New comer needs any and all help

[TinselKoala]

Sorry, I didn't mean to overwhelm you. I've been meaning to build one of these for a long long time and you finally gave me an excuse to do it.

The shaft is a brass screw. I cut off the head, chucked it in a drill and ran it against some sandpaper to make the points. The "bearings" are just 1/4-20 setscrews. The setscrews are in threaded holes in the base and the top brace. The points of the shaft ride in the conical indentations in the ends of the setscrews (not the wrench end). The shaft screw and the setscrews and some nuts and washers are about 2 dollars worth of parts from the Home Depot. I had everything on hand in my junk box. This kind of bearing is very sensitive to end play; I even have to adjust it a little as the shaft gets longer when the room temperature increases, I guess. That's why the Allen wrench is sitting in the top screw. This is a disadvantage for sure, but I can live with it.

I thought about using a shaft with ball bearings from the local hobby shop, but I didn't want to spend any money if it wasn't necessary. But you can get good cheap ball bearings and shafts to match in the Helicopter parts section of the hobby shop. I like the "Align" brand, 5mm shafts and bearings for the TRex 450 electric helicopter. They are sturdy and cheap, small enough for these projects and available world-wide. For under ten dollars you can get a package of 3 nice 5mm shafts and a couple of 5x10 bearings. The problem here is mounting the bearings properly to a base, and attaching the rotor to the shaft. But if you are using a skateboard wheel you already have all that taken care of and you just need a shaft. Look in the hardware store for threaded rod stock and bar stock, there will be a bolt or threaded rod you can use as an axle for your wheel.

[jhsmith87]

I have many rc helicopters planes and cars I have many bearings lots of 5mm ones but no shaft that will really fit in them other than shafts on the rc like drive shafts and stuff. But no way to mount it

[TinselKoala]

Yep, that's why I did the pivot bearings. Much easier to make, but sensitive to end play adjustment, that's why the Allen wrench is in there in the picture.

I  made one pulse motor a couple of years ago using the main gear/shaft unit from an EFlite Blade helicopter but I can't recall how I mounted the ball bearings for it.

[jhsmith87]

I DID IT!!! Holly crap!! I can't believe I finally got it! Thank u so much for helping me. I was getting so aggrivated. But it finally works.. only thing is I put in 12v and only get 10.8v at best. Is this OK? I can't read amps cause my meter is messed up. Does it have less volts but high amps?

[TinselKoala]

I DID IT!!! Holly crap!! I can't believe I finally got it! Thank u so much for helping me. I was getting so aggrivated. But it finally works.. only thing is I put in 12v and only get 10.8v at best. Is this OK? I can't read amps cause my meter is messed up. Does it have less volts but high amps?

Congratulations !! I'd like to see a video or photo if you can take one.

First, check your meter's fuse. Many people blow the fuse in the meter's amp circuit and don't realize it. Open up the back and look around for a small fuse. It might be soldered into the board but it will be removable and replaceable.

Second.... the output of the motor is HIGH VOLTAGE but in very short spikes. You will not be able to read them properly on a normal DMM.  If your motor is working it _probably_ is also making the high voltage. Do you get your neon flashing at all? If so, then the HV is probably there and you will be able to charge a battery with it, most likely. Try first with a capacitor. Find an electrolytic capacitor of at least 200 volt rating. The capacitance isn't that important, try to use one with 10 or 20 microFarads. Hook it up just like a battery to the motor's charge output, respecting the polarity of the cap just like it was a battery. On most small electrolytics the NEGATIVE pole is marked with a stripe or band. Monitor the voltage across the cap so you can see it build up. If the motor is working the cap will charge quickly  so be sure to stop before it exceeds its voltage rating....caps can blow up. (The neon likely won't flash while the load is connected: mine doesn't.)
Carefully discharge the cap by shorting it with a jumper cable and a 1K resistor before handling it....

Good luck, and keep me posted with what you try out. I just wound another coil, with three strands of #27 acting as the "thick" wire, all wrapped around a core made of pieces of soft iron wire bundled together, 650 turns, and then over that I wound the sense coil of one #27 strand, 700 turns. After I do this battery charging experiment I'll compare the two coils and see what varies.