Guard rail?
Posted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 4:38 pm
I see the point of keeping this kit simple and skip some expensive, complicated and not absolutely essential protection circuits (thermal protection, an overcurrent breaker fast enough to protect the IGBTs, and some other things that have been suggested). However, I am curious about your decision not to include a guard rail. This is almost always present on the other Tesla coil projects I have seen, and several of the oneTesla builds that have been announced here in the forum add a guard rail to the design. On one hand, a guard rail protects against primary strikes. On the other hand, it makes the assembly more complicated and also gives the spark a target for a ground strike, which is undesirable for a oneTesla.
Your manual does show a primary strike from a well protruded breakout point, so it can clearly happen. Does the circuit typically survive an event like that if it doesn't happen too often?
Your manual does show a primary strike from a well protruded breakout point, so it can clearly happen. Does the circuit typically survive an event like that if it doesn't happen too often?