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Night Vision Scope From Scavenged Parts

Caydel writes "Greg Miller appears to have built a Night Vision Scope out of an image intensifier tube, and parts he found mostly in dumpsters. Also on Greg's site: Flyback transformers, coil guns, plasma globes and Tesla coils made from dumpster materials." You get the feeling he's not also writing product safety manuals on the side.

110 of 177 comments (clear)

  1. cool by secretsquirel · · Score: 5, Funny

    But can it see through clothes?

    1. Re:cool by breinier · · Score: 3, Interesting

      For that sort of thing, look here:
      http://www.baytoday.ca/content/news/details.asp?c= 6657

    2. Re:cool by rikkards · · Score: 1

      I have seen this guy before. If you look at the pictures, the big red and white suit was designed to protect people from bear attacks. He designed it for bear researchers

      He also has developed some kind of material that resists heat and is really light that you can paint on and is really strong. He figures that if Columbia had been covered in this stuff, it would have survived. Not sure what his background is but you get the impression that what he makes he shouldn't be able to.

    3. Re:cool by Lupulack · · Score: 1

      >>I have seen this guy before. If you look at the pictures, the big red and white suit was designed to protect people from bear attacks. He designed it for bear researchers

      This isn't the same guy , the Ursa suit designer is Canadian and the site here mentions living in Iowa. Besides , the Ursa guy isn't an engineer or other sort of geek , he's more obsessed with grizzlies than anything.

      --
      The fact that no one understands you doesn't mean you're an artist.
    4. Re:cool by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative
      The name of the bear suit guy is Troy Hurtubise and while he seems a little wacky, he definitely has some creative energy...
      Bear Suit he actually did a test where he gets run into by a truck... (among other things)
      Fire paste blowtorch to the head; he's wearing a helmet with some of this fire paste stuff. there's a video if you scroll down to the article "Fighting fire with fact"

      Draw your own conclusions about this guy...

    5. Re:cool by Brianwa · · Score: 1

      Possibly - Some clothes are semi-transparent to infrared, but most are opaque.

    6. Re:cool by rikkards · · Score: 1

      Sorry the guy I was talking about was Troy who was linked to in the parent. Not the main subject of the thread.

  2. Cost ? by mirko · · Score: 1

    What about its cost (I know this comes from a dumpster but Hell, some might have less difficulties buying the part than finding these) ?

    --
    Trolling using another account since 2005.
    1. Re:Cost ? by IO+ERROR · · Score: 2, Funny

      Cost $27 for the image intensifier, and $5 each for several trips to the laundromat after dumpster diving.

      --
      How am I supposed to fit a pithy, relevant quote into 120 characters?
    2. Re:Cost ? by eclectro · · Score: 3, Funny

      Image intesifier: $27
      Cost of multiple trips to the laundromat after dumpster diving: $35

      Being able to see in the dark after 3,000 volt electric shock: priceless.

      --
      Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"
    3. Re:Cost ? by killa62 · · Score: 1

      Man, I guess I won't need to get the image intesifier anymore, the 3kv electric shock will probably give me superman powers.

    4. Re:Cost ? by eclectro · · Score: 1

      Do you constantly retread the MC ads because you work for them

      Yes, and I am in the process of reviewing your account wiht us now. I find that an increase in your APR is justified for needlessly disclosing this conspiracy.

      Regards,

      Matercard Acct Dept.

      --
      Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"
  3. And I thought I was geeky... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    This guy is one mullet and a bra-strap-propelled rocket away from his own 80's series.

  4. Who throws out an image intensifier ???? by The_Mr_Flibble · · Score: 1

    I mean come on that's the main cost of a night scope

    1. Re:Who throws out an image intensifier ???? by The_Mr_Flibble · · Score: 1

      Ok I just rtfa and oh never mind.

    2. Re:Who throws out an image intensifier ???? by Lavaeolus · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Seems that nobody does. From the article:
      I did have to buy the main component, the image intensifier tube, because I think it's pretty unlikely that I'll come across one in the dumper.
      One of the lenses and the IR LED's were also purchased, not scavenged.
    3. Re:Who throws out an image intensifier ???? by AkaXakA · · Score: 1

      The real cost is doing something usefull with it, like enabling it to make colour images.

    4. Re:Who throws out an image intensifier ???? by necro2607 · · Score: 1

      Um... I 'dived' (dumpter dived) a 400mhz celeron PC from behind a computer store last year... only components missing were the HD and video card...

