[TCML] Mini TC secondary form - you can get at the grocery store

[Brian Hall <brianh4242@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Having made a little TC that fits right completely on a tv tray table, the form for the secondary is actually one of those little cardboard tubes that my local grocery store has their plastic bags for the produce department rolled around.  At the center of each roll of bags for your fruits and veggies is a cylnder of cardbaord with about a 1/4 inch wall thickness,  not flimsy at all like you may think of for a cardboard tube - you would need a saw to cut through it and a hammer to dent it. 

 

I just asked the cashier nicely and they said sure I could take it, they just throw them out anyways! Got around half dozen of them.

 

Here are the dimensions for my mini secondary

 

diameter: 1 and 5/16 "  (1.3125)
winding height: 3 and 3/4 " (3.75)
wire diameter: .008 " (32 awg)

 

around 470 turns (1938 inches of wire according to deepfriedneon calculator)
inductance: 2186.667 uH
self capacitance: 1.871 pF

frequency by itself: 787 kHz

 

For the primary I used some copper stranded wire around 14 awg, 10 turns or so, helical, on a short, wide cardboard cylynder about 2x the diamater of the secondary  (you could use the core of a roll of duct tape or something like that). The cap is one snapple bottle saltwater leyden jar, there is a single spark gap, and my variac has the 15kv 30 ma nst turned up about 1/3 of the way (so I guess thats about the same as a BZT at full power?)

 

With no topload I get about a 13mm bright purple streamer but only to a grounded object - such as an old hard drive platter.

 

so I guess 13mm streamer from a secondary that fits in the palm of your hand isnt too bad?  And most of the parts very inexpensive if not free, already had around the house.  Have video, when I get a chance to edit it, I will send the link.


---------------------------------- 
Brian Hall 



 		 	   		  
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