Build Your Own HERF Gun

James writes "Rostislav Persion from Voltage Labs has successfully constructed a HERF gun (a device like EMP but directional) in his home that is capable of stalling cars at a distance and crashing computers as well. He has videos of the device in action as it lights up LED's at a distance and triggers motion detectors. Theres also a bunch of other security stuff and science stuff which is quite interesting and controversial, such as cell phone tracking, mood altering audio signals, gyro guns, and other things of this nature. The site owner was also featured in US News Magazine and MTV for some of his work."

Comments

Unfortunately

[Anonymous Coward]

After learning about his device, the US military used their larger HERF gun to deactivate his HERF gun.

Re:Unfortunately

[fishbert42]

the US military used their larger HERF gun to deactivate his HERF gun.

Also known as the HERF Buster.
Good thing he's got the HERF Buster Buster.
Yet, the military has the HERF Buster Buster Buster.

(The Big Hit reference, for those who are unfamiliar with this great movie.)

Re:Unfortunately

[Almost_anonymous_cow]

No the lotion with aloe.

Re:Unfortunately

[lewp]

It was funny until you felt the need to explain it :(

Re:Unfortunately

[Anonymous Coward]

Looks like they got his server at the same time ;)

Re:Unfortunately

[visualight]

Does anyone remember the snl sketch right after Gary Busey cracked his skull in a motorcycle accident? The Gary Busey helmet protector protector protector. I think this was before The Big Hit.

Re:Unfortunately

[Anonymous Coward]

I really want to see the article, but the server is slashdotted. Has anyone thought about putting a cache URL?

If only...

[Anonymous Coward]

If only they had this for Thelma and Louise...

Re:If only...

[schappim]

Your score = 0 someone here must like Themla and Louise...! And note, the good o'le slash dot effect has set in for this site...

No More High Speed Pursuits

[the-dude-man]

You know...this would put an end to high speed pursuits

What will fox air....guess they will have to resort to hardcore porn

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[mrbrown1602]

Well actually if the car is older than 1980, it probably won't stall due to the lack of computerized components in the car. That's why I love driving a '56 Chevy. :-)

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[marbike]

No, There still is the as yet unaired "Who Wants to Marry a Middle Aged Producer?" or "When Shopping Carts Attack!: The Wallmart Files".

The hardcore porn will have a little time before it gets plastered over Fox.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[antiquark]

I regret saying this already, it shows my age, and possibly my viewing habits.

In the brief remake series of Knight Rider, Knight Rider 2000 I think it was called, Kit could disable cars from a distance presumably with a similar device. I beleive the bad guys then did something to their Porsche Carerra 911's which made them impervious to this attack.

David Hasselhof's hair was similarly insulated from the radiation.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[afidel]

Taser to the block work well for screwing up electronic ignition components, so my question is why hasn't someone come up with a 500K+ Volt taser harpoon for patrol cars? Seems like it would be easier to use than spike strips, less dangerous (blowouts happen even with the hollow spike type), and more effective (how many times have you seen crooks run on rims, or even runflat tires).

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[macdaddy]

They already have made one of these deals. It's like a spike strip but is really a mat that you position on the road. IIRC the officer that laid it out waits for the fleeing vehicle to drive over it and then activates the mat. He hits the button right as the car's engine is over the mat and it's jacks up the ignition system. The car dies instantly and rolls to a stop. The problem with any system like this is that 1) it's expensive and 2) it can only be used on vehicles moving slowly. You don't dare use this mat, spike strips, or the pitt maneuver on a vehicle going highway speeds. The car could easily lose control and cause a major accident. You have to do it when they are going slow like when they take a turn of some sorts. Yeah, they've built these gizmos already but they are expensive. Last I heard they were only being tested in the UK. Good idea though. I wonder how much damage (in $$$) this does to the car though. It's relatively easy to destory the computer system in a car. 9 times out of 10 you can do this by hooking jumper cables up backwards (yes, some people don't know how to use them properly. most people don't know which vehicle you should hook them up to first either). Frying the computer system in a car is essentially totaling the car. The replacement parts almost always cost more then the vehicle is worth. :-(

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[PissedOffGuy]

You know...this would put an end to high speed pursuits

i wonder if they consider it riskier than the strips of little hollow tubes that puncture and slowly deflate your tires.

without your electrical system and your engine spinning down you could lose power steering, power brakes, your lights would go out (at night at high speed most probably), various automatic transmission problems, etc.

i guess its still safer than the PIT maneuver.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[dracocat]

True. It won't be much of a pursuit if the car they are chasing has one of these.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Cyclometh]

Hmm, let's see- a 500V harpoon that, if it misses, impales some hapless bastard on the sidewalk, or takes out a bus or something. Can you imagine the fallout the first time they used something like that and missed? :-)

It's probably doable, but it would only be able to be used if there were no pedestrians/buildings/other cars about.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[afidel]

You miss my point, I don't want a replacement for the spike strip, I want a mobile harpoon that can fry the car on the go. Other than the loss of power steering there is no danger to just stopping the engine in a high speed persuit, in fact its probably way less harmfull then just letting the idiot drive through traffic at high speeds. Of course my favorite self-Darwin is the bank robbers in southern Ohio that got flattened by a 18 wheeler after running a red light running from the cops, though I feel kind of bad for the semi driver(having to live with killing someone and all).

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Anonymous Coward]

what would be kind of cool is to track down the cops using directional methods. every single one of them has a computer in their squad car, right? maybe there's some sort of "ping" equivalent. if so, you could find what compass heading the police are in. use simple trigonometry, and a moving vehicle can then pinpoint their position. no officer, i was not speeding!

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Anonymous Coward]

what if the criminals copied and similarly carried such a harpoon taser to take out squad cars?

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Rolo Tomasi]

You know...this would put an end to high speed pursuits

So would this (scroll down to Carl Gustaf). Probably much more fun to watch, too.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[afidel]

so the fact that criminals might have guns is a reason to remove them from police officers???? The idea is already out there, an industrious criminal could make it today. The need is there for police officers to have a means of ending high speed persuits without further endangering the public, I haven't heard much better solutions proposed.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[domninus.DDR]

They made a little RC car that can go like ~80 mph when launched from a cruiser that runs under the car with a trolley like thing sticking out of the top with plenty of voltage. IIRC this was on TLC a few days ago

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, the loss of power steering and the loss of reasonably effective brakes. Best hope the driver doesn't have a pace maker either cause you just killed him. ;-) Actually, that makes me wonder. Given our rather sensitive internal electrical system, I wonder what a HERF gun fired at a human would do? Out autonomous system relies on electrical signals from the brain. That's why people with serious head trauma sometimes can't breathe on their own or their heart has to be forced to beat manually. The autonomous system shut itself down thanks to brain trauma. Hmm... that makes me wonder. Surely someone has answered that question though.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[blair1q]

Looks like the TOW from what? 15 years ago?

Those crafty Swedes.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[haystor]

Hell, I want to be throwing harpoons manually from a flatbed trailer. Then winch the car closer, secure the rigging and I'll be first across in the boarding party. Think Road Warrior...that was a good start.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Eric Smith]

Did you know you can fertilize your lawn with used motor oil?

Recycle your pets!

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Anonymous Coward]

heh coming from the crafty yanks who bought the missile system m. 58 two years ago, and oh yeah, we used to use those in 1958 ;D

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Rolo Tomasi]

Ah, no. You see, the TOW is a guided anti-tank missile, while the Carl Gustaf is a recoilless rifle. As in, it has a rifled barrel. It's reusable and you can use different kinds of ammunition. It's also more portable than, say, a TOW, and much cheaper. The Carl Gustaf M3 is currently in service with the Rangers and the Navy SEALS, BTW. More info here.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Grishnakh]

This is a ripoff of the movie "Runaway", except in that movie the little RC car exploded when it got under the target car.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Grishnakh]

Simple: just embed some encryption software in the gun. The criminals then wouldn't be able to copy it since that's illegal under the DMCA.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Mika_Lindman]

Where's the 'add this to cart'-button? I hate those site designs where you can't find the functions you're looking for.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[irc.goatse.cx troll]

"without your electrical system and your engine spinning down you could lose power steering, power brakes, your lights would go out (at night at high speed most probably), various automatic transmission problems, etc.
"

or even worse, you may lose power windows! *insert horror music*

(note to [meta]mods: its 2:30am and I'm sleep deprived. this sounded funny in my head)

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[blair1q]

Okay, so, it's a Bazooka, which is what, 70-80 years old, now?

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[fucksl4shd0t]

Other than the loss of power steering there is no danger to just stopping the engine in a high speed persuit

You also forgot the fact that the power brake booster in your car is likely powered by engine vacuum. In some exotic cars, it's hydraulically powered. In either case, it requires a running engine. At low speeds, failure of these components isn't dangerous because under federal law they're required to have enough boost stored in them to provide for stopping in case of failure. However, at higher speeds, you can easily drain the system of it's reserve and find yourself having to stand on the brakes to stop.

Loosing power steering at high speeds is relatively safe, on the other hand. Most/all power steering systems kick off anyway over 35 mph, some kick off even earlier. The only purpose power steering serves is to counteract the wheels gripping the road at a stop or at low speeds. THe reason why your steering gearbox (or rack-n-pinion) is designed to work without power assist isn't a safety issue, it's because the power assist automatically cuts off during regular operation.

Finally, back to brakes, some newer ABS systems behave in a fashion that can be dangerous in a high-speed failure. Once again, they're designed not to fail in these cases, so the risk is relatively low. However, the assumption made in these cases is that the valves will be able to close. If the valves were unable to close (and this proposed device could cause that, but it'll take a real engineer to tell me), then it's possible that the 2000 psi stored up in the accumulator would be applied in the regular brakes, causing the wheels to lock up. At a high speed, this could be fatal to more than just the people in the crime car.

Now, blowing up the motor somehow would be more effective. Of course, I'm using the slang "blowing up the motor" which doesn't resemble explosives at all. A laser burn through the radiator, and then it's a race of attrition. Get the guy to overheat the engine and his electrical system will keep working. Better yet, a laser burn through the block. Of course, a laser that powerful would probably be a lot more dangerous than it sounds. Keep his tires, brakes, and steering intact, and burn the radiator. If his transmission is automatic, you might be able to target the tranny cooling system instead, but it'd be a harder target to hit then the engine. But if you could hit it, you could leave him with a running engine but not torque to the wheels. Then he's still got ABS, vacuum assist, AND power steering, and still can't move.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Rolo Tomasi]

Wrong again. The M1 Bazooka is an unguided rocket.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[paganizer]

My Brother, the Evil Genius (tm) designed and tested a system that that used a fast scanning ladar/reflected light type signal to spot police cars by there silhouette. It would actually distinguish the lights on top of the vehicles, then display (using nixies) where in relation to the front of the vehicle the spotted car was.

Didn't work on unmarked cars, though. not bad for 1981.

It would be a simple thing to rig up a directional radar detector, then use syncros to line up the HERF on the right bearing.....

Freenet. Download it while its still a misdemeanor.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[rworne]

No harpoon, but I did see a video once of a device that is basically looks like a rocket-powered skateboard that launches from the front of the patrol car, pops up a couple of electrodes and runs under the fleeing car, shorting out the ignition system.

It was pretty cool, and lots safer than a harpoon.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[KarmaPolice]

without your electrical system and your engine spinning down you could lose power steering, power brakes, your lights would go out (at night at high speed most probably), various automatic transmission problems, etc.

Trust me, those problems have already been thought of - what if the battery in your car suddenly disconnects during driving? The power steering only assists in turning the wheels. Under the hood it's still mechanical. When learning to drive we covered this and I actually had to step out of the car and turn the wheel with force to see the steering wheel in the car turn. The key was not in the car.

The brakes are also only assisted.
When all electronics fail in the car, the car will stop pretty fast since it now has to turn the off-engine.

As for the safety of the driver I really don't care much for his sorry ass...

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Shanep]

the loss of reasonably effective brakes.

You still have effective brakes if ABS is switched off. In fact, you have brakes which are MORE effective in the hands of a very competent driver.

ABS systems actually release the brakes when lock is detected and then progressively let go of this release until lock is again found, etc etc. The effect comes close to optimum braking (good for people who don't know what to do with locked brakes or don't have the response time to correct), but cannot match the braking skill of a good driver who is not hampered by ABS.

My point is, impact of ABS loss depends on driver skill. A good driver would react to it before even realising that the ABS is not working.

A friend of mine purchased a Mazda second hand and had it for years before realising that the ABS was not working. It was just a blown fuse. For all he knows, the ABS was in this state since the day he bought it.

Often, with bank robberies, the driver is chosen based on how well they drive.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Shanep]

Taser to the block

Bah! Taser shmaser! There is only one definitive answer to stopping crooks in cars...

McDonnel Douglas AH-64D Apache.

Works every time (just ask some former relatives of some Iraqi families).

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Anonymous Coward]

>The power steering only assists in turning the wheels

True, but the sudden loss of power while driving can make it impossible to control the vehicle at high speed.

>I actually had to step out of the car and turn the wheel with force to see the steering wheel in the car turn. The key was not in the car.

I call bullshit. Just about any car made in the last, oh, 30 years has an ingnition interloc that locks the steering column when the key is not the the on position. If you had said 'engine was not running', your little story would be a bit more believable.

>As for the safety of the driver I really don't care much for his sorry ass...

Nice. What about the family of 5 that are in the wrong place at the wrong time when this guy looses control? What? You don't care about them either. Figures.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Lord Prox]

You still have effective brakes if ABS is switched off. In fact, you have brakes which are MORE effective in the hands of a very competent driver.

Hmmm... What about the air bag? I remember reading a warning on something I own about possible accidential deployment of the air bag. That could be a bad thing.

Thinking about it...

1. Pacemakers
2. CompUSA, Circut City, Best buy, etc.
3. Car dealership
4. Hosipital
5. annoying cell phone
6. Colo center
7. Telco CO (might be nuclear/EMP shielded)
8. Traffic Signal box
9. Traffic camera box
10. Cell phone tower
11. Power distribution center
12. [evil_grin]MS HQ[/evil_grin]

This thing could be nasty. Doing a drive-by has a whole new meaning...

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[bhtooefr]

Here's your average ignition switch:

ACC LOCK OFF ON START

Some cars will let you take the key out on OFF. (Shoot, I've got a car with a fscked up interlock that will let you take it out anywhere)

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[danro]

It's also more portable than, say, a TOW, and much cheaper.

My most vivid memory of it is still that it is really heavy and a bitch to carry long distances. (Well, I have a BMI of 18 wish may affect my impression.)
Well, I should note that we used the stainless steel barrel, not the composite one. I hear it is a lot lighter, but also a lot more fragile.
And, no, I have never been a SEAL or a Ranger.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Anonymous Coward]

Also, the blast from firing to has been known to tear the side pocket off of the pants of the loader.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't think the parent poster was referring to ABS. When the engine on a modern car with power boosted brakes stops, the brakes become much more difficult to operate. Of course, the natural reaction if the brakes don't seem to be working well is to just push harder (which will have the desired effect), limiting the chances of disaster caused by braking inability.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[laosland]

Isn't the D model of the AH-64 with the longbow radar? If so, that's not the AH-64D.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Anonymous Coward]

A carbureted car with points ignition would not be HERFable, nor would an "all-mechanical" injection system diesel.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Speare]

Some time ago I saw a TV news blurb about some experiments in adding a "required" sensor in the tail of new cars, which would respond quickly and safely to a police car's "stop now" gun.

I'm not sure which is scarier-- the fact that they thought it was a good idea, or the fact that nobody else seems to think it's a bad idea. Principally, (1) potential for abuse of authority (2) stolen or concocted "stop now" guns used for mischief.

So far, though, haven't heard more from Detroit or Congress about this sort of tool. The optimist in me hopes others saw issues with the idea as well.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Anonymous Coward]

"some people don't know how to use them properly. most people don't know which vehicle you should hook them up to first either"

Well I for one have better things to remember than knowledge I'll use once every ten years.

Fortunately, jumper cables come with a little instructin card.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Anonymous Coward]

because that worked out so well for Humungous and his gang...

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Anonymous Coward]

laser burn through the radiator would require that you're in front of the vehicle you're chasing.

plus, as discussed many times-- laser have a tendancy to blind everyone not wearing goggles.

Do not blind the tax payers.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[KingRamsis]

Works every time (just ask some former relatives of some Iraqi families).

that pile of crap ? just ask the relative of the former apache crew...
shot down by a farmer with a rifle and was downed in Afghanistan or simply just crashed...
you should be moded funny :-)

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Anonymous Coward]

recoiless rifles are also really old. The Germans, at least, had them in WWII.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Blymie]

This is the way it used to be, but no more :(((

This isn't a flaw in your logic, just a change in the way car manufacturers are putting together the braking system. In the old days, ABS was just slapped on top of a normal, mechanical braking system. If ABS failed, you'd have normal brake pressure, in fact, just a normal braking system.

These days, however, they have changed to a completely electronic braking system. In this case, the brake pressure applied to _each_ wheel is different when breaking. It is all controlled by the computer, and when that computer shuts off, the braking system reverts to equal pressure to all 4 wheels.

As you most likely know, cars are designed to brake with less pressure to the back brakes, usually it's about 70% to the front brakes, and 30% to the back brakes. It makes sense because of the engine weight.

So, now that these boneheads have gone to full electronic control of the braking pressure, it means that when ABS is killed, you have rear brakes that almost always lockup when you try to brake with any sort of power. 25% power to each wheel is _not_ good for braking. Not at all. Not a good thing.

I have to wonder how long it will before this sort of "drive by wire" stuff causes a death. Look at BMW and the problems they had with their systems. Now we have ABS braking that is useless without power to the engine. Soon, we won't have a steering shaft, and it will too be controlled by wire.

I tried different car manufactureres, from Subaru to Toyota, and all had a newer braking system like this in place, or next year's model had it.

This pisses me off so much, that I've taken my 1987 Jetta (which I was about to replace with a 2003 Jetta or GTI), and decided to retrofit it with a new V6 engine. After the body work, an extremely high quality paint job and interior work, and the new engine is fitted, I will still pay less than HALF the price of the new car. I also won't end up with ABS brakes and quite a few other annoyances.

Ah well. :/

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Anonymous Coward]

depends on the intensity of the EMP. Imagine pne strong enough to make your sparkplugs fire or melt the coils in your flyback transformer...

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Dun Malg]

My most vivid memory of it is still that it is really heavy and a bitch to carry long distances.

