DIY Flux Capacitor

250 bucks for a flux capacitor? Forget that, I did it for 54 dollars and 79 cents. It has 7 modes and it's totally freaking awesome!

Very little electronics experience is required, just a little resourceful scavenging.

Thanks to Rook's Tutorial for initial idea. BTW, that's a good link to check out if you want a (ridiculously expensive) movie-accurate prop.

Step 1 Parts & tools

Most of the parts are pretty easy to come by, either on the net or from a local surplus store. Links are provided where I can.

You will need the following bits:
- Fuse box, about 11 x 14" -$17 @ Menards

For the window you'll either need to get a case mod window kit or:

- acrylic panel 9 x 7" - $5 @ Menards
- window molding 4' - $2.5 a foot

- LED icicle lights (white or blue) - $7 alt link

- metal cylinders x 3 - about 2 inches in diameter and 1 inch high. Small DC motors roughly that size are pretty easy to find, I used three interesting looking geared motors that have some nice detail on them. - $7.5
- translucent acrylic tubes x 3. I used some weird lab spigots I found at a surplus store - $2
- tube elbows x 3 - Say "tube elbows" out loud. pretty much anything that looks right will do here. I went through the hardware store and looked for the closest thing. - $3
- about 2 feet of yellow wire. I found some fiber optic cable the perfect diameter and color - $.75
- wiring connector block - $1
- piece of black cardboard or sheetmetal 11 x 14"

Tools
- jigsaw and metal blade
- file
- drill
- dremel
- soldering iron and solder
- electrical tape
- old style embossing label maker - label blaster and red tape

Comments

[HackerBilly]

If you need the translucent acrylic tubes and can't find any
use the see through bic pens the ones that look like they are made of glass
and you can see right though them they work well

[Duke Bushido]

There's a much easier way to install the rubber window grommetting material:
Install it the same way we used to install the old rubber-mounted windshields. :)


Wrap the rubber around the window panel. Find a length of smooth-coated wire that will more than wrap around the edge.

Place the window and gasket next to the panel. Start with one corner (your wires should cross each other at this point) and gently tug the wire, pulling "in" through the hole you want the window mounted in.

Continue to pull the wire gently through the window hole. It will pull the flange of the gasket material through the hole. When you have peeled all the wire from around the window, the window will have "installed itself." Enjoy.

[sponges]

Clever! thanks for the tip!

[bshut]

A good tip, to help get your extra gap right, for the window molding, is to use a 1/4" flat washer. Place the acrylic (plastic) where you want it, put the washer up against the outer edge of the window, and place a pencil/pen/Sharpie (crayon? LOL) inside the washer. As you trace around the edge of the window, the washer will give you just about the perfect spacing, plus it rolls really nicely around the perimeter of the window while you're tracing.

That's something I picked up from doing my first computer case window mod. The company that sold me the etched window even included the washer in with the kit!

If you want to go full DC with this (or have an AC to DC converter inside, you might check out these computer RAM lighting effects:
http://www.frozencpu.com/cat/l3/g6/c77/s120/list/p1/Lighting-LED_Lighting-LED_RAM_Lighting-Page1.html
It's more than 3 LED's per unit, but nothing says you can't make your flux capacitor "pop" a little, right? If you don't like the extra ones, you could always just paint over every other (or third) one with black paint (KISS simplicity).

[shanghei]

The clear tubes are 3m applicator nozzles, lo and behold just take out the mixing part inside

[whakker711]

How do you get the mixing part out??

[boston09]

where can you get them?

[shanghei]

this looks like it

http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&name=3M6440-ND

[boston09]

thanks

[caterpillergrrl]

You, my friend, are my newest hero! this is pretty fantastic! And to think, I was just searching for a "flux capacitor...fluxing" ring tone! This was a happy page to stumble upon.

[olli_outatime]

whoah... not even in my wildest dreams did i imagine a flux capacitor besides in universal studios or on the set of the movie... me and my friend were jokin about makin one... i'm olli. im a girl in 7th grade who is totally oldschool and no1 (besides the adults) has the same interests as me. they say jonas brothers - i say journey. they say high school musical 1,2, & 3 - i say back to the future. they say jesse mccartney - i say bryan adams. which is why i mostly talk 2 adults. plus, im not some mindless kid; i can carry on a conversation about the economy or a political debate.

