I can confirm from my own experiments, if i use a strip of copper with very short pins as a brush i get much better performance. In fact one brush setup uses a copper strip wrapped on a nylon tube with pins pushed through and it provides considerably more apparent charge transfer than pins soldered to a pcb.
----- Reply message -----
From: "p_novotny via Tesla" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Tesla Coil Mailing List" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [TCML] VDG pickups (was Ignition coil driver)
Date: Tue, Dec 22, 2015 8:47 PM
Hi Doug - excellent workmanship!
I built a homemade VDG generator too and it will shock me from about 18" away.
Mine uses a bedframe castor attached to a oscillating fan motor and it turns a belt made from nylon stockings over a teflon rod (just friction - not a roller). I use little metal screen patches as my pickup brushes. They don't touch the belt, but they seem to do an adequate job nonetheless. Where do you source your motors?
I am just putting the finishing touches on my first Tesla Coil at the moment too and am excited to try it out. These things are funny (kinda like the VDG generator) - you invest countless hours on it, not knowing if your are going to get an ounce of satisfaction from it. Hopin' for good luck on the Tesla Coil.
Thanks - Paul
--------------------------------------------
On Tue, 12/22/15, doug <doug11642@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Subject: Re: [TCML] VDG pickups (was Ignition coil driver)
To: "Tesla Coil Mailing List" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tuesday, December 22, 2015, 4:55 PM
Hi Derek; What you see is
conductive plastic film riding on the rollers
attached with copper tape, rollers are PVC and
aluminum tape covered
acrylic. I did do
comparisons, plastic film produced 30% more current. Belt
Is neoprene.
Doug
-----Original Message-----
From: ExtremeElectronics.co.uk
Sent: Tuesday, December 22, 2015 4:52 PM
To: Tesla Coil Mailing List
Subject: Re: [TCML] VDG pickups (was Ignition
coil driver)
Doug,
From what I can see from the
videos, you are using a thin piece of
copper
for your pickup. Have you done any comparison between that,
wires
or gauze. Do you see an increase in
current or voltage ?
What
is the composition of your rollers and belt ?
Derek
On 22-Dec-15 2:34 PM, doug
wrote:
> Hello Derek;
> Thank you for your comments and including
a link to my youtube video. I
> have
included a link to my youtube page so you can take a look at
some of
> my VanDeGraaff projects. I
think all VDG builders are using the wire or
> screen type pickups on their VDG’s, I
have found something MUCH better.
> You
can see it in operation in some of my videos.
> https://www.youtube.com/user/dr043042#p/u
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCWAH-J091c
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoS7sOy2Src
>
> Thank you again, Doug
J.
>
> -----Original
Message----- From: ExtremeElectronics.co.uk
> Sent: Friday, December 18, 2015 11:35
AM
> To: Tesla Coil Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [TCML] Ignition coil
driver
>
> You can get
about 300W from 8 of them though..
>
> http://www.extremeelectronics.co.uk/electronic/v8-tesla-engine/
>
>
Derek
>
>
>
>
On 18-Dec-15 2:30 PM, Jim Lux wrote:
>> On 12/18/15 4:39 AM, doug wrote:
>>> Hello; I am looking for some
information concerning Ignition coil HV
>>> supplies. I am using 120V mains
through a light dimmer and wonder if
>>> there is something better and more
robust than the dimmer? This Ignition
>>> coil HV supply will be a dual coil
setup using a 25.0uf/370VAC motor run
>>> Cap.
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Not as cheap..
>>
>> any of the
standard capacitor discharge electronic ignitions basically
>> put 400V pulses into the coil to
generate HV.
>>
>> 6000 RPM in a 8 cylinder engine is 200
Hz
>>
>> typical
energy per "pulse" is 100 mJ so 200 Hz is 20 W
>>
>>
>>
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>> Tesla mailing list
>> Tesla@xxxxxxxxxx
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>
>
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>
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