Not an Oudin Coil

This issue's “Tesla Coils Resurrected” column features a vacuum tube high frequency coil project that appeared in an early EVERYDAY SCIENCE & MECHANICS issue. Author H. Winfield Secor calls his high frequency transformer project an Oudin coil. The method used in connecting the secondary coil of his project makes it a Tesla coil. TCBA NEWS has made several references to the confusion that existed over Tesla & Oudin coils. Even though we are living in an age of technological enlightenment, the misconception that all monopolar high frequency transformers are Oudin coils and all bipolar transformers are Tesla coils is not entirely dead.

1990 Electronics Experimenters Handbook

If you missed any of the interesting high voltage projects that appeared in recent issues of POPULAR ELECTRONICS magazine, you will find several of them in the above named handbook. The high voltage section includes a Jacob's Ladder, solid state Tesla coil, plasma globes, Kirlian photography, and similar experiments. Readers will also find a bonus feature in Marc Seifer's article on Nikola Tesla. (tip from Sid Romero)

Personal Communication

While cleaning out some old files, I came across a lengthy hand-written letter addressed to me way back in 1954. It came from a person who not only knew Nikola Tesla but also admired the man very much. Elsewhere in this issue are excerpts from his letter. In addition to his mentioning Tesla, the writer also tells of experiences with another friend - Earle Ovington. Mr. Ovington was an expert on high frequency coils. He designed and built the famous Griffith Observatory (Los Angeles) Tesla coil which TCBA NEWS wrote about.

White Lightning

The Wanamaker department stores are selling a plasma globe called the “White Lightning.” It is one of the neatest lightning displays I've seen. The electrical discharges can be varied from a thick wriggling lightning bolt to a spray of thin strands of hair-like discharges. I would have made a purchase but the ticker shock was more than I could handle. ($200)

Old Myths Die Hard (because they are so often repeated)

There's a television advertisement that features a Thomas Edison look-alike. The inventor is seen lecturing on the advantages of the very same alternating current electricity which the real Edison so vigorously opposed. Obviously, those making up the advertisement for the utility companies have little knowledge of the history of electro-technology. I guess it is easier to perpetuate a myth rather than replace it with historical fact.

Video: Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein (and Dracula, and the Wolf Man)

You don't have to be an Abbott & Costello fan to enjoy their encounter with the Frankenstein monster as well as the other horrific degenerates. There are several short laboratory scenes showing high voltages at high frequencies. The large Tesla coil in the background appears to be the work of the late Ken Strickfaden. This same coil has appeared in several other movies of this genre. The Abbott & Costello video should be available at most outlets ($19.95)

Quaker Oats has New Look

I don't think that there were any food containers that ended up as a Tesla secondary more than the Quaker Oats Company product. Now, these handy cardboard cylinders have a new look. The peel-off top leaves a metal ring and the bottom has a metal plate. Just fit a wooden plug to the top and attach the nearest turn to the metal ring. Invert the cylinder and the bottom plate becomes your high voltage terminal capacitance. Connect the top turn to the metal plate. Add a small sphere and you're ready for business. Ground the metal ring on the bottom. Be sure to oven-heat the container before coating the inner and outer surfaces with insulating compound.

Peerless Photo Products Closed Down!

Many TCBA readers are aware that Tesla's Long Island Wardenclyffe plant property was being used by the Peerless Photo Products Company. I've been informed that the plant has been shut down due to the environmental pollution caused by illegal discharging of toxic chemicals. There now exists a terrific opportunity to regain the property for a genuine Tesla museum. (tip from L. Schmidlin)

A New Tesla Book?

TCBA has been informed that Marc Seifer will publish a new book on Tesla based on his 717-page doctoral dissertation.