Here's what I also wonder and if it sounds newbieish - it is, should the neon bulb turn on as you wind the pot towards the higher resistance on the base circuit?

I have tried different combos, things like 10 ohm resistor and 25 ohm rheostat as well as 100 ohm resistor and 1 K rheostat, but I noticed that there's a threshold when the NE-2 lights up and starts pulsing at some low resistance and then it just gets brighter and pulsing starts changing into constant light.

I also forgot to note that my coil in the photo there is wound the opposite way (I'm left-handed and I blame this right-hander's world for making me do so ) but it still appears to be working.

Need I say that I'm glad that there's at least three more people here who post on a daily basis keeping our little adventure going. I know charging batteries and proving it works is fun, but perhaps we could do something more practical with this, applicable to our daily lives.

Practical alternative energy is not really my primary field of interest, though I have been following it for years now, at least the theoretical part.
Reason I wanted to try JB's motor was because it produces radiant energy and I'd like to use it as a source in another experiment...

Should I elaborate on that here or start another thread elsewhere on this board? I would like to get some feedback from people with more experience in this than myself, so I do not go chasing "windmills" for no reason, and I do have your attention here.