Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!ncar!oddjob!gargoyle!att!alberta!calgary!hermann
From: hermann@calgary.UUCP (Michael Hermann)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Subject: Re: Bug-Zapper
Summary: bug-Zapper how to...
Message-ID: <1743@vaxb.calgary.UUCP>
Date: 12 Jul 88 17:25:17 GMT
References: <3118@ihlpe.ATT.COM>
Organization: U. of Calgary, Calgary, Ab.
Lines: 24

In article <3118@ihlpe.ATT.COM>, jph@ihlpe.ATT.COM (452is-Hayes) writes:
> How can you make a homemade electric/electronic bug-zapper?  Looking
> for something fairly uncomplicated.  Can it be something as simple as sections 
> of a grid each hooked to the 2 different plates of a sizeable electrolytic 
> charged sufficiently so that when a bug bridges the grid it gets
> zapped by the cap's discharge thru its body and then re-charges? 
> Or is there more to it than that?
> 
> J. Hayes, ihlpe!jph

This might work, but not too well I suspect. Figure a small fly or large 
misquito is at least 5 mm in all dimensions, go for a gap about 5 mm between
two _sturdy_ metal grills. How much potential do you need to realiably
(strong spark) bridge a sspark plug gap? ~15KV for a gap of 2-3 mm. Can be less
or the distance can be farther to get a good spark for bug killing.
    Suggestion: use the flyback transformer in an old TV, which have around 
15KV in output. Warning: _extremely_ dangerous to fool around with these, they
_will_ kill you if you're not careful. 
    Anyway, fairly simple, and certainly cheap.

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