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Registered Member #190
Joined: Fri Feb 17 2006, 12:00AM
Location:
Posts: 1567
I just tried my Tesla coil for the second time and I put the video on YouTube
I would like to hear what you experienced coilers think? Is it ok? I got 5 foot strikes with power input from two 15kv/60ma NSTs. The toroid is 24" x 12" x 6". Cp is 0.05uf. I have a synch rotary gap/controller and a filter. The secondary is 6" x 29.5" wound on acrylic.
Are the strikes on the guard rail reasonable? Do I need a taller secondary? Also, when I get the power close to maximum I sometimes hear a popping sound that seems to be coming from the inside of the toroid and the streamers shrink in size or disappear until I lower the power and raise it back up again. Any suggestions?
Registered Member #593
Joined: Tue Mar 20 2007, 12:32AM
Location:
Posts: 50
iamsmooth,
I thought your coil footage was great! Love the sync rotary action. The sparks look great too, I see nothing at all unreasonable about an occational strike rail hit, and I have seen the same on other coils with strike rails. Personally, my largest disruptive coil featured a static gap and a single 12/60 NST, and my largest sparks were 45 inches. However, I used no strike rail. I prefer to use a two toroid system where there is a smaller ACR (Anti Corona Ring) below the main toroid. I position these in such a way that they provide efield shaping that ensures streamers are directed horizontally and clear of the primary. I've never had a primary strike using this method, but then I did not run your power levels either, so I can't say for certain that this technique would help in your system. In any case, congratulations, your coil looks like a great success!
Registered Member #146
Joined: Sun Feb 12 2006, 04:21AM
Location: Austin Tx
Posts: 1055
Sounds very characteristic of internal arcing inside your secondary. Ive had it happen too, and the sound of "sparks inside the toroid" and loss of output were exactly what i noted. Are there any sharp points near the ends of the secondary that might promote internal discharges? Fix them if they exist. Otherwise, you might need internal baffles.
Registered Member #289
Joined: Mon Mar 06 2006, 10:45AM
Location: Conroe, TX
Posts: 154
Nice coil and good output for 15/120.
To second Steve, the problem sounds just like internal arcing. If the secondary is flashing over inside you may have caught it just in time. One good arc can carbon track your form and destroy the secondary. If you check the coil and find it's not flashing over I would start checking connections and looking for arcing elsewhere.
Registered Member #530
Joined: Sat Feb 17 2007, 07:56AM
Location: Victoria BC, Canada
Posts: 178
That is a GREAT video! I really enjoyed it... thanks for sharing! 5 -6 ft is about normal for a Tesla Coil that size with that power level. Good work! Beautifully built coil I must say!!!
I have always made my secondary forms tall --- lots and lots of extra turns to prevent secondary to primary flash over. Right now I'm in the middle of building an 8" X 46" Tesla secondary wound with 24AWG. --- we will see what the extra inductance will do to the output of the streamers.
Registered Member #690
Joined: Tue May 08 2007, 03:47AM
Location: New Jersey, USA
Posts: 616
I totally agree, awesome video. If you are concerned about rail strikes, I would say definetely go with the double toroid setup. The smaller toroid doesn't even need to be well constructed, from my experience. Just for a tiny bit of e-field shaping/shielding.
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Rail strikes and some internal "popping"