      You'd be amazed what kind of shit people throw out... I have found countless =233mhz Pentium-class motherboards with CPUs (and even more 486 mobos), tons and tons of keyboards, quite a few monitors (best one was a 15" perfectly functional monitor capable of 1024x768 pixel screen size)... Oh yeah I've also got two pentium-based cash register machines here that I 'dived'...

  5. Insurgents in Iraq by barrkel · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I wonder if this will be used by various guerilla groups to try and even up the technological battleground.

    1. Re:Insurgents in Iraq by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny
      Yes, because Image Intesifier Tubes are so much easier to come by than simple Night Vision units...
      No, no, that is next week's Slashdot article, "How to Make an Image Intensifier Tube out of Lego."
    2. Re:Insurgents in Iraq by The_Mr_Flibble · · Score: 1

      No but his railguns may. Speaking of which I know I only have a rudimentry understanding of physics but surely he should of done some calculations regarding optimum coil size wire diameter coil spacing field strength.

    3. Re:Insurgents in Iraq by Riddlefox · · Score: 2, Informative

      No. This is a Gen 0 tube, which means that you need IR illumination to see. All NVG's can see IR illumination. If you walked aroudn with this at night, to other people with NVG's, you'd look like you had a giant flashlight strapped to your head. That does not bode well for your long-term longetivity on a battlefield.

    4. Re:Insurgents in Iraq by BaldGhoti · · Score: 1

      I wonder if this will be used by Paris Hilton.

      --
      [insert witty sig here]
    5. Re:Insurgents in Iraq by CAIMLAS · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I read in an article about the new Army uniforms how they had infrared-light sensitive patches on their armbands for FoF identification. My first thought was, "this will be trouble."

      --
      ~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
    6. Re:Insurgents in Iraq by Necr0maN · · Score: 1

      http://www.powerlabs.org/railgun.htm

  6. coral cache by supersuckers · · Score: 5, Informative

    It's angelfire, so bandwidth limit probably won't take long to be reached...
    http://www.angelfire.com.nyud.net:8090/80s/sixmhz/ infrared.html
    Also, this project was from May '03.

  7. CORAL Cache Link by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative
    http://www.angelfire.com.nyud.net:8090/80s/sixmhz/ infrared.html

    I managed to get most of the pages in before the /.ing

  8. Hack A Day by wolveso · · Score: 5, Informative

    Hack A Day's story referencing Miller's night-vision project can be found here;
    http://www.hackaday.com/entry/1234000107028849/

    Lots of similar DIY projects, including peltier beverage coolers and linux-powered weather balloons, can be found at;
    http://www.hackaday.com/

  9. Angelfire links on Slashdot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Have the editors never heard of nyud or other caching services? How long before this poor guy's site gets terminated for using up its available bandwidth?!

  10. Re:The important question by antifoidulus · · Score: 2, Funny

    You would of at least thought they would have the decency to throw in a few example pictures taken on the Tokyo subway! Come on, don't tempt us lonely geeks like that on the day after Valentines!

  11. He should go into hiding... by Interfacer · · Score: 5, Funny

    because the department of homeland security will be knocking on his door pronto.

    Excuse mr, you have just won a free vacation to the beautiful island of Cuba. do not bother to pack your stuff. everything has been arranged for you.

    after that they have to start watching landfills and monitoring scavengers's behavior. "Excuse mr hobo, where do you think you are going with that rusted coathanger? not planing an attach on the pentagon, are we?"

    1. Re:He should go into hiding... by Necr0maN · · Score: 1

      yes but this is terrorist night vision equipment because he didn't pay any big corporation a large amount of money for it.

  12. See this book (pub 1990) for detailed plans by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    Gordon McComb's Gadgeteers Goldmine ( http://tinyurl.com/4jw9t ) has some plans for doing this. While some of the projects are pretty flawed (the Tesla coil design is anything but efficient) it's a reasonable read.

  13. Reaction from the stars by LiquidCoooled · · Score: 5, Funny

    Paris Hilton was said to be very interested in this device.

    Hang on, thats not news is it.

    --
    liqbase :: faster than paper
  14. Wow 60 year old technology.... by MajorDick · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Night Vision is a 60-70 year old technology,

    Ther Germans used the Vampir in WWII for crying out loud. I dont know when the first US night vision appeared but it was pre Korea

    I can build a 1 tube radio too, and theyre basically on the same level tech wise.

