Re: Does it matter which way i wind my secondary?

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

Original poster: "Jim Lux by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>" <jimlux-at-earthlink-dot-net>


----- Original Message -----
From: "Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
To: <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
Sent: Sunday, February 18, 2001 10:34 AM
Subject: RE: Does it matter which way i wind my secondary?


> Original poster: "Ross Overstreet by way of Terry Fritz
<twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>" <ross-o-at-mindspring-dot-com>
>
> Drew,
>
> Be careful - It is very dangerous to wind the primary and secondary in
> OPPOSITE directions.  This can be almost as dangerous as building a
> secondary out of aluminum wire (search the archives).  It must also be
wound
> from the bottom up so the voltage will RISE.
>
> JUST KIDDING!
>

Ross forgot the essential thing that you
a) must have the secondary facing in a north south direction (according to
the local magnetic field) when you wind it.
b) make sure that the arrows always face towards the load.

Really, though, one of the nice things about tesla coils is that you can do
a pretty darn bad job making one and it will still "work".  It may not be
great, but it will work after a fashion.

Build your first few however is easy and comfortable, then you can start to
obsess about the thickness of the insulation, whether the primary is should
be a geometric or an archimedes spiral, etc.etc.etcv.