Heh. Yeah, as I recall from my Army time, when we trained on a new weapon/radio/etc the phrase we most hated to hear was "man-portable". All that meant was that some damn fool put a shoulder strap on it or squeezed it into a box small enough to jam into a ruck or strap to a pack frame. Of course, nothing compares to the sinking feeling that comes with the realization that "light infantry" means "no vehicles-- you carry it".

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Jon Abbott]

My prediction is that the U.S. will have full nudity on mainstream TV by 2020.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Anonymous Coward]

Diesel engines don't have spark plugs, so I suppose there would go that theory...

Of course I don't know what effect this would/wouldn't have on the alternator...

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[lubricated]

The engine would continue to generate vacuum if it stalled at a high speed. Especially if the effected car had a manual transmission. Why because the engine would continue to spin because it is still connected to the wheels. The wheels would cause the engine to go and that generates vacuum. The engine would not really be running and would definetly slow the car down. This would work much better with a manual transmission than an auto because you could get the R's up yourself.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[drinkypoo]

One that's big enough might kill your voltage regulator; One really big (powerful that is) will probably kill your starter solenoid. Cars with alternators and not generators may lose their rectifiers.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[drinkypoo]

However, at higher speeds, you can easily drain the system of it's reserve and find yourself having to stand on the brakes to stop.

If you can't stop the car with the brake booster disabled, then you're driving too much car for you, period. No exceptions. If you want to drive a car that size, get something designed to have manual brakes, like an older truck. (Trucks in the seventies often came with manual brakes.)

Even when I had no muscles to speak of I could stop my 1960 Dodge Dart Phoenix (which did have power brakes) from a good speed without the brake booster functioning. It weighed ~4700lbs, and had four wheel drum brakes on a single master. Now, I drive an '89 240SX, which anyone could stop without the brake booster, because it only weighs ~2600lb and has four wheel disc brakes on a dual master.

Also, cars have an emergency brake in case you cannot actuate the brakes, though they have a tendency to cause cars to fishtail.

When ABS fails it does not lock up the brakes. It just stops being ABS. That does mean that if you step on the brakes (expecting ABS to save you) you will lock them up.

It's really quite unfeasible to mount a laser big enough to burn a hole in the block on a vehicle at this point. Also you can run a long time without a cooling system, which is to say, long enough to get in trouble. And there's always air-cooled engines, such as in the Corvair, and older VWs and Porsches, some of which are fast mofos.

EMP has its own weakness, in that a diesel will keep running unless you hit it with a really significant EMP. Of course modern diesels are computer controlled like everything else, and most modern diesels probably communicate with the transmission as well, so it's not like there's no computers in there. An old-school diesel won't be harmed by almost any EMP but they aren't very fast, either, so I don't consider that to be too much of a problem.

Ultimately I think the solution is to put a robotic arm on a big cargo chopper that reaches down and picks up cars.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Zarquon]

Actually, most vehicles steering wheels won't turn nowadays without a key.. an anti-theft device called a steering wheel lock thats extremely common.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[dattaway]

Some engines built for performance do not rely on an electrical "system," but use a magneto for spark. Any high voltage potential induced by a disruptive force may cause the engine to misfire momentarily in the worst case.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[usotsuki]

They say the S word on the History Channel...how long until they say the F word on CBS? *g*

-uso.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Tokerat]

My prediction is that the U.S. will have full nudity on mainstream TV by 2020.

Here's hoping!

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Anonymous Coward]

i still think the best way of ending a high speed chase is a full metal jacket through the car window and into the drivers forehead, but maybe that's just me and my lack of patience for stupid people like that.

also, you guys are seeming to forget that a car does a pretty good job of stopping itself rather quickly. get on the freeway going 80 and pop it into neutral. i had my clutch break on the freeway going about 90, and within about 6 seconds i was under 40. by the time i got 3 lanes over to stop, the car was going about 10 miles an hour. granted i was going uphill, but still, it seems a lot safer for a car to slow to a stop than to race around a residential area for a few hours. i'd feel safer if i knew police in my town immediately shot the evaders, rather than having 15 cars doing laps around my city up on the curb.

if you totally disable a car and lock the steering wheel, if it's only going 30-40 in a residential area it's going to slow to a safe enough speed pretty quick, and even if it's going 90 on the freeway it'll probably run itself off the road quick enough, killing the driver and saving us taxpayers a bunch of legal bullshit where the guy claims it's societies fault that he wouldnt stop the damn car.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[RollingThunder]

Only 40 years behind Canada!

(CBC aired Skip Tracer in the 80's, full frontal nudity, middle of the day. No censoring or anything.)

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[The Shootist]

"A carbureted car with points ignition would not be HERFable". Sure it would, assuming the energy output was high enough. The plug wires would melt and it is likely the points would either fuse together or burn off entirely.

Ever replaced a set of burned points?

After thinking about it for a minute, I'd be willing to bet the coil would short out internally after sending a billion volts through the distributor, points, plug wires and plugs.

Again, we have to assume that the HERF operated at a power level high enough to do this.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Anonymous Coward]

The simple solution to that is not being such a stupid fuckwit at school so you can get a proper job and not join the army, with all the other fuck-ups and dead-end retards.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[The Kow]

Yes, because those darn urban terrorists keep trying to stall your car with their HERF guns to NO AVAIL! HEAAH!

?

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Anonymous Coward]

My sources indicate that in 2020 all will have gone to heck in a handbasket, with no nudity, but plenty of you-bet-your-life game shows on the twenty four hour a day broadcasts that are illegal to turn off, and Rutger Hauer is hunted in LA either because he's in a post-apocolyptic prision due to his penchant for torturing hitchhikers, or for his pelt. Either way, very little in the way of nudity. Sorry.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Anonymous Coward]

Apparently you dont' watch any American TV at all, they girls are so skinny on American TV that it's almost gross half the time. This results in every single dumbass airwave-fed American teenage girl to want to weight 90 lbs, and get eating disorders trying to achive that goal.

The fat trailer trash live in the midwest for the most part, they dont 'do much TV in them parts, ye haw.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Anonymous Coward]

Or because he's a replicant.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[PsibrII]

You wanna do a driveby you need a bad boy reflex klystron with these specs.

Output power of microwave oscillations, kW
70 -100

Operating frequency, MHz
45%

Operating mode
continuous or modulated within the frequency range of klystron

Running cycle duration, min
>60

Mean-time-to-first-failure, h
>1000

Number of running cycles
>800

Cooling
Liquid

Average temperature of coolant, Ñ
35

Positive pressure, gauge atmosphere
6 - 8

Coolant flow rate in operating mode, l/min
110

Coolant flow rate in resonator unit channel and in output
waveguide, l/min
>30

Accelerating voltage of amplifier, kV
25 - 35

Focusing magnetic field, T
0,15 - 0,25

Dimensions, mm
550 x 600 x 950

Weight ("dry"), kg
150

available from http://lakai.everdesk.com/mobile.htm

Course you'll need a health diesel electric engine to power it, or maybe you could mod one of those hybrid cars to power the beastie.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[fucksl4shd0t]

The engine would continue to generate vacuum if it stalled at a high speed. Especially if the effected car had a manual transmission.

In a manual transmission, yes. But then you're depending on the criminal not pushing in the clutch, or shifting into neutral, which he may do to keep coasting as fast as he can.

IN an automatic transmission, not a chance in hell. Your torque converter is hydraulic, but the pressure must come from the engine side. You can't turn the engine over by spinning the wheels. The disengagement is a property of the torque converter.

Finally, in a manual transmission, it is possible after burning up the radiator to lock the engine. If the transmission is still engaged when that happens, then the drive wheels would lock, creating the safety situation you're trying to avoid. However, chances are good at that point that the criminal would push in the clutch and/or shift into neutral to regain control of the vehicle.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[fucksl4shd0t]

If you can't stop the car with the brake booster disabled, then you're driving too much car for you, period. No exceptions. If you want to drive a car that size, get something designed to have manual brakes, like an older truck. (Trucks in the seventies often came with manual brakes.)

We're talking about criminals who may have stolen the car, or are driving their own car, or whatever. People without any sense of discretion, or else they wouldn't be criminals in the first place. :)

I drive a '71 Chevy pickup with manual brakes, so I know what you're saying about stopping a car without power assist. :) Takes more room, that's for sure.

Your comment about diesels is also a very good comment. Stopping the ECU in those cars may not actually stop the car. Heh. But burning up the radiator will work just as well. Of course, I'm suggesting a technology that doesn't exist in a practical form, and the discussion is about a technology that does exist in a practical form.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Anonymous Coward]

Arrrr...thar she blows! The White Lincoln Town Car! Avast ye mateys! Arrrrr....

k.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[DRACO-]

I have a 2001 toyota corolla, 5 spd manual, no ABS, no electric windows, no electric locks, no security system. And with all the dents in it from shopping carts at walmart during tornadoes (yes it's amazing how fast a cart can get up to speed when your car is the only one in it's path for 4 rows.) it's practically theft deterrant. Add to the fact that I drive 30 mi to work on the coastal plains region of texas where the winds will only toss you into the oncoming lane on a good day and the Size of the dern june bugs. My car looks like crap because I refuse to wash it till the dust and pollen settles. Alas, we are in the midst of a HUMID period with no rain. Been at least 3 weeks since we had a Good rain.

I dont know how to drive with abs, the previous vehicles I have driven regularly didnt have abs. I have driven 3 that had abs, and only had one activate the abs system while breaking in the rain. That was interesting, while breaking on a straight the vehicle managed to Walk right then left during the braking. I tell ya it worked as I didnt cross the line but stopped 20 ft short of it, but it was disconcerting to have the vehicle suddenly decide it's going to wiggle right and left.

I drive stick, I tend to leave a lot of extra following space when I find a good groove and pace. The corolla is a front wheel drive vehicle so downshifting does assist braking. My brakes may likely last to the next decade, like the last truck I had (tho truck brakes have a harder brake pads, the truck's brakes needed replacing about 3 months before the hydrolic clutch cylinders cratered. It had a 5 spd transmission as well). I have brake skid several times dry and wet, I have never crossed the line still skidding. I just hold the clutch, and release the brake allowing the wheels to spin freely then reapply firmly. Generally if you are going brake while driving straight, all tires will slow at basically the same speed. Strangly ABS systems tend to find a single tire out of sync and readjust the braking on that tire and in my experiences doing too much and taking the vehicle out of line in a straight line stop almost causing a skid. (now the system I drove was a early 90's chevy astro van)

I have put a 98 model chevy suburban with ABS in the ditch once on a wet day. ABS was useless as braking would not have helped at all. I had the rear end break loose when the automatic transmission shifted and spin slightly and the rear end went right. Engines have the tendency to ramp down slower than needed in this situation and with an AT, it is still connected to the engine even though your foot is off the gas. With a manual transmission, you would just hit the clutch which the wheels would usually stop spinning immediately and you would be back at full control, tho rolling. All of this trouble would be averted totally if the AT didnt decide to downshift at that moment, or it was a manual transmission and I left it in 2nd gear. Skidding right, I looked at the ditches and said Im not going into the 10 ft deep ditch on the right, and turned the wheel left to have the vehicle swing into the left 3ft deep ditch. The locals who are famillar with the turn's nasty right ditch swollowing cars whole were amazed at the fact that I was able to steer the front end to the left ditch and the rear followed around. I only needed a gentle pull from another vehicle to get back ontop of the pavement as I knew there was no way I would get the suburban out of the ditch without a wrecker if it ever broke the sod. I did some farm work in my past and know how easy/hard it is to get a heavy set truck stuck on particular grounds.

DRACO-

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't forget diesels using a mechanical injection pump and timing mechanism. The only reason they even have a battery is to start the car and run the accessories...

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[drinkypoo]

The only engines I have seen which used a magneto, ever, were on lawnmowers and go-karts.

While your statement may be correct, obviously so few vehicles are designed this way as to make such cars virtually nonexistent.

If you were custom-building a car to dodge the cops you might think about it, I guess.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Anonymous Coward]

I guess you have never been to a dragstrip. Look at the Top Fuel dragsters and Fuel funny cars. The fastest cars in the world use... magneto ignitions.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Dun Malg]

The simple solution to that is not being such a stupid fuckwit at school so you can get a proper job and not join the army, with all the other fuck-ups and dead-end retards.

Crawl back into your time machine, ya' hippy. The Army isn't a last-chance job pool for dumbshits. One has not been permitted to join the regular army without a high school diploma (that's a DIPLOMA-- not a GED) for over 15 years. Additionally, I was hardly a "fuckwit at school". And what's a proper job? How about something in Military Intelligence? Like "98C - Signal Intelligence Analyst"? I doubt your chosen vocation is even half as mentally challenging. As for me being a "fuck-up" or "retard", I was trained by the army as a Russian linguist. You think a fuckwit can learn to read, write, speak, and understand Russian in 11 months? Get a fucking clue, numbnuts. Besides, if you had any real balls and/or brains you wouldn't have hidden behind an AC post.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Anonymous Coward]

What about Diesel engines? AFAIK they're imune to EMP.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Andy Dodd]

"The replacement parts almost always cost more then the vehicle is worth. :-("

I don't know about you, but even "performance" computers for all cars I've driven were in the $200-300 range.

Don't forget junkyards. Plenty of unused ECMs there.

It's only the custom engine control systems for extremely modified engines that pass the kilobuck range. (Or maybe if you bought into the "imports are better" illusion. Maybe so initially, but just wait until you get gouged on replacement parts. If you want to keep a car past 100k, domestic is the way to go.)

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Glonoinha]

At this power level it ceases to be an HERF and treads dangerously close to the FGMP (Fusion Gun, Man Portable) arena.

If you are going to produce that kind of power, use it to mag-lev a 5kg (11lbs) pound cylindrical aluminum slug to a speed of 4,000 meters/sec (roughly 12 times the speed of sound) for 29.6 million foot pounds of energy (a 150 grain bullet doing 2390 fps = 1900 foot lbs of energy, so this thing would be 15,580x more energy than one bullet.)

One point two one gigawatts of energy indeed, Doc Emmit Brown.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[The Shootist]

"At this power level it ceases to be an HERF and treads dangerously close to the FGMP (Fusion Gun, Man Portable) arena"

Ah Traveller, I knew it well.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Shanep]

I was actually thinking "someones going to pull me up on the 'D' bit" as I posted it.

'Longbow' was the name for the AH64's that had the RADAR, but then they decided to call all the Apache's 'Longbow' from memory. Maybe the 'D' designation still actually means something.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Shanep]

you should be moded funny :-)

Did you think for one nanosecond that I was going for something other than funny?

Do you beleive that it was shot down with an old hunting rifle? (Propaganda is what I call it, otherwise it is EXTREME luck.)

The AH64 is supposed to be able to take 7.62mm gun fire just to the main rotor.

I looked at the 2nd URL and found nothing about an Apache being 'downed'. However, there was something about a MH-47 Chinook being downed. I guess it must be a pile of crap, what being shot down during war and all.

BTW, are you trying to say that the Apache is a pile of crap because some Apaches have crashed? There have been more than one thousand Apaches built, so you would expect some to have crashed, no? And here's a revelation for you, people pilot them! To make matters worse, THE U.S. Army PILOTS MOST OF THEM!

The fact is, incredible (lucky) things happen and humans (building and piloting) make mistakes. That doesn't make the Apache a pile of crap.

Your post was funny (like you were joking around with me) until you said my post should be considered funny. I'm confused now, am I doing the same thing here? (I expect you'll probably reply with 'Yes') ; )

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[mitheral]

The disengagement is a property of the torque converter.

This is got nothing to do with the TC. It's because the transmission only has one pump in it, direct driven by the engine. Lots of early automatic transmissions had two pumps, one driven by the engine the other by the driveshaft. You could push start those autos.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Hognoxious]

When the engine on a modern car with power boosted brakes stops, the brakes become much more difficult to operate.

This is true, I nearly had an accident once because I turned off the engine without putting it in park. Luckily I'd once driven a towed car with a broken engine and I knew I had to press the brake real hard. It was a fairly gentle slope too, not so obvious you'd take precautions.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Hognoxious]

You think a fuckwit can learn to read, write, speak, and understand Russian in 11 months?

Russian's not that hard; even Russians can speak it.

Re:No More High Speed Pursuits

[Dun Malg]

Russian's not that hard; even Russians can speak it.

Heh. You're not far off. The best way to cover up the fact that you don't remember the proper casal endings for words is to drink plenty of vodka. Once you're good and drunk, you'll be slurring the endings of words so badly that you'll sound just like a real Russian and nobody will know you don't know the "right way" to say something.

magnetron?

[Anonymous Coward]

So what exactly is a magnetron and where would one find one? (Not that I have any intention of using these in high speed car chases...)

Re:magnetron?

[chill]

Magnetrons are the main component of microwave ovens. Beware -- unshielded units are dangerous. You can end up sterile, or dead... or both.

-Chas

Re:magnetron?

[BobTheJanitor]

Important safety tip. Thanks, Egon.

Re:magnetron?

[Tongo]

That'd be damned interesting if you weren't steril after death...

Re:magnetron?

[BigBlockMopar]

Magnetrons are the main component of microwave ovens. Beware -- unshielded units are dangerous. You can end up sterile, or dead... or both.

Oh my god.

Before the dot-com meltdown, I used to design radar equipment for a major defense contractor. Radar systems use microwave energy - which is just radio waves within an arbitrary range that we call "microwave", like we call some radio waves "VHF" and others "UHF".

A microwave oven is simply a ~500W unmodulated carrier wave at ~2.4GHz. Neither the power nor the frequency is terribly precise.

A magnetron is a vacuum tube used to generate microwave-frequency RF. It's a special kind of directly-heated diode surrounded by a very strong magnet, hence the term "magnetron".

It is utterly and completely harmless (except to magnetic media and the magnetic stripe on your security pass, from personal experience) until you apply power. Typically, a microwave oven magnetron wants about 6V to light the filament and about 6kV anode; in pulsed navigational radar, it's usually 6V to light the filament and about 10kV to pulse the magnetron in 25kW 12GHz pulses at 3kHz (think of AM modulation).

If you take a direct blast from a radar, it's unlikely to make you sterile, or to cause cancer. Those are caused by ionizing radiation (ie. nuclear and X-Ray). This is non-ionizing; essentially just a radio wave. In the S and X band radar ranges - and presumably everything in between - the primary damage would be to the corneas of the eyes. And it burns - I got it to my torso once, no permanent damage, just like a bad sunburn.

