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Registered Member #2553
Joined: Fri Dec 18 2009, 01:36PM
Location: St Cloud Minnesota
Posts: 97
im getting farther on my tesla coil. im getting output but not where it should be. im getting faint 6inch arcs all the way around the secondary about half way up in all directions. you cant see it on the camera tho. i have a video of it here, just hoping someone will have some helpful advice for me.
Registered Member #5300
Joined: Thu Jun 14 2012, 12:00AM
Location: California
Posts: 31
Hey there, lokeycmos.
What sort of coilform did you use to wrap your secondary? Something like PVC can cause problems since it's a semiconductor, and if you don't properly dry it and seal it, that could cause some premature arcs. Could you also give us some specs on your whole coil?
Registered Member #480
Joined: Thu Jul 06 2006, 07:08PM
Location: North America
Posts: 644
k-smart -
PVC a "semiconductor" ?? That's an interesting discovery.
99% of the Tesla coils built in the world today use PVC pipe as the secondary coilform, and they work just fine without any magic "sealant" or baking process.
PVC does adsorb some H2O on its surface, particularly if dirty/dusty, or if contaminated with sweaty fingerprints, or well-weathered by outdoor exposure. This is why PVC is not a good choice for the main column in a Van de Graaff generator, where microamp leakage current will limit generator performance. But for coilforms for TC secondaries, it's just fine, wound as-is. For extremely high performance coils, generating streamer length much greater than secondary length, it's a good idea to install 1 or 2 hermetically-sealed insulating baffles inside the coilform to prevent any surface tracking down the inside of the coilform.
Lokey -
Can you provide the complete set of specifications for your coil? Like a JAVATC file? If your coil is massively mistuned, it might be possible to achieve a voltage maxima near the center of the coil (see "Seibt coil") , rather than at the topload. Also, are you absolutely certain your RF ground is properly connected to the bottom of your secondary? Take a multimeter and verify continuity from your ground rod to your topload (with the coil not powered, obviously). Also, running JAVATC will give you some useful information on your primary-secondary coupling factor, which looks like it may be very low, given the height of your first secondary windings above the primary coil.
Registered Member #480
Joined: Thu Jul 06 2006, 07:08PM
Location: North America
Posts: 644
lokey -
Looking again at your vid clip, I noew see that your secondary winding starts lower on the coilform than it first appeared.
Did you use any sort of TC design program to "design" your coil? If so, you should already know the coupling factor, and knowing the coupling factor will tell you if you are seriously "overcoupled" (I still don't think you are).
If you don't know your coil's critical design parameters, input your coil's dimensions, etc. into JAVATC ( and run the analysis. When completed, click the "Format Design as Text" button, save the text file, and post it here for review.
(Bolting the terminals of your tank caps directly to a piece of wood is a BAD idea, unless specially impregnated, wood is not a good insulator at 10's of thousands of volts. Get those caps mounted up off the wood on plastic or ceramic standoff insulators.)
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looking for more help with tesla coil
