Bears! Are they scared of massive arcs that rip through the air, making a lot of noise in the process? [Jay] from the Plasma Channel sure hopes so, because that’s how his bear deterrent works!
[Jay] calls it the Bear Blaster 5000. Right from the drop, this thing looks like some crazy weapon out of Halo. That’s because it throws huge arcs at 280,000 volts. The basic concept behind it is simple enough—a battery drives a circuit which generates (kinda) low voltage AC. This is fed to the two voltage multipliers which are set up with opposite polarity to create the greatest possible potential difference between the two electrodes they feed. The meaty combination is able to arc across electrodes spaced over four inches apart. It’s all wrapped up in a super-cool 3D printed housing that really shows off the voltage multiplier banks.
Given its resemblance to a stun gun, you might think the idea is to jab an attacking bear with it. But the reality is, if the bear is close enough that you could press this device against it, you’re already lunch. [Jay] explains that it’s more about scaring the animal off with the noise and light it produces. We’d certainly take a few steps back if we heard this thing fire off in the woods.
[Jay] does a great job of explaining how the whole setup works, as well as showing off its raw ability to spark. We’ve seen some great builds from [Jay] before, too, like this beefy custom flyback transformer.
“This lunch makes funny noises”
As the old joke has it (albeit quoted from memory), “In these forests there are black bears and grizzly bears, so carry pepper spray and wear bells as a deterrent. Watch for signs of bear activity; black bear scat is small and scattered… whereas grizzly bear scat smells of pepper and has bells in it.”
I do hope he leaves appropriate messages for his next of kin when he actually tries it. Grizzly bears were the apex predator on the North American continent for a very long time and have little regard for trendy sparklers (or much else) when provoked.
https://youtu.be/LUj5DjuFzV4
Clever idea. However, when using this device against an actual bear, you need to be within reach of the bear…which means that the bear is already within reach of you.
My money’s on the bear in this contest.
I support the right to arm bears.
https://nerocam.com/DrFun/Dave/Dr-Fun/df9404/df940408.jpg
Regarding the resin, its just normal arts and craft clear resin right? Would I still get decent insulation if I don’t have a vacuum chamber? Embedded bubbles a problem?
Don’t really have much experience playing with high voltage. Highest I work with is 3.3V
I found that a good DIY way to remove bubbles from a resin job is to stick the part you’ve used resin on in a washing mashine for a spin cycle. 1000 RPM settles the resin at the bottom and all the air is expunged.
Don’t make this unless your very familiar with high voltage and circuitry. I don’t have time to watch the video at the moment but stun guns are only relatively safe because the pulse is very brief and the skin effect prevents it from stopping your heart (skin effect is that electricity start transmitting from the outside surface first and then works towards the core). Assuming he is accounting and designing for that then any mistake with capacitance,resistance, or inductance would possibly extend the pulse and make it much more capable of killing you.
Wrong.
Petty sure this is not correct (forgive me for being completely uneducated). There are tons of ‘stun guns’ for sale that produce hundreds of thousands to millions of volts, and they are harmless to you / useless for defense
A real taser functions by emulating the electrical impulse of muscle contractions – physically locking the muscles if the electrodes make good contact. This is why they can sometimes be fatal, the heart muscles can (rarely) be locked up
This is a good looking, well built toy. It’s “content for content’s sake” in the spirit of our times. Calling it a bear deterent is stupid and click bait, like most things “creators” make these days.
The sound this one makes is somewhere between 50 – 100 Hz which is perfect for causing muscles to lock up. Trouble is, you need to hit a muscle. Otherwise it’s just going to burn you.
A taser goes “pop pop pop” because it’s intended to jolt you around. With a higher frequency, you might be able to muscle against the shock and still maintain some coordination, but with the shocks coming in at a relatively low frequency, you’re just going all over the place.
MG Chemicals 832C embedding and potting epoxy.
https://mgchemicals.com/products/potting-compounds/epoxy-potting/clear-epoxy/
Embedded bubbles will be a problem, the breakdown voltage of epoxy is much higher than the breakdown voltage of air, and electricity will find the shortest path. Put it under vacuum while curing.
I had one of my employees look this up online recently, and here are his results:
“Various sources online indicate that epoxy without any coloring additives are best, since most additives can be conductive. I found Total Boat Epoxy to be one such recommendation:
https://www.amazon.com/TotalBoat-Thickset-Casting-Crystal-Gallon/dp/B07QKF5F6F”
You can also use oil instead of epoxy, and this can help with heat dissipation. Search for dielectric oil, and this also should be put under vacuum, once at the time of construction, to remove dissolved air and prevent bubbles.
As to using this for bears, and as a life-long hiker, I have to say DO NOT in any way rely on anything you find here done by a hobbyist to save your life!
If a company comes out with a product and it’s backed up by development and use case, then yes, that’s something to use against bears.
My personal opinion is that if the bear is close enough to use this, either a) the bear is not attacking, in which case the taser will just enrage the bear, or b) the bear is running to attack, in which case you’ll get killed even if you do manage to tase the bear. Bears do not face off with their opponents, like humans.
Note that black bears (NE parts of the US) avoid humans, so making noise of any kind is usually sufficient.
Some call it the dark wet. Some call it the “Long cold wet”, and some years it is more like 9 or 10 months.
I like this device. I did not know Jay is a local. All the bears here are black bears, at least for now. And you can scare them away with a stern look, except at night when they smell your left-overs. Giving the persistent re-introduction of wolves on the dry side of the Cascades, I think it would be good with a crowd of canines.