[Morriscow]

 i agree except for the jonas brothers -- THEY BOTH SUCK

[Crushinator]

Uuuuuhhhh I think there are three Jonas brothers.

[clovervidia]

yay someone thinks like me. w00t

[phant0m_sp00f3ra]

i have the same feeling. actually i have almost no contact with my own school generation, i spend most of my time talking with the people 1 year ahead of me :P and we talk about some stuff my own co-graders don't give a crap (politics, quantum mechanics, pc we're geeks u know :D) i understand u and i only can encourage u to be urself no matter what happens :D as apple said think different!!! LOLOLOLOL (btw im 17 :P)

[clovervidia]

 I say do math like this. google the answer. What? Apple said think different?

[phant0m_sp00f3ra]

 Not truly apple it was TBWA/Chiat/day agency :)

[clovervidia]

g33k pwr! w00t

[Derin]

woooooot

[Derin]

there is this other guy in my grade we are the most geekiest people in 6th grade we spent our breaks in the computer lab the whole year in 5th grade

[clovervidia]

we were the geeks of 6th grade too. in 7th grade, every single lunch we usually were in the library doing stuff. and i was the only one to even eat lunch. lol

[ultrakill]

:O people... ...like me? hmm... ur probably in america aren't you. that wud be simply TYPICAL. *cries*

[sponges]

thank you :) I'm glad you like it!

[Sickman9]

Do you have a part number or manufacturers name of the enclosure? I can't seem to find one for as cheap as you did. I couldn't find one on Menard's web site.

[buffalobillshater411]

hey its missing the "shield eyes from light" sticker

[maxis75]

your right

[maxis75]

does it really work?
why not just make numbers of transformers and inverters things
to make a 1.21gigawatts

[J-Five]

1.21 Gigawatts What the hell's a Gigawatt!!!!

[sakabato777]

1000000000 watts or 1 million big lightbulbs

[Richard J. Zuckerwar]

I just purchased a 1983 DeLorean. It only has 1300 miles on it. Could I purchase a Flux Capacitor from you? If so how long would it take for delivery? Richard J. Zuckerwar [e-mail]

[sponges]

You're better off buying a commercial replica, not a homebrew. Mine is cheap only when you count the parts; if you count the hours I spent making it by hand, it is not worth it to you to buy it from me. I would charge as than they do simply because it's handmade. The only way you will come out ahead on this is if you build it yourself (like I did).

[EragonShadeslayer]

So are you saying that the circuit diagram from Rook's page is for programming the self built circuit? which is more movie accurate, Rook's or yours? I don't know where there is a video of Rook's in action.

[sponges]

 The circuit diagram on Rook's page does not need any programming, as it uses off the shelf parts. He also says that he has not tested either of the designs he listed.
As far as movie accuracy goes, my christmas light hack looks good, and has multiple modes, several of which are close to the movie; I am not sure you need much else to be movie accurate in a stand alone flux capacitor. In a car-mounted capacitor you would want it to be tied into the time circuits, as well as run on 12 volts, neither of which this one can do.
I did, however, get the colors wrong, but that was on purpose.

[J-Five]

Does it work?

[flavors23]

i hav a better way to do it n its jst the way the one in the movie was made.  u need 3 identical old CRT type t.v.s n rip out the things from inside connected to the tube that look lik suction cups.  keep them connected to the circuit boards so wen u turn it on they each generate 20 or 30 kilo-Volts.  Then get some large xenon flash tubes pro photographers use for the tube that u will c.  put them in the box as u do in theis project with your straw things n hook the suction cup looking wires to the ends of the xenon tubes.  then solder the other end of  the tubes all to one wire and run the wire to a ground on the circuit board.  wen u turn on the circuit boards (apply 110 volts) the xenon tubes will light up with bolts of lightning inside. it looks really awesome.

[targus]

i finished my flux capacitor about a week ago, right now ive got it mounted in my ambulance at work. best thing ever.

[stevenschubert]

how do you plug it imto the vehcle?  i need a plug for my cig lighter outlet.

[MACKattacksnipe]

Go MARTY lol Back to the Future

[PeltierMan]

Marty !!! - - Come back !!!

[I died with my head in a washing machine]

shame it doesn't work