What exactly is the problem with these devices?

[laserman]

Self rotating magnetic devices can be built. I have built one, it rotates freely

Standing by for video.............crickets...............more crickets......................what the hell...a heard of crickets...or is that a swarm of crickets...............................................do they call it a flock, swarm.......or what.....................

[nightlife]

Has anyone talked about this following statement or about the 1903 Model A that was said to be able to run off just magnets?

> Hi Folks!
>
> The following was posted by Tim Vaughn on the freenrg list;
> > In around 1985, a gentleman named Ken McNiel who organized one of
> > the first free energy conference told me that he managed to get a fly
> > wheel magneto from a lawn mower (Briggs and Stratton) to self run
> > for over 4 hours by using two samarium cobalt magnets in attraction
> > mode one on the edge of a rotating disc and one fixed.
> > The magneto coil was stationary. At precisely the right moment the
> > points (contacts) on the magneto were opened and this caused a back
> > EMF that created a push from an electromagnet that was enough to push
> > the attracting magnets past center to get it to next the cycle and
> > this, he said, would repeat indefinitely.
> > The device was difficult to adjust and he tried to build a bigger one
> > by robbing parts from the working model (a big no-no). He was not
> > able to get the bigger model to work. I don't know if ever managed
> > or even tried to get the original to work again.--
>


http://www.keelynet.com/interact/Arc_1_98-7_98/00001350.htm

[Honk]

Sounds just like a magnetic wankel motor but he was missing the timing precision of modern electronics.
To manage the timing of the repel pulse by mechanical means is a very difficult task.