    Now why dosent someone build one of those cool doppler thingamajigies that ses in the dark and throught smoke and fog, now THAT would be cool , and a little more recent technology wise.
    I mean night vision ? I can do it with my 99$ Camcorder. A doppler I haven seen for under about 5 grand.

    1. Re:Wow 60 year old technology.... by MajorDick · · Score: 1

      No but he did buy the image tube, now if he would have made the image intensifier I would have been impressed, but he bought it, at that point your talking about hooking up like 4 components,
      Like I said if he would have made his own tube and wound his own coils that would have had at least a novelty value, showing you could make one from NOTHING, not from buying the intensifier.

    2. Re:Wow 60 year old technology.... by Cthefuture · · Score: 1

      No kidding. While a neat project, it is mostly a waste of time unless you are just interested in learning how these things work.

      You don't even need a $99 camcorder. There are countless B/W infrared cameras out there. I picked up a couple a while ago just to play around with. Total cost? $20 for two of them. I didn't have to do anything, just plug into the composite video out.

      These "active" infrared cameras are boring. You need a strong IR source to see anything (ie. you still need a flashlight). Meh.

      Now passive infrared, that would be cool and probably easier than your doppler thing. That would allow you to see temperature differences and things like that (think FLIR). I can think of tons of uses for one of those.

      --
      The ratio of people to cake is too big
  15. This is news? by Caradoc · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I built a IR scope in 1988 (in high school) from a surplus tube, a transformer from an old monitor, and some surplus optics.

    It won me a $500 scholarship from the Army, which paid for my freshman Biology textbooks when I got to college.

    This is news?

    --
    Specialization is for insects. - R.A.H.
    1. Re:This is news? by po8 · · Score: 1

      You payed $500 for textbooks for a single course? In 1989?

    2. Re:This is news? by po8 · · Score: 1

      Right you are. Thanks for the correction!

  16. I'm all for Tesla by Rares+Marian · · Score: 1

    but is there actually any use for Tesla coils in one's own home.

    --
    The message on the other side of this sig is false.
    1. Re:I'm all for Tesla by Technician · · Score: 1

      but is there actually any use for Tesla coils in one's own home.


      Dude! Read the article. When he runs the coil, the sprinkler system comes on. It's a geeks dream. You don't have to leave the house!

      He go the parts dumpster diving.. Ummm Nevermind the part about not leaving the house.

      --
      The truth shall set you free!
    2. Re:I'm all for Tesla by Lehk228 · · Score: 2, Funny

      but is there actually any use for Tesla coils in one's own home.

      In case some wise-ass tries to send prism tanks after you.

      --
      Snowden and Manning are heroes.
    3. Re:I'm all for Tesla by JThundley · · Score: 1

      Teach kids a lesson: don't touch other people's shit!

    4. Re:I'm all for Tesla by hal2814 · · Score: 1

      That's not gonna help. The prism tanks have longer range. But if you want to have fun with some Jehovah's Witnesses...

  17. All we need now... by GillBates0 · · Score: 4, Funny
    is a Shopping Cart made from scavenged parts.

    Armed with the night vision scope and shopping cart, we can make those nightly dumpster scavenging rounds really fruitful.

    --
    An Indian-American Hindu committed to non-violent thought/speech/action alarmed by the global explosion of radical Islam
  18. Re:The important question by kyojin+the+clown · · Score: 3, Funny

    Very few people on the Tokyo Subway wear dark bikinis. Surprising as it may seem.

  19. Mirrordot! by dknj · · Score: 1
  20. only if you use WEP by RMH101 · · Score: 2, Funny

    the neighbours will be leaching your juice, otherwise.

  21. I beg you pardon ?!? by fizze · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Ok, the goggles and stuff might be fun. ok. but building a tesla coil ?

    Pardonnez moi ?
    This is not only highly dangerous, but also incredibly stupid. While he DOES notice that the very strong electromagnetic field does turn on and off other devices nearby, he still keeps fiddling with it.
    There is no clue about the frequency his coil effectively produces, but simply the fact that there are at least some 50.000 volts wouldnt want me to have this device active, unless in a controller environment. (read: laboratory)

    And, whats more, he also puts it on the net for other whackos to attempt, too.
    Great.


    Quotes from other "projects" from this dude:
    " Also you'll need to drill a hole in the microwave cover to get the hose out the back because you WILL *IMPORTANT* put the panel back on the microwave before operation or you will get cooked with RF radiation."
    wohoo, at least he is aware that the panel is vital.