In other words, don't operate your microwave oven with the door open, and don't look into the waveguide.

Oh, and don't play with the power supply which runs the magnetron. Anything capable of supplying enough current to make 500W at 6kV (ie. power supply of a home microwave oven) is capable of setting fire to your skin. And the capacitors in a microwave oven hold a charge for a while - don't play with them.

Re:magnetron?

[SloWave]

Hee Hee Hee. Someone mentioned hacking microwave ovens on the internet. This always causes hords of hobnailed booted safety nazis to come out of the woodwork to tell us how incredably dangerous this is. Isn't there a list of internet truisms that this should be included on?

Re:magnetron?

[chadjg]

>Magnetrons are the main component of microwave >ovens. Beware -- unshielded units are dangerous. >You can end up sterile, or dead... or both.
>Oh my god.

Well, yes, having your urethra fused and your testicles burst into flame could cause sterility.
futher...

>It is utterly and completely harmless (except to >magnetic media...
Is that what you call it?

Anyway, this may be useful:
http://www.med.nus.edu.sg/research/safety/chapter_ 10.shtml

Re:magnetron?

[Muhammar]

I agree-Microwaves have only heating (non-ionising) effect on tissue. (Bad things happen though around metallic objects - like rings or wire-framed glasses - you could see some serious scoarching around these.

I do not understand how you can get radiation cataract (like from UV) - by time you start microwaving your eyes, your brain will probably have problem too. But testicles are extremely sensitive to heat damage, so the old myths about radar crews getting infertile from the exposure may have some basis. Certainly the radar people used to heat(microwawe) food attached to a stick in front of their radar dishes.

About home microwave repair: I heard a legend about a family man who fixed a broken microwave. And he blocked out the door sensor, turned microwave on, briefly sticked his hand in - and when he felt little warmth on his hand he said - now it works and turned off the microwave. But his hand hurt after this a bit and got swollen later at night. He ended up having it amputated - deep heat damage meesed it up beyond salvage. The heat sensors are on surface of the skin, but microwawes heated his hand from the bone, so it was too late for him when he finaly registered something.

Re:magnetron?

[00_NOP]

Cavity magnetrons were invented in the Second World War by the Brits (iirc, apologies to the Yanks if I am wrong) and were used to hunt and kill German submarines in the Battle of the Atlantic. They blast electrons over small cavities and create microwave radiation - which was good enough to detect, by radar, submarines in the Atlantic swell. That, plus the combination of longer range bomber aircraft, finished the job started by Station X.

Re:magnetron?

[Anonymous Coward]

>I do not understand how you can get radiation cataract (like from UV) - by time you start microwaving your eyes, your brain will probably have problem too.

From the NUS Faculty of Medicine Safety Manual (http://www.med.nus.edu.sg/research/safety/chapter _10.shtml) :
"There is a higher risk of heat damage with organs which have poor temperature control, such as the lens of the eye and the testes."

Apparently other organs deal with the heat ..

Re:magnetron?

[Anonymous Coward]

Ah, right. Some german has already done this in order to shut down the noise (call it music, he doesn't though) coming out of cars.

Btw he writes for a popular german computer magazine (hence the site URL). The page is written in German, but if you look at the pictures, you'll get the idea.

Re:magnetron?

[Anonymous Coward]

You, sir, clearly are a pillock who knows nothing about submarine warfare or cavity magnetrons.

The point is that submarines of WW2 era were really submersibles, they spent most of their time on the surface, only diving to fire torpeodos. Therefore RAF coastal command and their equivalents in Canada and the US could hit them quickly with the use of millimetre radar before they had time to dive - especially at night. And I didn't say the Brits invented radar either - I said they invented the cavity magnetron.

Re:magnetron?

[Anonymous Coward]

Pretty informative, from a guy who used the *blink* tag on his web page.

Re:magnetron?

[Anonymous Coward]

Funny thing to notice: in Dutch, Microwave Ovens are called Magnetrons, guess it's a Philips-thing. ;)

Re:magnetron?

[Anonymous Coward]

> ... and no the brits didn't invent radar either

Indeed, it was a Scotsman, Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt. See here:

http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blr ad ar.htm

These are the facts, as straight as they come.

Re:magnetron?

[istartedi]

I saw something about this on Discovery or something. It was a joint effort. The Brits invented it, but it was too labor intensive to manufacture in sufficient volume. They took a unit to MIT, and a top engineer there made the military types very nervous taking this top secret device home to study it. He came up with a way to make them using laminated metal. In retrospect that seems like a simple idea. Maybe there was more to it than that. So, the Brits invented it, but the Yanks figured out how to make them cheaply by the truckload.

Re:magnetron?

[Dylan Zimmerman]

I would call an unenergized magnetron utterly and completely harmless. It's pretty clear from that "until you apply power" bit that that's what he meant.

The only real danger from these things is the fact that they are at the exact frequency that water turns into heat the most effectively. You can cook yourself with them, but they won't cause either cancer or sterility (directly). Now, the heat that they impart to your tissue can cause sterility, but not cancer.

Re:magnetron?

[DanAnderson26]

Not MIT, Raytheon.

Dan

Re:magnetron?

[00_NOP]

The true story is the triumph of American capitalism over Brit make-do-and-mend. WW2 represents Britain's last hurrah as a global power and this story illustrates the reality. Yes the Brits made the breakthrough, but only the Yanks could make it real :->

Re:magnetron?

[istartedi]

Quake. The Harrier. And that was just two examples off the top of my head in less than a minute. Get with the program. You're supposed to diss the French. :)

Re:magnetron?

[Theaetetus]

I do not understand how you can get radiation cataract (like from UV) - by time you start microwaving your eyes, your brain will probably have problem too. But testicles are extremely sensitive to heat damage, so the old myths about radar crews getting infertile from the exposure may have some basis. Certainly the radar people used to heat(microwawe) food attached to a stick in front of their radar dishes.

Well, the wavelength at typical microwave transmission frequencies happens to fit real nicely inside the eyesocket (as explained by my boss - while working on our microwave transmission system). It bounces around in there, gets some nice standing waves going, and starts to heat up the intraocular fluid - eye juice - causing the protein in there to cook and become non-translucent... not unlike cooking egg whites and having them go from clear to white. That's quite literally what happens.

By stunningly odd coincidence, the human testicles are the same size as the eyeball (check it yourself, though don't take either one out for comparison).

Also, regarding RF heating, it's absolutely true - burns caused by RF don't necessarily appear immediately... rather they continue burning for hours, deep inside, and can cause some pretty awful tissue damage.
Next week, they're doing tower painting on our main transmission site - we have to turn our antenna off as the painters cross behind the bay to avoid cooking them.

OTOH, there is no evidence that RF absorbtion causes cancer. Burns, tissue heating, etc., yes, but not cancer.

-T

Re:magnetron?

[Anonymous Coward]

The heat sensors are on surface of the skin, but microwawes heated his hand from the bone

This is complete nonsense perpetuated by the myth that microwaves heat from the inside out. Think about it, microwaves are just light with a longer wavelength. So, since you can't see your bones with visible light, then microwaves certainly can't get in there without hitting the skin first. X-rays do penetrate the skin because their wavelengths are much shorter.

The answer to my prayers!

[Robber Baron]

Now will it fit behind the front grille of my Crown Vic?

Cut me off will you you asshole!!!

Re:The answer to my prayers!

[realdpk]

Judging by the posts I've seen so far, it sounds like people are more interested if the HERF will fire /through/ the front grille of crown vic's.

Re:The answer to my prayers!

[Anonymous Coward]

So your plan is to stall his car while it's going down the highway RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU? I hope you have good brakes. :)

Re:The answer to my prayers!

[Anonymous Coward]

Crown Vic's 0WN J00!
(within warrantee).

Re:The answer to my prayers!

[theLOUDroom]

So your plan is to stall his car while it's going down the highway RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU? I hope you have good brakes. :)

What dumbass modded this as insightful? Stalled engine != Instant stop. The car will continue to coast forward, slowly deccelerating. Even if the guy in the stalled car hits the brakes, it's not like having a stalled engine just gave him better braking ability than he had before.

Re:The answer to my prayers!

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes it will probably have worse braking, since most power brakes are vacuum assisted (and work better when the engine is running, producing vacuum)

Re:The answer to my prayers!

[EvilTwinSkippy]

The EMP will fry the anti-lock brakes. ABS systems are designed to lock the wheels in case of system failure. (Ironic in a way...)

Re:The answer to my prayers!

[theLOUDroom]

The EMP will fry the anti-lock brakes. ABS systems are designed to lock the wheels in case of system failure. (Ironic in a way...)

Bullshit. It would be totally stupid to design the system that way. If it fails while you were going down the road at 70MPH you'd have a very good chance of dying. I can't even imagine what would make you think it works this way.


From http://www.abs-education.org/faqs/faqindex.htm:

What if the ABS fails? Anti-lock brake systems are designed to be fail-safe. Nevertheless, they are equipped with a diagnostic feature that automatically activates and tests the major components each time the car is started and monitors them throughout the journey.

In the rare event of a failure, the ABS would be deactivated by its own safety circuit. A warning light goes on indicating to the driver that the vehicle is now in conventional base-brake mode.

Re:The answer to my prayers!

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes. I'd run the waveguide so it would be behind the plastic portion of teh Crown Victorias grill.

Re:The answer to my prayers!

[Pres. Ronald Reagan]

What the FUCK are you talking about? ABS brakes keep the brakes from locking (thence the name); they are the alternative to pumping the brakes if that need arise. If the ABS fail nothing catastrophic happens, one just need to be prepared to pump the brakes if he need to.

Re:The answer to my prayers!

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, I am an anonymos cpoward because I don't want to have over three million user id and passwsords to sort out.

But you are dead wron about ABS. ABS will operate like a normal brake system if there is a failure, it will not lock the wheels. It will if you slam on the brakes, because there is no antilock.

ASE certified in brakinig systems and Ford certified in damn near everything. If you want to go on I have been trained byt the other of the big three as well, and I have screwed up enough EHCU's to know what the heck they do!!!

Ivan

Re:The answer to my prayers!

[EvilTwinSkippy]

Sorry about that. A little more googling should have been in order.

I'm a bit of a curmudgeon. I don't like air bags or anti-lock brakes, and despite living in the US, I insist on driving stick. I bought my last car with air bags because you can't seem to get a car without them.

While I don't think anti-lock brakes are unsafe, I just don't like them, and I think in encourages people to push the margins of safety. They drive faster, leave less braking distance in front, and assume they are impervious to the rain.

(Enter bit about walking to school up-hill both ways...)

Re:The answer to my prayers!

[Anonymous Coward]

It's funny though - because ABS actually INCRESES stopping distance vs. properly trained drivers w/o ABS --in every circumstance....

Re:The answer to my prayers!

[Anonymous Coward]

Uh.. if you've just been EMP'ed how is this err
safety circuit going to release ABS?

Re:The answer to my prayers!

[Jonathan_S]

because ABS actually INCRESES stopping distance vs. properly trained drivers w/o ABS --in every circumstance

I'll grant you in most circumstances; but there are a few instances where antilock brakes can beat a properly trained driver. Basically all of them are situations where there is a large difference in traction between some of the wheels.

Situations like, half the car in on ice, gravel, dirt, and half on pavement. Braking during high speed cornering... These are situations where the antilock brake system's ability to control each wheel independently can beat out a trained driver, who only has the one brake pedal.

But the point of antilock brakes, is that it becomes very hard to lose steering ability, even when braking hard, and it becomes very hard to lock up the wheels and slide.
(I say very hard because during a driver training course we were required, as a learning experience, to use the antilock brakes while in a very tight fast turn; The car slit out sideways despite the best efforts of the ABS system.)

Re:The answer to my prayers!

[Hognoxious]

It's funny though - because ABS actually INCRESES stopping distance vs. properly trained drivers w/o ABS --in every circumstance....

Yes stopping distance is the whole story, isn't it?

Without ABS, it's steer, brake: choose one. With ABS you can, to an extent, do both together.

Logging.

[Daleks]

It's nice that this webpage says in caps "IP LOGGED" followed by your IP. I guess this way he can tell who's HTTP GET broke the webserver's back.

Re:Logging.

[Anonymous Coward]

I thought that was the best part. They might as well have put up a banner that said "THIS IS AN FCC STING OPERATION" on the top.

Re:Logging.

[Anonymous Coward]

probably not

Warning: Address is not a valid IPv4 or IPv6 address in http://www.voltsamps.com/svbx-head.inc on line 55

/.'ed

[LoRdTAW]

Well I was enjoying the site.............

Erm...

[retro128]

Is it just me or did all this guy do is take the components out of a microwave and put a big cone around them?

Re:Erm...

[phuturephunk]

...It may look like 'just a big cone' to you...The real question is What is that cone made of?...

Re:Erm...

[Anonymous Coward]

You're right, that's all it is. A true EMP type weapon would use a pulse magnetron (radar) for a higher peak pulse power, a microwave oven magnetron *can not* be microsecond-pulsed and therefore has a lower peak pulse power, but a high RMS power (good for cooking).

some Oops is in order, I think...

[tandr]

Looks like this guy misfired the gun in his own server...

Best contraceptive

[aerogeek]

I was just worrying about not meeting my recommended daily allowance of EF radiation with this cellphone in my pocket and 10 PCs near my desk. Now I can build a HERF gun -- problem solved!

Re:Best contraceptive

[jspoon]

They laughed at me when I started wearing this tin-foil helmet. The cast iron jock strap got even more giggles. Who is laughing now, huh? Who is laughing now?

Re:Best contraceptive

[Anonymous Coward]

Ever stuck a fork in the microwave? That is what your cast-iron jock strap would look like. Your order would be: 2 balls fried.... over easy.

Cataracts

[Anonymous Coward]

And radiation burns await those who wish to play with the innards of a microwave.

Re:Cataracts

[Malc]

I suspect your more at risk of electrocuting yourself. There's some serious power in that circuit.

gyro guns?

[fishbert42]

Who wants a gyro gun?
I'm holding out for a gyno gun!

Combine that with mood altering audio signals, and then you've got something *truly* interesting and controversial. =)

Re:gyro guns?

[Un1v4c]

I'd love to shoot people with Greek food.

Re:gyro guns?

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, that gyno gun sounds pretty neat. How does she aim it?

Re:gyro guns?

[Anonymous Coward]

"How does she aim it?"

Badly. If other women are any indication she wouldn't be able to hit the side of a barn with a 12 gauge gyno gun if she was standing right in front of it. And, once a month this thing would make a terrible fucking mess. You gonna clean that shit up?

This is a bad idea. What we really need is a "Horny Ray" that makes women want to fuck.

MTV??

[Anonymous Coward]

Since when did MTV become the authoritarian reference on Slashdot? Are we supposed to be in awe? What's next - a story submitted by a guy who once in high school dated Britney Spears?

Re:MTV??

[Anonymous Coward]

Very Funny.

Re:MTV??

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm telling you, they are real!

Slashdotted already?

[Trusted Content]

Can't find server. Damn!

Self-Slashdotted...?

[simon13]

Maybe he was testing it too close to his server, because I ain't getting any response from it!

I bet it's not match for my...

[Anonymous Coward]

NERF gun.

NERF vs HERF. Hmmm...

One shoots harmless soft plastic objects. The other shoots EMPs. Hmmm...

I better make sure I don't accidentally give my 4 year old the HERF gun. It would suck for me to be in traffic, trying to threaten people with a lousy NERF gun.

Then, after coming home from a bad day, I'll find that my kid's new toy destroyed a cul-de-sac block.

mirror (google cache)

[bumby]

Here it is: mirror

Re:mirror (google cache)

[Anonymous Coward]

Still without images. I am extremely disapointed at slashdot who frequently takes down peoples websites. Why not copy the content to the slashdot server? Apparently THAT server is never slashdotted.

Re:mirror (google cache)

[Anonymous Coward]

So could someone get a real mirror, an index page doesn't cut it.

weapons

[DNS-and-BIND]

So, what would this do to an airplane? One that's, say, in the takeoff phase, heavily loaded with fuel and hundreds of passengers on board?

Re:weapons

[John Whorfin]

Probably the same thing as one of those old-fashioned gas-expansion lead accelerators would do.

Re:weapons

[mnemonic_]

Hard to say exactly, but here are my guesses...

Comms and avionics would be damaged.

Flight control wouldn't be too affected, even if it's an aircraft using a fly-by-wire control system as they're equipped with hydraulic backups (non-military).

Engine control might be lost. Not something like an engine failure of any type, just loss of control.

Landing gear control might be lost, though gear could be brought down manually by a member of the flight crew going below deck.

Re:weapons

[aerogeek]

Even hydraulic actuators have electromechanical servo valves, which I assume could be affected. For a large plane without pulley-and-cable backups, this could be catastrophic. The only kind of plane that would potentially be immune would be a small piston-engine, which does not require electricity of any sort -- not even in the ignition system (magnetos).

Re:weapons

[afidel]

The Boing 777 does not have hydraulic backups, it is 100% fly by wire, the Boing studies showed that well done redundant electronic systems were less likely to fail then a mechanical backup was to cause problems. I doubt a simple 1KV gun would do any damage at even a hundred feet to an airliner as the electronics are already hardened against the severe amounts of radiation they are exposed to at cruising altitude (a cross country flight would expose you to more radiation then a full body xray if it were not for the planes skin).

Re:weapons

[Alioth]

The magnetos DO produce electricity. The spark is an electrical one. The mags are basically self-enclosed generators/coils/points/distributors. The main thing is that they are separate from the aircraft's non-ignition electrical systems (unlike a car) and there are two ignition circuits per engine.

Having said that, I doubt EMP unless it was *really* powerful would have a noticeable effect on the mags.

Re:weapons

[Anonymous Coward]

"A lot" is two words. You wouldn't say "alittle", would you?

That's a whole nother issue.

Re:weapons

[Beryllium Sphere(tm)]

There'd be some protection from the fact that the airplanes are designed to withstand a lightning strike. A tube of aluminum thick enough to carry its own weight is a really good conductor, better than most electrical connectors. Windows and antennas are all that keep it from being a Faraday cage.

I would never forgive anybody who tried it outside a lab, though.

Re:weapons

[Rolo Tomasi]

Erm, probably as much as the radar at the airport, which has a power output more than twenty times than the magnetron of a microwave oven. You know, the magnetron thingie used in microwaves was invented by the British for use in radars. It's not some magical death-ray or something.

