Here are some links that may help you understand how to increase voltage like a step-up transformer, but, without one.

http://www.coe.ufrj.br/~acmq/tesla/mres4.html

http://67.76.235.52/DrStiffler/SECExciter.asp

http://www.richieburnett.co.uk/dcreschg.html

As far as I know, to have one variable choke, the two chokes would either have to be separated or taps could be wired in if they are wound together. In my opinion, Stan added the tunable choke for obscurity. None of his working demonstrations had any visible tunable choke.

The tunable choke is in the original patent.  I think I've seen one picture of what I thought was a tunable coil, it looked like it had a brass wiper attached, like a crystal radio coil.  I think it was in the D14 document.  As I understand, it wasn't until later that Meyer suggested the differential mode bifilar choke.  A further revision with all windings on one ferrite can be seen in the WO 92/07861 patent Figure 1 ( http://www.rexresearch.com/meyerhy/wo92.htm ).

In that picture, TX1 is a primary of a step-up transformer.  The TX2 secondary has many more windings than TX1, so the voltage is much higher.  TX4 and TX5 are the choke coils, notice there is no tunable feature shown in this drawing.  TX1 and TX3 are in the pulse generator circuit, the rest of the coils are isolated and connected with the water cell.

I'm personally interested in TX3, which is a feedback to a phase-lock-loop circuit.  When the cell goes into resonance, that coil sends back pulses... at least that's how I understand it.  I'm trying to get there to find out 

I can't quite figure out what you mean by the rectified 120V 60Hz thing, the Dave Lawton style dual-555 timer pulse circuit is what most people are using to drive a resonant water cell with wind-chime style electrodes.  I think you may be confusing this with the Boyce circuit, which is a combination brute force and rich harmonics circuit using flat plates.

I've read one document that suggested using an old neon sign transformer for the VIC.  A new 120VAC to 6000 volt coil is around $50, but you may have to remove active components that they mold into the unit.  Driven with a 12 volt pulse, you should get several hundred volts out of the secondary, so be careful, it won't just sting... it can KILL you.  A standard transformer that converts US 120VAC or european 240VAC to 12VAC can also be used hooked up backwards.

(http://www.rexresearch.com/meyerhy/wo92-1.jpg)

Aughh!!  Thank you HeairBear, I owe you 5 information demerits.  I hadn't seen that drawing before, and it makes perfect sense.

So this is before his first patent (4936961) ?  It has the blocking diode but no VIC transformer (would go where the voltmeter is connected). The SCR works as the MOSFET driver in the Lawton circuit.  No adjustable second frequency, it's fixed at 120 Hz, and the gate signal is from a circuit off drawing.  The bifilar coil is connected in what I think is called common mode instead of reversing the leads on one side, differential mode?  Am I using those terms correctly?

I think Meyer realized that resonance was the key.  Does higher voltage more easily cause resonance?  Like if you tap a cymbal it might resonate at a different pitch than if you gave it a good hard whack?  In another thread you posted a link to the dune buggy video, he says he only uses 5 volts, if my awful ears don't deceive me.  So maybe voltage isn't that important, but if we use a VIC transformer it effectively isolates the water capacitor from the pulse generator making resonance easier, and higher voltage through the transformer makes it easier to hit that resonance.  The patent suggests a VIC of only 200:600 windings, not a dramatic voltage increase.  Musings of a fool (and it's me).  I don't know enough about this, if the resonance formula involves frequency, inductance, and capacitance, how does voltage fit in?  And does an isolating VIC transformer aid in allowing resonance and tuning it (by way of isolation, not voltage increase)?

It seems like it would be very hard to tune resonance with this circuit.  Pardon me if I'm rambling, and thank you for your assistance.  New information is causing consternation with elation at this station.

The Wikipedia article on "LC Circuit" helped me understand some of this ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LC_circuit ).  If the inductors are fixed value, the water capacitor changes unpredictably, and the frequency is easily controlled, finding a strong resonance point in the circuit seems difficult but not impossible.

Using a flyback transformer for the VIC transformer sounds great.  I think in this example, it would be inserted into Figure 8XA at the voltage meter.  Then the blocking diode would be in the right place.  I think this would be the same, I think the answer is yes.

I invite you to comment on my replication at http://pyroflatulence.tv/?cat=7 , I've posted some pictures and schematics using Eagle PCB CAD.