    For those people who aint really into tech: a microwave oven heats up water molecules. and a human body consists of mostly water....
    go figure.

    I for one, wouldnt be surprised if this man dies a young death from cancerial deseases.....

    --
    Powerful is he who overpowers his temptations.
    1. Re:I beg you pardon ?!? by the+unbeliever · · Score: 1

      Much like the Anarchist's Cookbook, anyone who follows these instructions is a Darwin Award in the making.

    2. Re:I beg you pardon ?!? by reezle · · Score: 4, Insightful

      So you are saying we need to be protected from his ideas?
      Us whacko's will give it a try and kill ourselves because we aren't quite smart enough to recognize the dangerous bits like you have?

      Let me guess. You're from the government. And you're here to help.

    3. Re:I beg you pardon ?!? by Al-Hala · · Score: 3, Informative

      "... but building a tesla coil ?"

      I wholly agree this fellow isn't exactly all there in the understanding or safety departments (Flybacks and IHVT's are different animals, and his rough and ready approach to microwaves would make me pause as well), but building Tesla Coils is a rite of passage for any serious geek. They're no more dangerous to make than any other line powered device. They produce a lot of RF noise from the spark gap in the primary (if so equipped, I've seen some Solid State switching models), and 30KV and up of high frequency electricity from the primary.

      This high frequency energy mostly travels along the skin, an is (depending on the model) of a low enough current that the worst I've ever gotten is pinpricks from letting the energy ground itself to me directly (which is why most demonstrations use a metal object or thimbles). Having said that, I'm not willing to catch the output of one of the garage models, throwing around 1MV at the walls.

      Heck, standing in water IMPROVES the effect. Of course, directions should be researched before attempting anything like this, but hey, people burn themselves with hot coffee by placing it in laps....

      "While he DOES notice that the very strong - electromagnetic field does turn on and off other devices nearby, he still keeps fiddling with it."

      Wonder if he's noticed the inductive heating effect on perpendicular bands of metal. Induction furnace in action:)

      I've still got mine, and it gets use every Holloween, along with the Lighting Bulb, and the Jacobs Ladder (both of which use low frequency electricity, and so are shielded from inquisitive hands). I work with RF professionally, by the way, partly in result to my playing with Tesla Coils.

      "- And, whats more, he also puts it on the net for other whackos to attempt, too. Great."

      He's not the first. check out Powerlabs (Rail Guns, Can Crushers, Plasma Experiments). That "whacko" got a advanced education, thanks to his insanity. And I'm green with envy. Also, check almost every year of Popular Electronicsl at least one issue will have a Tesla Coil in it.

      "For those people who aint really into tech: a microwave oven heats up water molecules. and a human body consists of mostly water....
      go figure."

      True enough. The frequency of microwaves used causes a resonance in the carbon-hydrogen bonds, affecting Fats, Sugers and Water (in that order). Having said that, it still follows the same laws as normal electromagnetic radiation, and drops off drastically as distance increases. It's interesting to actually measure the drop offs and emissions from damaged microwaves to see just how little escapes (I used to repair them, at one point).

      Anyway, ramble time is over :)

    4. Re:I beg you pardon ?!? by Al-Hala · · Score: 1

      Ah. I see posting in the wee morning once again has robbed me of proofreading skills. Ah well. Primary, Secondary, it's all the same transformer, right? *chuckles*.

    5. Re:I beg you pardon ?!? by gwydion04 · · Score: 2, Informative

      "cancerial diseases"??? That ain't a word, bro :-P. You can only get cancer from radiation that can spoink your DNA, meaning frequencies UV and above. Microwaves have frequencies lower than visible light. They'll heat you up. That's it. Now... if being heated up causes cancer, that's news to me. I doubt he's beaming large quantities of HV electrons at tungsten / moly targets to create x-rays. My dad (a power engineer) has let me play with homebuilt tesla coils since I was 3 or so... no problems here.... (((twitch)))

    6. Re:I beg you pardon ?!? by hairykrishna · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Bah. Everything fun is at least a little bit dangerous. Nobody's making you build one and you're fairly unlikely to come to harm because some "wacko" (to use your terminology) has knocked up a Tesla coil in his garage.

      Same go's for playing with old microwave ovens. Just for the record, by the way, even if he screws up royally he's not going to get cancer from his microwave- non-ionising radiation you see. He could cook himself though- that'd probably suck.

