Second Coil

To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
Subject: Second Coil
From: "Joe Thuss" <jbthuss-at-execulink-dot-com> (by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>)
Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2000 21:38:09 -0700
Approved: twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net
Delivered-To: fixup-tesla-at-pupman-dot-com-at-fixme

Hello Everyone.
I am currently building my second coil and I could use some help. My power
supply is a 10/23 OBIT and a 9/30 NST. I plan to use a couple of rectifiers to
convert to DC. I don't have much money to buy new supplys so I am salvaging
what I can from my old coil (It didn't work too well, the 10/23 OBIT only
producing 5" sparks). I was trying to use the same primary, but using better
spacers(instead of Lego blocks:)) The old dimentions were 20" outside diameter,
6" inside diameter, 10 turns, 0.4" conductor diameter, 0.4" spacing between
conductors( average, ranged anywhere from 0.1 to 0.8") Anyways, I put my new
and improved rectangular plastic peices with holes drilled through for spacers
on and my coil turned into a inverse conical spiral with a 20 degree incline!!
The holes must have not quite lined up and it forced it into this new shape.
The inside diameter is the same, the outside diameter is now 19" and the height
is 3". Is it okay to just leave it like this?
Also I am trying to figure out what kind of secondary to put on this thing. My
first coil was 3.5" by 15" wound with 555 turns of #22 gauge wire. Would this
work on my new coil. What size toroid should I put on this thing. I have to
wind a new one anyways because my first one was horrible. It was wound on BLACK
PVC and I had kinks and crossovers everywhere.I didn't bother to coat it with
anything but I didn't see any visible corona, even with the lights off.
For my cap I am planning 0.012uF of beer bottles. I know these are not the best
choice but I can't afford a MMC. How much difference would a MMC make anyways.
Is it a matter of a couple of inches of spark length or something more like a
couple of feet!? One thing I was wondering though was to try and my capacitance
that and let it charge up over 2 cycles instead of one since it will be running
on DC anyways. Would this increase efficiency. I would have twice as much power
going into the primary on each break, but half as many breaks.
And for the spark gap, it will be a static gap. Would 3 gaps be more efficient
than say about 6?
Thank you immensely for any help/advice you folks can give me. I have learn so
much since I joined the list.
 
Simon in Canada