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From: grege@gold.GVG.TEK.COM (Greg Ebert)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Subject: Re: Spark Coils
Message-ID: <1145@gold.GVG.TEK.COM>
Date: 6 Jul 90 18:37:39 GMT
References: <9007032018.AA27882@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU> <2082@electro.com>
Organization: Grass Valley Group, Grass Valley, CA
Lines: 15


Side note : The more current you can muster-up, the more dazzling the arcs. I
once eyewitnessed a 66KV transmission line arcing 8 feet. Must have been 
hundreds of amps.

The Tesla coil at the Griffith Park Observatory in LA is a definite must-see.

I've been scratching my head off-and-on for a few years about how to construct
a HV setup running in the 1-2KW range, but the problem which always comes back
is how to insulate AND maintain acceptable core-losses in the transformer. 
A good place to start might be a 16Kv-240v stepdown transformer like the
power companies use in rural areas, but I have no idea of where to get one.

Safety is another issue. One zap, you're DEAD. Another concern is the RF energy
emitted, which could have dire consequences concerning aircraft navigation.