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SSTC power supply and primary

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ZakWolf

Sun Aug 15 2010, 08:33AM

Registered Member #3114 Joined: Sat Aug 14 2010, 08:33AM
Location:
Posts: 608

should i use my high current low voltage (about 9kv) ZVS driver or my low current high voltage 555 timer driver (30kv) to power the coil? I also have 7 turns on my primary i think i need more, if i add more will it increase output. *****any body no where to cheap nst ?***

sec coil: 14inches

1281861168 3114 FT0 Coil In Progress 007

Xplorer

Sun Aug 15 2010, 09:08AM

Registered Member #2416 Joined: Sun Oct 04 2009, 04:23AM
Location: Oceanside, CA
Posts: 91

The LC circuit of a Tesla coil shouldn't ever exceed 15kv. You'll need a hell of a capacitor bank to handle 30kv and insulating it all will be quite a task.

You need to read up a bit on TC construction and tuning.

Look here:

Build a toroid and calculate the frequency of your secondary. Also build an appropriate capacitor bank. Once you have those figures you'll need to construct your primary such that the primary coil and capacitor bank have the same frequency as your secondary and toroid.

Use these calculators to aid you:

BTY, there was no reason to start a new thread just because you have a new question. You should have asked this in your previous one. It clutters up the boards you see.

-Tony

ZakWolf

Sun Aug 15 2010, 09:37AM

Registered Member #3114 Joined: Sat Aug 14 2010, 08:33AM
Location:
Posts: 608

thank you. i am using bottle caps i have 16. how to i find out my frequency ? of my secondary and what should my top-load be ? i am having a lot of trouble

Muttyfutty!

Sun Aug 15 2010, 10:53AM

Registered Member #2915 Joined: Fri Jun 11 2010, 10:41AM
Location: Malaysia!
Posts: 101

Hi, I recommend These sites, They helped me Alot!
1)

-JAVATC, Calculator, just input your values, and out comes your, tapping point, oscillating frequency, est. output etc.
2)

-TeslaCoilDesign, Excellent, In depth construction guide.

Adding more primary turns will not make it any longer arcs, unless you need more to make it resonate at optimum frequency. Use the JAVATC to calculate estimated turns for your primary. Teslamap is also A fairly decent calculator for Tesla coils, but it costs $3.

Aluminum ducting is usually used for the toroid, Try looking at completed coils at the 'Add you'r tesla coil here' section:

Xplorer

Sun Aug 15 2010, 11:47AM

Registered Member #2416 Joined: Sun Oct 04 2009, 04:23AM
Location: Oceanside, CA
Posts: 91

wolf08 wrote ...

thank you. i am using bottle caps i have 16. how to i find out my frequency ? of my secondary and what should my top-load be ? i am having a lot of trouble

Unfortunately you'll need to know the specs of your HV supply to know the perimeters of your capacitor, and since you also don't know the specs of your bottle caps, you're making it hard for yourself.

Trial and error is all I can tell you. Make a torus, say... 3in by 8in?

Hook up some caps and try tapping your primary at different locations. Make a breakout point on your torus and have a grounded wire a few inches away. Don't use mains ground to ground your secondary. ALWAYS discharge your capacitors before touching anything, your life depends on it. Short them out with a wire on a lenght of PVC pipe or wooden dowel, or short your spark gap.

I still recommend that you read up a bit about them. But I understand your impatiens to get some sparks, I was there too. I still am actually. I'm no expert on them either.

-Tony

ZakWolf

Sun Aug 15 2010, 07:45PM

Registered Member #3114 Joined: Sat Aug 14 2010, 08:33AM
Location:
Posts: 608

i have tried the calculator before, but i dont understand some parts, like how am i supposed to no the capacitance of my topload and my capacitance of my caps?

Xplorer

Mon Aug 16 2010, 11:17AM

Registered Member #2416 Joined: Sun Oct 04 2009, 04:23AM
Location: Oceanside, CA
Posts: 91

Like I said, you won't know the capacitance of your homemade caps. Try hooking them up in parallel, and try tapping your primary at different points.

Use this to calculate the capacitance of your toroid.

-Tony

wannabegeekTC

Thu Aug 19 2010, 09:26AM

Registered Member #3076 Joined: Fri Aug 06 2010, 07:45PM
Location: San Francisco CA
Posts: 18

one way to determine capacitance is to build a bridge circuit....I've tried about 3 or 4 times to find the inductance
of a flyback this way and never got it to work as nice....because of course, there's a tool you need, which is an accurate
dial in capacitor. I tried it when i has an Oscope around, you look for each signal to be exactly the same phase...but you can also put a DVM on the outputs and look for zero or low volts...at least you can get an estimate...

Matt Edwards

Sat Aug 21 2010, 03:17PM

Registered Member #2838 Joined: Fri Apr 30 2010, 07:55PM
Location: tehachapi, CA
Posts: 333

Your biggest problem will be the cap bank. As far as primary size, just do like suggested and make several tap points. Once you have obtained streamers you can move the point slightly until you obtain the best arc length.
If you would like to measure the frequency of the primary and secondary you will need an oscilloscope and signal generator.
I have a "decent" small coil producing 10" streamers that I built "blindly" just as you are. It will take a bit of patience and trial/error but you will get it eventually.

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