Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!rutgers!princeton!allegra!ulysses!sfmag!sfsup!dcm From: dcm@sfsup.UUCP Newsgroups: sci.electronics Subject: Re: Tesla Coil Message-ID: <904@sfsup.UUCP> Date: Wed, 10-Dec-86 09:29:03 EST Article-I.D.: sfsup.904 Posted: Wed Dec 10 09:29:03 1986 Date-Received: Sun, 14-Dec-86 09:48:08 EST References: <4815@reed.UUCP> <823@A60.UUCP> <824@A60.UUCP> Reply-To: dcm@sfsup.UUCP (David C. Miller, consultant) Organization: AT&T Information Systems, Summit N.J. Lines: 41 In article <824@A60.UUCP> ron@A60.UUCP (Ron Burns) writes: >In article <823@A60.UUCP> lee@A60.UUCP (G. Lee) writes: >>In article <4815@reed.UUCP> shadow@reed.UUCP (Matthew Giger) writes: >>> >>> Does anyone out there know much about tesla coils? They are a >> >> A friend of mine and I build a tesla coil last spring with great results. > > Um.... that would be me. > >Gene did forget one very important item. As a series resonant LC circuit, >you need a capacitor. this is placed in series with the neon sign xfmr >secondary, the spark gap, and the Tesle coil primary. > >[ description of capacitor ] Not necessarily. In fact, I would hazzard a guess that Gene could have omitted the spark gap as well and it would have still worked. Spark gaps and capacitors are there to accumulate a charge, then release it through the primary in one large burst; much like the capacitor and point in a car. The difference is that the circuit that Ron is referring to is strictly for DC power, Genes is for AC. Yes, those neon sign transformers put out AC, so you really don't even need the sparkgap. -- David C. Miller, consultant AT&T Information Systems, Unix Computing and Technology Lab 190 River Road Summit, NJ 07901 (201) 522-5149 akgua \\ burl \\ cbosgd \\ clyde +===== !sfsup!dcm ihnp4 // cuae2 // ulysses //