Below is a picture of my control unit with the addition of the phase controller for the rotary spark gap. The main control switch is on the top left. Next to that is an analog voltage meter showing the output voltage going to the NST bank. The dial in the middle is the voltage control to the NST bank and the dial to the right is the RSG phase control. There is a small LCD in the middle top for future use as well as a number pad. This was envisioned to be a part of a safety/security control that was plagued with interference issues (the microcontroller reset every time the power was applied to the coil).
With the addition of the rotary spark gap to my tesla coil setup, an update to the control unit was warranted. It started with just the desire to add the phase shifter variac for the spark gap motor and turned into the inclusion of a more robust interface. I replaced the old connectors with a typical outlet for the input power and a high current appliance outlet for the tesla coil power. The outlet on the left in the photo below is for the power to the NST bank and to the RSG motor, each having separate hot and common wires. The outlet in the middle is to power the control unit. This will make for much easier connecting and disconnecting of the unit
Below is a photo of the inside of the control unit. This is the underside of the front panel.
This photo shows the power factor correction capacitor bank in the back right. Total capacitance is 195 uF which is a little shy of the ideal for my power supply (1.8 kVA NST bank). This should still aid in lowering the mains current.
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