Re:weapons

[xbytor]

Military planes are already protected from EMF. I wouldn't be surprised if non-military aircraft had at least rudimentary protections since it should be easier, in theory, for an avionics manufacturer to have a single production line for an instrument instead of having one for EMF resistant and one for EMF susceptible.

Of course, FAA safety regs are, on occasion, written in blood. If a plane falls out of the sky because of this, they would have real proof instead of theoretical proof. Fatalities tend to to accelerate the definition and adoption of new safety regulations.

Re:weapons

[DNS-and-BIND]

Negative...putting a bullet into a plane's skin would not cause the widespread damage that this electrical weapon would cause. It's quite possible that the bullet would pass through and not be noticed until landing. Plus, hitting a plane at a few hundred feet altitude moving 150 mph is not an easy feat. This weapon hits instantaneously and merely needs to be pointed and clicked at its target. I'm actually surprised applications such as this have not been adapted to air defense.

Re:weapons

[Anonymous Coward]

if you think herf weapons are weak and cannot affect planes.. you should go onto google and search herf and twa 800.

Re:weapons

[EvilTwinSkippy]

If we are talking about something bigger than a cessna, the HERF gun would only be able to zap one engine at a time, and only really the old-fashion piston spark type engines.

Turbo-props and jet engines use the combustion to turn the shaft to suck in air that is mized with gas to combust to ... No magneto involved, except to draw electrical power for the aircraft. (And again, you would only be hitting one engine at a time.)

Now trying to hit the cockpit? Fired from the ground at a jet-liner your pulse would have to go through the cargo bay first. Even if you were somehow levitating in front of the cabin, as an earier poster mentioned, the damn thing is designed to survive a lightning strike, and exposure to a much more powerful system that uses the same radiation: the airport radar.

ALSO remember the effective range of this puppy is measured in yards. The range most people encounter aircraft is measured in miles.

Re:weapons

[DNS-and-BIND]

I said, "during takeoff". That's when the plane is a hundred feet or so off the ground.

Re:weapons

[Alsee]

I'm actually surprised applications such as this have not been adapted to air defense.

I think any military aircraft would be pretty well EM sheilded.

-

Re:weapons

[EvilTwinSkippy]

Yes, but it's also traveling at 100 mph by then. Just face it geek, your little weapon in puny, insignifigant, and well designed around.

It only works on cars because cars use cheap unshielded electronics.

Re:weapons

[MythMoth]

That's, uh, Boeing. The Boing 777 would be made of rubber.

Re:weapons

[Anonymous Coward]

it has to be make out of a ferrous material. ie steel, cast iron. (material can be used as a magnet) aluminum CANNOT be used to protect aginst portions of the magnetic (waves) spectrum. ie a farroday cage

Re:weapons

[Unregistered]

CARDIVORE SYSTEM: ALERT
POST CONTAINS HIT WORDS:
-DO TO AIRPLANE
-LOADED WITH FUEL AND HUNDRED OF PASSENERS

SUSPECT NAME: DNSANDBIND
SUSPECT FOUND AT:
11:50 EST 5/10/2003 - WWW.SLASHDOT.ORG - KNOWN SUSPICIOUS WWW SITE
ACTION TAKEN: LOGGED, SUSPECT TO BE MONITRED, 3 FBI TEAMS DEPLOYED

Re:weapons

[DNS-and-BIND]

So? Just put more power into the weapon. In the contest between the harder armor and the bigger warhead, the bigger warhead usually wins.

Re:weapons

[usotsuki]

I usually write that "that's a whole 'nother issue"...still should be fine except in the eyes of a true grammar nazi.

-uso.
*listens to "Sayonara wa dansu no ato ni"*

Re:weapons

[Sloppy]

Fine, just remember that the warhead that you're competing with (i.e. that they have likely tried to make theit fighter jets resistant to) are thermonuclear.

Re:weapons

[IdahoEv]

So what would a Bong 777 be made out of?

-Ev

Re:weapons

[pseudonymouse]

On a somewhat related note, I saw a show on Discovery Channel about an MIT team that created a fake crop circle with all the usual 'authentic' crop circle features. They used a microwave gun to reproduce the expected heat-deformed wheat grains, and they had a helicopter providing a bird's eye view of the site.

When the helicopter's engine mysteriously failed, the narration suggested that the microwave gun might have caused the problem (the pilot managed to restart the engine before the 'copter hit the ground, so it wasn't a catastrophic failure).

I was disappointed that no one looked into this further. If it was the microwave gun, the range was in the hundreds of feet, and the exposure must have been momentary.

Re:weapons

[Anonymous Coward]

Glass, of course.

Re:weapons

[Exatron]

Nobody knows for sure. The project was cancelled early in its design phase after the engineers started saying things like "They call them fingers, but they don't fing."

Re:weapons

[Alsee]

So? Just put more power into the weapon. In the contest between the harder armor and the bigger warhead, the bigger warhead usually wins.

A HERF gun doesn't have a "warhead". It essentially a spotlight, except the light is in the radio range. The "armor" can be tissue-paper thin. The only way to "penetrate" the armor is to crank the power up so high that you actually melt the armor. The energy required would be absolutely obscene. You'd be better off skipping the HERF and just using a laser to melt the plane LOL.

-

Re:weapons

[Anonymous Coward]

Isn't that "CARNIVORE" you troll.

STFU

Re:weapons

[jonadab]

> the airplanes are designed to withstand a lightning strike

Hmmm, yes. I don't think I want to see a HERF designed to give
a stronger jolt than lightning, and I'm *certain* I don't want to
pay the electric bill.

Re:weapons

[ErroneousBee]

So, what would this do to an airplane?

Oh, about the same amount of damage as a lighning strike, which is somewhere between none and very little

Re:weapons

[AB3A]

Ok, I assume you're talking about an airliner and you're talking about getting real close to it. You would probably trash some or all of the avionics and maybe some of the fly by wire stuff --but not enough to make a substantial difference.

Here's something you need to consider. Electrically, HERF is not that different than a Lightning Strike. Most recently certified aircraft are supposedly tested against lightning. Every year several hundred airliners are struck by lighting. It happens more often than most people realize. And in most cases, it's a non-event.

As for smaller aircraft, it has to be one hell of a HERF to do anything to an AvGas burning piston engined airplane. Yes, they use magnetos. Not just one, but two independent magnetos each with completely seperate plugs in the same cylinder. Anything which could trash two sets of magnetos would also have to be enough to cook the pilot. Once again, you could trash the avionics in most small aircraft, and they'd keep on running.

As further proof that this is not the threat it is made out to be, I've been through flight training exercises where I was asked to shut off the master switch for all electrically operated gear while enroute on instruments at night (wearing foggles so that I could not see outside). I still had all the vacuum powered gyro instruments and my trusty pocket flashlight which I clipped in to my headset so that I could see what the AI (attitude indicator) and HI (gyroscopic heading indicator) looked like.

Truthfully, pilots have more to fear from a laser attack at night than they do from a HERF gun.

This is already used by Police in Europe.

[rxed]

Similar, more powerful, device has been used by German police during hot pursuits. I'm not sure if its still used (because of the EU rules etc). Stop sticks are cheaper, although not as safe, and also don't kill the car as the EMG gun does. Oh yea, besides your dead engine/car you can say bye bye to all electronic equipment in the car; even your watch!

Re:This is already used by Police in Europe.

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe they don't use it because Diesel is so popular over there? I supose modern cars die without their electrical system, but older diesel engines just keep going and going and going. Once they're running the only way you turn them off is to cut off the fuel source.

Old tractors definatly can escape this weapon.

Re:This is already used by Police in Europe.

[CrazyDuke]

I remember something about this I saw a few years ago. While the damage from EMP is permanent, some of the other EM style weapons -specifically the ones one could make at home- would only take down electronics for a few minutes (the car battery and radioshack parts type). They mentioned military HERF guns, but didn't say if the damage from those was permanent.

Re:This is already used by Police in Europe.

[Anonymous Coward]

There's development going on and a working model of one in form of a road strip. Think road strip spikes, but can kill the car engine once it drives over it.

It awed the crowd, but no real need, as the old fashion sticks and strips with spikes work fine for now and are considerbly cheaper.

Though if every cop had one, those fox specials would be boring. No more nutty getaways where they drive the car with 4 flats down to the rim. "we're in pursuit of a stolen vehicle and we just laid out the electro-strips... and the chase is over"

The HERF004..

[EinarH]

..looks like a great way to fry those RFID-tags for the paranoid of us. 1kW with high directinality should do the job.
Yeah, you can use a microwave oven but putting tires inside the oven is kind of hard.

This would probably work on those automatic traffic controller systems with digital cameras that take pictures of speeding to...

Re:The HERF004..

[EvilTwinSkippy]

They are actually designed to withstand massive magnetic fields. RFID's don't have any internal power, they operate by leaching off the magnetic field of the reader.

With the right design, electronics can survive an EMP. Most of the crud that goes into consumer-grade electrinics is not designed to survive much more than its warrenty.

Re:The HERF004..

[potuncle]

Unless the RFID chip somehow gets cooked, high-intensity directional microwaves aren't going to do much to the RFID chip or the data stored on it. Most RFID chips operate at 13.56 MHZ. They need a signal at 13.56 MHz in order to power-up and send or receive a signal at that frequency.

The RFID tag is constructed of not much more than plastic, metal, and some silicon. None of which contain enough H2O molecules to be affected by the microwaves.

Re:The HERF004..

[quintessent]

Even easier: Just toss it in the microwave for a few seconds.

FCC Notice

[dracocat]

FCC Notice
This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions:

1. This device may not cause harmful interference.

2. This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.

Re:FCC Notice

[sean23007]

I think this device may comply with Part 15b...

Re:FCC Notice

[StarKruzr]

Can someone explain the second provision of this to me?

I've NEVER understood why a device should have to "accept interference received that causes undesired operation." This means the device cannot be shielded against interference? What on Earth for? Is this a way to let the gubmint cheat?

Re:FCC Notice

[EvilTwinSkippy]

The second provision it means your device cannot adopt a strategy of sending out cancelling radiation, or try to jam an interfering device.

Its designed to keep dicksize wars off of the airwaves.

You can shield your device all you want.

Re:FCC Notice

[Alsee]

I've NEVER understood why a device should have to "accept interference received that causes undesired operation."

Part 1 says that if you cause interence to someone else YOU are legally required to eliminate the interference.
Part 2 means that is someone else causes interference to you then tough shit, deal with it.

It is a sort of second class citizenship. First class citizens are allowed to stomp on you as much as they like. They are generously allowing you play around as long as you don't inconvience anyone else.

-

Re:FCC Notice

[Anonymous Coward]

It means that the "device" may be prone to outside interference from licensed transmitters, and that if you are interfered with, tough shit sherlock.... because licensed transmetters have priority over un-licensed transmitters. This FCC rule was enacted back in the mid 60's, when CB Radio just started to get widespread use. The FCC has a part 15 rule for the use of 100 MW walkie talkies on the CB band. But this was during a time when a license was required to operate a 5 watt CB radio. One just filled out an application, paid the fee, and a lcense with your CB call sign would be issued to you. So now, you use your rig. But this kid down the block has one of these 100 MW walkie talkies, and is clobbered by the 5 watt person down the block. But the unlicensed user cannot complain, because they are un-licensed. But, OTOH - if the kid with his 100 MW walkie is transmitting and interfering with the licensed user, they have to stop, because they are operating under part 15. Best explanation I can give... hope it helps.

Re:FCC Notice

[SagSaw]

Can someone explain the second provision of this to me?

I've NEVER understood why a device should have to "accept interference received that causes undesired operation." This means the device cannot be shielded against interference? What on Earth for? Is this a way to let the gubmint cheat?

In general, it means that the operator of a radio transmitter is not responsible for the effects of the radio waves he is transmitting so long as the signal he is transmitting has the correct frequency content and power levels. In other words, if your neighbor's ham radio station (assuming the ham radio station is using legal power levels on legal frequencies) causes your television to turn on and off, it not your neighbor's fault, but rather the fault of your television's manufacturer for not including adequate shielding.

Re:FCC Notice

[Sabalon]

hmmm...I have a baby monitor and wireless access point - both 2.4Ghz. I beleive both say the above. Yet one interfers with the other.

I'm American - who do I sue :)

From the site, moments before the Slashdot effect

[Anonymous Coward]

64.105.67.47> u guys are gonna get slashdotted any minute now
67.118.175.173> bah
64.216.0.81> surviving slashdot very well

Good to see progress

[certron]

I'm glad to see someone is working on perfecting the HERF gun. After all, they have to keep up with the progress made since Slashdot perfected the website-killing HREF gun a few years ago. Just point and click, webserver goes down. :-)

Re:Good to see progress

[tomzyk]

oh man. i wish i had some mod points for ya.
funny funny funny. :)

(ok. so i should have finished that entire bottle of wine for dinner... i'm sure i'll still find that funny in the morning tho.)

Re:Good to see progress

[Netdoctor]

Heh. That'd be funny, except it's true.

The site's account just got suspended a few minutes ago.

THATS gotta be embarrasing. Slashdot popularity costs money.

Re:Good to see progress

[geggibus]

That's the new governmental strategy for taking down inconvienient websites, just post them to slashdot .. ;)

rf can do strange things to cars

[ratfynk]

Reminds me of the Volks Rabbit, when it first came out with electronic ignition. Some cops I knew back then told me that the earliest ones off the assembly line didn't have much shielding on the electronic unit. If a cop pulled up behind one and keyed his mic the Rabbit would crap out.

Just a little history repeating itself.
Another tool, that when in the hands of the wrong people could be very dangerous! However to end a high speed chase, before someone gets killed?

Re:rf can do strange things to cars

[Anonymous Coward]

Sounds like bullshit, no offense to your friend or to you.

Re:rf can do strange things to cars

[EvilTwinSkippy]

You know that sounds just whacky enough to be true.

I do know the cops have some pretty beefy electronics on the cars. They install 2 heavy duty alternators on the vehicle with an independent battery for the electronics. I've had police radios set off my electronic door bell. (Sometimes even bleed through the speaker.)

I do know the VW's are renowned for cutting corners in the dumbest places. What VW owner has not yet had to replace a critical part because it was designed to just about work...

Re:rf can do strange things to cars

[Anonymous Coward]

There wa an electronic billboard outside of Boston which had the same effect. Drive your RABBIT near it -> call a tow truck.

Re:rf can do strange things to cars

[Anonymous Coward]

Sounds like bullshit, OFFENSE to your friend and to you.

Re:rf can do strange things to cars

[Anonymous Coward]

If you are going to repeat lies and exaggerations from cops, at least make them intersting.

There's no way a radio transmitter would have any affect on a car ignition from 20 feet away.

Have you heard the Tooth Fairy was stuck because of an EMP pulse from a cop last year?

Re:rf can do strange things to cars

[pair-a-noyd]

I used to work at a place (in the 80's) where we all carried large, high power Motorola walkie talkies. If you keyed one up near a PC you could hear the hard drive powering up and down, CLONK CLONK! (big full sized 5.5" drive, you know those cinder block sized drives from the 80's).

Some, if not most monitors would flip out, all sorts of nasty things would happen. We had to make sure we were at least 10 feet from a PC before keying up...

Re:rf can do strange things to cars

[Anonymous Coward]

Some model of cadillac had a recall to shield the engine computer (mounted inside the car) because a cellphone used inside would cause the ECM to reset.

Do your research, eh? It's very possible.

Re:rf can do strange things to cars

[Anonymous Coward]

Recently I drove my junker into the parking lot of an upscale restaurant in a quiet neighborhood where the wife and I were going to eat. When I keyed up my 60 Watt 2 Meter mobile Ham radio, immediately the BMW parked next to me went into full "car alarm" screaming status.

I then decided to test the periodic CW ID beacon feature of my radio. Coincidentally, of course! Ahem... ;-) Within a minute, there were 4 car alarms going off simultaneously within a 100 foot radius. People were looking around, totally baffled.

Explains the Quake II "Big Gun"

[MarcQuadra]

I was wondering why the aliens in Quake II needed 'the big gun.' It all makes so much sense now.

Exactly!

[tomzyk]

I'll install one in the rear window of my vehicle and when the pigs start chasing me down, I'll zap 'em before they get close enough to read my license plate. :-)

Re:Mood altering audio

[thynk]

That invention predates him by thousands of years.

And was invented by a woman no doubt....

But seriously, I dunno what the big deal about mood altering audio is. I listened to several of the files in a random order, and I feel no different.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to finish gnawing off my left foot then I'm going to go sing love songs to my car.

Do we need more weapon ?

[aepervius]

What happen if you use it on an auto at 100mph on the quick road ? (yeah autoroute but I dunno how they call it). What happen if you use it on somebody with a peacemaker ? Did even the guy putting the to-do kit up think of that ?

Re:Do we need more weapon ?

[Snover]

We don't need peacemakers in this day and age, we need warmongers, to drive out the filth of the arab nations. Silly person. ;-)

Re:Do we need more weapon ?

[Cyclometh]

I suppose if you use it on someone with a Peacemaker, you'd get shot. :-) Not much electronics in those.

Re:Do we need more weapon ?

[Wingnut64]

What happen if you use it on an auto at 100mph on the quick road ?
You could get the same effect as if you dropped a box of nails out your window (and without the risk of sterilization). I personally would worry more about downing the police helicopter following you.

Re:Do we need more weapon ?

[EvilTwinSkippy]

We call the "Quick Roads" the "Freeway" or the "Highway".

Folks, "Power Steering" means hydrolically assisted. The hydrolics operate on mechanical power not electrical power.

The only major system (beyond the ignition) that would screw up would be the anti-lock brakes. From what I've been able to read up on, they are designed to throw the brake pressure on in the event of electrical/system failure.

The car at 100mph would at the very least stall. If the car has anti-lock brakes, it will stall and come to a screeching stop. Any electronics in the car will go poof, so the radio, fuel-injection computer, etc will all need to be replaced. On most cars, a few thousand dollars in damage.

Applied improperly, expect a good punch in the face from the owner. Also expect a healthy fine from the FCC and a lawsuit to recover damages. And since you are a scary nerd, your likelyhood of wearing some bracelets, getting a chaffeurd ride in the back of a squad car, doing a perp walk, and spending the night in jail also approach one.

Re:Do we need more weapon ?

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, Peacemaker ICBMs have an awful lot of electronics in them, but since they are, after all, meant to carry ten hydrogen bombs, one can presume that they are also capable of withstanding an EMP blast. And I don't think the USAF would take kindly to your attempt at active pacifism.

Re:Do we need more weapon ?

