Laser fly buster?
rc5pr...@hotmail.com
other naughy insects in home? what kind of power do you think needed to
kill a fly? how much do you think it might cost to build one at home?
Hope only cost several hundred bucks. Any ideas appreciated. :)
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Share what you know. Learn what you don't.
James Sweet
burn marks all over the place from missing the fly. It could reflect off
surfaces and cause serieous eye damage too.
mark
sort of money, then perhaps a thousand or so on some galvos to move the beam
to where the fly is at the time, then a PC to drive the galvos and then some
sensing gear to try and determine the position of the fly.
I conceed it would be fascinating to see it work but a little "involved"
when a can of fly-spray would do quite well. There is also that slight
downside that if the beam landed on you as you moved about it might just fry
your retinas - a bad hair day all round really.
Mark
<rc5pr...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:7l8cek$nei$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
Skywise
> Is that possible to make a small laser which's used to kill flies or
> other naughy insects in home? what kind of power do you think needed to
> kill a fly? how much do you think it might cost to build one at home?
> Hope only cost several hundred bucks. Any ideas appreciated. :)
>
> Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
> Share what you know. Learn what you don't.
This idea seems to come up pretty regularly in here, and it always makes me
smile when I read the question.
There's three main issues involved in this type of a device...
1> laser power
2> tracking
3> beam steering
First let's look at the laser power. There's been some individuals who have
done some testing on bugs to see what it would take to fry them. There's
two ways to do this. One could use a relatively low power laser and hit the
bug with it for an extended period of time. This would either require the
bug to be standing still or require a good tracking system (covered below).
The other way is to hit the bug with one very fast but exceedingly powerful
pulse. Either way you do it would involve a laser powerful enough to be a
danger to anyone or anything else in the way. Think about it, if the laser
is powerful enough to fry a bug, what would happen if that bug happened to
land on your nose just as the laser fired......
Next, you need some way of sensing and tracking the bug. Most of my
knowledge of ways of tracking something won't work for this. "Yeah, I got
me a radar dish sitting on top of my tv to track flys in the living room."
Uh-huh....Anyway, a system capable of seeing and tracking a bug as it flies
around wouldbe quite astonishing. In fact, if you came up with one I'm sure
the military would come along and take you and your work and make it
disappear. This in my opinion would be the most complex and expensive part
of the device.
Finally, you would have to have a way of moving the beam around in
conjuction with the tracking info so that you can actually hit the bugger.
This probably wouldn't be too hard as there are already high speed scanning
devices for lasers used in industrial and entertainment. It would just be a
matter of getting it calibrated to the tracking mechanism so that it is
"bore sighted" so to speak. Wouldn't want the beam to be off target or you
might fry the cat instead.
To summarize it might be possible, but once you have all the equipment in
your house to do this, there probably wouldn't be any room for the bugs to
fly around. Also, it would be far cheaper to buy a can of Raid or some fly
strips.
So, to put it in a nutshell, the simple answer is "no".
--
S*k*y*w*i*s*e
http://home.earthlink.net/~skywise711/
Laser & Optics links and soon much more!!!
Scott J. Kilcoyne
in the process of scraping the dough together to get the parts. Here are
some useful links.
http://www.ionet.net/~ccadams/laser.htm
http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/laserpic/hbl1pics.htm#hbl1toc
http://www.midwest-laser.com/html/ruby_laser.html
It will not take a whole lot of money, but will take a lot of planning and
effort. I hope all goes well for you. Let me know how it goes!
Kil
CHoaglin
>A fly swatter would be much more efficient, unless you want holes and
>burn marks all over the place from missing the fly. It could reflect off
>surfaces and cause serieous eye damage too.
Get one of those electric fly swatters..they contain a high frequency inverter
powered by a 9 volt battery, with a momentary switch you hold down to turn it
on. One of my friends brought one to science class with him, and was schocking
people, inviting them to try touching it..people would touch it, then jerk
their hand away in pain..I took it and held my hand against it, then ran my
fingers all over it..The kid's face looked like he'd seen a ghost or something.
You can also get sparks (albeit small ones) if you short two adjacent bars
together. That's how the fly dies, by getting a jolt right through its body
when it comes in contact with two of the parallel electrodes.
Chris Hoaglin,CHoa...@TOFUaol.com or XKMFD...@aol.com
(REMOVE TOFU!)
formerly known as Maniac
lose the TOFU to send mail
"I've got no more goddamn respect"
-Fear Factory
Nazi punks f**k off!
