A transformer too far??
 

Hi guys,

Check this out:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...1533 536&rd=1

Is this type of transformer of any use to the serious radio amateur,
or is it just *way* over the top?
--

"What is now proved was once only imagin'd." - William Blake, 1793.

"Paul Burridge" wrote in message
...
Hi guys,

Check this out:


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...1533 536&rd=1

Is this type of transformer of any use to the serious radio amateur,
or is it just *way* over the top?


Sure. *IF* you like sparks around your rig. Make a Jacob's Ladder, etc.
Lotsa volts, don't need to much ma.
This thing belongs on rec.electronics.how.big.can.i.make.a.spark

There are guys who make REALLY BIG Tesla coils. I'm talkin' make your own
capacitors, 5-7 feet tall, light the neighbor's florescent bulbs big!

I kept the ignition transformer from my mother-in-laws oil furnace when
converted to gas. There's quite a bit of power there. The tips of my
Jacob's Ladder heated enough to melt the plastic tube I had it in...and they
barely touch it.
--
Steve N, K,9;d, c. i My email has no u's.

On Tue, 09 Nov 2004 16:08:37 +0000, Paul Burridge
wrote:

Hi guys,

Check this out:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...1533 536&rd=1

Is this type of transformer of any use to the serious radio amateur,
or is it just *way* over the top?

Fun? Yes.
Pratical? No.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com

nice pick of a clamp meter in action.
wondered what they did.
Make a nifty stun gun.

Kick ASS transformer!!
It is the 20+ amps at 220 volt, replaces my Air conditioner, also the 100ma
at 80KV, that Will Knock the **** out of a cow, man!
Tesla Time

"Paul Burridge" wrote in message
...
Hi guys,

Check this out:


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...1533 536&rd=1

Is this type of transformer of any use to the serious radio amateur,
or is it just *way* over the top?
--

"What is now proved was once only imagin'd." - William Blake, 1793.

Hi,

Not wanting to pour rain on the parade but -

Diagnostic x-ray transformers are only rated for very
intermittent use and are normally immersed in oil for cooling and
insulation purposes.

The meter in the picture is calibrated in mAs (not mA) so it
isn't obvious what the actual secondary current is. FYI, the
milli-amp seconds figure (tube current x exposure time) is preset
and used to set film darkening.

An x-ray tube is a temperature-limited vacuum diode so that
the current can be tightly controlled. Therefore, during the arc
shown, the secondary voltage will almost certainly have dropped
quite dramatically.


Cheers - Joe

"Joe McElvenney" wrote in message
...
Hi,

Not wanting to pour rain on the parade but -

Diagnostic x-ray transformers are only rated for very
intermittent use and are normally immersed in oil for cooling and
insulation purposes.

The meter in the picture is calibrated in mAs (not mA) so it
isn't obvious what the actual secondary current is. FYI, the
milli-amp seconds figure (tube current x exposure time) is preset
and used to set film darkening.

An x-ray tube is a temperature-limited vacuum diode so that
the current can be tightly controlled. Therefore, during the arc
shown, the secondary voltage will almost certainly have dropped
quite dramatically.


Cheers - Joe

Thanks for the info, knew it was time limited, but not the oil immersion
stuff.
It is built strange for a HV TF, probably optomized for the time and tube.
Ones I have seen are cubic foot black things.

Paul Burridge wrote:
Hi guys,

Check this out:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...1533 536&rd=1

Is this type of transformer of any use to the serious radio amateur,
or is it just *way* over the top?
Going in the other direction, I remember as a kid playing with a giant
step down transformer (the largest one Lionel made for their train
sets). If you put a common #2 pencil into the circuit (from end to
end using the full length of the pencil) the lead (graphite) would glow
white hot and the wood would catch fire.
Wonder how many amps I forced into the pencil?

I did the same thing I can remember the smell of the paint!

Ken Scharf wrote:

Paul Burridge wrote:

Hi guys,

Check this out:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...1533 536&rd=1


Is this type of transformer of any use to the serious radio amateur,
or is it just *way* over the top?

Going in the other direction, I remember as a kid playing with a giant
step down transformer (the largest one Lionel made for their train
sets). If you put a common #2 pencil into the circuit (from end to
end using the full length of the pencil) the lead (graphite) would glow
white hot and the wood would catch fire.
Wonder how many amps I forced into the pencil?


--
Joe Leikhim K4SAT
"The RFI-EMI-GUY"

The Lost Deep Thoughts By: Jack Handey
Before a mad scientist goes mad, there's probably a time
when he's only partially mad. And this is the time when he's
going to throw his best parties.

On Tue, 9 Nov 2004 11:30:44 -0600, "Steve Nosko"
wrote:


"Paul Burridge" wrote in message
.. .
Hi guys,

Check this out:


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...1533 536&rd=1

Is this type of transformer of any use to the serious radio amateur,
or is it just *way* over the top?


Sure. *IF* you like sparks around your rig. Make a Jacob's Ladder, etc.
Lotsa volts, don't need to much ma.
This thing belongs on rec.electronics.how.big.can.i.make.a.spark

There are guys who make REALLY BIG Tesla coils. I'm talkin' make your own
capacitors, 5-7 feet tall, light the neighbor's florescent bulbs big!

I kept the ignition transformer from my mother-in-laws oil furnace when
converted to gas. There's quite a bit of power there. The tips of my
Jacob's Ladder heated enough to melt the plastic tube I had it in...and they
barely touch it.

The Museum of Science in Boston has a bunch of similar toys in their
Thomson Theater of Electricity. http://www.mos.org/sln/toe

The large Tesla Coil they have is rather large, 8 feet tall and 4 feet
across. The smaller ones are 75,000 volts.

They also have a two story high Van de Graff generator.

They do regular demos of all this several times each day.

The website above includes a picture gallery.

Happy trails,
Gary (net.yogi.bear)
------------------------------------------------
at the 51st percentile of ursine intelligence

Gary D. Schwartz, Needham, MA, USA
Please reply to: garyDOTschwartzATpoboxDOTcom