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Great start. Several years ago I went to a dc design using a rotary gap that both charges and discharges the primary capacitor. I'm running a 7,700 volt pole transformer with a variable input. I've only ran at about 180 vac in and getting about the same output you are now getting. I've got a 14,400 pole transformer ready to use, however with the coil inside I'm almost afraid to increase my input level. As I get older I am becoming more careful:) Charles <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> Virus-free. www.avast.com <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=link> <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2> On Thu, Aug 10, 2017 at 11:33 AM, Steve White <steve.white1@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > I just completed my first tesla coil. It is a large one. Here are the > prime specs. > > * 8.6" secondary with 1410 turns > * 8 x 10 toroid > * Center line of toroid is 71" above ground plane as defined by javatc > * 12-turn primary currently tapped at turn 10.5 ( all primary circuit > "wiring" is done with 3/8" copper tubing) > * 45 nf of capacitance using 6 Maxwell energy discharge capacitors in a > series-parallel configuration with load balancing resistors > * 10 kva pole pig running at 14,400 volts > * Sophisticated control cabinet including 25-amp variac, ballast, RSG > phase control, breakers, contactor, PFC capacitors (currently about 150 > uf), volt meters, current meters, EMI filters, MOVs, lockout switches, > indicator lamps > * Hand-made ballast with adjustable air gap currently set for 20 amps > (similar to Richie Burnett's) > * Rotary spark gap with one stationary 5/16" tunsten electrode and 4 > flying 1/8" tungsten electrodes turning at 3600 RPM > * HV leads made from 10,000 volt AC Belden test lead wire threaded through > PVC tubing for additional insulation. This is all surrounded by grounded > copper braid for uniform field distribution and to protect against streamer > strikes. > > I made extensive use of javatc to design this coil. I was confident in > starting with a large coil because I am a retired electrical engineer thus > I had a lot of knowledge about electrical theory. I also own my own mill, > lathe, bandsaw, oscilloscope, and signal generator. Finally, I had the > funds to muy and/or build quality parts. > > Even though this was my first coil, surprisingly it worked the first time > that I fired it up. I am currently getting 6.5 foot power arcs. It should > be getting up to about 8 feet according to javatc. I am continuing to > adjust the primary tuning. I think I need to go a little lower in frequency > to account for streamer capacitance. > > I do have a few questions concerning RF grounding. I currently have a > copper-clad steel rod driven 3 feet into the ground for the RF ground. This > is as deep as I could drive it. I may try a water boring rod to try and get > deeper. I currently have the following connected to the RF ground. > > * Strike rail > * RSG motor chassis > * Copper braid shield around HV leads > * Copper braid around RSG power cord > * Pole pig case > > Does this sound about right? > > Steve White > _______________________________________________ > Tesla mailing list > Tesla@xxxxxxxxxx > http://www.pupman.com/mailman/listinfo/tesla > _______________________________________________ Tesla mailing list Tesla@xxxxxxxxxx http://www.pupman.com/mailman/listinfo/tesla