      I think this kind of nanny "but you might hurt yourself" attitude is going to harm future science education. Already it's at the point where you can no longer do a bunch of demonstration experiments in the classroom. Big sparking things, stuff exploding- that's what provided the hook to get me into physics.

      --
      "Physics is to math as sex is to masturbation." -R. Feynman
    7. Re:I beg you pardon ?!? by Technician · · Score: 1

      There is no clue about the frequency his coil effectively produces, but simply the fact that there are at least some 50.000 volts wouldnt want me to have this device active, unless in a controller environment. (read: laboratory)


      Due to the number of turns and length of the coil, the self resonant frequency is usualy well below 1 Megahertz. Read up on TC's for the facts. It's not like it's a bunch of power at UHF or Microwave frequencies.

      At these long wavelengths, skin effect is strong keeping current mostly outside the body. People can take several hundred mA at these frequencies. Just Remove all metal and avoid a direct arc to prevent RF burns. They are nasty. The long wavelength keeps biometric heating to a minimum. I'd be worried if he was dinking with a magnatron outside a cavity.

      Disclaimer.. I built a tesla coil.

      --
      The truth shall set you free!
    8. Re:I beg you pardon ?!? by CmdrGravy · · Score: 1

      Damn right, Chemistry was the both the most boring and the most exciting lesson at school.

      Most exciting when they said "Right, you need to design an experiment to investigate this ... give the lab assistant a list of the equipment you think you will need and it will be ready for next lesson"

      The most boring bits where the rest of it, balancing equations yuck !

    9. Re:I beg you pardon ?!? by Kehvarl · · Score: 1

      and you're fairly unlikely to come to harm because some "wacko" (to use your terminology) has knocked up a Tesla coil in his garage.

      I'd feel bad about the poor Tesla coil though, I mean, what's she going to tell her father? "Some geek I didn't know all that well took his leads to my prmary and bam, I got pregnant."?

    10. Re:I beg you pardon ?!? by refactored · · Score: 1
      And, whats more, he also puts it on the net for other whackos to attempt, too.

      Think of it as evolution in action.

    11. Re:I beg you pardon ?!? by evilviper · · Score: 1
      For those people who aint really into tech: a microwave oven heats up water molecules. and a human body consists of mostly water....

      Sounds to me like you aren't "into tech" yourself, because this is just an urban legend.

      Any object will be heated by microwaves, even if it is (nearly) completely devoid of water molecules.

      What is your scientific basis for this? What phenomenom could possibly make radiation heat water, and nothing else?
      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    12. Re:I beg you pardon ?!? by geoffspear · · Score: 1
      Umm, ever heard of a little thing called "friction"?

      What "phenomenom" do you think makes microwaves work, exactly? They heat up the air with "radiation", cook your food with convection, then cool the air down really quick when you open the door so you can't figure it out?

      --
      Don't blame me; I'm never given mod points.
    13. Re:I beg you pardon ?!? by slasar · · Score: 1

      "Big sparking things, stuff exploding- that's what provided the hook to get me into physics."

      Stuff exploding??? You need to mature somewhat, because if this is your intention perhaps you should not be "in physics"

    14. Re:I beg you pardon ?!? by hairykrishna · · Score: 1
      I mean back in the day. When I was 12 stuff exploding was pretty cool. Now i'm 24, have my physics degree, and the novelty has worn off somewhat.

      I still make my own fireworks though. You can't buy good, factory produced ones here (UK). Does that make me immature?

      --
      "Physics is to math as sex is to masturbation." -R. Feynman
    15. Re:I beg you pardon ?!? by slasar · · Score: 1

      24, that explains the immaturity, you have a few more years before you learn to see the truth young scholar. Are the pyrotechnics a course of action, or are you simply amused by the big bangs and pretty colours lol?

    16. Re:I beg you pardon ?!? by evilviper · · Score: 1
      Umm, ever heard of a little thing called "friction"?

      Yes, and it sure isn't the exclusive domain of water molecules. So what makes you (and others) think microwave radiation affects only water?

      They heat up the air with "radiation", cook your food with convection, then cool the air down really quick when you open the door so you can't figure it out?

      Now you're just being moronic.
      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    17. Re:I beg you pardon ?!? by nine-times · · Score: 1
      He's doing dangerous stuff, but it sounds fun. It actually reminds be of a lot of crazy old science experiments. If you read reports from a lot of early studies into chemistry and fluid dynamics, for example, boy those guys loved playing with mercury! Huge tubs of the stuff, scientists submerging half their bodies in it. Or the way people used to play with radium.