Every bear: runs
That one congenital deaf bear: ¯_(ツ)_/¯
I’ve heard of a def leppard but never a deaf bear!
(Also, I think Hackaday is like Reddit – you need to escape your backslashes, i.e. double them up.)
i.e. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Let me know when Jay tests it out on a real live, and hungry, bear.
Would love to see him make it remote, mount it up in a tree with a video camera, and then do a real test when a real bear is in the area. Would make for an even better 2nd video.
What is wrong with you?
What, exactly, is bothering you? Perhaps you’re reading things into the comments?
But we need to see a bear get zapped.
This will not even bother a bear. If everything works as planned it will only annoy it. YouTube content slop for sure
I’ve seen a bear hit with a real taser though, one it was very intense (division of wildlife was hazing a bear to help prevent it from getting used to being around people. It was a mother bear with 2 cubs nearby)
The black bear smacking itself in the balls is classic youtube, ‘Ow My Balls’ gold.
‘Psycho Dad’ and ‘Ow My Balls’ should both be realized.
It’s time.
Cool gadget and looks amazing, too. Please carry bear spray.
Bear spray works better than firearms. If people can shoot (at?) a bear and still get mauled, I don’t think a sparky taser is going to be much better. Several studies show very compelling data and make for good reading on the can.
100% best defense for bears is bear spray, I fully agree. Bears have wet noses and are very scent-focused (like dogs), so it works much better on bears than on people.
Black bears don’t scare me, but if I was in brown bear country I’d want bear spray. And a 12ga with slugs for backup lol
Punchline: ‘You can tell the grizzly bear scat by the bells and pepper smell.’
Not all bears and guns are equal.
Best bet is not to hit the grizzly with the first shot, you’ll only piss it off.
Unfortunately here in New Jersey bear spray is completely illegal and firearms are just about illegal.
Hopefully death is illegal as well.
If you’re close enough to use this on a bear it’s close enough to use it’s claws and teeth on you, and my money is on the bear.
Not for tasing. For noise and light. If you haven’t noticed. Lightning is LOUD. I have a small lightning generator at home at that is ‘really’ noisy. I’ll stick to my sixguns for woods carry here in MT.
The best protection against bears is your friend who runs slower than you…
Natural Selection, one for the Darwin Awards.
Next week, poking tiger snakes with pointy sticks.
So when a 10 foot Grizzly bear with four feet of reach, swipes a set of six inch claws across his face, exactly what is he going to do with his two foot reach and his sparkly toy that wouldn’t even penetrate the bear’s thick fir to make skin contact? “Please Mr Bear…”
We don’t have bears in my country anymore but even I can see what an idiot this guy is.
I came here to point this out. I don’t think I would try this attached to a 10 foot pole.
Easy way to tell someone has never met a bear before. They used to have a Bear and a Bull fight, just to give you some idea of the size and strength of creature we are talking about.
LOL. If he ever gets close enough to a bear to use that thing he’s already dead. One of the dumbest ideas ever … at least for bears.
Won’t work I think. Black bears do not always run away from people. There are a lot in our area and if you dont mess with them they will gladly stand there and watch you. I had one bear that would sit in the bushes next to my yard and watch me on a riding mower less than ten feet away. Both of us were calm so no drama. With black bears just try to be a little noisy so you dont startle them and you should be OK. They are pretty curious and smart but very protective of their cubs. The ones near me will grunt and the cubs immediately climb trees but mom will just watch you. Grizzly bears are a whole other game.
My neighbor had one coming on her porch a lot so she fired a shotgun into the air. First few times the bear ran away, after that the bear didnt care. The fix was a fence zapper attached to wire mesh laid on the ground. She called it the unwelcome mat. They hit it once and then stayed clear even after it was gone. A fence wire doesnt work because their fur is too thick. The mat worked because the paws are sensitive.
That last bit is insightful. Thanks for sharing!
Over here in Michigan, the black bears are pretty skittish, IME. Merely whistling and moving my arms about has been enough to get them to walk away. The only stories I’ve heard locally about them actually attacking humans have been when they’re starving, cubs were involved, or they were surprised.
TBH, I’m more scared of the raccoons around my parents’ home, on the east side of the state. They are true Trash Pandas, and do NOT give a damn about humans. Long ago, I caught one in the act of tipping over and going through a trash can in front of their house. With his butt hanging out of it, I walked over and banged on the can a few times. He didn’t run away, as I’d hoped. He stopped, got out, sat upright on his rear end, with his arms out, and just stared at me. Like he was saying, “Look man, I’m trying to eat here. What do you want?”
I left him to it, with a new respect for these cute, if sometimes annoying, creatures.
Bears are amazingly smart. They rarely get hit by cars but deer get hit all the time. I have seen female bears sit in the middle of a road like a crossing guard and refuse to move until their cubs cross the road. I would never try anything to scare a bear. Even bear spray seems risky to me. I suppose if an attack is underway you try what you can. Rule #1- Dont run, they will chase even if they were not planning to attack. Just back off slowly without turning your back. Rule #2- Do not stare a male bear in the eyes, that is a challenge. Look at his feet to keep an eye on him. Females will walk away from you, males will hold their ground.
How can I tell the gender of the bear if I only stare at it’s feet? How will a male bear react if I casually glance at it’s genitals? I’m assuming you want to be as discreet as possible in such a situation.
I can see a Grizzly now “Ha Ha Ha, that tickles”……. mmmmm…. crunchy Human, nom nom nom….
…and where can I find the assembly instructions with a parts list?