Re: [TCML] Trying another coil after 42 years

[John Forcina <forcijo10@xxxxxxxxx>]

Go for it, i am sure it will work excellent!

On Sat, Oct 2, 2010 at 8:33 PM, Bill Washburn <billwashburn@xxxxxxxxxxx>wrote:

> Gregory,
>
> I have a couple of "FLPS - Power Supplies - for Cold-Cathode Lamps" and
> thought I'd use one of these with
> A one stage High-voltage amp to push the current up.  In addition several
> stages of cocroft-Walton might push the
> Voltage up where it will need to be.
>
> The DigiKeyCXA-L10L runs at 4.5W, 900V and 30KHz..
>
> Could I start with one of these and/or amplify/multiply (or at 4.5W would
> simple voltage multiplication work)?
>
> Thanks, Bill
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: G Hunter [mailto:dogbrain_39560@xxxxxxxxx]
> Sent: Saturday, October 02, 2010 8:15 AM
> To: Tesla Coil Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [TCML] Trying another coil after 42 years
>
> Hi Bill,
>
> Welcome back to the insanity...
>
> > When I was a youngster I built a small Tesla transformer
> > with an old Model-T
> > spark coil and a capacitor made of a piece o glass with
> > tin-foil electrodes.
> >
> > The primary was two inches or so in diameter and the
> > secondary was one inch
> > or so at about six inches in height.
> >
> > It performed well.
> >
>
> Yeah, I made something similar when I was a teenager.  Powered it with a
> car
> ignition coil and a dimmer switch.  Glass plate capacitor, machine bolt
> spark gap, 2-3" streamers and lots of purple corona.  I was mesmerized.
>  Had
> my parents known what I was up to, they probably would have stopped me.
> I've been tinkering with the hobby--on & off--roughly 35 years now.
>
> >
> > I'd like to recreate this same coil but with a 555 timer
> > source or some
> > other small AC source.
>
> Are you trying to avoid 120vac operation for some reason?  Also, I'm not
> sure how you'd work a timer chip into a TC.  If you want to keep a small,
> table top coil simple & reliable, I suggest a car ignition coil & dimmer
> switch for the power supply, or better yet (much better) a small neon sign
> transformer or an oil burner ignition coil for the power supply.
>
> >
> > The old glass and wooden stuff would go but the same
> > general size of 6" x 6"
> > would stay the same.
>
> Nothing wrong with glass plate caps for a small coil.  Such caps are not
> very efficient, but if your goal is only a few inches of spark, they are
> good enough.  Besides, they lend a cool "retro" look to a project.  Of
> course, the "Gold standard" for Tesla coil tank caps these days is a bank
> of
> small polypropylene & foil units arranged in series/parallel to achieve the
> desired capacitance & voltage rating--the so-called "multi-mini cap".
>
> > Can you tell me (on the heavy side to allow for mistakes)
> > roughly what power
> > in watts at about 45KHz (or whatever frequency you would
> > recommend) would be
> > enough for a toy like this?
>
> You only need a few 10s of watts.  Very small coils tend to have rather
> high
> operating frequencies.  500-1500kHz is far more likely than 45kHz.  The
> exact operating frequency is not at all critical.  If you wish to eliminate
> uncertainty about such things, try using one of the Tesla coil design
> programs such as WinTesla or JavaTC:
>
> http://www.classictesla.com/java/javatc.html
>
> Programs like this will tell you virtually everything about your coil
> before
> you even build it.  To heck with the "good old days" of coiling from way
> back.  Thanks in part to this list, the knowledge level is higher, the
> components & materials are better, and the resources for computer assisted
> design are just excellent.  The good old days of coiling are right now!
>
> >
> > Thanks so much, Bill Washburn
> >
>
> Best Regards,
>
> Gregory R. Hunter
> http://myweb.cableone.net/grcarhunter/
>
>
>
>
>
>
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