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This is an alternative to purchasing the bifilar coils already wound and cored. This alternative is
more difficult and time consuming than simply ordering the coils already wound and cored.
Tubing
There are essentially two tubes, the source wire tube and the target spool tube.
This picture is taken from below the target spool looking
up to the source spools.
In my case, the tubing was a part of a wheel chair and
happened to be exactly the right diameter so that the wire
spools could fit over them and turn freely during the wind.
I do not know any other sources for this type of tubing as
Ive not needed to find any but Im sure they are
available.
In both cases, one end of the tubes is affixed to a shelf and
the work bench; the other end with the spools on them is
extended out over the respective edges so that the source
wire spools and target spool can turn freely.
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At the two ends of the top of the T, I used spring clamps to ensure the source wire spools do not work
themselves off the tubing onto the floor. That can be a real mess to clean up and the wire is essentially
ruined. These spring clamps also had rubber ends which, with a little care, can be pushed up against the
source wire spools enough to prevent the spools from turning too quickly.
Source Wire
I purchased source wire from a local electronics supply shot. They did not have the magnetic
wire I wanted and so I had to settle for a slightly different size but still within the tolerances as
described in the parts list.
I have just purchased bulk wire from "Truth-In-Heart" found at http://rpmgt.org/order.html, and
have yet to use the bulk wire to wind a coil. Obviously the size of the holes in the source wire
spools is likely larger than that in the small source wire spools Ive been using. This may
necessitate finding different size tubing to hold the large bulk spools.
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Target Spool
For the spools, I use the white plastic spools sold by "Truth-In-Heart" found at
http://rpmgt.org/order.html. I purchased 10 spools.
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Counter
Im sure there are some fancy counters out there. I counted out loud and marked an x for
every 20 turns onto a piece of wood with a black marker. This number happened to be the
number of turns I could rely on not being interrupted. I tried to ensure I kept track of the number
of turns required for the source wire to travel the length of the target spool one way. I say tried
to because this number changes as wire is wound onto the target spool. At first the number is
over 100, but at the end it is under 80.
Stopping to mark my x, or to deal with any interruption required I keep track of which
direction the wire was travelling as I wound it on the coil (towards the bottom or towards the
top.) Youd be amazed how difficult it is to find this out by simply looking after a few hundred
winds. Short of unwinding 10 or so winds of wire, visual inspection was not helpful.
Preparation
Using a black permanent marker, I marked one end of the
empty white plastic spool "bottom" and drew a circular
arrow in the counter-clockwise direction.
I marked the other end of the white plastic spool "top" and
drew a circular arrow in the clockwise direction. This
leaves no room for confusion on.
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So I now have the source wire tube loaded with the source wire on spools and spring clamps
carefully adjusted to keep the source wire spools taught, but not too tight.
I left about 12 inches of wire loose (not wound into the spool). I taped this loose wire to the
bottom end of the spool so it is out of the way.) For my first coil, I made the mistake of not
leaving enough loose wire. I need more wire to properly connect the coil to the circuit. I tried
pulling the wire out from the wound spool and, as I pulled on it, I broke it. The coil and all that
wire was useless. I could not find where the break was or arrange things to unwind the spool
without crimping the wire. So take my word for it and leave 12 inches of wire loose.
I started winding at the spools end marked "bottom", winding the wire counter-clockwise as
viewed from the bottom clockwise as viewed from the top. It requires 8 or 9 passes up and
down the length of the spool to get the 850 winds recommended.
Manually turning the target spool (by turning the spring clamp) was how I wound the coil. One
hand was turning the target spool; the other hand was guiding the wire from the source wire
spools. Obviously this elementary system did not permit me to twist the two wires coming from
the source wire spools. That would require some means of turning the T shaped tubing. It is
something I may do, but for now this system is sufficient.
Thats it and the rest can only be learned by trying it.
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