Larry, I think this topic has become blurred, I am in agreement with
you ....and the fact that the backstay insulator (lower) is kept above
head level is for the purpose of avoiding the situation you mentioned,
ie. grabbing the handrail and backstay...I'm sure you're familiar with
them but I think that some people might find reading about Nicholas
Tesla's experiments using earth as a radiator interesting...

"markvictor" wrote in
oups.com:

Nicholas
Tesla

Nikola. I've been fascinated with him since I was 8. I built my first
Tesla coil at 12. I built my biggest Tesla coil at 22. It was 11' tall
and produced sparks over 12' long....(c;

While touring the Smithsonian's Edison Exhibit (their "boy"), one of the
curators made the mistake of asking me what I thought of his exhibit. I
told him I found it very ironic, since the Smithsonian refuses to even
accept a bust of Tesla from a bunch of elementary students. "What's
ironic?", he asked. "This display is lighted with Tesla's flourescent
lamps, from Tesla's multiphase AC power system, using Tesla's ballasts,
transformers, alternators, high tension transmission lines and his entire
electrical system, right down to the watthour meter he invented to meter
it to you. The air conditioning and even that water cooler over there is
powered by Tesla's multiphase AC motors. Shouldn't this building be
running on DC from an Edison GENERATOR?"

He was not amused....(c;

PRICELESS...(c;

Most people would be quite surprised to learn that Tesla built the
first power plant at Niagra Falls....I think Tesla was the Einstein (or
beyond) of the practical world...Question: What kind of power supply do
you use for a Tesla coil? Just curious...I remember at a school I went
to while in the Navy we had some type of a Tesla alternator that
transmitted static(?) electricity...hold a flourescent tube within
about 6 inches,it would light... I though, no big deal... then the
insructor used an incandescent lamp, and it glowed (albeit somewhat
dimmer than normal...) I was hooked..
Regards,
markvictor

"markvictor" wrote in
oups.com:

What kind of power supply do
you use for a Tesla coil?

My big tesla coil primary power supply was a 30KV 1A Xray transformer
with 230VAC heavy primary. The tank circuit was a home made capacitor
with copper plates separated by 1" thick plexiglass dielectric that
exploded many times so we went to 2" thick glass panes to stop it. The
primary coil was 32 turns of #12 wire suspended on glass posts around the
secondary with over (estimated as we lost count on the lathe) 50,000
turns of very fine enamel covered copper wire around a 4" diameter solid
glass rod, which glowed an eerie, but beautiful blue from the stress,
especially if it wasn't arcing to anything with a solid arc. The top of
the glass rod had a flange glued to it and the top had a copper threaded
rod up about 6" with a 1" brass ball screwed to the top of it. The base
of the glass rod was fit into a PVC drain pipe for support with a heavy
boiler plate base, the ground for the system.

RF was generated with carbon arc lamp rods in home made holders in the
tank circuit, which with 30KV of AC power had no problem arcing over...
(c; Our problem was power input. We only had 50A 230VAC service
available and if you got the rods too close together it would take out
the 50A breaker. The key was to get it pulling around 35-40A, unloaded,
then hold your breath as it flashed over and converted the RF load to
lightning...(c;

Everyone always wore meat cutters' stainless mesh gloves used to cut meat
with a saw to protect your hands from burns because the arc was quite
hot. Even then, you took a pretty good jolt when you became the path.
RF would also burn holes in your feet right through your sneakers, so we
lined the sneakers with tin foil to "distribute the load"...more fun.
You could stand to be the conductor for "most of the arc" for around 5
seconds before the RF heating became uncomfortable in your hand and feet.
Watching so-called safety rubber matting lighting up UNDER YOUR SHOES was
very exciting. Any kind of flourescent lamp within 100' of it would
light brightly, indeed, in your hand. The radiation field was very
intense....tearing up RF communications, I suppose, for miles in all
directions, but not too far as it had no large antenna to speak of.

Set it out in the driveway and let it arc to a lamp post or tree 10' away
will stop traffic on the street...

All in good fun. The "new" wears off after a while and I sold it to
another "coiler" for $300. The Xray transformer was worth that.

Holy"sheet"....!