      Or, have you ever read about the early experiments in electricity? They didn't really have effective units of measure yet, so when they were talking about how much electricity you'd need to create the desired effect, it would be in terms of "you must use a sufficient amount of electricity so that, if passed through the head of a cat, it would kill it," or "enough electricity to send a man flying across the room and leave him stunned for several minutes." No kidding. Funny to imagine some scientist on the other side of the world reading those notes and knowing from experience "how much electricity" that is.

      Ah, I don't really have a point, but a whole lot of neat science is pretty dangerous.

  22. 10Mbps optical link by should_be_linear · · Score: 1

    Even more interesting stuff: 10Mbps optical link "Ronja" (for wireless LAN-speed connections) and best of all, GPL licensed.

    --
    839*929
  23. Re:No safety manual? by mikael · · Score: 4, Interesting

    There's an article in New Scientist which reports that Dutch military suppliers have finally solved the problem of using colour-mapping to convert the monochrome images of nightvision systems into colour. Previous attempts to use fake colour mappings had been a failure due to the creation of "psychadelic experiences". Some images of the new system

    --
    Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads
  24. Re:No safety manual? by Hast · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I saw a demo of a much simpler system during a lab at the physics department at my local university. They put a colour wheel (with one red, one blue and one green filter) on each side of the image intensifier and then simply spun that wheel while running the intensifier. Prestor, instant colour night vision. (The non-IR kind.)

  25. Use just a plain web cam by codepunk · · Score: 3, Interesting

    You can get better results from a ordinary web cam. Take the ir filter off of the lens and put it back together, add a few ir led's and bingo you got night vision.

    --


    Got Code?
  26. Just use a $20 webcam by sonamchauhan · · Score: 4, Informative

    $20 example

    Webcam image sensor have been sensitive to infrared for ages.

    Finally, some manufacturers have got the sense to leverage that by removing the infrared filter in front in the lens, and adding some infrared LEDs for illumination.

    I've got one, and played around with it to get a similar picture as the guy in the article got with his image intensifier tube.

    1. Re:Just use a $20 webcam by evilviper · · Score: 1

      I'll do you one better... How about new hardware, that can plug into any TV, and costs $30?

      It's pretty nice. It comes with a very long cord, and you can make it longer just by connecting it to another long telephone cord, and connector (no 3m USB cable length limit).

      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    2. Re:Just use a $20 webcam by sonamchauhan · · Score: 1

      Very nice. Just $10 more. You could even use it with a cheap handheld LCD TV I guess, provided it had a composite input. :)

  27. Ugh... by lucifuge31337 · · Score: 3, Informative

    Under the "Discouraging Occurances" section:

    8. While standing in the dumpster, feeling some part of your body getting wet by something....

    --
    Do not fold, spindle or mutilate.
  28. All the fear from the doomsayers by panurge · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Is misplaced. I went into science because we had a superb physics teacher in high school (he'd left a job as a research engineer basically because, I think, it was too limiting, and he ended up as the schools science adviser for the council.)

    Among the stuff we used to work with were high voltage induction coils, the odd home-made low pressure gas discharge device - a good way of checking your vacuum technique - low power radioactive sources for playing with simple cloud chambers and trying to deflect alpha and beta rays with a watercooled electromagnet - and extracting short half life radionucleides from samples of yellow cake. (I did have enough sense to know that you don't breathe thorium oxide dust and that you handle uranyl nitrate carefully.) That and getting a signal big enough to light up a small bulb across the lab using a klystron. And he would let us get on with this stuff unsupervised - something about kids need trust in order to learn.

    Nearly 40 years later I am not only still alive but still building stuff, probably because those early experiences gave me the confidence to try things.

    Being quite ruthless, anybody who tries stuff around HV and microwaves and doesn't have the brain to spot when things are going wrong, probably needs to be removed from the gene pool anyway. And anybody who tries and has the brain and initiative to stick at it will learn something. We can't all expect to make our livings for the next twenty years by either recording not very good music and selling it for inflated prices, or suing people who actually have a business. Buying geek toys is no substitute for making them, and things that just go bang or send projectiles a long way are not the only way to have fun with physics.

    --
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    1. Re:All the fear from the doomsayers by noidentity · · Score: 1

      Being quite ruthless, anybody who tries stuff around HV and microwaves and doesn't have the brain to spot when things are going wrong, probably needs to be removed from the gene pool anyway.

