Introduction: Simple Electronic High Voltage Shocker Device

By

High voltages allow you to do interesting things with electric currents, although the device i will show you how to make can reach 450V and cause mild shocks it will not allow you to create tesla coils etc in it's current form. It will however make sparks about a millimetre long if you look carefully enough. I am sure you can think of thousands of ways to use this device but i will leave that up to you, i take no responsibility for what you use this for. there are plenty of very good guides on how to do this but this one is hopefully the one with the simplest method. hope you enjoy this instructable. next time how to make explosions in blender animation software.

Step 1: Materials

We start by disassembling a disposable camera, you can get these free if you know what to ask ("excuse me, can i please have some used disposable cameras for an art project, i'll pay you £1 for them." to someone on the checkout in a shop where they develop films from disposable cameras. "yes" they will reply "take them away save us the bother you needn't pay,thanks") . Also you will need:
basic electronics knowledge(mine is very limited but i still made this work)
a screw driver with a plastic handle
a plastic project box to put the system in ( this is the most costly thing involved)
wire ( not much but a metre of it might be needed if you lose some as you cut it up)
 2 screws( to act as electrodes, i found that you are best off with sharp screws so you can "drill" them into the sides of the box using a screwdriver)
a switch( i forgot this on the prototype but you might not want it anyway)
a battery holder for an AA 1.5vbattery
a soldering iron
solder
and some of the tools that are probably lying, unused until now, around your house or in your garage

Step 2: Disassembling the Camera

This is where we start, know you have the camera and the other stuff you need to retrieve the circuit that charges the camera flash. here is how.
open the camera by "unclipping" the front and back then pulling them apart NOW STOP
YOU CAN GET A NASTY SHOCK FROM THE CAPACITOR SO READ CAREFULLY
only touch plastic parts of the camera with your hands a this stage, use the screwdriver with the insulating handle to break/pull the plastic apart
Remove the battery still avoiding touching the metal by hand, this stops the capacitor recharging because some cameras recharge automatically.
When you can see the circuit board place the metal tip of the screwdriver across the wires leading into the capacitor( black mean looking cylinder with 350V written along the side)
IT WILL SPARK
this discharges the capacitor and makes the circuit comparatively safe to touch.
Now remove the circuit board
 We are ready to continue

Step 3: Rewiring the Circuit

Start by finding the capacitor on the board and heating the points where it is soldered to the board with a soldering iron, when the solder melts pull the capacitor away. We will not be needing it for this but you may want it for other projects. Then we must desolder the battery holder parts the same way as we removed the capacitor and put wires in their place, remember which part of the holder went to which end of the battery, mark the wires if it helps. these wires will be your input leads.

Step 4: More Rewiring

After removing the capacitor and attaching wires for the battery input (1.5v) we attach the output wires which will take 450V to our electrodes. this is done by attaching wires into the holes where we removed the capacitor from and soldering the new wires in place. (you might want to colour code your wires(red for battery positive,black for battery negative,green for high voltage output) but i did not do this.) Also you can remove the small lamp on the circuit which provides the flash, do not remove the led because this allows us to continue using the circuit as a capacitor charger for as long as we can see it. Then we  must find the charging switch, we want to solder this in the closed position. The switch is usually a small metal flexible pad that can be pressed against to join two contacts on the circuit board and complete a circuit, we can remove it just by twisting up a few of the curved pieces of metal attaching it to the board and pulling. Then either solder in a wire to connect the two electrodes( join it to the bare metal) or use a drop of solder for the same job, this will ensure that the circuit is always charging and therefore producing 450V.

Step 5: First Test

At this point before we go any further we should check that the previous stages have been completed correctly. attach the positive input wire to the positive end of a battery, the output wires to a voltmeter or your finger if you dare, and the negative input to the battery's negative terminal. You should see the voltmeter read 450V (or something higher than 200 atleast) or feel a strongish shock( I don't know what to compare it to I haven't had many others).This indicates that the transformer in the circuit is succesfully converting to a higher voltage and that the current is being pulsed by the circuit so that the transformer can use it. If you do not see a high voltage or get a shock check the previous steps carefully, see if you went wrong somewhere. Is there a connection loose, if not try using another circuit from another camera.

Step 6: Constructing the Shocker

Now we have a working circuit we can assemble the housing for it, start by making a hole in one end of the box with a drawing pin and then placing a screw into it and twisting so that the screw digs in far enough for atleast half to be inside the box. Repeat this process a few millimetres to one side but make sure the screws are atleast 4 or 5 mm apart at the closest point. Also drill narrow holes for the wires to connect to the battery holder then glue this to the outside. A hole drilled for an on and off switch is advised but is missing on the prototype. the completed case should look like this diagram.

Step 7: Connecting the Box to the Circuit

Solder the output wires from where the capacitor used to be onto the inside ends of the screws and thread the wire from the negative input out one of the holes you drilled near the battery holder before soldering it to the negative end of the battery holder. Take the positive input wire and attach this to one end of your on and off switch attach another wire to the opposite end of the switch and connect this to the positive end of your battery holder, you should try to make sure that all the wires stay inside the box except for the input wires going through the holes to the battery holder. Then close the lid of the box and screw it shut.
The shocker is finished. I have added some pictures of what the same points look like on another circuit.
DO NOT USE ON ANYONE WITH HEART CONDITIONS, DO NOT APPLY ACROSS THE HEART OR OTHER VITAL ORGANS/NERVES
I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT YOU DO WITH IT,USE COMMON SENSE!