[Cyclometh]

I was referring to the Colt Peacemaker .45 caliber revolver, which predates the ICBM by at least a century. Silly person.

They're mostly museum pieces now, but the name is part of the American lexicon.

Re:Do we need more weapon ?

[wurp]

Killing people has been easy since the invention of the long pointed stick. Just because someone invents a new way doesn't make it any more or less acceptable to kill people.

You can whack someone by using a transformer to crank up the amperage on house current, or putting bleach in their vodka glass when they're wasted, or boiling up a bunch of apple seeds for the cyanide. Guess they should have thought of that when they invented house current, bleach, and, er, apples, huh?

Re:Do we need more weapon ?

[hankaholic]

I'm pretty sure that the job of a pacemaker is to start making the heart beat in the event that the heart stops beating itself.

I doubt this would do much of anything to someone with a pacemaker.

Of course, unless someone who designs pacemakers wants to voice their opinion, all we can do is guess...

Re:Do we need more weapon ?

[Anonymous Coward]

Ah. Dunno.
Seems *everything* has a GPS unit in it, these days... :p

Road rage.

[rice_burners_suck]

The subject of mood altering audio signals is interesting to bring up. I have some interesting ideas about this.

I am certain that a lot of things affect moods. Audio is one of them. But I also believe that visual characteristics have a lot to do with mood. What's that Chinese art of interior decorating that is supposed to bring harmony? I forgot the name.

Mexico City (for those of you who don't know what D.F. stands for) is a heavily populated place. I've heard different accounts that it is the biggest city (or the third biggest) in the world, and I don't know if this means by population or by physical size. In any case, there is a LOT of traffic here. I have found that I am quite affected by "road rage," or let's just call it frustration behind the wheel, when I'm driving around town: Traffic moves along slowly. Going ten miles can take between 30 minutes and an hour, depending on the circumstances. It's just such a pain, and it is frustrating. Now, in my case, my frustration behind the wheel is caused by a number of factors:

• The brain assigns attentional resources to things. For example, your eye can see pretty well all around but your brain assigns more attentional resources to the thing your eyes are pointing at. With so much to look at and notice in a big city, the brain works overtime. This causes stress, fatigue and frustration.
• While driving around town, there are a lot of noises going on, like the sounds of other cars or your own. My car shakes when it idles and barely runs when it does. In addition, things rattle and squeak, and my keychain, of all things, swings back and forth and makes little (barely audible but certainly there) metallic ringing sounds. These are all sounds that my brain processes and tries to put in the background.
• I have to accomplish a lot of things during the day, but traffic wastes a lot of time.
• But here is my favorite part: The *shapes* of cars, of all things, pisses me off the most. Seriously... it's as if all I look at the whole time is the ass end of ugly cars. When the driver in front of me pushes on the gas after being stopped, the back end of his car moves down a couple of inches from the "recoil" of his car suddenly moving forward. When he stops, the back end of his car seems to rise up a few inches. Pay attention to this as you're driving around and you'll see it too. Now the part that pisses me off is this: That rising of the back end that I just mentioned? It looks like a dog raising its ass at you as an insult. For some reason, my brain associates the shape and motion of the decelerating car in front of me with dogs that insult you by sticking their ass in the air, as dogs do when you want to put a leash on them, give them a bath, or anything else that the dog doesn't want. And it's almost true: It's as if the driver in front of you is insulting you by stopping instead of getting the fuck out of your way. I can't explain how much this pisses me off.

Now all of this might sound totally psycho to you but I'm serious... people can't explain why they are the nicest people but turn into total bastards when they get in a car. It's not just sound waves that can piss you off... it's everything that your brain has to assign resources to, like motion and shape. I think this is why we associate certain feelings with certain faces, colors, shapes, body language, etc.

P.d., the worst road rage I've ever had was yelling profanities at the top of my lungs, and that only happened once when I was three hours late to work because I slept too long at my girlfriend's house and couldn't get to work fast enough. But that's how life is in the big city... I just go home in the evening and have some tequila. Because Denial is a river in Egypt.

Re:Road rage.

[devnull17]

I don't know about any of that, but there is the concept of brown noise, a tone which supposedly causes anyone who hears it to immediately defecate. Saw it on South Park once.

Re:Road rage.

[teknikl]

Dude, you need to get out of the car and stop driving so much.

Some 80% of driving can be done with subconscious effort. If you must drive, at least try to think less while you are doing it.

Re:Road rage.

[anubi]

I went to your halfbakery.com link and retrieved this snippet:

"If the human body is subjected to low-frequency sound waves (between 10.5 and 16 Hz), there is often an uncontrollable and instant urge to defecate. While the use of this 'brown noise' has been investigated for military and crowd control uses, I've not found any references to its use as an anti-constipation device."

My observation:

If there were any substance to this claim, I think there would have been a ton of anecdotal evidence reported when kids started putting these kilowatt "boom-boxes" in cars.

Re:MTV??-Haunted past.

[Anonymous Coward]

"What's next - a story submitted by a guy who once in high school dated Britney Spears?"

Well we could always send him a sympathy card.

Re:Mood altering audio

[martyn s]

Is it possible your soundsystem isn't capable of the frequencies required to alter your mood?

I don't know how this particular system works, but I was reading about "infra sound" which supposedly affects your mood, and from what I gather, most sound systems can't play infra sound.

No, that's not MTV

[Anonymous Coward]

Umm, I think you meant authoritative. The authoritarian reference on slashdot is, was, and always will be Microsoft.

Except when it's Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Lucent, or Intel, sex.com, the European Parliament, or George Bush. But those are just on Saturdays.

Monday through Friday, it's Microsoft.

And never MTV.

[BTW... MTV will never carry a show about a guy who once dated Britney Spears in high school, because the MTV viewers are typically not interested in fifty-somethings.]

Re:Is this really news?

[gantrep]

I imagine in the car that the worst that would happen is that all electronics die and then you steer, brake and coast to a stop. No abs or power steering maybe, but I think besides that it would be fine. I would think car companies don't make these systems dependent on delicate electronics, that can be plagued by many other non-HERF problems, like a blown fuse or short. My truck is from '91 and these critical systems work fine without power, but I haven't worked on anything newer. If these things can't function without electronics, then that is very very wrong and dangerous.

The guy with the pacemaker dies maybe. Who knows.

Not true...

[Eric_Cartman_South_P]

...I live accross the street from this guy and nothing unusual is going on. That 1-800-Flowers van has been parked at the end of the block for a few days, come to thing of it, but other thaH$^FHGHATDT^ATDT^h6[NO CARRIER]

It's toast...

[Svartalf]

I got the main page just a moment ago and couldn't get anything past it. Now, I can't even pull up the main page.

Stick a fork in it folks- it's done.

Pacemakers ?

[Anonymous Coward]

Would a HERF gun damage/stop someone`s pacemaker ?

mood altering audio signals

[Sandman1971]

mood altering audio signals

I want an instrument that plays the brown noise, damnit!

We're trying to find the Brown Noise! It's this one pitch, this certain frequency, that makes people lose bowel control!

Brown noise is an ausilation of sound that causes the bowels to losen! The Brown Noise is believed to be ninety-two cents below the lowest octave of E flat. The French experimented with it in World War II.

Re:mood altering audio signals

[Anonymous Coward]

The French experimented with it in World War II.

Considering that France lasted about seven minutes in World War II, I'd say there's plenty of exploration to be done on the topic.

Re:mood altering audio signals

[Anonymous Coward]

The americans did various tests with this as well.

Re:mood altering audio signals

[lucasw]

It's this one pitch, this certain frequency, that makes people lose bowel control!

There's an apocryphal story told to audio engineering students, about Hitler generating low frequency noise at certain points during massive rallies to make his speeches all the more moving...

Re:mood altering audio signals

[soleblaze]

Brown Noise Generators.. for the constipated scientist on the go.

Re:mood altering audio signals

[Anonymous Coward]

And in that seven minutes we suffered 140,000 dead.

But we shot down 1,400 German planes, 25% of the Luftwaffe.

Pretty fucking good for seven minutes, you lazy fucking Yankee dog.

Lucky Pierre

Re:mood altering audio signals

[Sandman1971]

Sheesh, doesn't anyone watch SouthPark anymore? This dates back to Season 3. Episode called Worldwide Recorder Concert

Re:mood altering audio signals

[Anonymous Coward]

I want an instrument that plays the brown noise, damnit!

It would be a interesting feature if built into a toilet. I'm sure there'd be a market for it.

Brown noise is an ausilation of sound that causes the bowels to losen!

"Ausilation"? I think you (and the writers of South Park) meant "oscillation".

(I'll let "losen" go as a simple typo. That and I tire of correcting losers with a loose use of lose and loose.)

-1 Overrated?!

[fishbert42]

You have to be kidding me...
I admit I'm not the best comedian around, but I see much worse stuff get modded up on a daily basis around here.

At the very least, I beg to differ that (Score: 1) was overrated.

Re:Mood altering audio

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, the problem lies in the fact that it is bullshit. Sorry, Psychology hasn't reached this far yet.

I meant a PACEmaker :P silly me.

[aepervius]

You know this things which make heart beat in some cases.

Feng Shui, I believe n/t

[Anonymous Coward]

At least, no text that is very important.

I cut and pasted from this site. I'd have to say that I don't believe in the "spirit" ideas in a religious sense, and I don't study this subject, but I do find that some areas are more conducive to work [or play, or discussion] than others. I suspect that Feng Shui tries to study this. As such, it should probably be treated more as a soft science, and less as a philosophy or [worse, as new agers might be tempted] religion.

Begin block Quote, continue to end:

Feng shui means 'wind, water' and traditionally symbolises the space between heaven and earth - the environment where we live.

The underlying philosophy recognises that we and our environment are sustained by an invisible, yet tangible, energy called chi. It moves like wind, but can eddy and become trapped like water and stagnate.

The skill of a feng shui consultant lies in recognising where chi is flowing freely, where it may be trapped and stagnant, or where it may be excessive. The work of an occupier is to create space for chi to flow and activate the opportunities that may be frustrated by obstacles.

These skills and work are applied together with a harmonious re-balancing of yin and yang, the dark and light of all situations. The principles may be applied geo-physically as well as superficially to placement, design and decoration. House and garden should work together relative to life, health, wealth and happiness. Every aspect of home, life, career and relationships is open to enhancement.

Feng shui facilitates holistic development of the individual, his family or business by enhancing the immediate environment and it is natural that good fortune and increased energy should accompany proper implementation.

Recommendations for change and placement are based on nine traditional cures, adapted for modern western use, involving light, sound, life, movement, stability, electricity, symbolism, colour and transcendental solutions, all as required or appropriate.

The $64 million question.

[AnotherBrian]

All I want to know is will it fry the cell phone of thoes people who can't seem to STFU in the restaurant. Perhaps a hand held version of this could be wielded by ushers in movie theaters.

Re:The $64 million question.

[WhiteDragon]

I never will get why people talking on cellphones in a restaraunt is annoying, but people talking just as loudly to people sitting next to them is not a problem.

Re:The $64 million question.

[Anonymous Coward]

Simple. Eavesdropping on half a conversation isn't as much fun.

Re:The $64 million question.

[Anonymous Coward]

no, that's annoying too.

Re:The $64 million question.

[Anonymous Coward]

I never will get why people talking on cellphones in a restaraunt is annoying, but people talking just as loudly to people sitting next to them is not a problem.

Because people who are trying to talk on their cellphone in a restaurant have this annoying tendency to raise their voice to get through the background noise (SORRY, WHAT WAS THAT? I'M AT DINNER AND IT'S NOISY IN HERE, COULD YOU REPEAT THAT? OH YEAH, 10 AM IS FINE, REMEMBER TO RESERVE A CONFERENCE ROOM AT THE OFFICE) thereby broadcasting themselves all over the entire goddamned restaurant. The guy at the next table over, talking to his wife, doesn't do that because she's sitting right there and can hear him just fine.

Re:The $64 million question.

[Phroggy]

I never will get why people talking on cellphones in a restaraunt is annoying, but people talking just as loudly to people sitting next to them is not a problem.

People talking on cell phones often talk louder than people talking to someone across the table from them, plus you can't eavesdrop on the other half of the conversation. Remember those Sprint PCS commercials with the guy in the trenchcoat helping the poor soul who always yells because he's so used to talking on cell phones?

Re:The $64 million question.

[Anonymous Coward]

It's because you can't hear the other shoe hit the floor.

When you hear someone ask a question or make a statement and there's no audible reply, and you don't know who they are are talking to (might be you, might be themselves...) it creates a tension, an incompleteness that our social instincts are sensitive to. It's not the volume, it's the meaning.

Re:The $64 million question.

[Anonymous Coward]

I feel the same way, but then, people who talk loudly are annoying either way, aren't they? You don't notice polite cellphone users, motorcycles with effective mufflers, music lovers who enjoy the clear highs and well-defined midtones of their music played at a normal volume through quality headphones, and everything else who acts with courtesy, except as the ghostly mob.

Re:The $64 million question.

[m1chael]

so we have something to blame instead of falsely accusing violence and sexually explicit video games and films.

Re:The $64 million question.

[EvilTwinSkippy]

Yes, but people sitting in resteraunts without cell phones don't tend to talk about their Colon Polyps, the results of a Pap Smear, or the content of their last bowel movement at the table either.

Re:The $64 million question.

[DennyK]

I've always found people talking on cell phones rather irritating. Maybe it's because of the way our brains process auditory data. When two people are having a conversation in person, their speech will follow a general pattern. Maybe they'll take turns speaking, maybe one always interrupts the other, or maybe they both trip on each other's sentences all the time, but there will be a pattern your brain can pick out, and then it can recognize that pattern as unimportant and dismiss it if you're not interested in their conversation. But when a person is talking to a phone, you can't hear the other end of the conversation, so your brain can't pick out the pattern. Instead of a flowing conversation, you've got one person speaking, then silence, then the same person speaking again at some random interval. It's very jarring, especially when people get LOUD as many tend to do on cell phones. Kind of like having a noisy, slow, irregular drip from your bathroom faucet. Because you never quite know when that next "plonk!" is coming, you find yourself anticipating it, and it really messes with your concentration...and of course, when it finally comes, it always makes you jump a little because you can't predict exactly *when* it's coming. In the same way, you can never anticipate when a cell phone user is going to start speaking again, and every time he/she does, it kind of startles you. This makes it harder to tune out cell phone users than it is to tune out a tableful of people chatting with each other...

DennyK

Re:The $64 million question.

[Quixote]

Because when you listen to a cellphone conversation, you are listening to only one half of the conversation.

Hey, if *I* am taking the trouble to evesdrop, I want the full monty, dammit!!

:-)

Re:The $64 million question.

[Anonymous Coward]

Mod parent up, dammit!

Re:The $64 million question.

[Phroggy]

Good point - another thought is, when you hear a person talking and someone else answers, it's immediately obvious they weren't talking to you. When you hear someone talking (especially loudly) and then an expectant pause, they could be talking to you. Of course they're not - but you might have to check, especially if you're not quite sure what they said.

Re:The $64 million question.

[Whumpsnatz]

Actually, they're both pretty damned annoying. I don't care whether it's a cell phone or not, I just don't want to be subjected to the obnoxious bellowing of arrogant, loudmouth, rude pinheads. STFU!

Re:The $64 million question.

[identity0]

Someone who's sitting in a restaurant talking to their invisible friend is irritating, whether or not they're on cell phones.

Re:The $64 million question.

[DRACO-]

People talking on cell phones in restaruants arnt annoying, it's the people talking on the cell phone in the mens bathroom while sitting on the toilet. The echo alone makes then want to talk louder anyways, combined with the regular fact that they have to talk loud because it's a cell phone then combine that with the fact that they have to talk loud enough to drown out the sound of their own ass farting into the ceramic echo chamber under thair ass!

OH and that girl driving the Huge ford f150 that almost sideswiped the speed limit sign (stating the limit is 60mph) while talking away at 90mph and driving at a rate of 25mph. You cant even attempt to pass her as she also weaves into the oncoming lane before slamming on her brakes and trying to turn right then realizes that's not her turn and jerks it back into the lane.

DRACO-

Re:The $64 million question.

[Quicksilver31337]

Here here!!

Movie theaters are one thing, as quiet is expected; however, in a restaurant I have not problem with someone using a cell phone with a normal speaking voice, though if they are shouting, I reserve the right to take the phone and beat them senseless with it.

HARUMPH!!

Re:The $64 million question.

[Hognoxious]

I've always found people talking on cell phones rather irritating.

Too right. You know what I hate? When someone's using the phone on the train or at the airport, and there's an announcement, and the twat SHOUTS AT THE TOP OF HIS VOICE through it. Thanks, I didn't need to know that my flight is going to be late, or that I'm going to miss my connection, asshole.

The sounds work

[�v4�g�1��]

Shouldn't have listened to all the mind-state altering sound patterns on his web site realy really loud...

Head hurts..... In agony... can't work....

well at least we know they work...

I think I might forget about looking at his other designs...

Mood altering audio signals

[Eminor]

Mood altering audio signals, eh? You mean music.

Re:Is this really news?

[Realistic_Dragon]

"I would think car companies don't make these systems dependent on delicate electronics"

You would think that, wouldn't you?

In modern cars an electronics failure means that the car will stall, power assissted steering and brakeing will revert to manual, the ECU will fail (not exactly critical that one), traction control will drop out, ABS will stop working and several other problems. If you have an automatic the gears will stop shifting.

If you are used to driving a power assisted car, then the termination of power steering alone will probably be enough to send you off the road, especially when the lack of power assissted ABS/traction control brakes puts you into a skid.

In my car electronics failure means that the lights no longer work. Not exactly a disaster :o)

mood altering audio signals-What does this do?

[Anonymous Coward]

"We're trying to find the Brown Noise! It's this one pitch, this certain frequency, that makes people lose bowel control!"

[Sign just below button in Microsoft's iLoo]
If you're constipated? Push this button.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGG-!FLUSH!-AAAAAAAAAAAA AA HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!.

Re:mood altering audio signals-What does this do?

[EvilTwinSkippy]

Except of course this is a microsoft system.

The Iloo walls are made of plexyglass, and it has a webcam installed with a default password of "password".

Buried deep in the Illoo service agreement is the right for Microsoft to sell the video of your "magic moment" to a cheazy game show or on scat-related websites.

And his website was taken out by a HREF gun

[autopr0n]

How ironic.

