thank you to all the dedicated coilers who have contributed to this 
new coilers success!

Dan

Tesla list <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Original poster: Terrell Fritz

Hi Jim,

At 05:02 PM 3/2/2007, you wrote:
>Original poster: Jim Lux
>......................
>
>I've always thought that most people who work with high voltage/high
>energy/other inherently dangerous activities really only appreciate
>the danger after one of those "near death" experiences where you go
>"Wow.. that was a close one". I only wish I could find a way to
>contrive such an experience for new engineers that would be safe, but scary.
>
>When I started fooling with HV, an elderly HV guy (elderly is a good
>sign, if you think about it; and elderly to me back in my early 20s
>might not seem so today in my 40s....) said that everyone
>should start with a decent sized Van deGraaff generator. High
>enough voltage so that corona is omnipresent and you get a feel for
>design issues and that the practical effect of a HV field can extend
>quite a ways. Low enough energy so that the inevitable mistake hurts
>but doesn't kill you. A low powered tesla coil is probably in the
>same category. You can make some small mistakes and all that
>happens is something catches fire, the insulation burns off, etc.
>
>After you've done some small amount of doing, then it's time to make
>that honest self assessment.. Is this something I really should be
>doing? But heck, people do dangerous things with no experience all
>the time. Most people survive through life.. partly by luck, partly
>by self knowledge, and HV experimenting is no different. If you are
>excessively bold, you wind up being a Darwin award holder.
>
>Where it gets a bit stickier (and is a totally different subject) is
>when other people's safety starts to enter the picture (public
>shows, your kids wandering around your gear) or where there's
>significant consequential risk if you "have a bad day" (gosh, sorry
>we inadvertently burned down the school). That's where I think I'd
>start to draw the line and require experience and a second set of
>eyes. (And, I confess that I've become substantially more
>conservative as I've gotten older...maybe it's those near death
>experiences? maybe it's just experience and knowledge.. maybe
>that's the difference between knowledge and wisdom?)
>
>
>Jim

I started "HV" with ignition coils from the junk yard in the fifth
grade. Got shocked all the time ;-)) Then got into the mail order
sources on Tesla coil plans. They never worked... Then went to
"school"... Then worked on 375kV power line equipment... Then worked
in the high energy power supply business for another 18
years... Then "retired" ;-)) Played with lots of vacuum plasma
things and lasers in there to...

So after a lot of "skool" I know "how to do it" now ;-))

So I studied Tesla coil arcs, and stepped further back with each
study... I studied the EMP dangers, and stopped doing public coil
demos... I studied the dangers of my modern circuits, and stopped
publicly posting them...

The "simple problem with Tesla coiling" NOW is, It is VERY
dangerous!!! Unlike the "good old days" when nobody got a coil to
work for the first few years... Now a days, the information is there
to make a gigantically powerful coil right off in an afternoon with
two old microwaves and a pair of pliers... Worse yet, is that the
new super high power coils are "much easier" to make than older designs...

It really is "NOT fun games" any more... If a young kid pulls a MOT
instead of a ford coil, the 2kV at 2 amps will blow his dead guts all
over the house!!! The totally screwed up coil "plans" that could not
shock your cat 20 years ago, have been "replaced" by coils that can
send kitty "into orbit" now...

There are a "few" "safety gates" still in place, but they are "fragile"...

I "very deeply fear" that newcomers to our sport might "grasp" the
newer technologies "right off" and simply kill themselves...

I am not sure "how"... But we are at the brink of needing to take
safety "a great step further" now...

Cheers,

Terry








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