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Re: PSSC Equipment Info Request



Digging thru my old equipment I found a High Voltage Source Kit from the
old PSSC lab equipment. It was manufactured by Macalaster Bicknell and
carries the Catalog number of 1300.

It is basically a spark coil with an interupter to pulse the low voltage
primary. It has two red leads, one with a larger diameter than the other
and two black lead, also with one larger diameter than the other.

The smaller diameter leads appear to be the primary and the larger the
HV secondary.

Does anyone have the specs on this device (input voltage, output
voltage, input current, output current) and am I correct in my
assumptions of which wires are which?

As I recall the item, it was a standard Model T Ford coil box packaged in
a cylindrical package. A Ford T has four coils, one for each cylinder. The
timer grounded the appropriate coil at the right time to deliver the
needed high voltage to the spark plug. Each coil had its own set of
breaker points, needed to give interrupted dc current through the
primary(6 volt system) so that induction could cause the high voltage out
of the secondary.

In class, this year, we used a standard Ford T coil with a 12 volt
battery. The breaker points really "sing". We used the output to burn
holes in paper and make a "Jacob's Ladder" demo.

At home, in the garage is my '26 Ford T coupe. I remember Dad bringing it
home for $35.
Charlie