RE: [TCML] Tesla Coil Help

["Lau, Gary" <Gary.Lau@xxxxxx>]

30 Watts is a pretty small amount of power - I'm not sure that too much more can be expected from it.  I'm sure that the PVC pipe is not absorbing any significant amount of power.  Overcoupling is usually evident with racing sparks along the secondary.  Undercoupling can certainly compromise performance.

How high is the primary voltage?  Gap losses increase with number of segments.  You may want to try a single parallel copper pipe gap.

What kind of wire is the primary wound with?  As the operating frequency is relatively high, it's probably more important than ever to use solid (not stranded) wire and very short, direct connections.

Regards, Gary Lau
MA, USA

> Behalf Of Ben Sneath
> Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2007 1:12 AM
> To: tesla@xxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [TCML] Tesla Coil Help
>
> hello all,
>
> can anyone help me with my coil problems,
> i built a small 1" coil and it is only making thin wispy 3/4
> inch sparks, yet I'm putting about 30W into
> the thing. i don't know if the PVC pipe i used in the
> secondary is absorbing all the power (its 1" dia.,
> with about 2.5 mm thick walls, bit too much plastic) or from
> overcoupling. here are the specs:
>
> Secondary: 1" x 3", about 500 turns, 38ish gauge wire
> Primary: helical, 14 turns (2 layers) 20 Amp electrical
> wire, 2" dia.x1" high
> Tank Cap: .42nF MMC
> Topload: 12mm x 40mm foil coated wooden toroid
> Power: 10kv induction coil, running at 230Hz
> Gap: 4 round head bolts, spaced so they just fire
> Runs at about 2.5MHz
>
> any help would be a great help, thanks

_______________________________________________
Tesla mailing list
Tesla@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.pupman.com/mailman/listinfo/tesla