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Re: [TCML] Main ground vs RF ground

Hey Raymond...
The RF ( radio frequency) ground is "normally" connected to the base of the secondary coil and is preferably kept "unconnected" from the house supply ground ( the green wire in the fuse/circuitbreaker box). Strike rails are also connected to the RF ground rod too....
the green wire ( ground) in the house circuit is to transfer 60 Hz live (hot 120Vac) from the device that could be shorted to case etc. in such a manner to cause the circuit breaker to trip or to blow the fuse instead of having the current pass thru whomever may end up touching the shorted item. Most homes where I live, the ground and neutral are one and the same.
The RF ground for a coil carries the operating frequency of the secondary coil to ground. This difference in frequency ( 60 Hz vs. 200Khz+) needs to be separate from the homes system, thus the desirable need for a separate ground rod. There have been cases when coils have been attached to the house ground instead of its own RF system with results that can range from odd glitches in home electronics to full blown failures of circuitry boards in appliances in the home and even in some rare instances, neighbors homes were involved ( apartment complex).
If your NST is under the coil, it would best to have the case on the RF ground, just in case a streamer decides to reach around and hit the NST case. 

Scot D



Raymond Magdziarz wrote:


I have been reading all about grounds but nobody defines RF ground. On my
coil I have the NST case connected to the green wire of my line cord. The
low side of the RF coilis connected a wire ring intended to protect the
primary from the top of the secondary. I find that the low side of the
secondary is as hot as the high side. I was using an insulated building wire
to draw arcs from the top of my coil, and I noticed corona drawn to my hand
through the insulation. I have driven a copper plated 1/2 inch diameter rod
three feet into the soil near my house saturate the location with water and
intend to connect the low side of the secondary to it. I will call it
ground. I welcome any comments.

Mugjug

On Sat, Nov 21, 2009 at 9:19 AM, Dex Dexter <dexterlabs@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:


I don't know Father Dest (who's that?)
This is a very old practice of RF grounding.
I think Tesla used to do it first :-)

Dex

--- bartb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

From: bartb <bartb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: Tesla Coil Mailing List <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [TCML] Main ground vs RF ground
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:48:47 -0800

Hey Dex, curious if you know Father Dest? Sounds like something he would
have done.

Regards,
Bart B. Anderson

Dex Dexter wrote:

I have touched the case of my 5kV@20mA NST many times
during Tesla coil operation.It doesn't hurt at all.
My NST case is mains-grounded,and Tesla coil is grounded
to water pipe in my house :-)

Dex



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