Teslathon Report

Rochester Area Teslathon 1996

The 5th annual Rochester Area Tesla Coil Builders Teslathon was held at the home and lab of Ed Wingate in Brockport, NY on August 24, 1996. There were 37 attendees present which featured a flea market of varied and sundry assortment of Tesla coil and high voltage related goodies plus the customary afternoon cookout with hot dogs, hamburgers, salads, and fresh corn on the cob.

Marcus Young and his mother, Barbara, established a new distance record of 16,000 miles traveling from Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Among those traveling from the west coast were John Couture, Steve and Fay Cole, and Jim and Ann Speer. The Tesla coil Builders of Richmond were also well represented by Richard Hull, Dave Sharpe, Kim Goins, and Victor Cestone. There were also folks from Ohio, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Wisconsin as well as New York and New Jersey.

The afternoon activities included detailed demonstrations by Lou Balint (PA), Bill Connery (PA), and Tom Vales (MA). There were also video clips of recent Tesla work by Jim Speer of Washington, John Freau from New Jersey, and Dr. Mark Rzeszotarski of Ohio. Later in the afternoon, Ed fired up his twin coil system which produced arcs over 15'. He also fired up his magnifier. The unit hummed along giving out 12' arcs. Many more small demonstrations and discussions took place during the course of the day as some of the most enthusiastic coilers in the land took the opportunity to share new ideas and make new friends.

The Teslathon was honored to have Harry and Ruth Goldman present for the festivities. One of the highlights of the day was the presentation of a plaque to Harry Goldman by “the group” as a token of appreciation for his efforts in bringing coilers from all over the world together through the TCBA newsletter. Congrats Harry! During the evening, Harry showed a video of Ken Strickfaden's 87th birthday party (courtesy of Ed Angell). Many of Ken's fabulous high voltage apparatus were included in the video. Even at 87, Ken Strickfaden demonstrated the wit for which he was famous.

The bash lasted until about midnight when the last few attendees and the host filed out of the lab to get some much needed rest. Special thanks to all of the fine folks who attended in making this year's Teslathon an outstanding one.

TCBOR Holds Its 7th Annual Teslathon

The Tesla Coil Builders of Richmond held their annual Teslathon at the home and lab of Richard Hull on Saturday, October 12th in Richmond, VA. A total of 43 people were in attendance. The event featured a Tesla flea market with 11 vendors. A lot of hardware changed hands and people were seen stealing off to their cars with secret treasures long sought and hard won. The traditional weenie roast with corn on the cob and all the soda the attendees could put away was enjoyed by all. The early arrival of at least 15 happy, hungry coilers on Friday night prompted the traditional Friday evening meal at a local restaurant. Demos and discussions followed the meal back at the lab.

The day of the Teslathon was a glorious, southern fall day with bright, clear skies and temperatures in the lower 70s. Attending, were people from all over the Nation. Bert Pool and Bill Emory drove up from Texas. Ed Wingate drove down from Rochester, NY and Tony DeAngelis and Tom Vales made the trip from the Boston area. The Tesla Coil Builders of Maryland, headed by Steve Roys, had over 50% of their members present.

There were plasma displays by Bill Connery and Tom Vales. Jeff Miller demonstrated his high frequency alternator. Kim Goins showed off her collection of lightning trees captured in plastic from electron beam accelerators as well as a collection of field emission vacuum tubes. Richard Hull demonstrated his water arc explosion apparatus and the latest version of his magnifier #11-E. Hull also discussed the nature of electrostatics from Tesla coils and demonstrated some unique characteristics of static with an electrometer as well as a number of electrostatic motors. Lots of ozone filled the lab as coils were fired and people talked about their experiences building Tesla coils and related high voltage devices.

The conclave lasted from the arrival of the first attendees on Thursday evening until the last visitors departed the lab around noon on Sunday. Totally exhausted, Hull looks forward to a one month recovery period! Unsung in the affair were Kit Hull, Meg Gentges, and Steve Roys (who were the food preparation crew).