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. -- /------------------\ ARPA calgary!hermann@cs.ubc.ca | Mike Hermann | UUCP ...uunet!alberta!calgary!hermann \------------------/ EAN hermann@cpsc.calgary.cdn God is Real!!! (unless declared an integer)