Why dosen't this Work?!

[(unknown)]

Hello,

I just made a "Hamster type" generator. I used a 13 inch metal container and attached it to ball bearings. Then I took 1/2" by 1/4" neodynium magnets and put them around the circle (Radial generator). I then wound a coil out of 18 gauge wire, and made the inner hole the size of the magnet. There were around 50 turns or wire here. I set up the coil to my multimeter, but as I turned it, I saw NO voltage coming from the generator..... What is wrong? I then tried a Store-brought coil, and this put out 2 volts when turned by hand. So why dosen't MY coil work? I even have a steel nut in the middle, to act as the center.... Tell me what you think,

Patrick~

[deerslayer660]

 did you use mag wire?  was it usedwire?  just a guess but i think your coil is shorting out i had a simler prob using used wire george

[DanB]

There could be a few reasons...

firstly - I presume your measuring for AC voltage

secondly...  this is not a very optimized alternator, at least not the way we built ours.  To get even a couple volts from ours, we had to use two coils in series, each coil has 400 windings of #30 gage wire.  So... for the speed your running at, you should probalby be using lots thinner wire, and lots more windings.  The hole in the coil should be about the size of a magnet, and the outer diameter should be about the same as the distance from teh center of one magnet to the center of its neighbor.  The coil should be wound as thin a possible, as the flux drops off rapidly as you get away from the magnets.

[DBGenerator]

A 1/2" magnet isn't strong enough to push electrons through a piece of 18 guage wire.  Well, maybe if you had it set up exactly right and ran the magnet past the coil really fast.   Try some 26 to 30 AWG.

[ghurd]

Are the magnets NSNS... ?

G-

[(unknown)]

I'm using grade 40 neodymium magnets. I thought that generators produced AC current...? That's what I'm measuring for.... Anyway, you all really think that by making the coil with thinner wire, I'll be able to get some voltage out of it? Thanks for your replys,

Patrick~