Tube Wrapping

I recently read Tom Young's method of *wrapping* a tube and
recently tried it myself.

My tube is one of Robert R.'s with 8 torrs of 100 argon, 1"
leaded glass. If I understood Tom correctly he has the braided
wire run parallel to the tube on both the top and bottom of the
tube and uses nylon zip ties (at least that's what I call them)
to keep the Radio Shack braided wire in place. Since the wire
has some kinks from storage I tried to unkink as much as
possible and put the ties every 2 to 2.5" to keep the wire as
flat as possible.

Results:

I was able to light the tube every time without a piezoelectric
spark. SWR's are coming down to approximately what it was with
the noose method. (probably better as the tube breaks in).
Color remained a lavendar/magenta throughout the entire
frequency range (although light looked some what
different...movement top to bottom, instead of end-to-end).
Tuning seemed to be more difficult to acheive, but once it was
achieved I rarely had to retune it even if the frequencies
were changed dramaticly.

The *wave* seemed as strong as ever, on 108.5 FM radio test and
some affect on TV. The tube seemed to get pretty warm.

I had substantial die off the next day from multiple
frequencies. Just starting to feel better today.

Here is a cryptic diagram of this method:

12" leads between tuner and tube
___>_____________________ braided wire (opposite end from tuner)
___________________
|__tube_____________|
___>_____________________ braided wire (opposite end from tuner)


Bob

==================

Am in the process of building a B/R device and have questions
about connecting the plasma tube to the RF tuner. Dr. Bare
shows various methods of connecting the RF leads including
clamps with different forms of wire wrap.

To understand the tube-RF coupling process better, can we
consider that the clamp forms the outer plate of a capacitor
where the conductive plasma forms the inside plate? If this is
reasonable, a 1/2 inch wide clamp on a 1 inch diameter glass
tube 1/16 inch thick has a capacity of about 10 uufd.

This size capacitor has a reactance of 600 ohms at the RF
frequency. Taking into account both clamps, which in series
gives 1200 ohms, means that this reactance will have to be
tuned out by the tuner. Even though this impedance is after the
4:1 balun, and translates to 300 ohms at the tuner, it requires
about 2 uh to tune out.

This tuning problem could be reduced by making the clamps on
both ends about 2-3 inches wide. In fact I am thinking about
using end caps of 3 inch wide thin copperor brass pipe,
possibly padded inside, if required, with braided ground strap.
Even though this method of feeding the tube with wider clamps
would not give increased current through the tube it should
make tuning easier and possibly reduce swr variations when
changing modulation frequencies.

I am requesting comments from you more experienced Rifers.

==================

Hi List,

I've been quiet for the last few months, awaiting the Kinnaman
generator. On August the 24th I fired it up with these
modification to the tube wrap.

I have removed the hose clamps as they seem to have caused more
problems than they solved, (high vswr, heat, hot spots and hard
to light). Instead I have been using electrical tape and NOT
wrapping the tube in a spiral fashion. Instead I run the braid
on one side straight down the top of the tube slightly more
than half way. I run the other side straight down the bottom of
the tube slightly more than half way, (so the top and bottom
overlap). Both ends are started at the small end of the tube
just where it gets larger. Connections to the tube have been
held in place with electrical tape. With the wires in this
fashion the tube runs much cooler than spiral wrapped and the
tape does not melt or smoke. I've been experimenting with
teflon tape with excellent results.

The tube lights end to end with a even glow AND once the
controls are set will lite EVERYTIME on just keying the mike.
VSWR is low, under 1.2, RF out is 125 watts in the Medium
setting. Note that all connections must be tight or you will
generate BAD RFI. Enough to reset the Kinnaman. With good
connections (check the back of the tuner), the kinnaman can set
within 1 foot of the tube and is steady. Although I had to use
another plug and not the strip everything else was plugged into
for the Kinnaman.

When the Kinnaman is on automatic I can hear the change in
frequencies and I got the promised runs the day after trying
several unrelated frequencies.

I have a fan on the amp and a desk fan blowing over the whole
setup which is in a pelican waterproof case measuring 37x15x6
inches. The power supply, amp, kinnaman, tuner, coax, tube and
tube stand all fit inside with padding and can be transported
in this fashion. The case is similar to a hard gun case and has
small wheels on one end. All covers are on and NO modifications
have been made to the original equipment except for the CB per
Jims book. I am using the original plans for the connection of
the audio but plan to modify the mike for direct BNC input to
the mike from the Kinnaman with a DPDT relay to a timer as a
fail safe keying device.

My tube is a 100% neon filled tube 22.5 inches electrode to
electrode and 17.5 inches large end to large end obtained
locally here in Houston for approx $40 My argon tube was
damaged when I dropped it a couple of months ago and the gas
leaked out (I hate when that happens). I have another on order,
however the sign guy has been slow to respond. But the price is
right so who's griping!!

My tuner (MFJ 949E) settings are Xmitter Matching = 9 inductor
selector = K Antenna Matching =8

All my times for each frequency have been 60 seconds each. The
longest time transmitting was about 15 min including the 12
second delay between each in the kinnaman auto mode. The top of
the Amp was 100 degrees with the fan going and the power supply
at the heat sink was 120 degrees. After many frequeny runs
everything still works even though these temps seem quite warm.
No smoke!!

I have been using the 4 hz Kinnaman pulse after reading
previous posts but have noticed no difference plus or minus. I
do not have any illness so I have noticed no symptoms except as
previously stated save for lots of energy and no gas after the
first herx reaction.

I will try to answer all questions but I'll get this in the
mail so others may benefit.


Randy Love
ranlove@flash.net

==============

At 02:18 PM 9/14/97 -0500, you wrote:
>Hi Randy,
>
>Wow, it sounds like you might have discovered a great way to run
>the tube. I have a couple of questions. Are you using the
>narrow braided wire such as that obtained from Radio Shack?

Yes, right off the shelf of R.S.

>How long is each length, 30"? Do you run them both from the same end
>of the tube, one on top and one on the bottom or are they coming
>from opposite ends of the tube?

They are 30" each, from opposite ends of the tube.

>I have an external balun, but I
>expect it should perform as well with that. Are you still using
>both 18' cables between the CB and linear and linear and tuner?

Yes, 30" right out of Jims book. They are in a coil approx 10" loosely
stacked on one anotherin the bottom of the case.

