PC Fan Generator

[geotron]

Nearby I have a saved copper foil wrapper from a roll
of pH strip - at least it appears to be copper.

New diodes on the way soon - with such a miniscule surface,
I've already lost at least 3 in the carpet while attempting
to place them.

With my strip of copper I will construct another in time.

[mscoffman]

Try putting your magnets so that they rotate face on to the coil.

You can wind your coils on a cut off nail (not the greatest core
material). R60 welding rods is what bedini uses. This will give the
coil more inductance to capture magnetic field lines better.

:Mark

[geotron]

Well, it doesn't look good for these tiny diodes.
I'm going to have to find bigger ones for sure.

The 1N60 germanium diodes I've found have a foward
voltage rating of between .28 and .48V, so obtaining
these will probably be my next target.

My new coils will hence be wound on salvaged led
leads - I'm not sure how many winds would be suitable
for this scale... the magnets are 6mm wide, so keeping
their diameter under this value would probably help.

[geotron]

This one is going in a slot - no mods. Possibly
the most difficult item to join I have ever made
possible.. I can't decide.

[mscoffman]

Well, it doesn't look good for these tiny diodes.
I'm going to have to find bigger ones for sure.

The 1N60 germanium diodes I've found have a [forward]
voltage rating of between .28 and .48V, so obtaining
these will probably be my next target.

My new coils will hence be wound on salvaged led
leads - I'm not sure how many winds would be suitable
for this scale... the magnets are 6mm wide, so keeping
their diameter under this value would probably help.

---

@geotron;

You could use a very high resistance resistor like 1megohm
and solder the diode across it's body. The 1 megohm will be
swamped out by the diodes resistance.

Try seeing if a magnet will attract a led lead...If it is not
magnetic, then most likely it will not increase inductance
of the coil...It should not hurt it either. If not magnetic
don't let the part that is sticking out impact your ability
to get the coil face close to the magnet face. The closer
the better.

---

Another interesting component might be to purchase an
audio transformer from RadioShack for @$2.99 USD. The one
with 8ohm primary and 1Kohm secondary Center-Tapped. In the
worst case you can use the 8ohm primary connected (use DVM
resist.) to your coil and put the led leads across the center tap
to either other transformer secondary leads.

This creates about a 1:50 AC voltage step-up. Equivalent to winding
50 times as many turns on your coil. I almost guarantee this will show
some light from the led. The diode (germanium is good) is not needed
right now with the led since the led is already a diode, one with a
2.25Vdc threshold or so. That's the problem, if your coil doesn't get
to 2.25V the led requires, it will not light at all. The transformer changes
the voltage equation but it preserves P=E*I power and isn't magic OE.

Good luck in your experiments!

:S:MarkSCoffman