Decisions decisions
Posted: Thu Sep 19, 2013 1:32 am
stegu wrote:If anyone with really strong and impressive sparks at full power could post measurements of their primary and secondary resonant frequencies using a signal generator and an oscilloscope, it would be much appreciated and provide much more specific advice for the rest of us who are still struggling to see those 20" streamers.
I agree. It would be good to have some comparison data to work with. I'd be curious to see how jeffcrilly's figures look after seeing this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_QOLx-6eXg
I'm kind of stuck trying to figure out which way to progress. When comparing my 6 turn primary + larger toroid configuration with my 5 turn primary with stock size toroid, even with my tuning off by the same amount, I seem to get different behaviour from it.
I actually felt more confident with the 6 turn primary and larger toroid configuration as I was getting a larger output at 50%. Therefore, I'd feel more confident playing with the secondary to match the primary rather than the other way around. Doing this means that I won't maintain the clean look of the original design with the stamped toroid though. Also, I'm still not sure of the effects of adding all this extra capacitance in the topload.
So I have now returned to my tried and tested and I think it is probably my best starting point based on everything I have come across:
http://youtu.be/wOS--nWR5c4
Also tested with a fluro tube placed at 20 inches away (give or take half and inch) from the tip of the breakout point to test to see if I could get some strikes with it. Looks like I could only get a couple.
http://youtu.be/kJNAOep43hQ