How can i build my own electric generator?
Go to the local automobile scrap yard, and find a working ‘alternator’. Fasten the blades of your windmill to the shaft of the alternator, and voila, 12VDC output. You might want to gear it up or down with various sized pulleys and drive belts etc. If the alternator is too big and heavy to turn with your windmill, you might be able to salvage a small motor from a vaccuum cleaner or child’s toy. Almost any DC motor can be used as a generator. Lastly, you could fasten a magnet perpendicular to a spinning rod (pencil or broomstick), and place coils of wire on either side of the magnet. As the magnet spins past the coil, it will create a voltage.
