If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.
But I must say that having bright shiny copper for the antenna is a tall order, in this rainy climate. All my wire antennas get a surface corrosion over time. I'll clean up the wire initially, but it will not stay that way.
Tesla talked about polishing the surface of his plate collectors as well.
"I was amazed how big a difference in the coil ringing the PPV made! Now the waveform is very little transient and almost all clean ringing at the resonant frequency. I'm guessing with the antenna attached and tuned, the waveform will be virtually a steady-state sine wave."
Have you measured to see if your findings were correct?
I just wanted to say thank you to tswift, Mwtj and Serendipitor for keeping the PPV details a secret.
I know this next move will be appreciated as they won't have to conceal any part of the device from anyone.
I won't have to photoshop any pictures either.
I present to you the Perreault Plasma Valve Stage 1
These pictures are courtesy of tswift & Serendipitor:
The anode should be made from aluminum.
The cathode should be made from iron. (Steel is close enough)
However, there is a little twist in the story
The most efficient PPV Stage 1 can be made by having a domed anode and a pin point cathode!
So opposite of what is shown in the pictures.
If you have access to a lathe then I'm sure you can make a better dome.
The finer the threads the more adjustable your PPV will be.
Not many inventors get to invent there own electrical components and symbols.
What is a PPV?
It is an ultra high frequency, high voltage, plasma diode. It is the key component that will allow you to tap the endless sea of ions for your electrical needs.
Moray used radioactive material to break down the gap resistance. The PPV uses dissimilar metals to do the same thing.
Another option for large tubes in 8" and 10" sizes is cardboard construction tubes. These are used as concrete forms for pouring posts and are sold in hardware and home improvement type stores. Note that the sizes are NOMINAL sizes, they ship a slightly-smaller-than-8", a true 8", and a slightly-larger-than-8" all telescoped together. Take a measuring tape when you grab one out of the bin so you get the size you're expecting. Cost: about $5 for a 4-foot tube.
Unfortunately this is a somewhat inferior option to PVC. The PVC is stronger and more rigid and won't deteriorate or absorb moisture like the cardboard can. But will it work? Yes, I have my little tabletop slayer exciter/Tesla coil wrapped around a cardboard mailing tube and it works fine.
One of the challenges I have had troubleshooting is the lack of any good way to measure high voltages. I made myself a kilovolt meter from a high value resistor and an ammeter. By Ohm's law, current equals voltage divided by resistance. Since we want to put the minimum possible load on the circuit, we want the highest value resistance obtainable and the most sensitive ammeter. I found a 0-100 microamp analog meter (scale reads 0-10 but meter reads 0-100 uA) from ebay, and I obtained two 20KV rated resistors to go with it, a 100M and a 1000M. Doing the arithmetic, connecting the meter to an HV source through the 100M resistor will give 100 uA of current (full scale) at 10KV voltage. If I use the 1G resistor the range is 100KV full scale, with the caveat that the resistor is only rated for 20KV and might have problems at voltages much higher than that.
I have attached a picture of this arrangement being used to read the voltage across C1 with the PVM12 running. Using the UX-FOB diode I only obtain a little over 2KV (this is with the 100M resistor. I also tried the HVM12 low-speed diodes and my new 30KV high-speed diodes and to my surprise it made no difference! I changed out the C1 capacitor for a new one with the same specs (this one came from ebay), likewise no difference. So I am left with the conclusion that my PVM12 is probably bad. It turns on and runs but it should be charging much more than this. Thankfully, as a backup I have obtained one of the ZVS/flyback combos previously mentioned in this thread. This is considerably more powerful than the PVM12, but just charging a cap shouldn't require any real output power. Sure enough, using the ZVS to energize the circuit and using the flyback internal diode like Mwtj did, I measure around 12KV on the cap (using the 1G resistor) and the whole circuit is crackling with static! Numerous surfaces are charged to HV potential, such as the whole L1 coil. It is becoming obvious why it really is a better idea to use HV-rated insulated wire for this circuit, it's only going to get worse at higher voltages.
Leave a comment: