RE: Grounding Problem???

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

Original poster: "Lau, Gary by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <Gary.Lau-at-compaq-dot-com>

Several list members have reported that they accidentally operated their
coils without the secondary base connected to the RF ground, and saw no
change in performance.  I believe these reports to be true and also believe
that the real consequence is that RF and high voltage will be coupled into
your AC power lines when there is a poor or no ground connection.  I see no
mechanism that would promote racing sparks due to a poor ground.

Gary Lau
MA, USA

 -----Original Message-----
From: 	Tesla list [mailto:tesla-at-pupman-dot-com] 
Sent:	Wednesday, January 23, 2002 10:05 AM
To:	tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
Subject:	Grounding Problem???

Original poster: "Marry Krutsch by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>"
<u236-at-earthlink-dot-net>

Hi everyone.

	I've been doing a bunch of reading, and found that most people have
extensive RF grounds (compared to mine, anyway).  The problem with my
secondary hasn't really gone away, and I have 1/8 inch of epoxy coating
on the thing.  I still get racing sparks, and now I have arcs (very hot,
thick) breaking out of the corona ring to the strike rail.  Is the
corona ring actually supposed to contact the secondary, or does it sit
there "suspended", w/o contact.  Anyway, My RF ground is 8 Al stakes
stuck 18 inches into the soil, with 12 gauge solid wire connecting
them.  I then use one strand of solid 12 gauge wire to connect to the
coil, 15 feet away.  I use bend a hook into the wire, and connect it to
the secondary with a nut.  I water the ground before firing the coil. 
I've read that bad grounding can cause secondary breakdown.  I'd like an
opinion or two before I spend money on more material.

My posts may not reflect it, but the help I've gotten from you guys has
been a tremendous help.

Thanks,
	Winston K.