Electronic Levitron...How the heck does this thing work?

[TinselKoala]

Magnet hopper:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onga0XPFs44

[Pirate88179]

Magnet hopper:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onga0XPFs44

I commented on your video and don't want to repeat myself but.....this is excellent!  Clearly showing the pole reversal on the coil controlled by your photo sensors.  What ga. wire is on your coil?  Also, do you have an iron core in the coil?

This is so cool to watch you reverse engineer this device.  I hope a lot of folks are watching this.

Bill

[TinselKoala]

#33, no core, perhaps 1500 turns, it's one of the test coils I made for the PerPenduPetulum. Its resistance is too high, really, which is why it doesn't burn out the transistors by drawing too much current. They don't even get warm. For a real levitator you'd want to use heavier wire to get more current, and power transistors or mosfets.  Also I think the CdS sensors might not be optimum. Probably better to use phototransistors or photodiodes, or even a specialized Hall effect sensor system. I'm still thinking about all of that.

[Nink]

Magnet hopper:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onga0XPFs44

Very cool TinselKoala Put a fan blade  (or your flat piece of wood) on the motor so when the fan covers the sensor it will reverse and cover the other one and reverse again. Why no idea :-) but would be fun to watch.

I guess you could also try throwing a bar magenet in your coil and create a bidirectional solenoid. Put sensor top and bottom so when the magnet pokes out one side polarity reverses and hopefully catches it in time and forces magnet out the other side of the coil and repeats.  Again no idea but would be fun to watch. 

[TinselKoala]

Very cool TinselKoala Put a fan blade  (or your flat piece of wood) on the motor so when the fan covers the sensor it will reverse and cover the other one and reverse again. Why no idea :-) but would be fun to watch.

I guess you could also try throwing a bar magenet in your coil and create a bidirectional solenoid. Put sensor top and bottom so when the magnet pokes out one side polarity reverses and hopefully catches it in time and forces magnet out the other side of the coil and repeats.  Again no idea but would be fun to watch.

Ah... great minds think alike. Actually one of my YT subscribers m3sca1 suggested this first, although I was already thinking of it. So yes, I did it, sort of, and it works. I call it the MescalMotor in his honor... sorry, I already named it before I saw your post! Next version may be the NinkMotor.  I made a video and when it is  done rendering and uploading I'll post the link here.


Again, thanks for the suggestions!

ETA: Video is up:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqtKoFifby0