Roger roger. Aye, new topload is definitely on the list. Being that I am so close to the end of the tuning range I am concerned with picking too large of a toroid right now though. I've seen some right small ones (say... 2" ring on 6" total diameter) which have a nice breakout point at the center being used by the pros but I can't find any for sale. I can't remember the fellow's name but I saw it on 4HV archives and the TC mailing list archives (I'm not a member of the list) frmo posts back in the early 2000's that he made some really fantastic toroids. His site seems to be defunct now and most of the other "where to find toroids" links on the archives are also defunct. I contacted Information Unlimited about toroids as they can produce them now but was told they only stock 2 sizes and the rest are all expensive custom orders. As is, the two they stock are a bit pricy, and not all that small.
What method would you recommend? I have read in many, many places to NOT drill in to the top cap of the coilform (or the coilform) as it can lead to internal arcing between HV out and RF ground. I was thinking soldering the 30ga wire to a bit of copper with a 1/4"-20 bolt soldered to it and epoxying the copper piece to the top of the coilform. This way the toroid has a secure mount and no strain on the 30ga wire.
You're right about the pvc pipe for supports. While in the planning stage I had considered bisecting some 4" pvc (so that it stands 2.25" high and doesn't roll) and notching the round side for primary placement ridges but I couldn't find anyone around with a bandsaw. There's no way I could do that with a 5" handheld coping saw. I figure if I could cut 8 pieces of 3.5" long 1" dia pvc pipe I can use them as standoffs for the acryllic sheet I have there. But I'd still need a way of cutting the circle in the acryllic. This acryllic is weird, I've worked with plexiglass before and it always cut easily without fracturing or shattering. This stuff breaks so easy. It is quite brittle. I actually bought two sheets and was going to cut the second, but it shattered when I tried to cut it with a very fine tooth blade sawing by hand with it well supported.
I wanted to use 8ga wire for the high current side but I can't buy anything larger than 14ga locally. It's a real bummer.
Re the TC safety, yup I know. But the SSTC I have planned is less than 36VA on the primary side with the transformer Steve Ward specifies. With the transformer I'll be using initially it will be only 24VA. Hammond manufacturing makes the transformer Steve Ward uses and they don't have any in stock at the retailers so it'l be a few weeks lead time, so I'll use my 24V power supply instead (the difference is about 12V DC, enough that the mosfets will still have the minimum needed on voltage, but no more really) until the Hammond transformer comes. RF burns.. sure. You can get RF burns from 1W. Stop your heart? No. That's my definition for safe. If you know of the "slayer exciter" his MicroSSTC is similar to that. It is even less output power than the EVR SSTC1.0, just enough to light a fluorescent and give some nice corona, no streamers.
Update:
That is AWESOME Jared! Hehe, this thread is for EVERYONE's TC builds, not just mine. I'm just the main contributor right now is all. If you need any help at all or suggestions on how to wind a secondary by hand in the most insane mind numbing method possible, feel free to ask! I pretty much worked out the method for a flawless hand-wound jig-free secondary. By all means though build a freaking jig if you can, haha. My brain still feels like mush... and I'm going to wind another coil for the SSTC soon!
