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• Oh my god, that may very well be the coolest thing in the history of man. I wanna put it in a shell, paint flames on it, and call it satan's clicker.

  Posted by: eccramer on June 29, 2006 at 8:21 PM

• Is it warm in here or is it just second degree burns?

  Posted by: Fredex on June 30, 2006 at 1:33 AM

• Well, this pretty much finishes squashing the idea that the TV-B-Gone is about turning off "annoying" TVs versus just messing with things that don't belong to us. It's pretty hard to contend that there are a lot of TVs 90 feet away that are "annoying" anyone, especially where the annoyance cited is usually about the sound. So, let's face it, the TV-B-Gone concept always was and always will be about turning off TVs that don't belong to us because we like messing with other people. I find it interesting that everyone promotes this device as a counter to something that is annoying without realizing how damn annoying the TV-B-Gone device probably is to those who actually want the TVs to be on.

  Hey, I have an idea - instead of infantile pranks, why not complain to the management of places that have annoying TVs? Why not eat or shop elsewhere?

  Posted by: Muddler on June 30, 2006 at 10:19 AM

• i know what i'm doing this weekend- building one, and modding it to fit in an altoids tin...

  why not mod it to go off every 3 minutes or so, and make it fit in a fire alarm with led's around the circumfrence. then mount it on the ceiling of any store, bar, or apartment, and well, you can imagine the rest.

  Posted by: benjiwenjifoofoo on June 30, 2006 at 10:25 AM

• Cool mod. I think that a few changes to the circuit might make it even more powerful. The 9V battery used in the original is very limited in how much current it can supply. If the IR LEDs used are 100mA each at 1.7V fwd (Fairchild QED123), then the LEDs will draw 400mA - that's 3.6 Watts @ 9V. I bet the 9V battery is not capable of delivering that kind of current and still maintain 9V across its terminals.

  My suggestion would be to use 4 AA cells in series and make the LED array 5 parallel strings of 4 LEDs is series instead of the other way around. AA cells are more than capable of delivering 500mA, permitting the LEDs to fire at full current (although at slightly less forward voltage - 1.5V vs 1.8V). If you really want to pump them, since it's a pulsed mode application, use 4 AA cells with 7 parallel strings of 3 LEDs in series.

  Also, the 2N3904 is only rated for 200mA - a beefier transistor such as the ZTX-451 would be better.

  Posted by: None_Yobidness on June 30, 2006 at 11:19 AM

• Mudder, you are exactly right. This place could use some designated adults.

  Posted by: Fredex on June 30, 2006 at 11:20 AM

• I bet Muddler and Fredex work in advertising and don't like the idea of citizens in public being able to diminish, just slightly, the barrage of sound and light that comes at us from all directions all the time whenever we are out of our houses (and often while we are in them!). Condescension is never appreciated, especially couched in a blanket insult to to the whole community. At least Make has its designated stiffs!

  It's not just about sound, either. Flickering lights attract our attention, and we instinctively turn to look. It's distracting, annoying, and in the same category as secondhand smoke. If you want to watch TV, go home. It's not like the electromagnetic polluter who installed the TV can't turn it back on again, or that any damage was done.

  I will be making many of these and giving them away as presents.

  Thanks a lot for posting it!

  Posted by: Village_Idiot on April 20, 2007 at 6:50 PM

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