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Building advice
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From: Dale McLane [SMTP:Dale.McLane-at-epa.state.oh.us]
Sent: Friday, March 13, 1998 7:42 AM
To: INTERNET:tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
Subject: Building advice
Howdy:
Just joined the list, and am amazed at how many people there are out there with similar interests.
Built my first coil when I was 15, using an oil ignition transformer, and some caps out of HV power
supplies from old RCA TV sets. It worked OK, and produced 10" sparks, while lighting up standard
36" fluorescent tubes from almost 20 feet away.
I'm a little older now (42) and would like to build a more sophisticated unit, using a 15 kv neon sign
transformer. I'm a geologist, not an electrical engineer. Hope no one holds that against me....Other
hobbies include chemistry, minerals, fossils, and classic cars. Have a small machine shop, and
fabricating parts is no problem.
Could some folks please advise me on the following:
1) Is Dr. Dave Hall's set of plans a pretty good starting point?
2) Is there a more powerful unit than the above, which can be built, given the limitations of my present
power supply.
3) Any coilers in northern Ohio? Know of any good surplus places to obtain parts?
Two final notes of interest, a company called Eastwood sells Red Glyptal for $21.99 a quart plus
postage. Their phone # is 1-800-345-1178. For those who may not be aware, this is a very good
insulating paint, and is hard to find.
I work for the state of Ohio, and don't have a computer at home on the net yet, they are somewhat
tolerant of using E-mail for personal messages. I may not be able to get back to people right away, as
I try to use the system during non-work hours.
Hope to hear from a few people,
Dale
"In a universe which may be thought of as a series of expanding concentric spheres, everything of
consequence happens on corners and edges"