      When I was younger, I lived in a small town. I had a high-voltage transformer for neon lighting. It was hooked up toome aluminum foil and a doorknob. One of the neighbor kids was over and I told him it was electrified. He touched it and felt a tingle. He said it was fun. He wasn't very bright.

  29. extra points by asoap · · Score: 1

    OMG!! He gets extra points for using a lamp shade on a tesla coil. That's bloody wicked. This guy could be so dangerous if he hooked up with the likes of Dr.Evil or Al Qaeda.

    --
    Treat me like a marketing stat, and I'll treat your movie like a series of ones and zeros
    1. Re:extra points by jim_redwagon · · Score: 1

      Great, referencing a Mike Myers character and the most wanted organization in the world in one post. All we need now is a reference to a some Serbian immigrant scientist and we'll have Homeland Security all over our posts. ;-)

      All I want to know is how to set the sleep time on my alarm clock to be longer than 7 minutes.

      --
      I forgot what I wanted to say, but honestly, it was important.
  30. X-rays? by TheSync · · Score: 1

    I have heard that some of the early image-intensifier tubes had X-ray problems (often occur when you accelerate electrons to high velocities and they hit metal targets)...

    1. Re:X-rays? by Ellis+D.+Tripp · · Score: 1

      While some X-rays are generated, unless the accelerating voltage is over 10kV or so (more than gen 0 image converter tubes operated at), the X-rays are of such low energy that they can't even penetrate the tube envelope. They would start to become a hazard at around 16 kV or so.

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    2. Re:X-rays? by Ellis+D.+Tripp · · Score: 1

      If the metal target was in a vacuum, maybe...

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  31. I havent RTA, but.... by slapout · · Score: 1

    Why is it that everytime someone makes something from parts they have "lying around", there's always one part they just happened to have, that is rare and/or expensive?

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    Coder's Stone: The programming language quick ref for iPad
    1. Re:I havent RTA, but.... by t_allardyce · · Score: 2, Insightful

      because when someone aquires a rare part, the first thing the geek in them says is "duuude i could build an X with this!"

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      This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
    2. Re:I havent RTA, but.... by alc6379 · · Score: 1
      It's the same principle of those 4-item cookbooks you see at the bookstore:

      "Fast and easy recipies that only take 4 items!"

      But what they don't tell you is that 3 of the 4 ingredients are really easy to find, like salt, water, rosemary, etc, but that 4th item is something you'd never find in a common cupboard, like pickel scallions, or something wierd like that.

      --
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  32. "dumper" by Reignking · · Score: 1

    Why isn't anyone asking why he is searching through a "dumper" in the first place???

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    One man's Funny is another man's Offtopic.
    1. Re:"dumper" by Striker770S · · Score: 1

      well its obvious, he is absolutely insane. I mean building a tesla coil in your own home requires you to be stupid or utterly insane.

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      I thought what I'd do was, I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes. - Catcher in the Rye
  33. Re:who want's 20Kv to the eyeball? by VAXcat · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Not only that, if his HV supply is putting out too much voltage, he's getting soft x-rays beamed into his head by this thing...not good.

    --
    There is no God, and Dirac is his prophet.
  34. find this stuff in a dumpster? by AviLazar · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Hm which research facility does this guy leave near? People generally do not have this kind of hardware....and what are the chances thta if someone does he happens to be there on the day they put it in a dumpster?

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    I mod down so you can mod up. Your welcome.
    1. Re:find this stuff in a dumpster? by bigtech · · Score: 1

      His wife is a grad student at Stanford, according to her website which he links to.

    2. Re:find this stuff in a dumpster? by AviLazar · · Score: 2, Funny

      which is a good point. When I saw this article, I was thinking he went into his neighbors' trash bins and found stuff (like a discarded tv, etc.) Finding some of these components requires to a higher grade of trash.

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  35. Yawn by mwood · · Score: 1

    I could get all that and more decades ago from Edmund Scientific.

  36. I wonder... by Zog+The+Undeniable · · Score: 1

    Is this dude related to David Hahn?

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    When I am king, you will be first against the wall.
  37. Ob. Link by Cletus+the+yokel · · Score: 1
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  38. You think that's dangerous? by Cletus+the+yokel · · Score: 2, Funny

    Try playing around with the space/time continuum:
    The Resonant Gravity Field Coil!