>I have bubble tubes, so I hope that would work with them as well.
> I especially like the fact that it will light every time with
>just keying the mike and the low vswrs. I noticed that your tube
>is 100% neon. I think that neon is easier to light than argon.
>I hope that argon lights fairly easily too.

Actually the neon was harder to light, before I broke the
argon. I think it's how often you use them and they get broke
in so to speak.


>I had been thinking about wiring with 2 parallel wires also. If
>you look at the inside of a small neon bulb, that is exactly how
>they are wired.
>
>Your carrying case sounds really nice also.

Any dive shop will be able to get this. Retail about $100.00 to $175.00

==================

You should have better luck and get even lower SWR's by putting the
connections at each end of the tube unless you made a mistake in your
drawing.

> ___>________ braided wire (opposite end from tuner)
> ___________________
> |__tube_____________|
> __________<__ braided wire (opposite end from tuner)

| | <<<<< 1 to two inches.

When I first found the magic number 2 inchs I was doing it that
way. Then I went to a circle tube. Big Tom improved the old way
by crossing them on the other side. Hopefully one of these days
I'll be testing the difference between that wrap and a circle
tube. Right now the only problem with the wrap is no one knows
for sure what is does to killing ability. We know for sure that
it drops the SWR.

Reid


==============


saw ur msg on rife list Look on Ralphs Page how to eliminate
the balun - (http://home.att.net/~ralph.hartwell/page0020.htm)
this works fine with an insulated box at about 92 to 96 inches
overall - I left my box open at the front but I tried to use
his twisted trans. line with out the aluminum shield & found it
didn't work until i added a lot more length to my line I had to
use 146 inches in all with a 1/2 inch hardware metal screen
across the top of the tube - I have 80 inches of twisted line &
36 inches on each end of the tube - I wraped the tube from the
end into the center with seven turns spread out to cover the
tube from each end to about 1 inch from the center - I found it
lights good on settings of 28 on my inductance, 9.5 on antenna
& transmitter on zero.(MFJ 962D antenna tuner), to start I had
to tune the antenna cap back to about center with hi power on
to start, once light all u have to do is adj the antenna to
min. swr, conductance adj. for lowest swr. Once u get the
conductance adjusted, u only have to adj. it for best swr while
running some of the Freq., also I use a 4x4 piece of aluminum
to mount my PL239 for my coax cable I also use mini 8 coax(18
ft.) between tuner & trans. line of box. Hope this helps 73s
Clellon

===========================

F>>A Quick & Dirty test is to adjust the RF power to the tube so that
F>>it just lights up from end to end and then bring your hand a few inches
F>>away from one of the electrodes. If the tube gets brighter, the line is

F>If you bring your hand too close to the electrode, aren't you risking RF
F>burns? Any suggestions as to what you can use for this quick & dirty test
F>that doesn't involve body parts? Say a screwdriver (insulated handle)?

I guess this is what comes from working with high powered RF
systems for 30+ years. A little RF here and there never
bothered me. <VBG> Seriously, we're only dealing with a couple
of hundred watts at most, unless you have a really BIG
amplifier.

Since the wire spiral is insulated with Teflon tube, I can
actually wrap my hand firmly around the spiral electrode while
the tube is in operation without getting an RF burn. All I
feel is a bit of RF diathermy heating. OTOH, if you touch the
bare wire, yes, you will get a painful RF burn. Using the point
of a common wood pencil, I can draw a 1/4 inch RF arc from the
end of the electrode while operating at 100 watts.

For the Q&D test, you need only approach the tube to a
distance of a few inches for a few seconds, so RF heating
effects are minimized, and an RF burn is unlikely, using
reasonable care.

Ralph

========================

Try connecting one of the tube electrodes to a earth ground and see
what happens.
>Hi Reid -
>Do you mean that instead of using the high and low from the
>tuner (or balun) to use just the high, and an earth ground
>for the other side?

The positive side to the spiral wrap on the tube and on the
other end of the tube connected to an earth ground.

Take Care

Reid

--------------------------------------

I think I remember the gist of your question. The
output terminal which I call the primary (on the 912 balun) is
the one which is not directly connected by a wire to the
grounding post, though I don't know if this word is technically
correct. Well I actually used to use #22 wire instead of #20,
and have tried #12, #14, #10, and also 3/8" braid, but have had
best results (SWR, stability, gas colour, etc.) with the
thinner stuff. I'm thinking that the silver in my thin wire is
what makes the difference. It seems to me that RF prefers
silver as a conduit over copper or tin (I've noticed the power
wires in older R/B machines I've rebuilt seem to be oxidized,
from the RF noise, I assume) and I'm sure I wouldn't want to
pay for #12 silver wires! And yes, the 'secondary' wire wraps
around the end of the thick part of the tube (opposite the end
where the primary connects to the electrodes) firmly once (with
insulation and all; the Teflon is important, since normal pvc
insulation melts onto the tube) I was getting carbon rings
under the wrap when I used bare wire, which led to tube
failures. If the tube is reluctant to light, you can move the
wrap halfway up the tube, to shorten the effective tube length;
then slide it back when the tube lights. I was using direct
connection to both electrodes before, but found that about 1 in
5 tubes would run this way, with acceptable SWR's. I've only
experimented with actual tube wraps a few times, since Don
doesn't favour them, and didn't get great results. The tuning
is very sensitive with the 'harness' connection I use, but with
a bit of fiddling the SWR will come way down.

Good luck

Jake

-----------------------

Have been experimenting some with the Pyrex tubes from Lynn
Kinney and using a combination of techniques from Don Tunney
and from Lynn think I have hit upon a pretty fair method of
lighting these.

Place the clamps on the tubes about 8 inches apart to start.
Use only the one wrap of wire around tube that is under each
clamp. No other winds of the braided wire will be used.

Cut a piece of insulated single strand # 18 or #20 copper wire
about 17 inches long and wrap it about the tube so that it sits
between the clamps, but does not actually touch the clamps.
Position the ends of the wire about 3/16 inch or less from each
clamp. The wire will not have to be really tight to the tube
just fit upon it loosely is all.

The tube should now light up easily between the clamps. I was
able to get a full foot of length lit very easily with this
method by gradually sliding the clamps farther apart and
stretching the wire to match. SWR's were very low from 1.3 to
1.1 .

You can light leaded tubes in the same manner except place the
clamps about 1/2 inch in from the joint where the electrode is
attached. Do not overtighten clamp this is a very weak area of
the tube.

Jim

---------------------

To the user group and Jim...


Well tonite me and another guy were playing with the machine
and we have figured out a way to run the tube with two wires
from the RF side of the balun and the other wire completly
taken off...One side of the balun is the RF and the other one
is more or less the ground.....but first let me explain how I
have my tube set up....I rolled a sandwich type alum skin that
we make aircraft mirrors out of into a 6" dia. half circle and
then made some plexiglass ends with holes drilled 3" from the
edge into the center..I mounted one of Barry Allreds bubble
tube in that center with copper flat wire ( 1/2 " wide ) on
each end about 1" from the little ignitors. I then ran those
two wire to the RF side of the balun and hooked them up..I then
ran a ground wire to the refector from the other ground ( have
to do that or it won't light ). Now when it light, it will even
light the small bubble up and before it wouldn't( would just go
through the tube )...I also lowered the swr so none of them go
above 1.75. I can also hear the frequencys in my answer machine
and even in the tube. Also picked it at one time on a moble
phone...I even notice the scope wave looked a little more
crisper that it use to...

Listed below is before we remove the ground wire and ran 2
wires from the RF side of the Balun.

Settings 8/19/97

Lin. amp setting was on medium

FREQ. SWR FWD REFLECTED
465 1.7 94 5
660 2.1 95 12
666 2.0 90 10
690 2.0 90 10
727 2.0 90 10
778 2.0 90 10
802 2.0 90 10
1550 1.8 100 9
2008 1.75 110 7
2128 1.75 110 7
304 1.6 75 3
8000 1.4 110 2


Listed below are the new numbers we got after we hooked the
wires from each end of the tube to ONLY ONE SIDE OF THE BALUN (
RF side )

Settings 8/19/97

Lin. amp setting was on HIGH

FREQ. SWR FWD REFLECTED
465 1.4 94 2
660 1.5 90 4
666 1.5 90 3
690 1.5 90 3.5
727 1.5 90 4.5
778 1.7 95 5
802 1.7 95 5
1550 1.75 105 6.5
2008 1.6 105 5
2128 1.6 105 5
304 1.6 90 4
8000 1.4 120 3

If you notice the amp was set on high for these..We set the amp
on low to see if they would go lower and yes the SWR will go
lower.

Conclusion.............THE REFLECTOR that I have is helping the
tube to light with out the other wire. I now feel the reflector
can play and important part in the way the tube works due to
the fact that you don't need the other wire from the balun..We
also had the tube working with only one wire from the RF side
tonite with the reflector. I also thought it was interesting to
see the bubble light up inside too. I don't know if I'm the
only one who has done this, but it will light with only one
wire but it works better ( lower swr's ) with 2 wires from one
side of the balun...I'm planning on going to the convention and
will have a video tape of the whole machine and the way I have
it wired...


Stan

==================

I have my SWR`s down to 1.1 at most freq. settings reflected power 1.=

Some freqs SWR is slightly over 1.1 reflected power 2.
Experimenting to get there I blew out 4 tubes. I found the
electrodes made all the difference. The electrodes are made of
highly polished red copper plate and stainless steel. As follows:

3/10 mm. copper plate x 7 1/2 cm wrapped around the tube. Over
the copper =sleeve you slide the stainless steel (small) sleeve
3/10 mm.x 2 1/2 cm. which leave you 5 cm. uncovered copper
sleeve. On this you solder 1 cm high cooling ribs all around.
When tube is cold, ends of wrappings are touching . As tube
warms up and glass slightly expands wrappings open up a
fraction of a millimeter moving with the glass. The stainless
steel springy clamp is there only for the purpose of holding
the red copper tightly against the glas. Make sure the gaps are
exactly over one another so the tube can expand freely. Make
the other electrode exactly the same. Place on either end of
tube and attach leads.

Particulars of a specific frequency session may read as follows:
674 Hz SWR 1.1+ , refl. power 2
800 Hz SWR 1.1 " " 1
880 Hz SWR 1.1 " " 1
2127Hz SWR 1.1 " " 1
330 Hz SWR 1.1+ " " 2 =


As you see SWR`s are all well below 1.2

Hope this helps,

Gordon. =


==================

I have just developed a new method to wind quartz tubes. Do not
try this on leaded glass tubes - you will burn holes in the
leaded glass. I burnt out three trying different variants of
this! Quartz will hold up fine with this method.

Cut a 4 foot long piece of #18 insulated solid strand wire (
Radio Shack ), and strip back about 3/4 inch of the insulation
from just one end.

Move the clamps to about 1 and 1/2 inches from the ends of the
tube leaving only the one wrap of wire under the clamp. You may
have to either make new wires or shorten the old ones. Take the
4' length of # 18 wire and start wrapping it between the clamps
of the tube. Try and make the first turn and the last turn
some what parallel with the clamp, the rest of the turns will
be at an angle in order to space themselves across the tube.
When the tube is wrapped, take and spread out the wire so the
coils are farily evenly placed. End the wrapping about 3/16 of
an inch from each clamp.It is Ok for one end of the wire to
touch a clamp, but not both ends of the wire- this would create
a short. In fact having the bare wire end of the wire touching
a clamp will let the tube light really easy. But if you wrap it
with the wire ending close to the clamps it ought to light
right up. Makes the tube give a very bright light and a strong
wave.

Let me know how this works for you,

Jim

-----------------------

> I don't think it is easy to analyze the tube with windings and leads
> (and balun?) as an antenna. As I mentioned in an earlier post, good
> SWRs and high power are not a guarantee of a good wave since there are
> so many factors like tube wrapping, tube type and lengths, wire size,
> transmission line vs balun, etc. I have seen crappy beams at low SWRs
> (like 1.4) that start to look good when the SWR rises to 2.0, e.g. I
> have had great power and SWRs with little or no sound from the CB.
> Some of the best power levels (with good SWRs) I have had was with a
> setup that produced only standing waves (pearls) in the tube at most
> medium and high freqs - and not the ones internal to the beam, ones
> that were distinct and separate (which I would guess are worse).
>
> Loops in the tube wrap (including clamps and pipe sleeves) are said to
> increase SWR and decrease power. However, loops and sleeves seem to
> greatly increase the amount of energy available from the tube (to a
> point), so it seems that they transfer energy to the tube more
> effectively, even if the indication is that there is lower power.
>
> What I was wondering is if there is a way to determine the
> characteristics of the different parts of the antenna separately
> so that the performance of the entire assembly could be
> predicted? For example, would it tell me anything if I made
> a wood model of a tube, wrapped it different ways, and noted
> SWR and power?

I think your first line says it all! It is decidely difficult because
the load presented by the tube and wiring is unique to every system.

What you have to realize is that the SWR/Watt meter is NOT the
gold standard that it would seem. It is only accurate when the
input and the output impedances are very near 50 ohms ± j0 (the
j is a statement of capacitive or inductive reactance). When
the linear output is into a balun which is tied to a tube with
twisted pair, all bets are off! No one can predict what the
meter will read and the meter will lie outrageously!

Example: a direct short looks like a perfect load, with 1:1
VSWR, if it placed at 1/2 wavelength from the feed. The meter
should be off scale, but the phase fools it. So...don't rely on
the meter reading. It is only useful when operated in properly
matched sytems. The R/B isn't!

Regards,
Jim Keyes

---------------------

> When using the wire wrap I assume the end of wire connected to clamp would be
> the 'hot' side - ....? Can someone clarify?

I have not determined whether it is the hot side or not. I
just know that, looking at the balun from the terminal post
side (where the tube leads are connected) the right side goes
to the single sleeve (without the wrap) and the left side goes
to the sleeve with wire wrap. If you connect it backwards, it
does not hurt it, you just get a slightly worse beam that is
hard to tune.

---------------------

Subject: Allred Bubble tubes

The last two tubes I got from Allred are different from the
first tube. The first tube has a small bubble - about 3" diam
and 4" long. I have described how I wrap it and will soon
include pics on my page showing it. It uses 16ga magnet wire
for wrapping.

The new tubes I received have a bigger bubble - about 5" diam
and 5" long ( at the expense of less glass thickness in the
bubble). The same wrapping produced a decent beam, but I had
internal pearls at a couple of freqs and the power was lower
than in the small-bubble tube, plus the beam through the tube
bent a bit at one frequency into a lazy sine wave. I finally
figured out I needed thicker wrapping wire for the larger diam
bubble. Sure enough, with 12ga magnet wire, the tubes now work
fine. Using about 36-40" wrap length, but the way I determined
the ideal length was to start with 52" of wrap, crank it up,
note SWRs, power, and beam appearance. Cut off about 3",
rewrap, test again. Repeat until best length is found - of
course it will be found when the wire is 3" too short, so a new
one will have to be cut and attached to the sleeve. I would
have tried 14 ga first, but did not have any and the 12ga seems
to work fine.

-----------------------

Thinking I could put some of what I had learned from working
with TLs, I tried a few different equal length methods from the
balun to the tube, but none worked as well as the setup I had
before I switched. That is 2" long (1" diam) copper sleeves
soldered to 26" of 12ga Monster cable (torn in half), with a 16
ga (transformer) wire spiraling from one sleeve, circling at
either end of the bubble and at the opposite sleeve. I was
back to my old mediocre SWR and power values, but the wave
looked good. Few pearls at any frequency. Bright beam.
Focused pretty well. Keep in mind this is for my 28" long,
80/20, 10 mm pressure, Allred bubble tube.

I shortened the 16 ga wire to make it just long enough (~40"),
rather than the 51" I was using before. I moved the sleeves
around. Improved the SWR a bit. Then, switched to Tuner
setting "K" instead of "L". Worked __great__ with this setup.
SWR and power are even better than the figures I got with my
dangerous TL, and the beam looks excellent. If I use high power
on amp for low freqs, I can get at least 100W (a lot more for
high freqs) at 1.1 - 1.2 SWRs at any frequency with very few
pearls (and these are "embedded" in the beam instead of
standalone) and a bright straight beam. I can get completely
pearl free at the couple of freqs that exhibit them by dialing
up to, e.g., 1.3 SWR (instead of, say, 1.2). I think it is
worth it.

--------------------------

Got a couple of more tubes from Allred yesterday, both 28"
triple thick leaded. One is 10mm pres 80/20 argon/neon (like I
already have), and the other is 100% argon 6.5mm press. The
100% argon makes a great looking solid bright beam. No hint of
a blue corona or "fuzzing out" at any freq.

Both tubes seem to work best with the same wrapping technique,
a modification of the diagram Allred sends with the tube. I
now have a scanner and as soon as I am through with this system
I will take pictures, including the tube wrap, and put on my
web page.

I have tried a huge number of different wrapping methods for
these bubble tubes and this is the best I have found. It has
never needed a spark to light and always produces a decent
beam, even at awful SWRs and power levels.

The leads are 26" 12 ga stranded Monster cable, pulled in
half. Thick grounding braid did not work, but I have no idea
if the thin Radio Shack grounding braid would.

Lugs are soldered to one end of each lead. Other is soldered
to 2" (no more, no less) long 1" diam copper pipe sleeve (pipe
is $9/10' at Home Depot). On one, a 36-40" length of 16 ga
clear enamel coated magnet wire is soldered to the other side
of the sleeve for the wrap. To do the wrap, I start with a
couple of tight turns (2 in 2"), then a loose turn toward the
bubble, make a tight turn at the start of the bubble, a loose
turn across the bubble, a tight turn at the other end of the
bubble, a loose turn toward the other sleeve, then a couple of
tight turns near the sleeve, ending in a loop 1/2-1" or so from
the sleeve (probably best to wait for the picture ;). If this
end of the wrap conducts to the other sleeve, there is a
short. At high power, even insulated and capped, the magnet
wire will buzz (and sound like it will fry the equipment if
left to go on) if even the wrap wire insulation or heat shrink
comes in contact with the sleeve.

I put a zip strip tie (the 8" long size, clipped, since the 4"
is too narrow) around the tube between the wrap loop and the
sleeve on the end that does not touch. This mostly is to space
the wrap from the sleeve, but also helps hold it in place. I
put other strips on the monster cable on the wire close to the
outer sleeve portions, and the soft monster cable insulation
held against the tube holds the sleeves well. The tie, zipped
into a circle, can be slid off to adjust the sleeves, but when
slid on tight, will easily support the sleeves vertically.

To solder the monster cable and magnet wire to the copper pipe
sleeve, since it is such a good heat sink, I have to use a
torch. I fan out the monster cable strands (1" stripped) and
solder it against the outside of the sleeves.

I tune the wrap and cables to yield the highest power and best
SWR at all frequencies as long as the beam looks good, with as
few standing waves at possible at all freqs. I can get higher
power and better SWR easily, mainly by using a shorter wrap
(like 26" instead of 38") and less tight turns with no loops at
the ends, but I get more pearls and a less intense and focused
beam, so figure that the extra power (and somehow SWR?) is
being lost. Something that may work better, and which I have
not tried lately, is to use thin gauge wire (like 20) for the
wrap instead of 16ga - I have tried 14, 12, and 10 ga for wrap
and they work progressively worse, so 18, 20, or 22 may work
better than 16. My very first wrapping attempts on the bubble
tubes used plain 18ga wire with the 1/2" pipe clamps and a few
turns of grounding strap outside the clamps, and worked fine,
and since my setup has changed significantly from that, I need
to go back and see if the thinner gauge works better.

My setup at present yields the best beam when there is an inch
or so more of wire (slightly tighter turns) on the side of the
tube where the wire touches the sleeves. The sleeve without
the wrap attached begins at just where the tube widens from the
electrode. The other sleeve sits about 2" in. The lead cable
can be zipped over the electrode to provide a few inches of
straight run between the sleeve and the electrode and may help
get rid of pearls (or cause them) and affect SWR and power, for
good or bad. Or they can be zipped close to the sleeve to see
how it affects them. Sleeves can be adjusted in or out. Wrap
can be adjusted to make tighter or looser turns, and the loops
can be spread or tightened.

Can start wrap wire out at 52" length, making tight turns (I
suspect that using a long length like this works only with thin
gauge). Then, shorten by 3.25 or 6.5" at a time, until the
best length is found.

The best way to run the lugged leads from the balun in this
system is to wing-nut them where they come out at 180 deg
opposite.

-------------------------------

I found a way to improve the SWR's your present tube is giving.
Some months ago Johnny Burton and maybe some others proposed
the use of an insulator between the clamps and the tube. Johnny
Burton did actually do this with good results, and he was using
some felt under a couple of copper sleeves.

In trying to get one of Bill Cheb's new argon filled pyrex tubes
to light, I finally went to such an arrangement. I still had to
add a spiral wire wrap between the sleeves, but my SWR's came
down from between 2 and 3 to 1.75 to 1.4.

Spikes seen on the oscilloscope were some of the largest I have
seen to date. Further the spikes were present without having to
tune the SWR much at all.

By sleeves I mean a couple of copper tubing connectors for 1"
pipe. I soldered the wire from the balun to the outside edge of
the sleeve. Unless you have a very large soldering iron, this
will be difficult. I took a cigarette lighter and let the flame
heat the inside of the copper tube till it would melt the
solder, then I attached the wire using my solder gun to heat
the wire and melt the solder. Just have to heat the area you
wish to solder is all. Be carefull, entire sleeve will get very
hot though! You will have to clean the carbon soot out of the
sleeve after it has cooled. I used a plastic pot scrubber to do
this.

Don't burn yourself or start a fire!

I next tried this on one of Bill's gas mix tubes . I placed the
felt over the tube, took one turn of the wire from the balun
and wrapped it over the felt, and then placed an automotive
clamp on top .No other windings of wire were used. SWR's were
the best I have ever seen . They were 1.08 to 1.04 from 10 to
9999Hz. Never got above 1.1, simply amazing!


Next I took a quartz tube from Bob Casey and put a piece of
felt under the clamps on it. This was about 3/4 of an inch wide
is all, just overhanging the edges of the clamp.Left the rest
of the tube wrapped as before, just added the felt. SWR's fell
.2 at any frequency below 5000, above 5000Hz SWR was less than
1.1 up to 9999Hz. With a bit of work may be able to get
frequencies below 5,000 Hz into the very low SWR range.

I have not tried this use of felt on any other tubes yet, but
at this point I have no reason to believe that it won't work
for any type of glass tube.

I used black acrylic felt I bought at a fabric store for 3
dollars a square yard. Really cheap, but it is quite
electrostatic - meaning it will acquire and hold a charge
easily.

I wrap the felt on the tube so that the ends either touch or
slightly overlap. I then take a small piece of black electrical
tape and place over the felt to hold it in place while I put
the wire and clamp on it.

Jim

==============================

Had some problems lighting the tube last weekend. Turns out
there was some oxidation on one of connections on the tube
(braided strap under hose clamp). This had happened before, so
I thought since I had to re-wrap the tube anyway, why not try a
different method. I had the following in my notes... I think
it was originally posted by either Tom Young or Randy Love
(apologies in advance if I have this wrong).

Schematic of "wrap" method:


braided strap from tuner
\
\
=================
__/---------------------------------\__
{__ tube __}
\---------------------------------/
==================
\
\
braided strap from tuner



- 30 inch braided strap (Radio Shack) from tuner to tube
- braided strap runs parallel to the tube on both the top and bottom with
an overlap of 2 inches in middle of tube
- braided strap held in place by several narrow strips of velcro wrapped
around the tube.


Using this method I get lower SWRs (shown below) than with the
spiral wrap and hose clamp method I had been using:


Amp setting frequency Forward SWR

lo 728 Hz 125 watts 1.1-1.2
lo 2128 175 about 1.1
med 728 150 about 1.1
med 2128 200 <=1.1
hi 728 160 1.1
hi 2128 215 <=1.1



Also, once tuned, the tube lights right up upon keying the mic
(no need to fiddle with the antenna match to get tube to light
as I had to do with the other wrap method).

The question remains...has anyone using this method
demonstrated MOR effects on microorganisms or "felt the wave"
(for those who can, I can't). I'll do some testing on Euglena
and others when I get the chance.


=====================

>The question remains...has anyone using this method demonstrated MOR
>effects on microorganisms or "felt the wave" (for those who can, I can't).
>I'll do some testing on Euglena and others when I get the chance.

It doesn't give me any body reactions like the spiral wrap does.
The key to making the tube light fast and easy is the 1 inch distance
between the wires.
You want a fast easy to light tube, real low SWRS and it produces
body reactions in me? Find the positive side of the balum. That is the
one that is allways the hotest. Wire wrap it in a spiral. I used a coat
hanger and bent it around the tube. Spirals about 1 inch apart and the
coil is about 4 inches long total. On the other side use a copper sleeve
with felt inside like Dr. Bare and Johnny Burton suggested. Now insted
of connecting the other side of the circuit to the balum connect it
to a ground. SWR's go down to nothing and it will blast the sound through
a TV speaker 10-12 feet away.
Someone said that was an unbalanced load but it's not. The primary side
of the balum is the balanced load. It's used to keep from feeding back and
frying the amp.
Take Care
Reid

=====================


>- braided strap runs parallel to the tube on both the top and bottom with
>an overlap of 2 inches in middle of tube
>- braided strap held in place by several narrow strips of velcro wrapped
>around the tube.
>Using this method I get lower SWRs (shown below) than with the spiral wrap
>and hose clamp method I had been using:

The main question is, "How does the beam look?"

If it has pearls at many frequencies, especially "distinct"
standalone (not contained in beam) ones, and the beam bends at
all towards the braids, I would say it is a less efficient
method of wrapping.

When there are no or minimal loops, I think more power can be
transmitted to the ether than to the tube. I used to get great
power and SWR readings with only a couple of loose turns around
the tube and symmetrical windings, but the beam looked awful at
many freqs (full of pearls and/or thin), and I think was mostly
ineffectual.

==========================

Got the tube from Allred in yesterday. Bubble tube approx 2'
long, 80/20 argon/neon, 10 tor. Triple thickness leaded glass
and seems very heavy (not that I would know since I have never
held a BRG tube before to know how much they typically weigh.)

There are wrapping instructions that come with it. They warn
that this type of wrapping can ONLY be used with triple
thickness leaded glass or quartz, otherwise the tube will melt
since it gets so hot with this method.

The picture shows to wrap once around each end with the
respective braided wire before attaching to clamps. Then, wrap
(with 18-22 insulated wire) between clamps by starting at one
end (not touching the clamp) parallel to clamp for one turn,
then continue in a spiral toward the bubble. At the bubble,
wrap another turn parallel to clamp then spiral (1/2 turn)
across bubble. At end of bulge, wrap another turn parallel to
clamps and then continue on toward end. At this end, a
stripped end of the wrapping wire can be tucked under the
clamp, but it says to try lighting without making this
connection at first. Of course, if the other end of the wire
which is wrapped parallel to the other clamp touches the clamp
with this wire is touching the other, you fry your amp.

It says to use 3' of wire to wrap, but says that 4' may be
necessary for some tubes.

Just a reminder - clean ANY tube off VERY well with windex,
ammonia, or such, before using and after that, handle only with
a paper towel or use some other method to keep oils and dirt
from the hands from getting on the glass or it can cause
premature failure in a hot tube.

==========================

I talked to Barry Allred to get clarification on the tube
wrapping instructions. I asked him about the recommendation to
use insulated wire against the tube - will it melt? He did
not know, but did not think it would. He himself uses 16 ga
bare copper wire to wrap.

The wrap which is parallel to the clamp and not touching is 1/2
to 1/4" away from the clamp. There is no problem with arcing,
but if the wire touches the clamp, it will short and likely
destroy the amp (assuming the other end is connected to the
clamp.) Barry always tucks the wrapping wire on the opposite
side (high side) in the clamp.

He says to wrap the tube out to the electrodes to get the best
wave.

The illustration he sent out is incorrect in that it shows the
spirals on one side of the tube in the opposite direction as on
the other side. There should not be a 180 deg bend in this
wire.

==================


>I suspect that there will be difficulty getting the tube to light as
>there will not be enough electric field (volts per inch) in the gas
>with purely inductive coupling and a 300 ohm reactance coil.
>

An initial estimate of the electric field inside a 1 inch
diameter, 10 turn coil surrounding the plasma tube carrying 1
ampere at the 27.12 MHz frequency results in an E field of
about 17 V/in. Since this field is circular around the tube
axis and argon gas ignition is about 15 ev in seems probable
that the gas will be fired. The 300 ohm impedance of the
inductive coil can be canceled in a series circuit by either a
matching network or a series capacitor so its actual impedance
value is not too important in determining the current. The big
question that I need help on is how the ignited plasma tube
loads the coil and should the coil be made series or parallel
resonant.

Another aspect of inductive coupling is that it also includes
capacitive coupling from the coil to the gas. The voltage at
the coil ends can be quite large in a series resonant circuit
where it is the product of the current times the inductive
reactance. This would also tend to fire the gas.

I hope that we can continue to explore the inductive coupling
approach in order to be able to explain any relative advantages
or disadvantages compared to the presently used method.

===============================


I have been testing new wrapping methods for tubes and found
one that works well so far. I am still testing it on different
tubes to get a feel for differences, but on the few I have
(mostly Allred), it seems to work well so far. It should even
prevent the need for conditioning of tubes with electrodes. It
results in lower SWRs than my last method and with no torchwork
necessary. If you are looking for a new wrapping method, it is
one to try. Please report the results if you do.

Instead of the 14/12 ga wrapping wire, I am using 18 ga lately.
This results in lower SWRs, but requires more patience to find
the precise wrapping that will give pearl free operation at all
frequencies. I have also eschewed felt under external
electrodes as well as insulated wire. Insulated wire gives off
fumes when it gets too hot, as in this application (Nothing to
worry about after a few initial runs, but use in well
ventilated area during initial testing). I have had felt char
when used for long periods (>2hrs) under external electrodes,
so I have left that off, and it works better since SWR is lower
and power higher in my experiments. Braided wire leads zipped
against electrodes keeps them hot so they will absorb
impurities. Before, I zipped Monster cable against electrodes,
but it melted the insulation. Then I put glass tape around
Monster cable at this location, but it still eventually melted
it (it still works fine when melted, though.)

Downside is heat produced in tube, but I have not had one burn
through so far... I have no doubt that it may happen with bare
braid zipped against electrode. I figure the zip tie will melt
first, though. I have been zip tying the braid against the
electrode in a straight line, but it may work better spiraled
off the end so that there is more than one location where the
braid is zipped against the electrode.

Needed is the following:

3/4" conduit hangers (2)
18 ga solid wire
5/16" wide braid grounding strap (5')
3/8" shrink wrap (4')
zip ties
1/4" 16-18 ga lug
1/4" 12 ga lugs
#8(?) 12 ga lugs

The 3/4" conduit hangers are sold at some Home Depots.
Not all of them carry this small size. They are shaped
like this (use non-proportional font to display correctly):

o-|----|-o
| |
/ \
/ \
\ /
\ /
\ /
/ \
------

The o-----o represents the 1/4" diam nut and bolt that comes
with it. The opposite end has a hole in it for mounting. It
may need to be worked a bit to make it "rounder" to get good
contact with tube. They cost about 30 cents each.

18 ga wire used is bare, or insulated and stripped. Start with
4'.

5/16" wide braid specified is Belden 8669, which is specified
as 1/2" (going by the diameter it will expand to), not the very
thin grounding braid available at RS. It costs about $2/foot.
It is well over twice as thick and wide as RS braid. It is
available at some electronics supply shops (and in 50' lengths
from Newark). 5 feet is needed. It is to be covered with 3/8"
shrink wrap. About 4' shrink wrap is needed.

Cut the grounding braid to two 30" sections. Lug one end with
the 12ga lugs which will attach to the balun. I _think_ they
are #8 size, but check to be sure first. Shrink wrap from lug
to 6" from other end. Lug this end with 1/4" 12ga lugs. Attach
a 1/4" lug to one end of 18 ga wrap. All lugs should be
soldered.

Attach conduit holders to board or rack if desired, with spread
so that they will be about 5" from end of (Allred) tube, about
1" in from spot where diam gets smaller. Put tube in. Attach
1/4" lugs on bolts, one side with the braided lead and wrap
wire, the other with the braided lead. Zip tie braided lead to
smaller diam portion of tube over electrode. Shrinkwrapped
portion of lead should not be in contact with tube. Spiral
18ga wrapping wire over tube as instructed in tube wrapping
article on my web page, using closer spacing since wire diam is
smaller. Zip end of wrap down so it does not contact opposite
conduit-holder-electrode.

There are also made 1 3/4" conduit holders which will work for
the Cheb supertube. I have tested one and it lights easily
and with good power and SWR with this method. I used 14 ga
wrap wire on it, but I suspect 16 or 18 would work, too.

------

The 1/4" braid I am using is a little more than 5/16" wide, I
discovered on making a precise measurement. It is sold as 1/2"
braid, though. The size refers to the diameter of a cable for
which this could be used as a shield when spread out, I think.
Radio Shack grounding strap is 1/4" by this method. It is not
1/4" wide.

When using a wire wrap coming from one electrode, it works best
to wind it more densely on one side of the tube than the other.
When the tube will not light all the way across, it typically
lights well on the "short" side - the side without the wrap
attached. To overcome this, wrap the wire more densely on the
other side, say 1.5" apart, then 3" apart on the "short" side,
with complete loops on either side of the bubble.

turf

====================

Subject: New tube wrapping method

I have been testing new wrapping methods for tubes and found
one that works well so far. I am still testing it on different
tubes to get a feel for differences, but on the few I have
(mostly Allred), it seems to work well so far. It should even
prevent the need for conditioning of tubes with electrodes. It
results in lower SWRs than my last method and with no torchwork
necessary. If you are looking for a new wrapping method, it is
one to try. Please report the results if you do.

Instead of the 14/12 ga wrapping wire, I am using 18 ga lately.
This results in lower SWRs, but requires more patience to find
the precise wrapping that will give pearl free operation at all
frequencies. I have also eschewed felt under external
electrodes as well as insulated wire. Insulated wire gives off
fumes when it gets too hot, as in this application (Nothing to
worry about after a few initial runs, but use in well
ventilated area during initial testing). I have had felt char
when used for long periods (>2hrs) under external electrodes,
so I have left that off, and it works better since SWR is lower
and power higher in my experiments. Braided wire leads zipped
against electrodes keeps them hot so they will absorb
impurities. Before, I zipped Monster cable against electrodes,
but it melted the insulation. Then I put glass tape around
Monster cable at this location, but it still eventually melted
it (it still works fine when melted, though.)

Downside is heat produced in tube, but I have not had one burn
through so far... I have no doubt that it may happen with bare
braid zipped against electrode. I figure the zip tie will melt
first, though. I have been zip tying the braid against the
electrode in a straight line, but it may work better spiraled
off the end so that there is more than one location where the
braid is zipped against the electrode.


Needed is the following:

3/4" conduit hangers (2)
18 ga solid wire
1/4" braid grounding strap (5')
3/8" shrink wrap (4')
zip ties
1/4" 16-18 ga lug
1/4" 12 ga lugs
#8(?) 12 ga lugs

The 3/4" conduit hangers are sold at some Home Depots. Not all
of them carry this small size. They are shaped like this (use
non-proportional font to display correctly):

o-|----|-o
| |
/ \
/ \
\ /
\ /
\ /
/ \
------

The o-----o represents the 1/4" diam nut and bolt that comes
with it. The opposite end has a hole in it for mounting. It
may need to be worked a bit to make it "rounder" to get good
contact with tube. They cost about 30 cents each.

18 ga wire used is bare, or insulated and stripped. Start with
4'.

1/4" braid specified is actually about 1/4" wide, not the very
thin grounding braid available at RS. It costs about $2/foot.
It is well over twice as thick and wide as RS braid. It is
available at some electronics supply shops. I got mine at Ack
Radio in Atlanta. 5 feet is needed. It is to be covered with
5/16" or 3/8" shrink wrap. About 4' shrink wrap is needed.
Radio Shack grounding braid will probably work as well.

Cut the grounding braid to two 30" sections. Lug one end with
the 12ga lugs which will attach to the balun. I _think_ they
are #8 size, but check to be sure first. Shrink wrap from lug
to 6" from other end. Lug this end with 1/4" 12ga lugs. Attach
a 1/4" lug to one end of 18 ga wrap. All lugs should be
soldered.

Attach conduit holders to board or rack if desired, with spread
so that they will be about 5" from end of (Allred) tube, about
1" in from spot where diam gets smaller. Put tube in. Attach
1/4" lugs on bolts, one side with the braided lead and wrap
wire, the other with the braided lead. Zip tie braided lead to
smaller diam portion of tube over electrode. Shrinkwrapped
portion of lead should not be in contact with tube. Spiral
wrapping wire over tube as instructed in tube wrapping article
on my web page, using closer spacing since wire diam is
smaller. Zip end of wrap down so it does not contact opposite
conduit-holder-electrode.

There are also made 1 3/4" conduit holders which will work for
the Cheb supertube. I have tested one and it lights easily
and with good power and SWR with this method. I used 14 ga
wrap wire on it, but I suspect 16 or 18 would work, too.


-------------------------

I will put pictures of this up soon. Further work on the this
has yielded a better wrapping method. That is to wrap more
turns around the side of the tube where the wrap wire is
attached (say every 1-1.5" (6 or so turns)) and on the other
side, wrap every 3" (2-2.5 turns). There is still a pretty
tight loop on either side of the bubble. On the side where the
wire wrap is attached, wrap the braided wire around the
single-thick glass covered electrode and zip it down. It does
not get that hot on this side so this is fine. On the other
side, do not zip the braid over that portion since it may get
so hot it will melt the glass. It can be zip tied over the
triple thick portion of the glass.


=====================

I have mirrored ( 5 coats of silver plate ) half of Quartz
tube. This was done to provide a reflector and a means to
evenly disperse the RF or whatever.

I connected the left side of the 912 Balun to one end of the
silver finish by way of an 1/4" braided wire. The right side
was also 1/4" braided wire which runs the length of the tube on
the opposite side.

The tube is fired with a Mirage ( unmodulated 27.125 MHz ) AM
mode with an input signal of 10k. Linear ( Black Face 225 ) set
on High.

The following was noted:
1. SWR 1.3
2. Reflected 2.8
3. Watts 125
4. Plasma Color. Light Organ.
5. Ozone detected.
6. Tube would pulse at any rate applied. This is pulsing the Carrier not
the FG.
7. Frequency tried over a 20 min period.
1. 10k
2. 1k
3. 420
4. 20 Mirage would not pass.
5. 120
Power and SWRs varied with Frequency change.
8. Noted Excitation in right side, Slight head ache, Sight
disorientation. Reasons unknown.
9. Reversed leads of Balun. Power decreased by 25 watts. SWR increased
to 1.5. Changed back to original positions.

Comments: I was very impressed with the ease of which the
Quartz lit and pulsed. Nothing in the way of external
excitation ( High Voltage ) was used to light the tube. It
would be nice to know if this is also an improvement on the
operation as far as effectiveness goes.

Johnny Burton


============


I'm new to the list. I completed my Rife-Bare machine about two months ago.
I destroyed my first tube; the cause was a stray wire from the ground strap
braid. The small point caused a hot spot and melted through.
While experimenting with different wrapping methods I came upon an interesting
phenomena. The leads to the tube are about 14 inches. I wrapped seven turns
on each using solid copper wire soldered to the leads. Then on the distal end
of one of the coils I added about 15 more inches of wire. Please forgive my
ignorance
of electical laws, but I thought that by placing the coil some distance from
the end
of the line perhaps there would be more current and hence more e.m. effect
from
the coil. Upon firing it up I was slightly alarmed by the appearance of a
yellow flame-
like area in the coil. Dialing in different frequencies, I found that the
"flame" transformed into a delicate horizontal fountain of thin yellow streaks
which had the appearance of originating in the center of the tube, and then
curving back along the tube wall and ending in a shower of short purple
streaks. This has a beautiful highly
organized rapidly moveing look. As I have continued to use the device, this
phenomena is more difficult to achieve. The SWR is very good with the
reflected power approaching zero on some frequencies giving a SWR of less than
1.1. the area under the coil also glows a brighter purple and by adjusting the
spacing of the coil turns one can control the intensity and consequently the
temperature which does get quite hot. The extra length of line can be placed
in different ways, one of which is to place it over the region of the tuning
capacitor in the tuner. I imagine that there is a feedback effect which while
lowering the SWR may not be desirable from an effectiveness point of view.
And on that topic, I was having difficulty tuning the device with the three
foot ground to the CB. When I moved my hand away from the tuner it would go
out of tune. I discovered that the tuner was live with RF which was solved by
using a shorter ground wire.
Now is this because the ground is acting as a receiving antenna and could this
be feeding back into the tuner? I have my stereo on to hear the frequencies.
It was louder before I shortened the ground. Also it makes no difference if
I'm tuned to the FM station as per the Bare manual or on any preamp input
setting such as CD, VCR etc.
I would think that feedback would not be desireable as it tends to amplify
only one harmonic.
OK, I'm long winded here, but I invite comments ... thanks
max

==================


> > >phenomena. The leads to the tube are about 14 inches. I
wrapped seven turns > >on each using solid copper wire soldered
to the leads. Then on the distal >end >> > The leads from the
balun are grounding strap from radio shack. I have used monster
speaker cable also which I prefer but dont let the leads cross
each other; mine almost melted through. the length up to the
tube is 12 inches. I did not know that the length in the manual
was critical, as the archives and various researchers seem to
be using different lengths. anyway I wrapped 7 (no reason)
turns of .1" bare solid wire with about .125" spacing between
coils. I soldered this onto the braid using a short length of
copper tube which just fit over the wire. This makes a neat
transition. Then I connected a wire via alligator clip to the
free end of the coil. I could take it off or adjust the length
as desired. I have added this as yet to only one line. This is
not coiled but more or less straight. I at first extended it in
the axis of the tube and later with a 1"x 5" copper sheet
clipped to the other end, I positioned it over the right knob
on my MFJ 949E. With this configuration the area under the coil
is much brighter and of course warmer. I had previously tried
copper sleeves with felt but this was too hot. My Idea with the
7 turns coil was to get more or less the same area of
capacitive coupling, but with the cooling of the gaps between
the turns, and short the coil across itself with the jumper
wire. Then I wondered if I could go the other way and get
increased induction by leaving one end of the jumper free in
effect lengthening the transmission line (albeit a fraction of
the wavelength) and placing the coil in the presumed greater
current area of the line. ( I hear the engineers groaning)
Anyway there is a subjective increase in effect. I have been
using it this way for a while and perhaps unfortunately because
I cant report dramatic health benefits. The coils and or plasma
(by listening through a tube you can hear precisely where the
tone comes from) emits the chosen frequency (by listening
through a tube you can hear precisely where the tone comes
from) and I get a powerful reception on TV phone etc. The SWR
is often less than 1.1 and the tube lights from end to end no
matter how far away from the ends the coils are.

=================