-Dead Kennedys
Johnathan Leppert
I just can't get over the apparent low intelligence of these people -
you give them a powerful scientific tool and they want to make a fly swatter
out of it. If they are really desperate to find applications of their new
keychain pointer, and are tired of shinning it in their eyes blankly, having
their cats tear up the curtains in pursuit of it, and blinding passing
motorists, they should really sit down and read a little about what exactly
it is they have in their hands, before opening their mouths.
rc5pr...@hotmail.com wrote in message <7l8cek$nei$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>...
Skywise
<snip>
> I don't know why you think these 3 issues are essential to a bug zapper. An
> ordinary electric bug zapper doesn't track and shoot a fly. Why wouldn't a
> similar arrangement, but using laser light sheets in place of voltage grids,
> work just as well? It could be set up with motion sensors so that if something
> enters the device, it fires the laser. Not that I'm suggesting this is an
> appropriate use of technology, but I don't understand why the idea is being
> shot down (so to say) on the grounds you listed.
>
> Richard Alexander
> Richard's Electronic Kingdom
> http://members.aol.com/pooua
Well, I figured the method I described (and shot down, har har) was probably the
one the poster was thinking of. Your idea is perfectly valid and I see no reason
off hand why it wouldn't work.
Skywise
> Thanks for all comments and urls. Actually, I didn't expect to fry a
> flying fly.
> I was thinking about getting a hand held laser to hunt landed flies and
> cockroaches
> in kitchen. So some tiny holes on the ground or walls might be
> acceptable depending
> on the diameter. Skywise's "home fly defense system" sounds a bit
> overkill, but
> future amateur engineers will definitely give a try.
>
> All are for fun, nothing needs to be too serious, if you ask me.
>
> Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
> Share what you know. Learn what you don't.
I admit, I assumed what sort of a system was being asked for and there's
obviously other ways of employing a laser to kill bugs.
Since you are looking for a hand-held device that relies on your steady
hand to aim, it may be quite possible. A flashlamp pumped ruby or YAG laser
head could be built compact enough to be hand held. The power supply with
it's batteries and capacitor bank would probably have to be worn backback
style or put in a shoulder bag. One could also probably use a keychain
pointer or small HeNe as a targeting laser and when you have it on target
you just press the trigger to discharge the laser.
Or how about having a nice big medical YAG sitting in the garage powered by
a large generator (I doubt the utility companies would wirea house for 208v
3 phase) and have the output fed through a nice long fiber cable. Then you
could "hose down" your back porch with laser light and nail all the flies
and other bugs.
Oh, and laser goggles would most likely be a must for using such a device.
mark
quadrupler (using EHT recs and caps) then store the output in a few EHT caps
and connect to the mains. This gives you about 1350Volts (if using 240, if
using 110/120) add another voltage doubling stage! The rectification and
smoothing then takes it to about 1350. now get a piece of stripboard and
connect alternate strips to positive and the others to negative. Providing
the board is dry there will be no arking over. Now pop a little UV tube
(security sort not ideal but it will do) behind the board so you get little
tiny spots of violet light coming out the holes and mount in a plastic case
so that the rest of the tube is hidden. Then mount the whole thing so the
board is about 45 degrees or so from the horizontal.
Not unlike the commerical "insectocuter" gadgets. The only difference is
that when a fly lands on it, instead of the usual loud "snap" followed by a
dead fly, you get a loud bang, followed by a twist of smoke going uphill and
a few bits of charcoal going downhill.
I used 2KV caps (half a dozen) at 2uF for final storage and the
instantaneous discharge is pretty impressive. Don't touch it when it is on,
not only is it connect to the mains but the 1350V can pump plenty of AMPS
for a split second, more than enough to pop you into the ground. Not a toy
but something to build on a wet tuesday afternoon if you already play with
EHT and have the sense to use it carefully.
(I have found the EHT caps and recs BTW for those that want them, I have
found two emails which I have replied to giving weights for postage etc, the
other person - (the one who HASN'T heard from me, please email me again, I
lost your post!
Mark
CHoaglin <choa...@aol.comTOFU> wrote in message
rc5pr...@hotmail.com
Pooua
>From: Skywise <in...@oblivion.com>
>Date: Mon, 28 June 1999 06:04 PM EDT
>Message-id: <3777F181...@oblivion.com>
>
>rc5pr...@hotmail.com wrote:
>
>> Is that possible to make a small laser which's used to kill flies or
>> other naughy insects in home? what kind of power do you think needed to
>> kill a fly? how much do you think it might cost to build one at home?
>> Hope only cost several hundred bucks. Any ideas appreciated. :)
>>
>smile when I read the question.
