The So-Called Don Smith Generator

[Skysabre]

Rather than start a new thread, I'm placing a new site and possible project here for looking into.

http://teslasforsustainablesociety.wordpress.com/2012/11/04/canadians-electrical-generator/

I find the last part by Silverhealtheu possible doable by a beginner, but my question is how do we make a drive circuit that can strongly pulse the Drive Coil?
This looks logical from where I sit, but then I'm just a dummy in your ranks.

Please just point me in the right direction and I'll move!

Skysabre

[gyulasun]

Hi Skysabre,

This is a pulse generator based on the NE555 timer, with variable frequency and duty cycle control
http://www.free-energy-info.co.uk/Ch10/Fig63.gif 

and this is a possible MOSFET switch (driven from the output of the above circuit) to pulse the drive coil (you connect the coil as the load is indicated, the coil will be the load between the Drain pin and the + supply):
http://www.free-energy-info.co.uk/Ch10/Fig65.gif 

Use less than 12V supply first to drive the coil and experiment with varying the frequency and duty cycle of the timer while monitoring the output (pickup) coils. Use a full wave bridge and a puffer capacitor at the ouput of the pickups and a load resistor of say any value between 33 - 100 Ohm. A DC voltmeter across it would nicely monitor your efforts with the tuning pots.
(This is where the schematics are: http://www.free-energy-info.co.uk/Chapt10.html )
Can you now move? 

Gyula

[rc3po]

Hi Skysabre,

This is a pulse generator based on the NE555 timer, with variable frequency and duty cycle control
http://www.free-energy-info.co.uk/Ch10/Fig63.gif 

and this is a possible MOSFET switch (driven from the output of the above circuit) to pulse the drive coil (you connect the coil as the load is indicated, the coil will be the load between the Drain pin and the + supply):
http://www.free-energy-info.co.uk/Ch10/Fig65.gif 

Use less than 12V supply first to drive the coil and experiment with varying the frequency and duty cycle of the timer while monitoring the output (pickup) coils. Use a full wave bridge and a puffer capacitor at the ouput of the pickups and a load resistor of say any value between 33 - 100 Ohm. A DC voltmeter across it would nicely monitor your efforts with the tuning pots.
(This is where the schematics are: http://www.free-energy-info.co.uk/Chapt10.html )
Can you now move? 

Gyula

I've told him about that website a couple of times already and also that it has a good electronics tutorial in Chapter 12, and he just won't listen for some reason!!

[Skysabre]

Thanks, friends!

I'll work on this. Buying some of the 555 and condensers, and the steel bar today. I'm ordering the neodymium magnets from Amazon, having a relative bring it here by end-May.

What wire size do I use? I have some 28 ga. here. Will compute length to get 1.2 ohms hopefully to run 10 A to produce 120W on 12 VDC. Are these parameters okay? or do I go smaller? You will know better.

I'll post a new thread when I start. Thankfully, I see nothing in here that will kill me.

Skyabre

[gyulasun]

Hi Skysabre,

My opinion on the steel bar is that you had better use ferrite rod instead because a 1" OD solid steel bar will surely have strong eddy current losses  even at 20-30Hz switching frequency  (I do not understand why steel bar was proposed at all). So try to obtain ferrite rods or laminated "I" cores lined up in 1 foot or so length (I do not think the length is so critical).  Here is a link to ferrite rods (sold only within  USA though) but on ebay you can buy also (but not as big size as this one):
http://www.stormwise.com/page26.htm   and choose the permeability, u=2000 type.

On the awg 28 wire size: I find it a bit small OD for 10 Amper, but may be good for a start, once you already have it.

By the way if you start studying some electronics, I offer to look up series RL circuits (i.e. when a coil is connected in series with a resistor) because then you learn that in pulsed (or in AC) circuits the DC resistance, R of a coil is only part of the total impedance, Z, of a coil and the L inductance of the coil you are going to wind will also influence the current in the function of the switching frequency.  So the higher you go up in switching frequency, the higher the coil resultant impedance will be, with decreasing current consumption from the same 12V source in the same circuit setup.

By the way, I would not target for 10 Amper, but much less to explore the behaviour and the output power. The 10 A will toast your coil in a very short time if you really let it flow.  The starting consideration for such coils is AmperTurns i.e. the number of turns for the coil multiplied by the current. You get the same excitation when you use 10A for say a 40 turns coil or you use 1A for a 400 turns coil. And at what supply voltage would 1A current flow in a 400 turns coil depends mainly on its impedance (R+XL) at a given frequency and you then have to choose the supply voltage too.  And the AmperTurns needed will mainly depend of the strength of the magnets.

The switching FET, BUZ350 has a 200V drain source breakdown voltage, perhaps just perhaps just enough not burn from the coil back spikes created at every switch-off event.  Here is its data sheet: 
http://pdf.datasheetcatalog.com/datasheet/siemens/BUZ350.pdf  the problem with this type is that it has become obsolote.

I suggest using at least 300V (or higher) drain source voltage devices instead, like
http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/STP46NF30/497-13442-ND/3770035
http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/IXTP36N30P/IXTP36N30P-ND/1995085 or 400V devices like

http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/FDP24N40/FDP24N40-ND/1814539 or
http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/SIHG25N40D-E3/SIHG25N40D-E3-ND/3458163 

Of course there are other choices from other sellers too. 

Good luck.
Gyula