Motor Heads

Thread Starter

thedoc8

Joined Nov 28, 2012
162
I am needing to select a motor for my tesla coil. I want a synchronous motor but there seems to be two types. One that locks on to the same position ever time and one that locks on, but might have to turn on and off a few times to get the same position. What from the name plate would let me know which motor I am looking at. Thanks
 

Audioguru

Joined Dec 20, 2007
11,248
A tesla coil does not have a motor. It has a battery, an oscillator and a coil to make big sparks.
If it has a motor then what will the motor be used for?
 

Audioguru

Joined Dec 20, 2007
11,248
I saw a video of a rotary tesla coil where the frequency of the sparks is made with a motor, liked the distributor in an old car.
I think a variable frequency oscillator can control the frequency of a relay or transistor instead, like modern cars do.
 

Berzerker

Joined Jul 29, 2018
621
Tesla was an amazing inventor! Wonder where his papers on free electricity really are.
shortbus said:
A Tesla coil is an AC device.
Even I knew that! Thomas Edison promoted DC electricity and it was wrong all the way. He done aaaLot of things to help humanity but AC wasn't one of them.
 
Last edited:

Reloadron

Joined Jan 15, 2015
7,501
Have a look at the many examples on the net. SRSG :)
If you can provide a few links to specific sites I am sure someone will be able to make a few motor suggestions. The SRSG (synchronous rotary spark gap) doesn't need much of a motor. You may want to vary the motor speed but I am not sure what you mean when you mention:
One that locks on to the same position ever time and one that locks on, but might have to turn on and off a few times to get the same position.
So the spark gap is constantly rotating as is the motor. The few examples I have seen can be any number of synchronous AC motors running at a fixed speed with a gear box head or you can use a variable speed motor. Depending on your location suppliers like Amazon would likely be a good source. Here in the US I would use McMaster Carr Supply for the hardware like nylon or teflon block.

Ron
 

Reloadron

Joined Jan 15, 2015
7,501
Tesla was an amazing inventor! Wonder where his papers on free electricity really are.

Even I knew that! Thomas Edison promoted DC electricity and it was wrong all the way. He done aaaLot of things to help humanity but AC wasn't one of them.
Yeah, he also killed an elephant by electrocution in his flawed efforts to prove Tesla wrong. Edison was a cunning and devious business man. I can't even post my view of him on this forum least I get banned for profanity.

Ron
 

Berzerker

Joined Jul 29, 2018
621
Reloadron said:
I can't even post my view of him on this forum least I get banned for profanity.
I think I came close for my political views.

google said:
Thomas Edison's Phonograph. ...
Thomas Edison Light Bulb. ...
Thomas Edison Motion Picture. ...
The First Thomas Edison Invention – The Electrographic Vote Recorder.
He was a smart man!
 

Reloadron

Joined Jan 15, 2015
7,501
I think I came close for my political views.


He was a smart man!
Absolutely he was a smart man and shrewd business man but that does mean I have to like him does it? Being smart doesn't necessarily make a person good. As I see it and I am not in the PETA fan club any man who would torture an elephant to death with electrocution to make a point which was a lie, was not a good person. He also welshed on a debt to Tesla and I despise people who run out on a debt. So again my vocabulary concerning Edison, who has no place in this thread anyway, can't be used in this forum. That said, if you see him as a Great American Idol and Inventor, cool with me. My view is not political and has nothing to do with politics. The topic of the thread has nothing to do with Edison and if anything more to do with Tesla, the guy whose name the Tesla Coil bears.

Ron
 

Audioguru

Joined Dec 20, 2007
11,248
One video of a rotary tesla coil has the spinning contacts touching and sparking the primary of the coil and the high voltage was abruptly turning on and off.
Which way do you want to do it?
 

Reloadron

Joined Jan 15, 2015
7,501
One video of a rotary tesla coil has the spinning contacts touching and sparking the primary of the coil and the high voltage was abruptly turning on and off.
Which way do you want to do it?
Do they touch or is there a small spark gap there? I see it as a small spark gap. I assume that is why it is called a SRSG (synchronous rotary spark gap).

Ron
 

Audioguru

Joined Dec 20, 2007
11,248
I do not know why some people like to produce sparks.
I also do not know what a synchronous spark is sync'd with.
Why is a motor called a "head"?
 
These http://www.hurst-motors.com/permanentmagnetacsynchronous.html are the ones I normally think about. They run at constant speed based on frequency. They are frequently sold as reverseable and require a capacitor. Line is applied to one side or the other of the cap to change speed. They stop fairly fast.

You can change the speed by changing the frequency. Ive driven them with square waves for a telescope motor.

Stopping at the same spot generally requires a cam (roller microswitch) and a notch for something simple. You bypass the switch briefly (just to pass the notch) to cause the motor to rotate and it would stop the next time the notch is seen or bypass it all the time and then when you release it will stop the next time the cam sees the notch.
 

Reloadron

Joined Jan 15, 2015
7,501
I do not know why some people like to produce sparks.
I also do not know what a synchronous spark is sync'd with.
Why is a motor called a "head"?
As to people and sparks. I guess it is an arcs and sparks thing of sorts. Sort of like a moth and a flame. The attraction of the moth to the flame is fine right till... I have no idea why they call it a SRSG (synchronous rotary spark gap) as I did not come up with the naming convention but it does sort of fit what is happening. Something about mine is not to reason why, mine is but to do or die may figure in. The motor being called a head escapes me? I know the head is where the toilet is.

Ron
 
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