Re: Double Throw Spark Gap (fwd)

["Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2007 15:38:41 -0500
From: Crispy <crispy@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: Tesla list <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: Double Throw Spark Gap (fwd)

Bart,
The mechanics are fairly simple - I posted pictures earlier, if that
helps.  A rotary contact just switches between two different sets of
stationary contacts.

On an unrelated note,
Someone mentioned that this could be used with an unballasted power
supply.  Although this would theoretically work, I wouldn't recommend
it, "just in case".  If something went wrong and shorted out the supply,
bad things happen.

On yet another unrelated note,
Does anyone have any feedback on my initial proposition of seriesing a
static gap in the charging circuit to pulse power?  My goal for this
project was to get the largest sparks possible while still staying
within my dorm's 600 watt power limit.  The DTSG should help eliminate
losses involved in shorting out the power supply while the gap fires,
but the difference this makes probably wouldn't be too big.  Pulsing
power (at a layer in addition to the normal disruptive discharge) could
increase spark length, however.  My idea is to add a mechanism to
disrupt power at a lower frequency (say, 5Hz or less) in the charging
circuit.
In the schematic at
http://tangent.cluenet.org/~chules/hv/tesla/ardtsgschem1.png , my basic
idea can be envisioned by adding a switch between the HVDC power supply
and the de-Qing diode.  When this switch is open, the "smoothing
capacitor" would be allowed to charge to essentially full capacity.
When this switch was closed, the power available to the charging circuit
would be the power of the direct supply added to the stored energy in
the smoothing capacitor.  With a ballasted supply, this would allow for
much higher ARSG break rates and larger tank capacitors than would be
plausible with just the supply itself, and therefore longer sparks for a
given average power input.
Such a high voltage switch would be possible to make, but would only
yield one "visible" (as soon by an observing human) spark per switch
contact.  I've been considering different mechanisms, and I'm wondering
if a single unquenched static spark gap would work, due to residual
ionized trails.  Any thoughts?  I've also considered a high voltage
relay.

Chris B

On Wed, 2007-10-10 at 08:07 -0600, Tesla list wrote:
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> Date: Tue, 09 Oct 2007 21:44:55 -0700
> From: Barton B. Anderson <bartb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: Tesla list <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: Re: Double Throw Spark Gap (fwd)
> 
> Hi Adam,
> 
> It's going to charge in the low millisecond range and discharge in the 
> low microsecond range (in a Bang!). No doubt about that. Electrically, 
> he's attempting to separate the charge circuit from the discharge 
> circuit. But I don't completely understand the mechanics of how this can 
> be done. I'm just sitting back to see what comes of this experiment.
> 
> Take care,
> Bart
> 
> Tesla list wrote:
> > ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> > Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2007 03:46:42 -0700 (PDT)
> > From: Yurtle Turtle <yurtle_t@xxxxxxxxx>
> > To: tesla@xxxxxxxxxx
> > Subject: Double Throw Spark Gap
> >
> > I haven't really been following this thread, so
> > forgive me if this comment has already been addressed.
> >
> >
> > Regarding the following circuit:
> >
> > http://tangent.cluenet.org/~chules/hv/tesla/dtsg.html
> >
> > Does everyone think the cap can charge adequately in
> > the same amount of time it can discharge? Without
> > doing the math, I gotta believe that if one set of
> > flying electrodes zooms around at several hundred rpm,
> > the presentation time for the charging portion will be
> > too short to fully charge the cap. After all, most rsg
> > coils are charging the whole time they aren't
> > presenting (well not exactly). I guess you gotta know
> > the dwell time and the size of the pig feeding this.
> >
> > Adam
> >
> >
> >        
> > ____________________________________________________________________________________
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> >   
> 
> 
>