Slashdot effect

[Anonymous Coward]

I have yet to see a Google cache of a server get "Slashdotted", editors show a little consideration for others next time. Like this is the 1st time this happened.

Score:-1,Redundant Annoying Troll

"This Account Has Been Suspended"

[iamhassi]

wow won't he be pissed...

Re:"This Account Has Been Suspended"

[Anonymous Coward]

That's a little extreme. The New York Times is kind enough to give us a free registration, but I don't think they deserve money for my viewing ads here. Of course you could set up some complicated system to compensate only the low-income web-hosts, and of course verify that they are low-income... do you work for the government?

Asking first might be manageable.

Re:"This Account Has Been Suspended"

[EvilTwinSkippy]

Or better yet, mirror the website in a cache.

What I used to do Philly2Nite's website I had a Tcl script that downloaded the first 3 levels of their lotus notes system to static pages under Apache. The apache system could deliver millions of page hits, the 1998 era NT system running Notes on the other hand...

My program would also transparently rewrite the links to look at a cached version when appropriate. The cache software would update the static content every 15 minutes or so. It worked well for years.

Re:"This Account Has Been Suspended"

[anubi]

Yeah, I looked up the terms of service from his service provider and retrieved this snippet:

How much bandwidth/traffic do I get with my Web site?

We allow 15 GB of transfer per month. This is an adequate amount to operate a bandwidth intensive website. If your web pages average 10 KB in size, you would be able to receive 1,500,000 million hits per month.

So it looks like we chewed up his whole month's allocation in a few minutes... wow!

Re:"This Account Has Been Suspended"

[lommer]

The legal problems with this are why the slashdot editors have never done this, it's well documented in the FAQ, and the subject has been beaten to death in the comment boards. The best solution that I can see is developing some sort of bittorrent system for it.

No, you have it backwards.

[autopr0n]

It's not about stopping people who are fleeing the cops, it's about stopping the cops when they are chasing you.

Re:No, you have it backwards.

[bagsc]

Once again, I am dismayed by /.ers fail to use tactics. You herf the other bastards on the road to create obstacles for the stream of cops. You herf the police helicopter (and the news choppers) so the cops cant follow you, and then you can safely get to your Pay n' Spray.

Re:No, you have it backwards.

[joelil]

Hey another wepon to ad to Grand Theft Auto

On a completely unrelated topic...

[caitsith01]

...Dick Cheney has a pacemaker, doesn't he?

Mood altering audio signals??

[bitsformoney]

Easy. Check here.

"This Account Has Been Suspended"

[blincoln]

The site now redirects to a suspension message.

Fortunately for the owner, it looks like his host cuts off traffic after 30GB. A lot of them will simply keep jacking up the bill. Maybe Slashdot should direct some of the money from their banner ads to the owners of the sites they link to?

Google cache

[iamhassi]

http://216.239.51.104/search?q=cache:S-ATEsuhM_wC: www.voltsamps.com/+HERF+gun+voltsamps&hl=en&ie=UTF -8
not much there though, looks like most of it was pictures and google doesn't cache those.

My own question is why don't editors post the google cache along with the real link? It's very rare a site can survive a slashdotting, so it only makes sense to post the cache along with the actual link.

Re:Google cache

[Sinus0idal]

Yea, hey, don't take all the sites bandwidth and cost them money, use up all of googles instead - so they end up adding even more ads and stuff :) woooo!

The bandwidth bill has to fall somewhere :-/

Re:Google cache

[Anonymous Coward]

I think Slashdot should mirror low-capacity sites before posting their story.

Re:Google cache

[Anonymous Coward]

Jesus Christ. Pictures are what drain their pucking bandwidth. guess what google doesn't mirror? thats right, the pucking pictures. the google cache mirrors only text, which takes up diddly squat worth of bandwidth

Re:Google cache

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't bother visiting the Google cache. It appears the cache has updated itself and now reads:

This Account Has Been Slashdotted :)

smiley and all.

Don't forget -

[radon28]

Exposure to microwaves can cause instant cataracts.

Re:The $64 million question... great reply

[Anonymous Coward]

great reply

Re:Knight Rider

[Anonymous Coward]

I think it was called Kit
Aw fer cryin' out loud. KITT. Knight Industries Two Thousand. And you call yourself a dork. (at least I'm assuming you would, posting with a 5 digit uid).

At last a HERF gun for everyman

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm very glad to see someone is working on perfecting the HERF gun. After all, they have to keep up with the progress made since Slashdot perfected the website-killing HREF gun a few years ago. Just point and click, webserver goes down. :-)

But seriously, all I really want to know is will it fry the cell phone of those people who can't seem to STFU in the restaurant. Perhaps a hand held version of this could be wielded by ushers in movie theaters.

The obligatory

[Duck_Taffy]

Imagine a beowuÂÂÂâ'uylsffj-esufASD;LO8FU£ÃÃÃZâÃÃ" £Ã[NO CARRIER]

Sympathy?

[Anonymous Coward]

I'll have sex with her any day!

Re: 7 minutes

[Anonymous Coward]

All of Europe was taken over by nazi Germany within 7 minutes. Why is it so important to press the fact that France was without mentionning other countries?

HERF Gun?

[comet_11]

That's nothing, Slashdot has the HREF gun and it can take out an entire webserver.

Re:HERF Gun?

[Anonymous Coward]

mod UP!!!!

Re:Is this really news?

[gantrep]

So in other words, exactly as I said(or meant). "these systems" was referring to the manual steering and braking, not to "abs and power steering" in my original post. I see now that it was ambiguous.

More on actuators

[WegianWarrior]

Even hydraulic actuators have electromechanical servo valves...

Close, but not always true. Having worked with several kinds of aircraft, both old and older (F-16, F-5, Dassult Jetfalcon and C-130 to mention the fixedwings), I know for a fact that while a fly-by-wire system, ie; a system where the controllsignals are transmitted via electric signals, have electromechanical servo valves. Every fly-by-real-wire (aka fly-by-steelrope) system I've worked on however, have purely mechanical servovalves, operated by what we refers to as a 'quadrant' - a simple mechanical analog computer which takes it inputs from the strearingsignal, the position of the aerodynamic surface (this is known as the feedback signal) and other sources (gear down or not & flaps down or not in the case of the F-5's tailplane and ailerons) and sends a mechanical signal to the servo which then opens a valve to operate the hydraulic sylinder. As the sylinder moves, the aerodynamic surface move, which changes the feedbacksignal, until the aerodynamic surface is at the commanded position and the output from the quadrant is nil - ie; closing the servovalve.

So yes, an HERF gun could possible mess up the servoactuators in modern aircraft - but it wouldn't and couldn't affect the servoactuators of a non-fly-by-electric-wire aircraft. It can still play merry hell with the avionics though.

EMP and such...

[Anonymous Coward]

Wow - to think that these forums are populated by the brighter people of the world....

Couple of notes on the concept of EMPs...
First note is the power level is highly important. Pretty much all electronics generate some level of EMP, but normally it is so small it doesn't affect anything seriously. Will one of these kill someone with a pacemaker? Depends upon range and output of the gun.

Second - there was a note that any 'older' car without electronics wouldn't be affected. Um - pretty much anything that uses electricity will be affected to a certain extent. Since all gas cars use spark plugs, which use electricity, it will be affect to a level. Once again range and output of the gun. Even an old car has a battery - a good EMP shock could cause that to explode.

Third - Tin cap, metal cup on the balls? Shit, I wouldn't want to get hit with an EMP weapon wearing metal. Even put metal in a Microwave? Now think about having that metal wrapped around...

I do like the thought of the diesel engine. That might actually survive the hit. Of course, you may no longer have the alternator or battery, so hope the car doesn't stall from something else.

The note on Airplanes and shielding against EMP I've also heard is true. Military jets are hardened even farther. So, no great worries there.

Don't see much to worry about - it is just a toy unless someone makes a really friggin powerful one. I suspect it would be quite obvious it is coming due to the power supply that'd be attached.

Re:EMP and such...

[m1chael]

so cyborgs arent as cool i thought theyd be [/me stops production of evil cyborgs].

not 6 KV, more like 2 KV

[nietsch]

The output voltage of a microwave oven transformer (MOT) is more in the range of 2KV than 6 KV. Just as lethal (500mA) but a bit cheaper to manufacture. Otherwise BigBlockMopar told a good story.

Re:not 6 KV, more like 2 KV

[Anonymous Coward]

Wait, that's only a thousand watts at a half amp. That's not particularly dangerous. A refrigerator compressor is easily 12amps at 110 and we used to have a refrigerator with a bad short in college that we'd let shock us all the time. No big deal. People overhype the danger of electricity all the time. I re-wire household receptacles without even turning off the circuits and some of them are over 20 amp circuits. In the States, if you're not doing new home construction or industrial work you're not dealing with dangerous current. And consumer electronics capacitors. . . no sorry they can scare you and maybe hurt an infant of small animal, but not an adult.

Re:not 6 KV, more like 2 KV

[nietsch]

2 KV at 500mA is seriously dangerous. Those voltages should only be handled with 'one hand in your pocket' to prevent that currents might go trough the hart when a mishap occurs. 2KV will jump a good distance from bare contacts, so you don't even have to touch them. But you are welcome to prove me wrong; Darwin will take care of you I suppose ;-)

There is a good safety thread @ 4hv.org. Read that before you start taking that spare MO apart.

Re:not 6 KV, more like 2 KV

[lars_stefan_axelsson]

Wait, that's only a thousand watts at a half amp. That's not particularly dangerous. [...] In the States, if you're not doing new home construction or industrial work you're not dealing with dangerous current.

You know in climing circles we call the above display of bravado "evolution in action". See you in an emergency ward near your home any time now.

Now lest someone other than you will take your word for it, electricity is a lot more dangerous than what one is led to believe by the above. For example, the minimum AC current that can cause fibrilation of the heart is ca 60 mA, around 100 mA you're sure that your heart will stop pumping (though stopping the heart outright is more difficult.)

That's just the beginnings of biological effects of electricity (there are frequency dependencies, e.g. the US 60 Hz system is in fact slightly less safe than the European 50 Hz system, though probably not enough to count, esp when you factor in the higher voltages here).

The interested reader can find lots of useful information by Googling, real information I might add, not just the garden variety "don't do it" advice that doesn't really tell you anything about what is safe and what isn't. Working safely with electrical circuits isn't that much more difficult (or time consuming) than risking killing yourself (for no good reason I might add, you're trying to fix a lamp, not climb K2). Inform yourself.

Re:not 6 KV, more like 2 KV

[BigBlockMopar]

Wait, that's only a thousand watts at a half amp. That's not particularly dangerous. A refrigerator compressor is easily 12amps at 110 and we used to have a refrigerator with a bad short in college that we'd let shock us all the time. No big deal. People overhype the danger of electricity all the time.

Uhhh... Yeah.

Consider that an ordinary North American outlet delivers enough power to power a microwave oven or a table saw or a small MIG welder. That's enough energy to be destructive.

Your statement would be like me saying that I don't have to be careful around the fanbelt in a Honda Civic, since it's not powerful enough to take off my fingers the way the engine in a real car would.

Anyway, I'll try an experiment for you. When I connect my ohmmeter between the iron ring on my right pinky finger and the stainless steel band of my 20-year-old Cardinal digital watch, I find that the resistance between these two points - and therefore through my skin and chest cavity - is around 20,000 ohms.

Now, in your comparison, the current drawn by the compressor has nothing to do with the shock that your fridge would give you; all that 12 amp figure says is that under normal conditions, your power supply can sink that much power. Indeed, if you were using an ordinary wall socket, you can sink 15A. 15A @ 120V = 1800W.

Anyway, it's 120V, with enough current behind it. "Enough" being an arbitrary value meaning "could kill you".

How? I = E / R = 120V / 20,000ohms = 6 mA. 6 mA at 120V = 0.72W.

With my hands wet, my resistance drops down to about 5,000 ohms. I = 120 / 5000 = 24mA. 24mA at 120V = 2.88W.

Neither case is one which I would voluntarily test, let me put it to you that way.

Now, at 6kV which is typical of what is applied to a magnetron in a microwave oven (note that the diode and the capacitor in a microwave form a voltage doubler, and then you have to convert the rated output of the transformer from RMS to peak when you rectify it), I = E / R = 6000 / 20000 = 300mA. You're dead. In practice, if the transformer were only rated to about 800W, it might only be able to sink about 133mA into you. You're still dead.

I re-wire household receptacles without even turning off the circuits and some of them are over 20 amp circuits.

That's stupid.

If you were to get a shock, it's likely that your hands would involuntarily contract. Maybe stabbing yourself with rough edges or sharp ends of whatever pieces of metal are live. What is going to happen to your body's resistance - and therefore the current through the circuit - when you're introducing a potential difference subcutaneously? I haven't tried it, but I'd imagine that if I stuck ohmmeter probes into a cut on one hand and a stab on the other hand, it would probably be a lot less than 5000 ohms from end to end...

In the States, if you're not doing new home construction or industrial work you're not dealing with dangerous current.

Okay. Quantities of energy in any form can be dangerous if released in an uncontrolled fashion.

Can a horse be dangerous?

A horse is generally considered to be capable of 746W of power. Hence the arcane measurement, "horsepower". 1 hp = 746W.

1 North American Outlet = 1800W = 2.4 horsepower.

If a horse can produce enough power to kill you, then so can an outlet, by a factor of 2.4.

Stop being an idiot.

And consumer electronics capacitors. . . no sorry they can scare you and maybe hurt an infant of small animal, but not an adult.

U = (C*V*V)/2; q = CV. Think about a microwave oven capacitor (consumer electronics!) and do some math.

Yes, it *can* kill you. And your little dog, too.

Re:not 6 KV, more like 2 KV

[BigBlockMopar]

The output voltage of a microwave oven transformer (MOT) is more in the range of 2KV than 6 KV. Just as lethal (500mA) but a bit cheaper to manufacture. Otherwise BigBlockMopar told a good story.

I think I was talking about the A/K potential applied to a magnetron, not the output of the transformer itself. And indeed, that is in the range of 6kV.

How?

First off, notice that the diode and capacitor in most microwave ovens are not set up as a typical half-wave rectifier? They're actually configured as a voltage doubler. It's cheap and it depends on the diode action of the magnetron to work, but indeed, Vout = 2*Vin.

Now, remember also that we're rectifying AC, which is almost universally measured as RMS. Vdc = Vacrms * sqrt(2).

Therefore, an expression for our magnetron's anode voltage is closer to Vmag = 2 * Vtrans * sqrt(2), which we can simplify to Vmag = 2.828 * Vtrans.

Which, with a 2kV transformer, is 5.6kV. Near enough to 6kV.

In actual practice, I've seen microwave oven transformers rated for everything from 1800V to about 4000V. The 4kV one was in a Litton commercial microwave oven... very nice.

Re:not 6 KV, more like 2 KV

[PsibrII]

If you work with high voltage devices, you work with only one hand at a time. Microwave techs occasionally slip up and touch live 4000v current. You'll survive typically, if you alse remembered to set the timer for only 15-20 secs. The fact that it's also DC being fed to the magnetron also helps a bit, unless you touched ahead of the voltage doubler segment. Either way, you can forget using that arm much for a day or two. In the event that you "kill" yourself, you can be revived with CPR if your co-workers know whats what, takes up to a half hour or an hour until the nerves in the heart start working again sometimes.

Re:not 6 KV, more like 2 KV

[Ryan Amos]

Heh.. Always heard the rumors of the Marine wanting to test his own "internal resistance" by sticking a 9V battery to some needles and pricking both his thumbs with them.. He died of a heart attack supposedly, as the 9V carried enough current through his blood to stop his heart.

Re:not 6 KV, more like 2 KV

[rSelrahc]

I know quite a few already replied, but I just wanted to give a coupld of examples of why electricity is dangerous... I have a friend who was working on the electrical system on a boat. The system works with a 12 Volts battery. While trying to tighten a nut close to the battery, his hand slipped. The wrench touched one pole of the battery, which touched a steel ring on his hand, whith then touched the other pole. The contact must not have lasted a second, but the ring was red hot and he got a nice burn (and a permanent scar-ring). The other incident, which may be more relevant, involved myself working on an 600V three-phase electic motor. I inadvertently touched two phases with my hand (yes, my other hand _was_ in my pocket) - that's about 347V p-p. My hand was numb and I could not use it for about an hour. I am _so_ glad that the current only went through my hand! Believe me, I have _always_ been careful around electricity and I still got into trouble. Your luck _will_ run out.

My god...

[floydigus]

My god - what I wouldn't give to get my hands on one of these things.

Where I live, streets that contain straight stretches of longer than about 10m are a target for the local petrol heads with their turbos. The only thing is, that in order to get the turbo to fire (which they like - it lets people know they can afford turbo - even if they only have a hatchback and they work in the local supermarket), they need to over-rev the engine even when they're taking they're mum to the shops. The sonic effect is something like;

"BRRRMMM!! (phssh) BRRRRRMMM phsssshhh BRMMRMRM phssh"

I would like to hear something like;

"BRRRMMM!! (phssh) BRRRRRMMM ph...ZAP! SHAZAM! phsszzzppt. put...put......put."

Show those suckers.

Re:My god...

[Zakabog]

The turbo isn't controlled by the ECU though. You can put a turbo on anything with a timing belt and exhaust. You don't really need to over rev the engine but turbo boost comes in at a higher RPM. Which means that if you're taking your mum to the shops, you're probably not getting any turbo boost (why would you need high rpms going to a place that's nearby.) Now if they're racing it's a different story but if you totally killed their car it'd be like

"BRRRMMM!! (phssh) BRRRRRMMM ph...ZAP! SHAZAM! phsszzzppt. put...put......put. Oh shit I have no control over my car *smash into a tree, burst into flames, set the entire neighborhood ablaze*" and it'd be all your fault for killing some idiot's car.

Re:My god...

[Anonymous Coward]

> "BRRRMMM!! (phssh) BRRRRRMMM ph...ZAP! SHAZAM!
> phsszzzppt. put...put......put. Oh shit I have no
> control over my car *smash into a tree, burst into
> flames, set the entire neighborhood ablaze*" and
> it'd be all your fault for killing some idiot's
> car.

BITCHIN'!!! I've just got to get one of these pulsecannons now and use it on the wiggers with their riced-out jalopies. Gonna burn the muthas down.

Re:My god...

[sik puppy]

Just wait for haloween >:)

A friend dealt with a local hot-rodder like this one year...

