The four inch neon atop the tower requires only 45
> ma from the 120 VAC househould outlet to ignite in its
> blinking pattern thought to be close to the resonant
> frequency of the earth. This is only a 20th of a watt input
> to create the woodpecker signal.
The voltage rise circuit used to enable the neon to discharge to earth is
rather unusual for its volume, about 8 miles of 23 wire wound on a 5 inch spool
of some 18,000 winds or so registering some 60 Henry and 840 ohms resistance.
At 120VAC the coil alone conducts 6 ma, but in resonance @ 60 hz in
coordination with a weaker opposite pairing made as the inversely phased series
resonance in slight mutual induction that conduction rises to 15 times that
value with a concurrent 15 fold voltage rise. Then the conduction is in the
90-100 ma range, and the weaker coil in the 60 ma range. Each of these resonant
voltage rises are opposite in polarity, but the higher one is selected for the
neon discharge to earth. When this is done the side that is chosen for
discharge to earth then drops from from 90 ma to 45 ma as the meters averaged
reading. The voltage breakdown for the shorter 4 inch neon tubes is about 600
volts, or five times the 120 VAC supply. Here then
apparently it then takes 7.5 times that value to enable the quenched blinking
process. The Q of the series resonance being 15 is cut in half to 7.5 to enable
the load of the blinking neon.
HDN