    I wanna see some nutball actually try to build one, just to see what would happen. I'm guessing a large fire...

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  39. Dumpster diving by Peter+Simpson · · Score: 1

    Dumpster diving is great fun. There are a half-dozen 19" racks in the dumpster next to our work right now. I got two rack shelves and four levelling feet off them last week. Figure I saved at least $50 by not buying them retail. And, let's face it, my local Home Depot is unlikely to carry the stuff...

  40. No, it should work. by MenTaLguY · · Score: 1

    Remember that because of the filter in front, at any given moment the grey will represent the R, G, or B level.

    For example, when the filters are on red:

    dim spectrum -> filter -> dim red
    dim red -> photomultiplier -> bright white
    bright white -> filter -> bright red

    Similarly, for green:

    dim spectrum -> filter -> dim green
    dim green -> photomultiplier -> bright white
    bright white -> filter -> bright green

    Get the idea?

    --

    DNA just wants to be free...
  41. Dude by joNDoty · · Score: 2, Funny

    Where can I find these dumpsters full of electronic treasure!? I consider myself lucky if the dumpsters I'm thrown into don't have shards of glass or used needles.

  42. Re:I hope not by Saeed+al-Sahaf · · Score: 1
    I won't root for victory by a side that stones gays and denies women the right to vote.

    Hey now! didn't you know Muslims are peace-loving?

    --
    "Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
  43. Dumpster Diving is great! by Peale · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I've been doing it since I was a kid. You find all kinds of interesting stuff.

    Forums: http://www.dumpsterworld.net

  44. Re:whats next? by Hyecee · · Score: 2, Funny

    Didn't ol' Doc Brown sell the Libyans a bomb casing filled with pinball machine parts and keep the uranium to power his time machine?

    Come on, now....

  45. Don't try this at home by dmancine · · Score: 1
    The Flyback Transformer project page has some pretty choice quotes. If safety was a factor, then these gems would probably never have been written.

    "You will not be able to locate the high voltage return pin with a multimeter. The only way to do it is to bring the high voltage line down to the pins and whichever one it arcs like mad to is the one yer looking for. Try to stay away from arcing to any of the pins used for coils."

    "With such small current at this voltage you can even touch the glass with only a tingling sensation to your fingers (no permanent damage) but don't bet your life on it."

    "I intend to keep pushing a flyback until the coils melt or it explodes."

    1. Re:Don't try this at home by donkstuff · · Score: 1

      I used to have a flyback driver and an ignition coil driver. They were pretty cool, but you do have to be careful. Those don't just shock (the shock isnt the bad part), they burn too.

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  46. Agent Starling by obzidian · · Score: 1

    Excellent. I'm coming for you Clairice....

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    Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. - Martin Luther King, Jr.
  47. Just curious; by NeuroManson · · Score: 1

    One interesting "glitch" I had noticed in years of using CCD based analog video camcorders (VHS/8MM), is that the IR LED on the front of remote controls would show up as a bright white light (it would appear on a brightness level comparable to a bright white LED).

    So my question is, would it be possible to scavenge a common video camera (dirt cheap at Goodwill or yard sales), turn off the electronic shutter, and build a similar night vision scope?

    You have pretty much everything you need shy of a bank of IR LEDs to work with, and could possibly retrofit an old camera light to act as the emitter. Of course, we all know about the Sony "X-Ray" video camera as well, which worked on a similar principal.

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  48. Must Get Shredder by freepath · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Finally, absolutely convincing proof that everyone needs a cross-cut shredder: Salvaged Photos

  49. so in this case by fishyfool · · Score: 1

    a tinfoil hat would help?

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  50. Cool. by trouser · · Score: 1

    It's pretty neat to read about a Darwin award winner *before* he blows himself up.

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    Now wash your hands.
  51. youd be suprised by Striker770S · · Score: 1

    i found 2 perfectly good labtops in somebodies trash that just needed some good old hard disk cleaning. Most people think something is broke and throw it away without question. And those unique items, he states where he found some of these.

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    I thought what I'd do was, I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes. - Catcher in the Rye
  52. digicam and leds by willCode4Beer.com · · Score: 1

    And to think that I made my cheapo night vision by replacing the led in an led flashlight ($5 wally world) with a high-output IR led from RadioShack ($2). I just use my digital camera to view since the ccd is IR sensitive.
    Total dev time 5 minutes, total skill required zero.

    Greg's project is still pretty cool, I'm just much lazier than he.

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