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Re: A few problems..[No problems this time]
Original poster: "M G" <gt4awd@xxxxxxxxx>
I've been real busy lately, but was able to finish the portable base
a few days ago. I ended up using two 1/2" think 2' oak squares,
separated by 1"x18" oak dowels, and four medium sized plastic wheels
with security locks to make it portable, but at the same time safe
and stable. I stained all of the oak with polyshades oak satin
230. Total cost for the wood, stain, foam brushes, screws, bolts,
nuts, and wheels, was around $50 dollars. The oak was purchased at
Lowes for 30$, and I got the rest of the stuff at Home Depot.
My first coil setup was made in a slight rush because I was anxious
to finish it, and see some good streamers in person. Of course I
spent months learning about the coil, and collecting supplies before
even being close to finished, so I really just wanted to get things
done. Now that I have built, and tested my own coil, I am taking a
lot of time to get this new setup perfect. I was even considering
buying four acrylic sheets to place on each side of base unit, one
made into a locked/hinged door, but this would have been too
expensive, nearly 100$ for the acrylic. Maybe when I get a better
job... New images of the portable base, my coil in operation, and
other misc. things related to coiling can be viewed on my imageshack
public profile at,
<http://profile.imageshack.us/user/gt4awd/>http://profile.imageshack.us/user/gt4awd/
I have most of the PVC I will be using for the insulated primary
supports. Eight feet of it at 1" diameter, and I was wondering, if
you were going to add them to the base unit I made, what method would
you use? It could just be epoxied to the wood, but it seems kind of
cheap in my opinion. It might be the only option, because I cannot
seem to find any non-metalic bolts or screws at any local hardware
stores. I would rather not order them online. Gerry, I have decided
to use eight supports. Your right, it would look better, and be more
efficient at keeping the coil even.
Bart, there was one time that I ran the coil without the ground
connection. I did this to show another person that there is no
electricity connected to the secondary coil through the ground wire,
and that the energy transfer takes place through electromagnetic
induction. It's likely this is when the problem started.. I will try
without the inside loops and see if that prevents the problem. The
burn mark sanded off easy enough. I have looked through Home Depot
for PVC end caps and have yet to find them. Still trying to find a
thicker piece of plastic that can be cut into two end caps. The
previous end cap, made with the plant pot water catch plate, was not
thick enough.
Thanks for the replies,
Matt G.
----------------------------------------------------
Original poster: "Barton B. Anderson"
<<http://mail.lycos.com/Mail-bin/send_mail.form.cgi?TO=bartb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>bartb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Hi Matt,
Tubing is easier than solid copper wire (no doubt). The more runners
you have, the more uniform the coil will be. If the primary is to be
really small for say a 2" diameter secondary, then 4 runners are ok.
But anything larger, I would recommend 8 runners.
For small coils (again, 2" type), I just find a pvc end cap at the
hardware store (I don't care if it's rounded or squared off). But for
larger coil forms I cut a plexiglas circle and epoxy it into place.
The reason I do that is because I've ended up using larger form sizes
of which I could not find an end cap readily available.
The burn mark is not good. There's a definite track going around the
edge. Likely bottom turn to a ground point. Increase the distance or
better yet, remove the underside turn. I usually terminate my bottom
winding directly to the ground point. I don't bother winding a
longated turn after the bottom secondary turn to tie to that point
(which appears to be in place with the taped up turn). Right after
the last winding, just take it to the ground point and don't run
another turn under the coil bottom end cap. Often, I'll insert a
small brass screw which serves to terminate the bottom winding and to
attach the ground lead. I've had no problems with that, (I do use a
button head screw on the inside to prevent sharp edges).
Take care,
Bart
----------------------------------------------------
Original poster: "Gerry Reynolds"
Hi Matt,
I built a small coil and used six supports. I thought that was
marginal and have since used eight. I think you will be happy with
the looks of 8 supports.
Gerry R.
>Original poster: "M G"
>
>
>Yesterday I took apart the coil in preparation for building the
>portable base. I will also be making a new flat spiral primary coil,
>using 50' of 1/4" copper tubing, and 1" PVC for insulated supports.
>Found the tubing at Lowes for a really good price compared to the
>other stores. It was only $29 dollars including tax. The 1/4" tubing
>seems like it would be easier to shape than the previous 10ga. solid
>copper wire used for the first primary. Should I get by fine only
>using four supports with notches cut in them to hold the coil turns,
>or consider using eight? I'm trying to get the new coil as even as
>possible so any tips on winding it would be great.
>
>
>
>I plan on taking apart the old primary coil and using the wire to
>make a bi-polar coil setup. I might make a new secondary for the
>setup using the 780' spool of 24AWG magnet wire I still have, or
>possibly just design it for an easy exchange of the secondary coil I
>already have onto both coil setups. It will be a while before I
>start any work on the bi-polar coil though.
>
>
>
>I was wondering what most people use for the end caps on the their
>secondary coils? What I did was use two water catch plates for pots,
>and cut them to size. The problem is they are made out of the one
>type of poly plastic that epoxy does not bond to. Everything plastic
>I can find, that would make a good end cap, is made out of this same
>type of poly plastic.
>
>When I was taking apart the coil I had just removed the nut off the
>end cap bolt, and someone knocked the secondary off, unsealing what
>little bond the epoxy had made. Thats the second time the secondary
>has fell from a good distance, and it has held up fine. As long as
>it the wire does not get cut on something sharp. What I found on the
>inside has me a little worried. A good burn mark on the wall of the
>PVC that was the ground side of the secondary. Here's a link to an
>image.
>http://img66.imageshack.us/img66/3541/1000204rc7.jpg
>Any idea why that would happen or what I should do to prevent it?
>Thanks,
>
>Matt G.
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