Homemade Taser

Despite it's appearance, this 1.25" x 6" section of PVC pipe is not something stolen from my apartment's plumbing; it is actually a compact stun gun! This stun gun is special because it is made exclusively with electronics ordered from eBay and materials from Ace hardware. The arcs of electricity that jump across the two metal screws acting as electrodes are created by a high voltage DC pulse generator. The specific pulse generator in this stun gun was advertised to output up to 400 kV (400,000 volts!), but the electrodes are only around 1.5 cm apart, so I estimate that the peak voltage across the terminals is around 45 kV (45,000 volts).

Power is supplied to the pulse generator by a 1500 mAh single cell lithium ion battery operating between 3.7 and 4.2 volts. There is a momentary switch on the front of the stun gun that is used to close the circuit and activate the arcs. All of the materials, including the pulse generator, the battery, and the PVC, added up to around $20. If you have no pre-existing heart conditions and want to volunteer to test it shoot me an email!