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LAN_403

HV Enthusiast

Fri Apr 11 2008, 02:42AM

Registered Member #15 Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 01:11PM
Location:
Posts: 3068

Ultra7 wrote ...

Wirenut wrote ...

One of the stupid mistakes I made was forgetting the 4.7uF decoupling cap across the power supply rails (c101 in the schematic).

Hey guys. . .
How critical are the values of this cap?
I.E. the voltage rating / Cap value?

Not too critical. 2.2uF to 6uF should fine. Rated at least 450VDC. Polypropylene or similar.

Austin

Tue Apr 15 2008, 01:40PM

Registered Member #1169 Joined: Wed Dec 12 2007, 09:16AM
Location: Portland OR
Posts: 251

Austin wrote ...

quick question... where did you ground your strike rail and secondary? the ground that plugs into the control or high voltage portion of your tesla? My secondary is grounded through the 3rd prong that is hooked up to the variac, I'm wondering if this is a bad idea.

Anonymous wrote..,

I think mine is the same way - I never touch the variac when the coil is running anyway, but I think you're right, it would be better to connect the secondary to the "control" ground and ground the xfrmr and res board to the "power" ground.

End quote

Can I get a confirmaton on which is better? Also I am aware of the possible risks associated with grounding a tesla through a house ground instead of earth ground. However I know most of u guys probably don't have an 8 foot pole sticking out of your lawn.

Ultra7

Tue Apr 15 2008, 05:03PM

Registered Member #1157 Joined: Thu Dec 06 2007, 12:11PM
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 307

I have an 8 foot ground rod in my yard, but only about 6 inches of it is sticking up.

HV Enthusiast

Tue Apr 15 2008, 05:41PM

Registered Member #15 Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 01:11PM
Location:
Posts: 3068

wrote ...

Austin wrote ...

quick question... where did you ground your strike rail and secondary? the ground that plugs into the control or high voltage portion of your tesla? My secondary is grounded through the 3rd prong that is hooked up to the variac, I'm wondering if this is a bad idea.

wrote ...

Can I get a confirmaton on which is better? Also I am aware of the possible risks associated with grounding a tesla through a house ground instead of earth ground. However I know most of u guys probably don't have an 8 foot pole sticking out of your lawn.

I've never had any problems grounding to the 3rd prong on the outlet with my miniBrute. And i've run CD players, Synthesizers, Amplifiers, LCD TV, etc... off the same outlet with no problems. However, as stated before, anytime you share a circuit with any Tesla coil, there is always a risk.

Austin

Tue Apr 15 2008, 09:09PM

Registered Member #1169 Joined: Wed Dec 12 2007, 09:16AM
Location: Portland OR
Posts: 251

Dr. Shock wrote ...

which prong? the one that goes to the controls or to the high voltage portion of the minibrute. Because when i start cranking up the voltage my variac starts making a ticking noise and im just wondering if its because my coil is grounded to the 3rd prog that runs to the variac then to the wall. or perhaps it doesnt matter at all.

HV Enthusiast

Tue Apr 15 2008, 09:59PM

Registered Member #15 Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 01:11PM
Location:
Posts: 3068

The EARTH GND prong of course.

Your variac is ticking because a DRSSTC is a pulsed system. Your seeing big chunks of current being passed through. What is the PRF frequency when you hear the ticking?

Austin

Tue Apr 15 2008, 10:56PM

Registered Member #1169 Joined: Wed Dec 12 2007, 09:16AM
Location: Portland OR
Posts: 251

Dr. Shock wrote ...

The EARTH GND prong of course.

Your variac is ticking because a DRSSTC is a pulsed system. Your seeing big chunks of current being passed through. What is the PRF frequency when you hear the ticking?

Perhaps I was not clear... There are two earth (3rd) prongs to choose from, the one that powers the controls, and the one that goes to the high voltage protion of the tesla. I am currently using the 3rd prong on the cable that goes from the tesla through the variac and then into the wall socket. I was just wondering if it was harmful to have high voltage going through the 3rd prong connected to the variac. My other option is to just use the 3rd prong on the cable that supplys power to the controls, that way its a direct path to the wall and does not have to go through the variac to ground.

I hope this makes more sense.

I wasnt sure what my PRF was set to once it started ticking, I'll have to watch for it once I fire it up again.

HV Enthusiast

Wed Apr 16 2008, 01:06AM

Registered Member #15 Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 01:11PM
Location:
Posts: 3068

I have all grounds inside my miniBrute enclosure tied together and with both 3rd prongs on both outlets.

Austin

Wed Apr 16 2008, 02:39AM

Registered Member #1169 Joined: Wed Dec 12 2007, 09:16AM
Location: Portland OR
Posts: 251

k thanks for the clarification

EdwinWise

Sun Apr 20 2008, 04:11PM

Registered Member #1305 Joined: Sat Feb 09 2008, 10:27PM
Location: IH35 & Parmer, more or less
Posts: 9

Hey fine sparky people,

I finally got my miniBrute up and running, with some pictures on my site, Simreal.com

It's a pretty decent little coil! Right now, I can't run it at its full potential since the fuse in my variac has a tendency to vaporise, which is fairly exciting. Good stuff.

Edwin!

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