Take pumpkin and remove seeds, etc.
Fill with concrete
Set out by road in front of house (his street didn't have sidwalks)
Wait

ba-ba brump ba-ba brump...bwaaaaaaaaaaa-CRUNCH!!!!!

It was a LONG time before that car was able to terrorize the neighborhood.

Re:My god...

[pair-a-noyd]

HAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't wait for halloween now!!! Oh man, that's sweet revenge. Any asshole that runs over it deserves whatever damage they get...

Good job, mod this one up as informative!

Re:My god...

[pair-a-noyd]

ROTFLMAO!!!
Be sure to record it and put the divx up on the web for us to all laugh at!!

Re:rf cars and diskovagens Things

[ratfynk]

Did you ever buy a cheap new car in the disko era?
Zapping some of them with rf into auto heaven would have been welcomed. If they had digital brains back then I am sure someone would have done it. The first rotor sensors to analog throttle and spark control were a real nightmare, and a pig to diagnose.

When else in auto history could you buy a car called a Volkswagen "Thing". They rusted out if you said the word salt within earshot.

Low end cars, back then, were rushed to market real quick without much thought given to the design. The Rabbit survived only because of good 4 cyl engine block design, and the fact that it made a great, cheap city car. When they first came out I remember that after prep, delivery and a radio, price was not too much over $3,000. You could dicker that down to boot! 14% of the equivalent price today.

So as to "rf caused motor crap out on the first e ignition Rabbits".. it might very well be true. I'll check it out if I can.

No offence taken, non given I hope. Flaming is not my style! Argue calmly and with respect.

Anyone else think Slashdotting is criminal?

[BobTheWonderMonkey]

/. has willingingly just exceeded this guy's bandwidth. He now owes his ISP money (and probably lots of it) because /. linked.

Now, does anyone else think that the Slashdot Effect is getting to be criminal? C'mon, people, we GAVE IT A NAME. It's not like we don't know what posting to /. is going to do to someone's servers.

Editors of Slashdot: you guys are getting criminally negligent. If no one has sued you so far, you better start getting the lawyers ready.

Re:Anyone else think Slashdotting is criminal?

[Nick Harkin]

All they did was supply a link, no more than for example, any search engine would do.

They aren't forcing anyone to visit them.

But I admit it can be a shame, people getting billed for it.

Re:Anyone else think Slashdotting is criminal?

[Xetrov]

Perhaps Slashdot can set up a few scripts that wget -m a linked site, and mirror it locally for a few days?

Sure, that doesn't help for dynamic content, but generally, linked websites don't have dynamic content.

I dont see what the problem with mirroring sites would be? archive.org does it, as does google, so I guess website owners don't really care if their sites are mirrored, as long as their copyright notice remains intact.

Re:Anyone else think Slashdotting is criminal?

[CausticWindow]

Anybody with content interesting for the Slashdot crowd, and half a brain, got some kind of script that replaces the index with a 0 byte document once the slaughter ensues.

And if you didn't have this in place the first time around, you better hurry to get it up before the dupe is posted.

Re:Anyone else think Slashdotting is criminal?

[Anonymous Coward]

As a network administrator myself, who's network and systems has been the target of several slashdottings, it's really getting out of hand, and I consider it borderline illegal.

It is something that is done by the staff of this website (posting a URL that will be seen by hundreds of thousands of people in a relatively short period of time (24-72 hours), who know full well that the affect of such an action can be potentially damaging and distrupting a target network.

There's day to day regular loads that you can balance a server for, even heavy loads that you can balance a server for, but having your link posted on slashdot is *NOTHING* more than a DDoS.

It's gotten so bad that I've actually had to seriously consider doing refferal checking on our webservers, and refusing all connections coming from slashdot. Feeble attempt, yes, but you get the point.

Bandwidth is not infinite nor free, and some of us just can't handle the strain on some of our connections.

It is very inconsiderate without prior warning to the administrator of the target network, to post a URL of interest on slashdot.

It'd be nice if there was a 24 hour window or something so some of us network admins can either re-balance or re-tune things for a slashdotting. Shore up our defenses so to speak.

Slashdot touts it's karma system. Isn't it good karma to give notice to network administrator's ahead of time, that they may expect increased traffic for potentially the next 24-72 hours ?

-X

Re:Anyone else think Slashdotting is criminal?

[reemul]

The difference between Slashdotting and a DDoS attack is simple but critical: the page requests in Slashdotting are legitmate, from users around the world who genuinely wish to see the site content. What is wrong with that? It's the difference between a store being swamped by customers---so much so that they can take no more until some leave---and that same store being overrun by squatters who just take up space without having anything to do with the business of the store, chasing out the real customers.

You're the network admin, if your site cannot gracefully handle a traffic spike due to sudden popularity it's YOUR PROBLEM. Fix it, don't complain about the cause of the increased page views. With a properly configured system, you should correctly see the influx of new visitors as a potential good, not something to be avoided. What can you do with the 24 hour notice, that you should not have already done? If configuring your server to handle a easily forseeable event can be done in a day, it should be done before the box even goes online, just like you would correct any other known potential problems. No, resources are not free, but that doesn't mean you have no options short of getting fatter pipes and bigger iron to handle load.

What you are really complaining about is that your system is poorly designed to start with but your bosses hadn't noticed yet, and that new traffic from Slashdot gave your laziness away and forced you to do some of the work you already get paid for. Suck it up and get busy, you've got the whole weekend.

Re:Anyone else think Slashdotting is criminal?

[Anonymous Coward]

Quit your whining bitch. No one cares. Even if Slashdot did give you notice... what would you do? Most likely this would lead to some pussy admin saying "No! You can't link to my site!". To which CmdrTaco would say: "Fuck You Beeotch!"

Re:Anyone else think Slashdotting is criminal?

[FiloEleven]

It's just as much the link submitters' fault. You'd think maybe common courtesy would be present, and we could ask the owners of such sites for permission to link, or mirror. Whatever.

Re:Anyone else think Slashdotting is criminal?

[iggymanz]

That assumes the poor slashdotted person has console access to their server....what if it's colocated 180 miles away (like mine). Even with a 0 byte document, with 4,000 requests a second coming in, would clog the network interface of most .

Re:Anyone else think Slashdotting is criminal?

[ndnet]

What can you do with the 24 hour notice, that you should not have already done?

Well, the big thing would have to be page optimization. Now while cleaner HTML, images, etc. are part of this and really should be done regularly, it also can come down to the early removal of video clips and downloads, better descriptions of images and smaller thumbnails.

24 hours would also give you time to set up a redirection system - say just an HTTP Auto-Refresh to another server with a better cost per transfered GB in large numbers or just better reliability. Not a domain name movement or a new pipe, but a redirect. Hell, set up a system where a university or something helps.

24 hours would also give one time to decide on a shutoff point - the point at which one cannot afford any more bandwidth. If I find out that I can only really afford 10GB over a two day span, then so be it. I can make sure my provider will cut me off instead of keep racking it up.

24 hours is also nice for ADDING info - it would give you time to add further test results or put up that bit of source code that EVERYONE will want.

Re:Anyone else think Slashdotting is criminal?

[ran6110]

So if it looks like a small/personal or bandwith challenged site someone from Slashdot contacts the owner and arranges to mirror it for a few days. Beats the hell out of shutting him down for the rest of the month or expecting him to fork over hundreds of dollars just so we line up for a free peek! Or how about arranging with the web host to give them a little advertising to let the load through... ran

Amazing! /. of the poor bastard's credit rating?

[chip_s_ahoy]

Not the HERF gun, I didn't get to see that!

No, now I know exactly who not to use for a web host!

A "deadbeat alert" like:

"This Account Has Been Suspended"
"Please contact the billing/support department as soon as possible."

Probably can't be found just anywhere.

Re: 7 minutes

[ringbarer]

Because the French are responsible for all armed conflict in the world. A few random examples.

Agincourt: French arrogance bested by the might of the longbow.

WW 1 and 2: The near-instant French surrenders caused rapid expansion of the German Territories.

Vietnam: French influence in the region during the 1950s created the destabilizing situation which led to war.

Gulf War 2 (Electric Boogaloo): French insistence that their warmongering Iraqi allies remain unchecked, vetoing any peaceful means of resolution, forcing America's hand.

To summarize: The French are scum and deserve to be herded into landfill sites en masse.

I could end up sterile?

[skinfitz]

w00t!

CLARIFICATION: Part 15 section 1 and 2

[Alsee]

Oops, I hope I didn't confuse anyone there. When I said Part 1 and Part 2 what I meant was Part 15 section 1 and Part 15 section 2.

-

Hmmm

[Querty]

Slashdotted already...

I'd say /. pretty much performs as "a device like EMP but directional" for web sites.

Re:Diesel engines

[Bastian]

Like using a Diesel engine, perhaps?

you mean those toys that shoot foam arrows ?

[andy666]

what's the big deal ? you can buy them at toys r us!!

Re:you mean those toys that shoot foam arrows ?

[Anonymous Coward]

that is horrible...
learn to read br0

lie on the floor

[No Such Agency]

... agents are preparing a no-knock raid as we speak. If you stay very still and prone they may not see you as a threat and may not be forced to shoot you. However, your threat on the vice-President's makes you an enemy combatant. Enjoy your new cellmate Ahmed, he usually doesn't snore too loudly.

You want the Warren Ellis discussion...

[No Such Agency]

... since you seem to want to talk about illegal Bowel Disruptors.

Re:You want the Warren Ellis discussion...

[Anonymous Coward]

Hmmmmmmm... is this like the "Brown Note" that Cartman discovered?

Cached Page

[randomErr]

SITE URL 01: www.VoltsAmps.com
SITE URL 02: www.VoltageLabs.com
SITE URL 03: www.SVBxLABS.com

Purpose:

This project is a continuation of the HERF003 project. It will be just like the HERF001 but many times more compact and efficient due to optimization and better calculated design. The actual device (excluding the horn antenna) will be about 50 times smaller in volume than HERF001 while having the same output power yet even better antenna efficiency and low VSWR. I hope to get much more detailed tests done on the effects and range of this device. Results and test images/videos will be posted allong with data sheets, radiation patterns and videos of test shots on dummy PC's.

Materials:

- 800W 2.458GHz Magnetron
- MOT
- 2kV @ 1.2uF capacitor
- 12kV piv microwave oven diode
- Sheet metal
- Sheet copper
- Other small parts

Details:

This is the basic magnetron coupling design. It is designed after the WR340 waveguide and can allow 1.70GHz to 2.60GHz to pass through with low attenuation. Of course my RF output will be within this range being 2.458GHz. The full dimentions of the waveguide are 4.318cm x 9.147cm x 8.636cm. The horn antenna is not as small as pictured. The magnetron feed will be inserted 1/4 the wavelength from the back of the waveguide.

a = 86.36mm
b = 43.18mm
c = 91.47mm

For a 15dB horn antenna:

p = 152.5mm
a1 = 320.6mm
b1 = 237.5mm

For a 18dB horn antenna:

p = 365.9mm
a1 = 452.9mm
b1 = 335.5mm

These are the dimentions of the plates that must be cut out in order to form a 15dB horn antenna.

These are the dimentions of the plates that must be cut out in order to form a 18dB horn antenna. Of course two of each plate must be made in order to make a complete horn antenna. The back end is then welded to the waveguide.

This is the circular waveguide and conical horn and its dimentions. The distance between the magnetron feed and the back waveguide wall should be fine tuned and adjusted as needed. The waveguide diameter is 3/4 the 2.458GHz wavelength and the distance from the magnetron feed and the base of the horn is 1/2 the wavelength.

This is the schematic of the HERF004 if powered from a 120VAC (or 240VAC) source. The circuit consists of a transformer and a voltage doubler cap/diode setup. A filiment heater is also needed.

This is the schematic of the HERF004 if powered from a 12VDC battery source. This design will provide less average RMS output power but will provide the same if not higher pulse peak power. Most magnetrons have the markings F, FA, C, or K next to the leads of which F, C and K are the magnetron cathode. Most microwave oven magnetrons will be marked with FA and F while radar magnetrons will only have one lead marked with either a K or a C. Since the magnetron I am planning to use is not a pulsed magnetron I will not construct a pulse forming network although it would help.

Videos:

herf004-test001.mpg (8.03MB)

This clip shows a series of herf004 shots at different distances. The video clip contains both video and audio. In the audio you can hear the 60Hz hum as it was induced into the camera via 2.458GHz carier wave.

herflight01.mpeg (0.98MB)

This clip shows HERF004 exciting the gas within a flourecent light tube causing it to glow.

herfmotion01.mpeg (0.97MB)

This clip shows HERF004 triggering the driveway motion detector of my home and the house next door.

Images:

This is the horn right after its construction. I cut it out of sheet copper and then welded each sheet together. My welding skills weren't that great so the plates may be misaligned by upto 4mm. The horn was designed to be 17dB since my sheet copper wasn't large enough to make an 18dB horn. I will probably make a conical horn after this one though and use it instead since this one turned out to be quite large.

First HERF004 victim, me. As I was drilling a hole for the magnetron feed the

Re:Cached Page

[PsibrII]

If you really want to cause some dammage you need a big grid of magnetrons, 8x8 or 12x12 coupled to a dish used to focus the beams into one beam. Ideally you would have one big doubler going up to a voltage rating depending a maximum voltage rating that could be handled by the magnetron for say 300 bursts, and then feeding capacitor banks for each magnetron. When the caps got to full charge, you could trip a bank of thyristors to fire the array. You would only need to keep the filaments going during charging. This system would allow you to operate off only a 4kW supply current, and would not require complete independant power supplies (half wave doublers, transformer,etc). The only way you could really pull this off would be to collect junked microwaves for about a year or more to get the necessary collecion of working capacitors, diodes, and magnetrons. Would be best to have it as a mobile rig because after firing ,your EM signature will likely trip alarms on who knows how many military systems. The only safe testing would be inside a well grounded metal screened enclosed area(aka a faraday cage) unless you are willing to incur the wrath of numerous govt agencies.

Re:Cached Page

[Anonymous Coward]

Does anyone have a mirror for this site, none of the URL's above work.

Cops have simliar devices

[ziggy_zero]

I remember seeing a thing on some news show or something....that some police cars were starting to be equipped with these little devices that drop from the bottom of their car, shoot out from under the car, get underneath the perps car, sets off some electrical system that disables the car.

I have no idea if any police forces use this or not, or what it's called, but it was damn cool when I saw it.

Does anybody know what I'm talking about?

Re:Cops have simliar devices

[Anonymous Coward]

Are you sure you weren't watching an 80's movie with Tom Sellick and Gene Simmons?

Re:Cops have simliar devices

[Pierce]

They do have these, it is just REALLY expensive and is not reusable. It is a small scale EMP under the car. The device that comes from under the police car is basically a remote controlled car that self-destructs during the EMP discharge.

Re:Cops have simliar devices

[wolrahnaes]

It was called the Road Patriot. It consisted of a simple chassis carrying a engine similar to that of a model rocket, a few large capacitors, and some electrodes that would make contact with the vehicle and direct the charge from the capacitors in to the vehicle's electronics.

The cost was prohibitive and there was the problem of waiting for a straight lineup, as many police chases are very erratic and end up swerving around.

orgasmo

[Anonymous Coward]

i am waiting for the orgasmo gun.

STUNT COCK!

Re:Mood altering audio

[thynk]

Is it possible your soundsystem isn't capable of the frequencies required to alter your mood?

Oh, it's very possible since I didn't have the volume turned up very far at all. I guess some people just take me way too seriously :)

slashdoted

[JDizzy]

Here is what is says at the linked site:

This Account Has Been Suspended
Please contact the billing/support department as soon as possible.

Thats what you get for having interesting content! The SlashDOS machine has struck again!

CNN

[psyconaut]

Monday May 12th 2003
CNN is reporting that there have been a huge number of HERF gun attacks on telecom and financial systems installations in the United States in the past two days. The attacks have seriously impacted the ability of Americans to conduct day-to-day life, knocking out many telephone, TV, and radio stations and forming large lineups at banks where customers desperately try to withdraw money from stressed teller staff.

CNN has learned that the attacks were performed by the Linux fraction of al Queada which is referred to as "al Tux" in CIA circles. Apparently the group learned of concise plans to make HERF guns from a story on the geek website "Slashdot.org".

Editors at Slashdot could not be reached for comment as they had suffered malnutrition from not being able to eat microwave burritos or pizza pockets for the past 48hrs.

Great for Noise Pollution

[nurb432]

Just zap those idiots with their car stereos blasting crap at 2am.. Problem solved, peace and quiet again.

Too bad the site is toast.. slashdot effect or 'homeland security' ???

Re:Great for Noise Pollution

[Sabalon]

My thoughs...I'm already trying to figure out how to mount it aimed at a neighboors house :)

I figure if I put some sort of directional mic on it, and if time >11pm and it picks up noise, then send off a pulse.

Only problem with your idea is it strands the asshole in front of your house :(

Mod parent

[Anonymous Coward]

hahaha your right , i cant believe people/mods/students are so stupid to think that if ABS fails it locks your wheels up !!

oh wait i forgot most people here dont even know what outside is let alone driving and cars.

"This Account Has Been Slashdotted :)"

[Anonymous Coward]

When you go to the website is now redirects to http://host10.ipowerweb.com/suspended.page/index2. html instead of http://host10.ipowerweb.com/suspended.page/index.h tml

This new redirection now says "This Account Has Been Slashdotted :)".
Just goes to show, too many fucking people read /.

Slashdotted.

[Anonymous Coward]

He might have built a HERF gun, but we slashdotted him before he could even get the specs out.

I smell a conspiracy here...

spike strips

[Hubert_Shrump]

actually, spike strips are made to deploy at any old speed. they're specially formulated to let the air out of the tires slowly, so that you gradually slurp into railcar-mode.

by specially formulated i of course mean: "the spikes are hollow".

Re:spike strips

[t0qer]

they're specially formulated

Not trying to knock you, but you sound like you're talking about vitamin suppliments using that word "formulated"

You're right though, they are "engineered" or "designed" to slowly let the air out of the tires by using small tubes, about 3mm in size to allow the air to slowly escape.

Perhaps a better name would be "Tube Strips" because they aren't actually spikes at all. (Note I learned this all from watching a discovery special about non-leathal weapons for law enforcement.)

Re:spike strips

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually there are spike strips and then there are what you refer to. One is deployed in the US and the other is not. The US is currently only using the traditional spike strips which causes an immediate blowout 9 times out of 10. The strips you're refering to use a small steel tube in the place of the spike to slowly drain the tire while maintaining most of the tires structural integrity. The 2nd is really nice, assuming the crook slows down before the tires fully deflate. If they don't slow down then the tubes have the same effects as the traditional spike.

