bakercool, with my experience I would suggest you never cross the the 1 amp pull for this type of motor. Especially with a prototype motor. You will only end up burning out the circuits (transistors) you are using  to switch the power with. I would suggest getting the rotor moving then drawing what you can from small input. Then upgrade to larger input.
Jason

WOW!   

All the responses are awesome!  Very helpful to.  I don't have a parts store near me, so everything I buy is on-line (I live on an island north of Seattle).  I have a little voltmeter thingy (I swear I'm not a newb!  ) so It is hard to tell my volt/amp.  Hence the pot....  I believe I can get her going with 12v/6-10amp. 

@ Toad:  I looked for a pot that is for 12v-6/10amp, but could not find it.  Thanks for the heads up on post Toad on the wire wound!  I guess I will have to keep looking...  It's really hard to find parts when your an idiot ya know     If anyone *cough*  Toad  *cough* happens to find a pot that is like what I am describing and sends a link, they get 10 cool points!   

@ Ren:  After watching your latest video, I was wondering why you don't put more pickup coils around your machine..  Wouldn't that increase your output?  Configured more like a standard alternator/generator?  I'm also wondering about the picture I posted last time, and separating the outside pickup coils into 2 sections to pick up the +/- of the collapsing force.  More-so the field originally generated by the electromagnet.  Isn't that the same as a magnetic field theory in an alternator?  I can't test those theories until I have built coils worth testing it on...  Your pretty smart, so I figured I'd run it past you first....

@ Jason:  Same thing on your machine... Is there a reason you don't put more pickup coils around your machine?  Every movment of a magnet without it utilizing a pickup coil is a loss of efficency isn't it?  I wish I could test it and let you know, but I am very far behind you guys..   

@ Nomen:  Thanks for the suggestion about the relay steel, I will check it out! 

@ Everyone:  The coil testing is now moving me away from high volts/amps, and is more configured on a perfect blend of turns, core, gauge, volts/amps (nothing new to you guys I'm sure), but I have learned that the perfect configuration will actually be substantially lower that what I had antipated.  Thanks for the warnings & hazards...  If I electrocute myself to death, I'll let ya know.. haha

Lastly.  WOW!  Do I have some interesting outcomes with coils!!!!!  I'm about 1/3 done testing and need to do some more before it is conclusive, however, by testing differnet configurations, I had one coil approx 1/2 inch thick was fluxing at approx 12 inches away!!!  Strong Flux!!!  (even accidental made a magnet gun/bullet.. haha).  Some of my theories were dead on, some exceeded my expectations, some were a flop....  I'll keep the press on till I get the highest quality coil, then share my results.. 

I'm about to buy a whole bunch more magnet wire (about 3000') at a different gauge (probably 24) and Re-Do all the test I have just run...  I'm really starting to dislike making coils!     Anyone want to make about 50 more different kinds of coils for me???   

Thanks again for your inputs, everything is of help to me right now... 

bakercool,
Making coils is easy if you use a drill and a coil jig. making the motor spin should be no problem. I live in oregon....not far from you. i am will to open up full voice or type chat with you to help you get it running. just let me know.
Jason

Hi all!  thanks for the help!

I made my big leap into the process last night.  After my post I ordered 2 - 1" x 12" x 12" acrylic discs, 3000' of 24 gauge wire, 10 1/2 ID bearings, and 10 more 3/4" x 3/4" N42 Magnets. 

I still have yet to find a timing/firing mechanism, and potentiometer.  I tried today, but the kids kept me pretty busy.  For my initial tests, I will be using an input of 12v/125amp power supply, but need to reduce it to 50ma-5amps @12v.  ARHH!  I wish I wasn't so stupid.   
Do you think the transistors, diodes, etc you guys are using would work for the volts/amps I mentioned?

@Jason:  I got some cubscout things coming up, & need to finish my 59' Edsel.  Between those events I will be testing out some more coil theories.  I think I got a great start, but want confirmation before I jump the gun.  I look forward to you giving me a helping hand!!!! 

@Tak:  I use a Drill now and use my hand to guide the wire.  I just finished searching for "Coil Jig" and saw a lot of stuff, but nothing that will go faster or higher quality than my drill/hand.  I guess I have more of a machine in mind...  I do stabilize the wire, and put tension on it before I feed it onto the coil tho.      Thanks again for your help!

@ Ren:  I plan on running 8 coils (repulsion) for one rotor, and am already looking into running 2 rotors (16 coils).  I know what you mean about worrying about the timing.  I'm sure there is a solution though.  I looked online to try to understand a multimeter (I swear, I'm not completely stupid!  ), then I went and tested the theory about the picture a couple posts ago.  I found one that one theory was wrong.  I received energy constantly (one theory I had was it would act like an alternator, only picking up on the pulse in/out).  Instead @ 6v/6amp I was getting 50ma constant.  Again, I still have a hard time reading it....  I hope that is good news.....
Also, I believe that Tesla already proved that if you used a higher gauge for your primary, then a smaller gauge for you secondary (pickup) you would increase voltage.  I'm not looking to increase voltage through his theory, more of collecting the energy that is dissipating from the coil the most efficient way I can find.  I hope that made sense.....

@ All:  I believe your all making the Bendini right now, and while I was searching I found this.  It looked pretty cool, so I posted it for your review.
http://www.syscoil.org/medias/pdf/documents/my_replication_of_windows_bendini.pdf

I hope this page gives some inspiration, and appreciate all the help you guys give!

Corey

my wire is never wasted corey. I still have the first coil I wrapped in use. 

