Hi

Follow-up post, provisionally titled 'how the hell did i end up here?'

Hi guys, thanks for the warm welcome. Wanted to write this a couple of days ago, but I have a lot of plates on sticks atm. Not had time to watch many videos yet, saving them for when I re-read all the threads.

So I have been researching alternative power generation technology for some time, a few years on and off, looking for ways to eventually become energy-independant. I had discarded solar and wind power as not reliable enough and started designing a biodigester to run a modified 4-stroke on CH4. I know, operational efficiency, friction and other losses, maintenance costs and downtime - still seemed worth doing to get electricity from potato peelings and poop. Until i figured out how much space it would need, compared to the space I have available in this crowded urban jungle... To the shelf with that idea, at least until we move house or usurp at least one of the neighbours.

And then, a month or so ago, I happened upon a pdf of a thesis for a new wind turbine stator design using bifilar coils. That rabbit hole led to Tesla, and then to another unfamiliar phrase - 'above/over unity'. (I was aware of Tesla and some of his work, and thanks to the oatmeal's webcomic/casual infographic, I knew I was already on team Tesla; team Edison can suck a fat one.)

Since then, I have been scouring and sponging the internet for any and all information relating to above unity - documents, demonstrations, discussion forums etc. I found several forums for discussing such ideas, but didn't want to sign up to more than one, as keeping my mind focused is tricky enough without having to remember what I said, where, and to who (or should that be 'whom', which is a stupid looking set of letters but is okay for scrabble points.) I digress.

And now, here I am at aboveunitydotcom, which despite its white-on-black layout that kerfuffles my retinas (there's probably a way to change it that I haven't found yet) seems to have the best ratio of good info to degenerative bitch-fights - a handy indicator of a forum's worth if you're not looking for another bitch-fight.

Moving forward: Well, upward - this learning curve is vertical. I have so much to learn re: electronic/EM theory. Building stuff is the easy bit. I'm decent enough at soldering, just don't ask me to explain what's happening beyond the tip of the iron... I have already designed the thing in my head, I need to be able to design it on paper, decide if it will work as expected from that and explain it to others without using words like 'sorcery' or 'ouch'...

Also, I am going to need some measuring hardware; what would be considered a minimum amount of gear, and where are good places to find them used, refurbished, or just plain cheap? I don't have an extensive budget or much storage space right now, so if i can get by with the bare essentials, that'll do for the time being.

I have another question about core composition and winding patterns, but I have a feeling the answer will be in the form of an experiment...

Thank you all for the information and inspiration within this forum, and thanks in advance for putting up with my noob questions. I share your noble vision of a better tomorrow, run by individuals and not global corporations.

One final note - I am not an 'ecowarrior' - I don't subscribe to climate alarmism (how dare I). The climate changes whether we burn fossil fuels or not ("but the arctic is melting!" yes, dear. It does that sometimes.) What I am passionate about is the stuff we CAN do something about - pollution, overfishing, deforestation, and corporate subsidies to the worst environmental offenders...

I think I have rambled on enough, I have a cylinder head to collect from the workshop...