Could this be aimed at thos big bass car speakers?

[bewert]

For the EE's out there--could something like this be aimed at those extremely annoying giant bass speakers in the car beside at a stoplight, and have an effect like a "mute" button? A permanent mute button, if you get my drift : )

Excellent

[Uncle Gropey]

Now to order one and wait for the little gangsta wannabe across the street to turn on his 5,000 watt subwoofer...

Just what we needed...

[dark-br]

A 14 y old l33t h4x04 with a EMP gun...

Re:Mood altering audio

[martyn s]

What's bullshit? I mean, I can't find the slashdot story, but there was a story (and it's widely accepted, and known for a long time) that says that infra sound, or sound waves below the lowest frequency humans can hear, can affect your mood very strongly and predictably. This is not bullshit.

But that this guy made "mood-altering" music, that can be played on your PC, yes that's probably bullshit.

feminism influence on HERF

[rodney dill]

Either half of the guns will be named HISF or the whole kit and kaboodle will have be named PERSONF guns or you'll be in for a lawsuit.

I wonder if it works on treadmills?

[Anonymous Coward]

The chick in the apartment upstairs has one of those treadmills that you plug in. While she is running on this damn thing she also cranks her stereo. Hmmmmm... a well-placed blast from a HERF gun could be just what I'm looking for! Mwuahahahahahahah!

>:-)

TAKE ANOTHER LOOK AT THE SITE

[Anonymous Coward]

This Account Has Been Slashdotted :)

I need a EM device to block cell phones in class

[BrentRJones]

I am a high school teacher and need a very simple EM device to block cell phone use in my classroom. Anybody know where I can buy one or get plans to build a simple one.

how is it that /. never gets /.'ed ??

[pair-a-noyd]

I think that prior to a story release /. could mirror the piddly little site and do us all a favor. Apparently /. has the pipe to cope.

Secondly, I want to see a device that will cook these assholes with that 400db, 6hz THUMP THUMP shit. These punks drive past my house and split my skull with that horrid shit. It's an invasion of MY PRIVACY. I don't want to hear that, I don't want to FEEL THAT. I want QUIET in my house. These sorry assholes think it's cute to thump that shit into my house and make ME suffer that trash..
I hope that it's causing them brain damage, like brain tumors and other nasty things.

I would pay BIG MONEY $$$$ for a device that I could aim at them and totally fry their stereos as they drive by, and I mean fry it beyond repair.

They deserve it. They are breaking the law and they deserve to be punished.

Re:how is it that /. never gets /.'ed ??

[mgessner]

Count me in! It's not so much in my house, as I now live in a quiet neighborhood... but just think you could SELL YOUR SERVICES:

1) Build a HERF GUN
2) Hire yourself out as a noise mercenary
3) Shoot THUMP THUMP THUMPER cars
4) Profit!

Re:how is it that /. never gets /.'ed ??

[pair-a-noyd]

I like this idea.

Tailgaters in general

[nurb432]

Forget police ( they will catch ya eventually ), but to knock out those dangerous bastard SUV drivers that like to drive 2 inch from your bumper in 70mph traffic... now THAT would be useful!

Either that or just toss a paint ball out the sunroof.. *poof* all over their windshield.. though collateral damage as they careen off the road would suck for the innocents..

Re:Tailgaters in general

[Anonymous Coward]

>Forget police ( they will catch ya eventually )

You reckon? You must not watch the same police-chase programs as me. I'd rather not be in a helicopter with one of these things pointed at me, thanks. I also imagine this could be used as the poor mans SAM missile when pointed at civilian aircraft during Muslim holidays.

I hope they make this illegal

[Listen Up]

This is a great application of science, but I hope they make it illegal to create. A device such as this one is useful for purposes of destruction only. Some kid standing on a highway overpass could cause hundreds of deaths, randomly spraying this device around could cause telecommunications devices to stop working causing emergency services such as ambulances to not make it to the scene of an accident or crime. As with any person who understands the beauty and power of science, there is always the flaw of human morality that has to be taken into account. Hence, the person should not post this information free on the web for any idiot to read and create. It is like creating a website to show someone exactly how to create a fertilizer bomb. Then some asshole, mentally f'ed up kid who hates his 5th grade teacher could read the website, go into his parents gardening shed, and kill dozen or more people at his school who have nothing to do with his problems, especially his teacher. I hope that this device is never used in public.

Re:I hope they make this illegal

[bots]

and we all know that once you make something illegal no one does it anymore. how about we make causing hundereds of deaths illegal? Wait, it already is.

Re:I hope they make this illegal

[Dr Reducto]

It is sad to see that you look at a technology and only see what could be wrong about it. Every piece of knowledge has the power to be used for good or evil, not just this. Fo example, knowing how to blow up a building might help a potential criminal pull off the technical aspect of blowing it up, but the police officers investigating use the knowledge of how to build a bomb to seek out the places where he got his materials, and in general, where to start thier investigation. In fact, the final exam for a high-level government bomb-squad school, is to build a bomb, detonate it, and then investigate each other. I saw this on the Discovery channel a while back, so I can't remember what school it was though (Maybe ATF?).

Re:I hope they make this illegal

[August_zero]

Just read most of the posts that people have put up as to how they would put such a device to use and you then know exactl;y why stuff like this isn't best in the hands of the populace.

Just because its cool, doesn't mean its harmless, and just because a person is a "geek" doesn't mean they are not malign.

Re:I hope they make this illegal

[PsibrII]

You would have to ban private ownership of microwave ovens to eliminate herf gun parts. The genie is out of the bottle. The only thing that will save you is the inverse square law and the fact that people capable of rigging up a high voltage high current microwave device without killing themselves are relatively rare. The level of knowledge and common sense required to build one also tends to rule out anyone stupid enough to die for their religious quirks being able to make one. I suspect though, that if you left your boomer stereo going in the car while you weren't in it, the risks of getting your harware nuked by an angry nerd with a herf are pretty good.

Re:I hope they make this illegal

[wurp]

Gah! No wonder the country is in the fucked up, can't buy standard chemical or physics equipment state that it's in!

That same kid could wire the teacher's desk to the class outlet, or poison their lunch, or bash them in the head with a brick, or drop a giant oil slick bomb on the highway, ...

Outlaw evil activities, not OWNERSHIP! The US is founded on a pioneering spirit. Legislators are doing one hell of a job of killing that spirit in favor of corporate cronyism, and you're saying we should help!?!

Re:I hope they make this illegal

[rpgguy76]

Do I detect someone who is a wee little bit technophobic? If one of those kids you talked about wanted to cause trouble, all they would have to do is drop rocks from a freeway overpass or throw a homemade spike strip on the road. Same effect except this ones a WHOLE lot easier to do than make a herf gun.

Re:I hope they make this illegal

[Listen Up]

Actually, I am the farthest thing from technophobic. You see me in the wrong light. This sort of information is fantastic in the hands of the right people. It is the same concept as the "Anarchist Cookbook" that people passed around school and thought was so cool when I was a kid. Of course, people started getting hurt and then it was a problem. That is the point of what I talking about. A tool and knowledge in the hands of people who know what they are doing and know the dangers of its use, that is always better than having some kid who has no idea about the value of life or a tools destructive power download it freely off of the internet. Not all kids are that way, but unfortunately most kids are that way. That was my entire point.

"asking for it"

[Anonymous Coward]

If you don't want people to visit your site, don't put it up on the 'Net.

That's the whole point of the WWW: for people to link to other sites.

Moderator:

[quintessent]

I wish you would explain how this is off-topic.

Re:I need a EM device to block cell phones in clas

[scrod]

Cell phone jammers are illegal in the United States, Canada, Britain, Australia, Switzerland, and many other countries.

Re:Is this really news?

[RKloti]

Umm, you forgot one thing: Ignition. Unless your engine is a diesel engine, a failure of the electrical system will make it stall too.

And having your headlight fail at night CAN be a disaster if it causes you to go off the road and into a tree at 80+ km/h. Headlights aren't just for generously warning other drivers of potential hazards of the legal kind further up the road, you know.

Dont you mean...

[Codex The Sloth]

Don't you mean the Flowers By Irene van?

Re: 7 minutes

[August_zero]

Hope thats sarcasm...

Re:I need a EM device to block cell phones in clas

[Anonymous Coward]

gbppr.dyndns.org/PROJ/mil/celljam

Another use?

[Anonymous Coward]

Zap the best guy at Quakecon?

SlashdotDOS

[Anonymous Coward]

Here what it says now on the webpage

This Account Has Been Slashdotted :)

The <blink> tag.

[BigBlockMopar]

Pretty informative, from a guy who used the *blink* tag on his web page.

Great, huh?

The only good thing which can be said about MSIE is that it ignores blink tags.

MSIE users are less likely to care about Linux and the open source situation than Mozilla/Netscape/Opera/blinking browsers.

I wanted my little diatribe on the Linux desktop situation to be read by open-source proponents, and allow the mindless MSIE borgs to overlook it, since it doesn't pain the Linux desktop sitch in a favorable light. I don't want to give the Borg propaganda.

So, I could have written a little script which changes the content to emphasize it for non-MSIE users... or, I could have used the blink tag.

I think my solution qualifies under the definition of "elegant simplicity"...

...which is about the only way one can describe a blink tag as elegant.

Panicky anti internet hacker terrorist rant.

[mrmeval]

This is a panicky, shriek, probably a troll for a new laws restricting access to electronics and defeat devices to be placed in future devices.

Facing armed hackers
http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2000/0612 /tec-brag g-06-12-00.asp

no more high speed persuits

[kcim]

I don't know if this was covered, but what about high perf magnitos I think morroso made one you had to ground it out to kill the engine. this with shealding ( talk to old ham radio guys about using braid on plug wires) Ihad one of thease on my small block chevy ( 68 impala custom) the ground wire frade off and I had one hell of a time turning the engine off.

maggies

[sik puppy]

If you are willing to spend the $, good high power maggies can be purchased from ratheyon and others - 10 cm/S band maggie, 60kw, 3 GHz should run around $1,000 US or so. Use about a 12kv supply at 5 amps and there is your nice big pulse.

Do NOT bump the hv output of your power supply unless you like waking up on the other side of the room feeling like someone has given you a professional beating with a baseball bat. (Yes that is the voice of experience)

HERF guns just another urban myth?

[hackiavelli]

According to http://www.soci.niu.edu/~crypt/other/kooks.htm HERF guns are just another urban legend that a gullible mass media has fallen for:

"Interestingly, an EMP gun inventor, David Schriner, showed up on ABC's 20/20 in mid-February 1999 to demonstrate the effects of it for an overawed Diane Sawyer. After donning fancy protective suits and unusual-looking copper mesh headgear, Schriner tested his weapon on Sawyer's corvette and a white limousine. At a range of about 5-10 feet and with the weapon pointed directly into the automobiles' open engine compartment, Schriner's electromagnetic pulse gun made Sawyer's idling corvette . . . run roughly."

The Gentle Soldiers Shopping Cart

[mrmeval]

To kill or not to kill is this the answer?

http://liun.hektik.org/hightech/herf/shopping.ht ml

Most of these ideas need a feedback system and highly intellegent processing to work, especially the ones that work on live humans.

The 'sticky' stuff would need to be 'intellegent' as well so as not to suffocate the victim.

The various pulse and sound weapons would need some sort of life sensor as feed back so that they would 'know' enough is enough.

That's been the problem with non-lethal wepons, as an aside a simple net doesn not generate federal funding.

Damn, I'm wrong about the net, here's a gov't shopping cart:
http://www.govexec.com/features/0501/0501s4 s1.htm

Some comparisons of non lethal weapons between Hollydood (includes the news spews) and reality:
http://www.aele.org/technology2-01.html

Smokin

[Anonymous Coward]

Man, that's one biiiig lab ! :)

One word for you my friend

[anlprb]

Zoloft

formulated

[Hubert_Shrump]

knock!? hrmph.

I thought it was perfectly cromulent.

Re:formulated

[t0qer]

cromulent?

woah! You better slow down or i'll have to look that one up :P lol!

The trees the thing

[Anonymous Coward]

Knowledge. The Tree of Good 'n Evil, bud.

If you want out, go get a nice friendly lobotomy. No, non-stop TV doesn't count. It just looks like it.

Get a real Host

[pcjunky]

I've slashdoted a few times. We have 3 T1's and didn't have any trouble. If you want a real host don't think you will get it for $5.95 per month. A single T1 can transfer over 450 Gigs per month. If your trying to host with a cheapy hosting company that only allows 15 Gigs of tranfer per month then expect this. Get a real host.

Re:I need a EM device to block cell phones in clas

[death or glory]

use a ruler

Harpoon this

[gijoel]

The volvo captain, the White Volvo.... "From hell's dark heart I stab at thee crappy Volvo driver."

what HERF means/stands for

[danalien]

for those who didn't know:

"HERF stands for High Energy Radio Frequency. A HERF gun is used to disrupt digital equipment such as computers by blasting them with HERF emissions."

non-ionizing != no cancer...

[ron_ivi]

The previous poster wrote:
"If you take a direct blast from a radar, it's unlikely to make you sterile, or to cause cancer. Those are caused by ionizing radiation (ie. nuclear and X-Ray)."

Ultraviolet light (i.e. sunbathing) is also non-ionizing; yet it's one of the leading cancer causes.

Site Still Gone, anyone make copies?

[nurb432]

Now that it looks like the site isnt coming back now that its been pummeled into oblivion ( or taken down by the black helicopters ) did anyone manage to get a REAL copy of the site first?

And no, not some google cache with just text, I mean all the details.

Re:I need a EM device to block cell phones in clas

[zenyu]

Cell phone jammers are illegal in the United States, Canada, Britain, Australia, Switzerland, and many other countries.

I think there was some talk of making them legal in lecture halls and movie theaters in the New York City Council. I haven't heard about it in a while, maybe the FCC wouldn't approve it. But they were talking about that Israeli device that acts as your cell phone tower abut doesn't route the calls. Which is IMHO a much better way to do it, you don't risk destroying the cell phone, and it's much easier to tune the device only do work in the theater. And, before anyone talks about doctors missing their pages when they are on call, theaters have checked beepers for doctors for about as long as they've been around. You just tell them where you're sitting and they'll send an usher to get you in an emergency. (I'm pretty sure they'll do it for astronauts and fighter pilots too.)

Geeks are not practical

[Anonymous Coward]

Why use a high powered laser to perferate his radiator when a good ol' fashion rifle bullet would do the job just as effectively?

Re:Geeks are not practical

[fucksl4shd0t]

Why use a high powered laser to perferate his radiator when a good ol' fashion rifle bullet would do the job just as effectively?

One word: ricochet

Hmm

[The AtomicPunk]

What's this do to a pacemaker?

Looks like their ISP realized what was going on

[Anonymous Coward]

and decided to take pity:

"This account has been slashdotted :)"

Re:Mood altering audio

[quintessent]

Witness the power of the almighty (and clueless) moderator. Oh well. Where there is power, there likely be abuse.

That's cool, though. I can't remember the last time I was modded to -1.

Google's cache with images

[xixax]

Here's Google's cche which has the pictures and diagrams.

Xix.

highway snowball fights

[tomzyk]

...just toss a paint ball out the sunroof.. *poof* all over their windshield.
Heh. We used to do this while on roadtrips when I was in college. Except, instead of paintballs, we used those Hostess Snowballs. (spherical cakes coated in coconut and filled with cream.) They worked so well because when they splattered on the windshield and the driver tried to use their wipers, the blades would just smear the cream more and more around the windsheild so they would basically have to pull off the road and wipe it all off by hand.

of course, we weren't STUPID when we did this; we only did it when no other vehicles were around and only to the other cars that were on the trip with us. (I think if you hit anyone else, they would die of a heart attack from thinking they hit a bee that was the size of their fist.)

Other magneto engines

[Andy Dodd]

A lot of marine engines (even larger ones in the past) used magnetos.

But automotive engines? Never seen one.

Re:Knight Rider

[Anonymous Coward]

And yet, in Knight Rider 2000, KITT's computer was placed in the shell of the Knight Industry's Four Thousand (which they didn't bother abbreviationg as KIFT). Even had an aquatic mode (Knightboat).

How that jives with Team Knight Rider or the upcoming movie I don't understand. (Forget Knight Rider 2010.)

Oh, if they'd only implanted KARR's computer into Goliath's shell....

(So glad I'm still an AC.)

No, you DON'T need ferrous material.

[Ungrounded Lightning]

Rearranged for clarity:

aluminum CANNOT be used to protect aginst portions of the magnetic (waves) spectrum. ie a [faraday] cage [...] it has to be make out of a ferrous material. ie steel, cast iron. (material can be used as a magnet)

Sorry, wrong.

Conductors are VERY good at stopping both the electrical and magnetic components of electromagnetic radiation.

The magnetic component is stopped because it induces a current in the conductor, which produces a magnetic field that cancels the incoming magnetic field on the far side of the conductor (and adds to it on the near side, causing the magnetic component of the wave to "bounce").

The higher the frequency, or the better the conductor, the shallower the penetration. A perfect conductor (i.e. a superconductor) can exclude even a DC magnetic field.

EMP is a fast pulse, corresponding only to extremely high frequencies, while aluminum is one of the most conductive metals there is.

Pacemakers, insulin pumps, etc...

[Anonymous Coward]

Caution: don't even think about using these in anything but extremely controlled situations. Think about what would happen if the car you zapped contained a driver with a pacemaker or other piece of life sustaining equipment. Very bad.

Anyway, not trying to cut a party short, just don't build one.

microwave gun

[Anonymous Coward]

this gun seems strangely like my microwave gun - a gun i made by taking apart a microwave and cramming all the important parts (magnetron, transformer, capacitor) into a big pipe. maybe it's just my imagination...

Re: 7 minutes

[Hognoxious]

All of Europe was taken over by nazi Germany within 7 minutes.

It was jolly sporting of the Boche to allow the RAF/USAAF to keep flying from Britain to bomb them, then.

Decca Records and Radar Company

[BigBlockMopar]

Indeed, it was a Scotsman, Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt. See here:

Interestingly too, during the 1940s, record companies were pretty high-tech - the technology was still pretty cutting-edge.

Decca Records made a name for itself by helping with a lot of wartime research. In postwar times, this spawned Decca Navigator and Decca Radar, names well known to any mariner.

Disclaimer: Decca Radar is a former employer of mine.