Re: [TCML] Need assistance in diagnosing poor performance

["Phillip Slawinski" <pslawinski@xxxxxxxxx>]

Are you using a breakout point when you tune the coil?  I've found that this
aids greatly in tuning the coil.  Also your tuner may not take streamer
loading into account, so you'll want to move the tap around and see what
gives you the best sparks.  Make sure your coupling is not too tight or too
loose.  If you're using a static gap make sure you're spacing is not too
conservative.  [You do not want to go too wide either, believe me I know.]

On Tue, Jul 29, 2008 at 6:53 PM, Stephen J. Hobley <shobley@xxxxxxxxxx>wrote:

> We're still not getting the performance we would expect out of the Tesla
> coil we built.
>
> It might have been the humidity that killed it tonight, as performance
> was the worst yet - spark length was only 3" using the safety wand.
>
> Where should I start in looking for problems? I've built the 555 timer
> based tuner and re-tapped the primary at coil 11, as this gave the
> dimmest indication, as per the instructions.
>
> Apart from that, I'm a bit stumped.
>
> I've seen evidence that this coil can give much better performance -
> Alan sent me some recent pictures of a US military coiler over in Iraq,
> getting at least 25" arcs out of his coil - exact same specs.
>
> Maybe the desert air helps...
>
> Any help is greatly appreciated.
>
> Steve
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