Tesla Coiling Activity Log
I keep track of my more significant runs here...sometimes...

January 22, 3000
Brian Basura describes it better than I can, check it out here http://fp2.hughes.net/brianb/01222000.htm
Basically, we the coils ran GREAT and we managed to throw together the pulse cap set-up and shrink some quarters!

December 23, 1999
This was the first run with my enhanced NST, modified TCBOR gap to include radial flow, and MMC capacitor.  My coil lost several hundred lbs with this rebuild and maintained its performance.  I still managed healthy 60+" arcs to a ground rod.  I even managed to strike the sidewalk a few times.  Woohoo!  Its not too often that you can make as many changes as I did at one time and have excellent turn-key results!

Sept 12,1999
Discovered that I could produce 66" arcs if I removed the filter that I had been using between my spark gap and the NST bank.  The coil took on an entirely different character once I start using the extra 450 watts that the filter was turning into heat.  It's important to note that there is nothing wrong with the "Fritz" RCR filter design.  The filter that Terry recommended was designed for a single 12/60 and I was applying it to a 12/130 NST bank.  I am in the process of reworking the filter for higher power.  I have 2 runs (7/12 & 7/18) on the coil with absolutlely no NST protection and no damage.  I plan to install at least a safety gap before the next run.  Can't temp fate for too long...

Also, the police came by the house at 8:37PM and asked me to shut it down for the night.  He said that there were noise complaints...

July 24,1999
Performed my first special effects job!  Brian Basura and I supplied 3 coils for a group of film students working on their final project for the New York Film Academy.   After editing, the film will be 10 minutes long.  We supplied over 10 minutes of various HV effects that the students can edit and patch in the completed project.    The film is still being developed.  I will post the results here when I see the movie.  This is my first run with the 150ma NST bank and .036uF capacitor.   This added considerably more performance to my coil.  The arc lenghts didn't grow much but it was l lot "hotter" and produced more streamers.

 July 17, 1999
SoCal Teslathon.  What a great time.  We had 13 coils, shrunken quarters, large capacitors, and elecrobot, and everything else that a teslaphile could desire.  Check out the official SoCal Website.

May 22, 1999
Headed to Acton again. This time I took local coilers Scott Hanson and Alan Yang with me.  Scott brought along his coil, making a grand total of 3 coils at Brian's place!  Again, had a great time.  Brian documented the craziness on his site.   This is my first run with the rebuilt flat primary.

 March 6, 1999
WhooHoo, Party Down!  I threw a big party to celebrate the success of my Tesla Coil!  ( I had to do this to help pay my co-workers back for putting up with all my endless Tesla Coil chatter for the last few months ).  We had delicous food and I managed to set a new performance record for my coil - 50 INCHES!

April 24, 1999
Made another trip up to Acton to Brian's house.   We had a great little dinner party and then ran coils (well, after we polished off those Pecan and Tollhouse pies!).  Brian has some photos of this on his page.

Feb 20, 1999
Loaded up my coil and drove up to Brian Basura's house in Acton (near Palmdale).  It was great meeting Brian and seeing his craftsmanship.  This is the source of my 1st Tesla Coil photos.  You can see my photos here or Brian's photos here.

 Feb 7, 1998
            -----  My post to the TCML after the 1st run -----
I made my 1st run of Friday night. I managed 31" arcs to a grounded rod
before secondary arcing convinced me shut down.
I only managed to tune to the nearest turn before secondary arcing
forced me to shut down. I had a heavy blue cone of corona from the top
turn of the secondary down to the strike rail. It looked neat, but I'm
afraid that the excessive ionization around the secondary may have
facilitated the arcing problems. The 1st arcs originated from a
"fisheye" in the varnish about 6" from the top of the secondary and shot
straight down the coil to the ground connection. I put a couple layers
of electrical tape on top of the bad spot and kept running. I noticed a
few more of these coming from other locations. I raised the secondary
about .75" and got a different sort of arc. This one came from the top
turn of the secondary and only went down about 6". It formed a large
brush shape almost as large as your hand. I quickly surrendered for the
night.

The good news is the 31" arcs while still somewhat out of tune. I was
able to light a neon "R" at about 10' and could make a 4' fluorescent
tube glow over 20' away! It's a beautiful thing - the sound, the light,
the smell, all of it! Guess you could say that I'm thoroughly addicted.

I had a hard time getting breakout without using a sharp point. I
managed it twice before I shut down, and both times it came from the
rough seam of the torroid. It seemed to prefer to break out on the
secondary instead of the torroid!

I fear that I may be overcoupled with the 45 angle on my primary. I can
raise the secondary if I need to. Maybe I need to lower the torroid or
make it smaller? I could get rid of several turns of primary and drop
the ground rail several inches to help reduce the corona cone. I am
really excited about running this thing again and could use some advice
from you experts on how to solve this problem :-)

I really want to thank all of the people who contribute to this list,
especially the moderator (Hi, Terry) and the TCML webmaster (Hi, Chip).
I have learned tons from this list and the archives. You all have also
provided much needed inspiration during the sparkless months. The
internet is a truly beautiful thing!

           ----- Very Helpful Response from Bert Hickman -----

Very nice looking system, Ross! I see you were able to get some help in
making your system - my spouse helped cut many of the LDPE and aluminum
foil sheets that went into the flat-plate caps in my system. The pride
of ownership helps... :^)

>From the looks of the system, with the secondary winding starting at the
base of the primary and a 45 degree primary, you're definately
overcoupled. This can be corrected by raising the secondary relative to
the primary (by several inches, most likely!). The "Christmas tree" of
corona between the top of the winging and the strikerail is a classic
symptom of excessive e-field or insufficient "shielding" by the toroid.
Raising the secondary to reduce coupling should help reduce this.

Once you've decreased the coupling, run the system in a dark room, again
looking for any signs of unwanted corona. If you're still seeing the
"Christmas tree", you may also want to lower the toroid relative to the
secondary. For best sheilding, the bottom-most part of the toroid should
be roughly level with the top of your secondary winding. This should
have the effect of increasing the e-field between the toroid and
strikerail, and reducing the electrostatic stress from the top of the
secondary to the strikerail. This tends to "throw" streamers outward,
and away from the secondary and strikerail. You've got a relatively
large toroid, which should be fairly effective at this. Adjusting for
best performance here is a bit of a balancing act. You may also need to
do a bit of retuning, since lowering the toroid will also lower your top
terminal capacitance a bit.

Finally, as you indicate on your website, you may also want to consider
migrating to a flat primary eventually, since an inverse conical primary
will not provide adequate clearance between the top of your coil and the
strikerail at higher power levels. This will ultimately limit the full
potential (NPI) of your system.

Safe coilin' to you!

-- Bert --