Re: Solid sate ideas

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: "Jan Florian Wagner by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <jwagner-at-cc.hut.fi>

Hi Matt,

> Would a colorburst crystal work with a solid state coil?My engineering 
> teacher sugested it saying it only needs a + & -  input and it gives 
> a pulsed output at a given frequency?

If you mean "colorburst crystals" used in TV sets, then probably no.
These are 4 Mhz or so. While you could make a 4 MHz SSTC, you won't be
able to push much power through it with any reasonably priced components.

A powerful radio transmitter operating at 4 MHz could work as a TC
secondary driver, though... assuming you match the impedances.

> Could that work as the pulse modulator?

Pulse generator, yes. A very stable one.

Modulator, no. You can't change the self resonant frequency of a crystal,
nor the duty cycle (at least not more than a few Hz)

> Also, about tuning; For a SSTC do I tune like a conventional coil by tapping 
> the primary?

Depends on how you make the SSTC. 

In the "standard"/typical circuit where you don't have any primary side
capacitor and just drive a TC primary coil directly, you don't adjust the
tapping. You adjust the driver frequency instead.

See
 http://www.hut.fi/~jwagner/tesla/SSTC/half-bridge.htm 

> Or can i just trust that the pot setting with greatest spark 
> output is the "Hot spot"?

Yup, you got it!
If the driver frequency is the same as the TC secondary reso freq, then
all is perfect!

cheers,
 - Jan

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