>
>There's three main issues involved in this type of a device...
>
>1> laser power
>2> tracking
>3> beam steering
I don't know why you think these 3 issues are essential to a bug zapper. An
Robin Stoddart
which states that the laser was originally seen as a answer to a question no
one asked. A scientific curiosity. So they think, HEY! I will go to
alt.lasers and come up with an application and will be hailed as a genius!
(Sorry, it's 2:00 in the morning, and I'm tired)
-Robin
Johnathan Leppert <lep...@csi.com> wrote in message
news:uizgnMcw#GA....@nih2naac.compuserve.com...
> Hi,
>
> I just can't get over the apparent low intelligence of these people -
> you give them a powerful scientific tool and they want to make a fly
swatter
> out of it. If they are really desperate to find applications of their new
> keychain pointer, and are tired of shinning it in their eyes blankly,
having
> their cats tear up the curtains in pursuit of it, and blinding passing
> motorists, they should really sit down and read a little about what
exactly
> it is they have in their hands, before opening their mouths.
>
>
>
>
> rc5pr...@hotmail.com wrote in message <7l8cek$nei$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>...
Sam Goldwasser
> I just can't get over the apparent low intelligence of these people -
> you give them a powerful scientific tool and they want to make a fly swatter
> out of it. If they are really desperate to find applications of their new
> keychain pointer, and are tired of shinning it in their eyes blankly, having
> their cats tear up the curtains in pursuit of it, and blinding passing
> motorists, they should really sit down and read a little about what exactly
> it is they have in their hands, before opening their mouths.
Oh, that's not so bad. What about the ones who want to make a cigarette
lighter out of a laser? :)
--- sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ Home Page: http://www.repairfaq.org/
Repair | Main Table of Contents: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/
+Lasers | Sam's Laser FAQ: http://plop.phys.cwru.edu/repairfaq/sam/lasersam.htm
| Mirror Site Info: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/F_mirror.html
Sam Goldwasser
> Oh, and laser goggles would most likely be a must for using such a device.
CDRH regulations will probably require goggles for all bugs in the area
as well. :)
Michael Andrus
Sam Goldwasser <s...@stdavids.picker.com> wrote in message
news:SAM.99Ju...@sparkie.stdavids.picker.com...
> In article <uizgnMcw#GA....@nih2naac.compuserve.com> "Johnathan Leppert"
<lep...@csi.com> writes:
>
> > I just can't get over the apparent low intelligence of these
people -
> > you give them a powerful scientific tool and they want to make a fly
swatter
> > out of it. If they are really desperate to find applications of their
new
> > keychain pointer, and are tired of shinning it in their eyes blankly,
having
> > their cats tear up the curtains in pursuit of it, and blinding passing
> > motorists, they should really sit down and read a little about what
exactly
> > it is they have in their hands, before opening their mouths.
>
> Oh, that's not so bad. What about the ones who want to make a cigarette
> lighter out of a laser? :)
Oh yea I want one of those. It would be really neat if I smoked and had
absolutly no interest in keeping my face intact. :-)
mark
hold tube (not functioning anyway) over "landed fly" and drop. Very
effective and completely eye-safe into the bargain.
Mark :-)
Jeff Brandenburg
Sam Goldwasser <s...@stdavids.picker.com> wrote:
>
>Oh, that's not so bad. What about the ones who want to make a cigarette
>lighter out of a laser? :)
Actually, I remember reading a news story (back when the US gov't was
cracking down on laser light shows) describing how roadies for a
Blue Oyster Cult tour were lighting cigarettes off the main Ar beam.
The lead singer also had a fiber running down his arm, so he could
shine a beam from his fist into the crowd. Yikes!
--
-jeffB (Jeff Brandenburg, Durham, NC)
James Sweet
mark
p
>Is that possible to make a small laser which's used to kill flies or
>other naughy insects in home? what kind of power do you think needed to
>kill a fly? how much do you think it might cost to build one at home?
>Hope only cost several hundred bucks. Any ideas appreciated. :)
I think a laser will be way too much expensive for this task.
Plus if you have enough power to kill a fly, you will for sure pierce
a lot of tiny holes in your house:-).
Btw it is vey difficult to focus a hi power laser (probably in the IR)
on a small target like a fly.
I've got another idea.
You may try to build a very high energy flashlamp.
It's very easy to build such a lamp and you may want to make it using
air as filler, and a quartz tube. Such a lamp will have a high output
in the violet and UV, just ideal for flies.
With 1000J of energy, if you don't kill the fly with the thermic
shockwave, at least you will blind them permanently.
