Tesla coil question.

Have been reading about tesla coils and tuning.

I understand that there are 4 tuning points: size and inclination of primary coil, size of secondary coil, size of tank capacitor and spark gap distance all for a given supply voltage frequency.

Question.

If you get approximate values for the tank capacitor, primary coil, secondary coil and spark gap using the various calculators available online, is it enough to then have a sliding contact on the primary copper tube coil in order to do the fine tuning? And perhaps an adjustable spark gap.

For example in making the tank capacitor, it wil be pretty hard to nail down the capacitance to a precise value.

Have been reading about tank capacitors made from alternating layers of overhead transparency sheets and aluminium flashing emersed in oil. Sounds really exciting to try out at some point.

is it enough to then have a sliding contact on the primary copper tube coil in order to do the fine tuning?

Click to expand...

Guess it's okay as long as it gives you a fine enough range of adjustment.

I have been watching an animated simulation of a Tesla coil.

The link below will open the falstad.com website, load the schematic, and run it on your computer.

It's the same layout listed in the menu under Circuits>>Misc Devices>>Spark Gap>>Tesla Coil.

https://tinyurl.com/c5lg7go

The second transformer has had its inductance value adjusted to 4 figures. I think this was necessary to get it to resonate properly.

Also the ratio between primary and secondary must have been adjusted very precisely.

The circuit has a long buildup time. Try reducing the spark gap threshold. Try increasing the supply frequency.