RE: New to tesla coils

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

Original poster: "Lau, Gary" <gary.lau-at-hp-dot-com> 

 >Ok,  I have made my primary, it's only 13.5 turns though, I used 50
feet
 >of 1/4 inch copper refrigerator tubing.  Is this enough turns?  Also,
 >the closest it is to the secondary is 1.75 inches.  Will it arc?  This
 >is using a 12kv 60ma transformer.

Fine, even 1" would be adequate.

 >Also, right now, I have the secondary tube screwed down to the plywood
 >supporting the secondary.  Is it important to use non-magnetic screws
 >since this will effect the field?

Any kind of screw, metallic, magnetic, or otherwise, is fine.

 >Also, for the RF ground.  Do I need to put a copper wire 6 feet into
the
 >earth?  Or can I just stick it in a foot or so?

Sorry, it really needs several feet to be in intimate contact with the
earth.  Note that the quality of one's RF ground won't affect the coil's
performance; it just affects how much RF is coupled into your AC wiring.

Regards, Gary Lau
MA, USA