oneTesla

Hi Folks,

I had an old neon sign transformer sitting under the bench and tried to turn it into a jacobs ladder.
6kv output and 25 mA are the ratings.
It works, but sometimes the spark will not climb, sometimes it will not spark at all. I have read about using a small resistor to help it light the first spark. Does anyone know the necessary ratings of the resistor?

You should check out Loneoceans' website, he's got some great info on it!
http://www.loneoceans.com/labs/nstjacob/

Thanks for the link.
I will try that as soon as I have the other tesla coil off the bench.

What you need is MORE POWER.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akypmbgN_Vw

This is my 100kv Jacobs ladder.
More energy in the arc makes more heat and heat rises.

That is of course the much better alternative. Instead of putting a wimpy resistor inbetween, just multiply the output by a factor 10. Should work
If you, for some really bad reason, don't happen to have a spare pole pig laying around (shame on you!), then a resistor might actually help ;p

Awesome project though!