Corey, you need to grasp the concept of amp draw from your circuits. Firstly learn how to measure amps on your meter. Next wire up a 12v  light globe or small eletric motor and flow the current through your meter to determine how much current it reads. Most meters read current on an amp setting of 10 amps. This means anything under 1.0 is in milliamps. 0.25 would be 250 milliamps. Your coils, circuit and triggering frequency will all effect the amount of amp draw.

Then make a simple switch (mechanical switch that you can just push, a micro switch works well) and hook it up so your coil is off until the switch is depressed. Repel or attract magnets glued to a wheel depending on your configuration.You can learn alot from this alone.

Getting some great results from my Bedini wheel on 24v. Ive realised that if 1 wants mechanical power a higher voltage is desired. It can run quite efficiently on 50 ma with decent speed/torque. Also my window motor is going well, it can be tripped into solidstate quite easily and has very interesting properties!

Ive uploaded another video to you tube, I'll have to make some more.

@Ren,
I meant to get back to you on this issue of mechanical power. As you may/already have discover/ed, 24 watts motor running on a Voltage of 24 Volts X 1 Amp, yields a higher mechanical efficiency than a 24 watts motor running on voltage of 12 Volts X 2 Amps.
Why? Power lost through Heat which is driven by current consumption.

But which has the maximum absolute torque? The less efficient 12 Volt X 2 Amps system. Why?. Because current does create the magnetic field strength of an electromagnetic core.

Is it possible to get the best of both higher voltage and higher current without actually contributing the higher current directly?
YES.

Ren you indicated that you were looking at mechanical efficiency in your recent switch to a 24 Volts supply. That's a good move to the higher supply, because it allows you to use high impedance coils (which you already are! 3000 turns? from memory?)

Try taking a lateral step sideways, and separate your drive coil function from your trigger coil function. You can do this by winding a fine
.1mm wire coil onto a small steel nail or screw core and using it as a separate trigger coil which can be physically placed wherever you want it. With fine wire you can wind 400-500 turns or more. By separating the drive and trigger coil, you can better adjust the actual pulse width of the trigger, but also more importantly the pulse angle with respect to the drive coil.

You may need to put a diode directly across the new trigger coil in opposite direction to the base to emiiter/sink connection of your Transistor/Mosfet. You can still use pots in line with the transistor to fine tune the pulse.

Now to the subject of higher current without paying the price of consumption. You may remember that efficient use of a collapsing field will be maximized when the total "Virtual Drive" pulse of the core is less than or equal to 50%. High impedance cores can have a long "time constant" when the Collapsing field is discharged through an electrical regeneration or torque enhancing circuit.

That's where a step-down transformer output coil and a tightly controlled short duty cycle come into their best effect.
Try winding a 150 - 300 turns high diameter (.62 - . coil outside your drive coil. The low impedance step-down coil when shorted by a Diode in the correct polarity direction, will provide a high current at the collapse of the main drive coil, but it will possess a short "time constant" and this will ensure a greater chance of the Virtual Pulse (usable Pulse) to remain under 50% and still be significantly longer than the Actual Pulse (current consumption).

Bear in mind, this will turn all the Collapsing EMF and "in-phase" rotational Magnet Induced EMF into mechanical torque, at the expense of CEMF electrical regeneration. Its' a choice of one or the other using this method.

Cheers from the Toad Who Hops 

how well does a perm magnet motor work if it is attracted to iron and then electricity is used to release it from that grip? i am reading mixed results as to the electrical input needed to release a magnet from iron, some say it is more effecient some say less in terms of torque vs current.

@Artic
"How well does a perm magnet motor work if it is attracted to iron and then electricity is used to release it from that grip? "

As with all motors that depends on many mechanical and electrical issues in the design of the motor.
How well it is machined, the mass and strength of the magnets, and the mass of the rotor and stator, coil winding type, iron core size, frequency of operation........, etc....
.
The stronger the magnet, and the closer it is to the iron, the more current will be needed for a given voltage to cause the magnet to lose it's grip on the iron.

@Artic
"i am reading mixed results as to the electrical input needed to release a magnet from iron, some say it is more effecient some say less in terms of torque vs current."

Put in its simplest form, the speed of any electrical motor without a load will increase or decrease depending on the Voltage. The actual torque (true grunt!  LOL) of the motor when mechanically loaded will be dependent on the current it can draw from any given voltage. The higher the current availability, the higher the torque will be. Classic examples of high torque DC motors are starter motors on the engine of a car. They consume huge amounts of current to deliver a great deal of torque during the brief time you usually take to start your car.

Any motor, if designed correctly for the load it will bear, can be made reasonably efficient, but normal Permanent Magnet DC shunt wound motors are hard to beat when it comes to needing a lot of true grunt (torque) in a little package!

For low powered, highly energy efficient motors, you can't overlook the motor that's turning your Hard Drive as a very good example. They are a closed magnetic system, pulsed motor, made with multiple coil phases and consume very little current. They function in a manner which is nothing like a normal PM DC shunt wound motor.

Most experimenters in this thread are experimenting with an "open magnetic system" motor, which have characteristics more similar to your Hard Drive motor in their mode of operation, utilizing a DC supply with pulsing circuitry to drive the motor coils.

Cheers from The Toad who Hops

To all;

I've been having mixed results (failures) for a long time now. Trying various configurations that approach unity but don't quite get there...
Latest thought is to now wind my Adams style coils on thin grade HOLLOW steel core of hopefully 1/2" diameter. Someone told me this configuration exibits much more power than any other core.
Just wanted to pass this one on in the hope it will help one of us to get-er-done!
Good luck all,

Carl