Comments on: Bio-ElectroStatic Generator

By: Paul Higginbotham

Paul Higginbotham — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 19:00:57 +0000

Hey guys,

I'm the guy who made Electrifried.
It can do a lot more than just shock people.
It's a handy tool for magicians too.
(Read the site to find out more.)
I also have a lot of info for troubleshooting, and I've got a full fledged forum up now too.
Example: If you're getting shocked on your own leg, than the insulation isn't sufficient, and you need to insulate it more.. notice the handkerchief around my leg !

BTW, this isn't the same kind of shock you get from a capacitor - it's a little milder I think, although under the right circumstances it can get pretty nasty too.

By: Drake

Drake — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 08:42:04 +0000

For the person who is getting shocked on the leg: Make sure your ground wire is connected to the + of the battery, Then take the HV+ and run it down the wire and listen for snaps. If you hear one then theres a small short in the wire. Repair it with some electrical tape. Also if the insulation is thin it may be able to have enough corona to zap you.

The pikashoes were made by a guy whos page is called Afrotech or something like that. He was trying to make the project as low budget as possible. I found an even cheeper ground wire and disconnect system then this guy. Take an extension cord cut off one end with about 6-8 inches of wire left over. Strip all three wires and twist them together. Solder that to the ground plate. take the other side of the cord and cut it to length it needs to be to reach your + terminal of the battery. Add a few inches strip twist and solder.

As for the insulated gauntlets: Take the HV+ and wire it to the gauntlets instead of your body.

By: tong-b

tong-b — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 09:11:48 +0000

do u think it would be possible to power a 240 volt ioniser with a
disposable camera circuit? tong-b@bigpond.net.au

By: spankbot

spankbot — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 05:57:33 +0000

Could this device be used to throw off, or force confusing readings on those much discussed “e-meters” used by Scientologists? I’ve been looking for a way to confuse and confound local member of the idiot religion who regularly give free “readings” on the streets of Old Town Pasadena.

By: uther_pendragon

uther_pendragon — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 02:09:34 +0000

Great little project. I was wondering if the jolt effect could be increased by adding a second unit? Just a thought.

:: uther

By: adam

adam — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 07:28:48 +0000

i built one of these on halloween for a “force lightning” effect for my Darth Sideous costume. Its pretty neat on cement and stuff, but if you use it while on wet grass it can really pwn some people. no joke, this thing really hurts bad on a damp surface like that. definitely worth the build simply for the look on the drive thru dudes face when he tries to hand you your change without hurling it upward in “shock.” (pun intended)

By: John

John — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 02:40:29 +0000

Yea, took apart a disposable camera years ago, played with the bits and inadvertantly threw the camera across the room when ‘exploring’ the electronics! Enough to make me apprehensive about repeating the procedure!

Take it no one from the UK is interested in this then? :(

Booo! Got a James Bond party to go to at Christmas and wanted to pretend it was the device out of “Die another day”! :(

By: John

John — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 21:37:10 +0000

Does anyone know of where you can get the ion generator component in the UK? Been looking around, but with no luck, and Electric Goldmine isn’t letting me have it shipped out. :(

By: monster

monster — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 21:19:40 +0000

^ make sure your insulated. im also building one of these hoping to use a car cigarette ioniser thingy as sorce

By: kirch

kirch — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 06:41:03 +0000

I built one of these a couple of months ago, I can’t get it to shock anything except for my own leg, and I’ve tried a bunch of different things for the connections to my body, if anybody has any success, or tips, please let me know @ kirchdes@kirchdesign.com

By: mrcharlie

mrcharlie — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 05:30:07 +0000

ya I’ve thought that disposable camera capacitor was a simple battery one day… ZZZAP. hurt pretty bad.

pretty incredible to see how simple g33ks can become such evil :P

By: conor

conor — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 03:32:10 +0000

@9: couldn’t the disposable give you more than just a jolt? i’m pretty sure those things store some serious current as well as voltage…

By: psp005

psp005 — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 02:26:11 +0000

This is awesome…last month i built one of these things… i did it like the original, in a shoe. it is soo fun to shock people with this because they are like, “Ouch, WTF?” then do it again…they ask “do you have something???” and since it is in your shoe you can show them that you have nothing. PRICELESS.
–>PSP005

By: David

David — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 00:59:15 +0000

If you really want a good zap, rip open a disposable camera and touch the ends of the flash leads, thats just a really big cap and a DC boost regulator, and it is about half the price of the ion generator.

By: PKM

PKM — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 19:22:05 +0000

insulated gloves wouldn’t work too well, they would insulate and therefore prevent a discharge. the key to avoiding a painful shock yourself is maximising the area over which the current leaves your body- try holding a key and grounding yourself/touching someone with the point. alternatively gauntlets of lightning +1 are a possibility :)