TV-B-Gone Coffee Cup

Like many folks who have either made or purchased a TV-B-Gone, I didn't want to seem too suspicious when using it. I could've concealed it in either a hat or a hoodie, but wanted something a little easier. Enter the lowly coffee cup, which provides both warmth and caffeine during the winter months here in NYC. Now it will provide amusement! Here's a link to the video.

The TV-B-Gone coffee cup is very simple to construct and shouldn't take more than 20 minutes.

You will need:
-a clean, dry medium-sized coffee cup with lid.
-TV-B-Gone kit from Adafruit Industries
-an X-acto blade.
-tape.
-a sheet of newspaper.
-a small piece of white paperboard, similar in color to the coffee cup.

Step 1 Cut out a hole for the IR emitters....

Using the X-acto blade, cut a oval shaped horizontal hole at the bottom of the cup. This is where the four IR emitters from the TV-B-Gone will peek out. It's better to make the hole on the smaller side and expand it as needed.

Comments

[Matrix-technician]

I gotta hand it to ya', I laughed pretty good and long at this one. :p This is really very clever and now i'm sitting here thinking to myself, "why don't i have one of these yet?". I'd consider hot gluing a smaller cup inside so that is still functions as a "mobile beverage dispenser", wink wink.

[canyonmn]

You could even insert a smaller coffee cup inside this larger one, and fill it with REAL COFFEE .. a win/win scenario .. :-)

[lloydrmc]

My thought exactly.

[patapon]

that's funny!

[xerxesx20]

Nice little 'ible, I do like things that are utilitarian and stealthy. :-) In step four there is an information box inside another one, please note that this makes the information unobtainable -- not that anybody in the world couldn't finish the whole 'ible from the images alone, let alone the words and info boxes!

[elmejor06]

It says: "Dont ask for refills" Move your cursor very slow from the left side and youll see.

[FunkNattidelic]

It might be interesting to put the mercury sensor glass tube thing from thermostats in it, so when you pretend to take a drink it moves the mercury and sets it off ! =P

[dark sponge]

And if it breaks, the mercury will flow down your throat! :-)

[noahh]

 Tilt sensor switches are no longer made with mercury.

[dark sponge]

 But Luki101 suggested a "mercury sensor" :-)

[FunkNattidelic]

hooray for heavy metal poisoning !! =D

[Dr.Paj]

Delicious.

[FunkNattidelic]

indeed =P

[xproplayer]

all for a simple tv turned off

[crapflinger]

it would be even niftier if you got one of those lexan coffee cups from starbucks or whatever coffee shop (you know you can hand those to them and they'll put your coffee in there instead of their paper cups)...and make a sealed false bottom so you can still have coffee in the cup for even more reality

[bwpatton1]

that is what I thought, so you could be drinking coffee at the same time you are turning off TV's! ! ! !

[nsutaria]

I like your idea and it echoes a suggestion made by a friend of mine. He thought it would be neat to place the TV-B-Gone in a travel mug. Any thoughts about how to make the sealed false bottom?

[crapflinger]

you could pretty much do anything for the false bottom... you could even just put a disk of cardboard down there then pour in a layer of liquid epoxy.....of course i don't know if that would release any funky stuff into your coffee or change the taste or anything...

[killerjackalope]

You get food safe stuff though so it's definitely possible... If it was difficult you could add a bottom to one rather than go inside, as long as it blended the effect would be the same but there'd be now loss of volume...

[Moshmosh]

Nice work!

[killerjackalope]

I always thought putting one in the shell of a phone or a fake example from shop waste would be a good way to disguise it. Also I've experimented a lot with my remote in the sitting room to see how madly it can be used, some form of prism like object could work. Then the led would be concealed... If I get my hands on one of them I'll test using glass beads and such...

[nsutaria]

A lens from a PIR burglar detector would be interesting to use as well.....

[killerjackalope]

Aye, I think an old camera lens that's got scratches would work well, well any wide angle one, it'd be spread out by a fair bit if the LEDs were arranged in to a 35mm square...

[westfw]

Hmm. You know, there are a bunch of plastic things that are pretty transparent to infrared will being opaque to prying eyes (this is responsible for the "X-ray" effect of some video camera "night modes.") It might be worthwhile finding something that would be able to cover the LEDs completely, and still transparent enough in the IR region that the TVBGone would work...

[nsutaria]

Agreed. Having four IR emitters poking out is an attention getter. I've overcome that by shielding them with my fingers when holding the cup. I'll have to experiment with smoke-colored lexan and various plastics to see what works....