I think the reason it crashed on you is you have a few issues:
1)Secondary coilform diameter is 2 inches. If you used PVC, it goes by the inside diameter, but as a coilform you use the outside diameter. 2" pvc usually has an outside diameter of about 2.125", so the radius would be 1.0625.
2)952 turns won't fit on 12" (exactly) of winding, when using 28ga. The JavaTC calculator suggests 821 turns. This alone pops up an error when you input the numbers, so either it's less turns, or the winding length is more than 12".
3) *If Secondary LV height is 1, and your winding is 12", then Secondary HV height is 13. Picture from the bottom up: coilform edge is 0, winding start (lv) is 1, 12in of winding, winding stop (hv) is 13, coilform stop is 14.
4) Primary height when flat is equal to primary wire diameter; 0.25.
5) Toroid minor diameter is the diameter of the hollow tubing that comprises the outer rim, in your case 3" duct, which is usually around 3.25".
6) Not an error, but 44" of primary lead length represents a HUGE LOSS OF POWER, perhaps up to a 45% loss in power. I had 24" in my first coil, and reducing it to 12" increased my output power by about 28%.
That being said I adjusted your numbers to get you into the ballpark, and the output looks both good, and realistic.
JavaTC said:
J A V A T C version 13.2 - CONSOLIDATED OUTPUT
1/8/2015, 2:16:02 AM
Units = Inches
Ambient Temp = 68°F
----------------------------------------------------
Secondary Coil Inputs:
----------------------------------------------------
1.0625 = Radius 1
1.0625 = Radius 2
1 = Height 1
13 = Height 2
821 = Turns
28 = Wire Awg
----------------------------------------------------
Primary Coil Inputs:
----------------------------------------------------
Round Primary Conductor
2 = Radius 1
5.205 = Radius 2
0.25 = Height 1
0.25 = Height 2
5.2784 = Turns
0.25 = Wire Diameter
0 = Ribbon Width
0 = Ribbon Thickness
0.015 = Primary Cap (uF)
40 = Total Lead Length
0.08 = Lead Diameter
----------------------------------------------------
Top Load Inputs:
----------------------------------------------------
Toroid #1: minor=3.25, major=14.75, height=14.5, topload
----------------------------------------------------
Secondary Outputs:
----------------------------------------------------
494.39 kHz = Secondary Resonant Frequency
90 deg° = Angle of Secondary
12 inch = Length of Winding
68.4 inch = Turns Per Unit
0.00198 inch = Space Between Turns (edge to edge)
456.7 ft = Length of Wire
5.65:1 = H/D Aspect Ratio
29.3995 Ohms = DC Resistance
18746 Ohms = Reactance at Resonance
0.22 lbs = Weight of Wire
6.035 mH = Les-Effective Series Inductance
6.114 mH = Lee-Equivalent Energy Inductance
5.925 mH = Ldc-Low Frequency Inductance
17.173 pF = Ces-Effective Shunt Capacitance
16.95 pF = Cee-Equivalent Energy Capacitance
21.976 pF = Cdc-Low Frequency Capacitance
4.23 mils = Skin Depth
15.327 pF = Topload Effective Capacitance
89.6081 Ohms = Effective AC Resistance
209 = Q
----------------------------------------------------
Primary Outputs:
----------------------------------------------------
494.39 kHz = Primary Resonant Frequency
0 % = Percent Detuned
0 deg° = Angle of Primary
9.96 ft = Length of Wire
1.65 mOhms = DC Resistance
0.357 inch = Average spacing between turns (edge to edge)
1.069 inch = Proximity between coils
0 inch = Recommended minimum proximity between coils
5.545 µH = Ldc-Low Frequency Inductance
0.015 µF = Cap size needed with Primary L (reference)
1.392 µH = Lead Length Inductance
15.006 µH = Lm-Mutual Inductance
0.083 k = Coupling Coefficient
0.123 k = Recommended Coupling Coefficient
12.05 = Number of half cycles for energy transfer at K
12.13 µs = Time for total energy transfer (ideal quench time)
The take away is this: you'll need to tap your primary HV connection (outside connector) around 5.27 turns and adjust from there for best performance.
Potential improvements for AFTER the coil is running well and tuned:
1) Greatly reduce the primary lead length. The shorter the better. Copper strip 1" in diameter works better than any round wire.
2)increase coupling slightly by raising primary coil up about 1"; styrofoam under the insulating plastic you're using works great.
Note: at 500KHz this is a medium frequency coil, so there will be a reduction in spark length that is unavoidable. It shouldn't be that noticeable and you have realistic expectations (6"). If you can smooth out the toroid so only a single streamer forms, and if you can improve the ground connection as much as possible (tons of methods in this thread, go search em, too much to repost!!!!!) you'll see performance improvements beyond 6".
