RE: Grounding Question

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

Original poster: Yurtle Turtle <yurtle_t-at-yahoo-dot-com> 

I'm not sure I understand how you have your coil
hooked up. Is it like:

http://www.hot-streamer-dot-com/adam/temp/coil1.jpg

If not, I've numbered the nodes so you can tell me
where to connect/disconnect so I understand.

thanks
Adam

<snip>

 > Hi John, all,
 >
 > You bring out some good points here. I've always
 > wondered
 > how you can completely isolate the RF and the mains
 > grounds
 > from each other, especially when operating with one
 > side
 > of the power transformer tied to ground. Of course,
 > w/ NSTs
 > this option isn't possible since the HV secondary
 > coil is
 > internally mid-point grounded. With most pole pig
 > powered
 > coils, though, you have the option to ground one
 > side of the
 > HV terminals of the transformer so that you only
 > have to
 > run one "hot" HV transmission line from the
 > transformer to the
 > tank circuit and the return being tied to ground. I
 > believe
 > John shows his 5 kVA pig powered coil in his "Tesla
 > Coil
 > Construction Guide" wired in this way. I'm not
 > saying that
 > you can eliminate the dedicated RF ground in any
 > way, just
 > that they at some point do tie in together even if
 > only
 > through the soil itself. I run one "hot"
 > transmission line
 > w/ the return as the AC mains ground from my pole
 > transformer
 > power supply cabinet to the RSG's inputs inside the
 > tank
 > circuit and at the groundside of the RSG, it is also
 > tied
 > into the RF ground. Note that I am not running the
 > Tesla
 > coil as an "autotransformer" where the bottom of the
 > Tesla
 > secondary coil is "floating" at the "hot" end of the
 > Tesla
 > primary coil but rather where both the primary and
 > secondary
 > coils are tied in at one common point to the RF
 > ground. The
 > "autotransformer" would be a very dangerous setup
 > indeed for
 > a medium to large Tesla coil since the mains HV 60
 > HZ component
 > would definitely be impressed into the output
 > streamers indeed.
 > Not that streamers are ever safe to touch in the
 > first place,
 > but this would really make the output streamers an
 > electro-
 > cution hazard!
 >
 > David Rieben
 >
 >