And advantage of this approach is that you don't need to focus it with
precision and you may hit more than one target at once.
Of course, keep you eyes shut when firing the lamp.
M.C.D. Roos
Hey, I've already noticed this.. Flies drop out of the air when they
(stupid...stupid...) fly too close to my 1500W halogen light.. Luckily none
have force-landed on the tube itself (I really should use an explosion proof
covering)
Michiel
M.C.D. Roos
> Next, you need some way of sensing and tracking the bug. Most of my
> knowledge of ways of tracking something won't work for this. "Yeah, I got
> me a radar dish sitting on top of my tv to track flys in the living room."
> Uh-huh....Anyway, a system capable of seeing and tracking a bug as it flies
> around wouldbe quite astonishing. In fact, if you came up with one I'm sure
> the military would come along and take you and your work and make it
> disappear. This in my opinion would be the most complex and expensive part
> of the device.
>
I've been thinking on this... What about ultrasound?? Bat's do it all the
time.. Just a 3-d sonar. Should be no problem with a little computing power.
Any suggestions??
I'll see what I've got here in my part box..
Michiel
Terry Greene
filters) and get a in little target practice while debugging... but
there IS that pesky problem of little holes and burn marks everywhere.
:-)
Terry
Skywise wrote:
> Well, I figured the method I described (and shot down, har har) was probably the
> one the poster was thinking of. Your idea is perfectly valid and I see no reason
> off hand why it wouldn't work.
>
Scott J. Kilcoyne
MacGyver
>I think a laser will be way too much expensive for this task.
>Plus if you have enough power to kill a fly, you will for sure pierce
>a lot of tiny holes in your house:-).
>
>Btw it is vey difficult to focus a hi power laser (probably in the IR)
>on a small target like a fly.
>
>I've got another idea.
>You may try to build a very high energy flashlamp.
>
>It's very easy to build such a lamp and you may want to make it using
>air as filler, and a quartz tube. Such a lamp will have a high output
>in the violet and UV, just ideal for flies.
>
>With 1000J of energy, if you don't kill the fly with the thermic
>shockwave, at least you will blind them permanently.
>And advantage of this approach is that you don't need to focus it with
>precision and you may hit more than one target at once.
>
>Of course, keep you eyes shut when firing the lamp.
>
>
charging array - imagine the whistle that would be generated as the caps
charged up :)
p
wrote:
>I could just imagine the battery operated portable model and its capacitor
>charging array - imagine the whistle that would be generated as the caps
>charged up :)
Yup!
Isn't that wild?!
Just try to imagine that giant flash and everything disappear in a
blinding white light.
MacGyver
>Isn't that wild?!
>Just try to imagine that giant flash and everything disappear in a
>blinding white light.
>
professional photo strobe, listen to the sound that makes and times it by 10
:)
Fons Thiesen
www.laserforum.nl
rc5pr...@hotmail.com wrote:
> Is that possible to make a small laser which's used to kill flies or
> other naughy insects in home? what kind of power do you think needed to
> kill a fly? how much do you think it might cost to build one at home?
> Hope only cost several hundred bucks. Any ideas appreciated. :)
>
Doug Little
> charging array - imagine the whistle that would be generated as the caps
> charged up :)
Just on the subject of surreal zapping equipment...
I once built a 'silly capacitor' with a couple of friends. It was made from
a stack of three very large insulating panels, consisting of some kind of
plastic foam or fiberglass plate with zinc foil on each side. The plates
were about a metre square in size.
We attached a very hefty stepped-up voltage multiplier to the 'silly cap'
and turned the thing on. It hummed for a short period before breaking into a
whistle. This increased in frequency until some loud snapping noises could
be heard. We decided to run away just before the slightly unstable device
exploded with a bang, showering us with a great deal of rubbish. One of the
panels survived, one was slightly damaged and the other had totally
disappeared.
Our analysis of the experiment:
1) Dangerous
2) Messy
3) Totally unnecessary.
BTW, don't try this at home.
Doug.
Chris J/#6
silver rod and your away :)
Chris...
In article <377d1598...@207.126.101.101>, p <nos...@nospam.org> wrote:
>On Sat, 3 Jul 1999 02:31:01 +1000, "MacGyver" <war...@hotmail.com>
>wrote:
>
>>I could just imagine the battery operated portable model and its capacitor
>>charging array - imagine the whistle that would be generated as the caps
>>charged up :)
>Yup!
>Isn't that wild?!
>Just try to imagine that giant flash and everything disappear in a
>blinding white light.
>
>
--
@}-,'-------------------------------------------------- Chris Johnson --,-{@
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