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my 4 inch is not up to par but is a BIG improvement from the ol' iggy coil 2 incher. However, I do have some questions about it. First, I have only a crude lashup of most components, and hardly any calculations & measurements. So, if i need a redesign of any component but the secondary it won't be a big deal. (I built EVERYTHING today but the secondary.) The secondary is 1500 turns of #28AWG on 4in green PVC, not laminated yet. Anyway, I only could get 1-2 inches off the toroid. It was pitiful, the best when the primary was tapped all the way out at 16 turns. Any less it just got even worse. But, i took the toroid off, and flipped the thing on with no topload- just the wire sticking out the top. It took off making 9-10 inch streamers! MUCH better, but purple and spindly. Anyway, it STILL did best using all 16 turns! I think i need way more primary turns since the more i used the better it got, I think if i had more the toroid would do well also. Is this because a 28 gauge coil has so much inductance? I am led to believe so. Also the size of my cap, should it be bigger or smaller? One last question. My NST has no RF kickback protection, but i am not running it much as of right now. with ~15 second run times do i have anything really to fear? Thanks a million for all the help from this list and all other lists! =Rockinriley14=
The cap is similar to a Geek Group bucket cap, with 7 beer bottles in it, all in paralell, not sets of series like i should have None have blown out...yet.
The transformer is an Allanson 15/30 NST. I have a center grounded safety gap on it set to fire at 15,000V almost exactly.
My main spark gap is a series gap with 4 pieces copper pipe laid out flat on a board. Quick lash up job with a vent blower pushing air across it.
The primary is a lash up job consisting of #12 AWG house cable in a pancake spiral Duct Tape style onto plywood -- COMPLETE TRASH JOB. It has 16 turns on it.
Toroid is a 4 inch dryer duct around 2 aluminum pie pans, pretty standard. It is about 17in across.
All wiring is with insulated #12AWG solid copper house wire.
RF ground is my trusty copper pipe in the ground out the window
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