This video provides a clear guide in building your own stun gun. Its very simple too. Unlike commercial stun guns, the shock does not carry nearly as much venom.

And unlike some of the video guides this site has blogged about, this particular guide – making a home-made stun gun – is slightly different in that it is, in effect, a weapon, therefore, anyone making this should do so responsibly. Do not use it on yourself or others as it will give off quite an uncomfortable sting!

The main piece of equipment needed for this project is a disposable camera. You may already have one lying around somewhere or can buy a used one very cheaply on eBay or an electronics hardware store. A slim one is ideal as the end product would look more like a real stun gun. The shock itself derives from the flash that a camera produces when taking a photo. So its vital this is not damaged in any way when taking the camera apart.

Essentially, the crux of this project requires adding wires (in the form of paper clips) to each end of the capacitor. There really isn’t much more to it other than following the straightforward video. This is why I found this to be one of the more simple how-to videos of this type.

This should give you an idea what anyone receiving a shock with a real stun gun must feel, with the power of shock multiplied so many times over, of course. But because the shock is emitted through sharp wires made out of paper clips that obviously have a pointy edge, the pain felt from the shock is still quite uncomfortable, especially as it is charged.

Please do not attempt to increase the power of the shock by introducing any other elements (only work with what is shown) as it can be very dangerous. If you do decide to build one yourself, it is recommended that you strictly follow the video. Unfortunately the tutorial does not come with any commentary but the video itself is clear enough.

Here is the video summarised in written steps:

• Carefully open the casing of the camera, making sure you do not damage anything in the process.
• Make sure you take the battery out so you don’t stun yourself while you are building the stun gun.
• You will need paper clips that need to be shortened and attached to each end of capacitor. These will act as the wire through which shock will be emitted.
• Put the battery back in ensuring you don’t touch the wire after its put in.
• Close the camera casing.
• Press the flash button on the camera to charge and then use a screwdriver to see the effects.

Ever wanted to get a powerful telescope that is also able to record what you see on your computer. Well, this little video shows how to make a spy telescope using a webcam and telelens. This seems a very achievable way to build a powerful telescope on a small budget.

The two main accessories needed is a webcam and telelens. Telelens can be obtained at online stores and are fairly cheap. You will also need a few plumbing materials such as pipes, endcaps, etc to piece the whole thing together.

The video itself is well explained and quite easy to follow, which is not always the case with how-to videos of this type.

Basically, the webcam needs to be dismantled so that you can get the lens and have it fitted to a PVC part so that it matches the lens, by obtaining one in hardware store. The lens then need to fitted to an adapter before putting the web cam in and then putting the end cap on. The distance between the lens and the camera needs to be worked out by playing around with the focus until you have attained the right focus. You can then glue it together.

To get a better understanding of how everything is pieced together you will need to watch video and probably go over it few times.

You can get lens with greater focal length to enhance the magnification. That will be up to you.

Some of the shots with examples shown on the video are quite impressive. You get an extremely close-up of the target once you have found the correct focus. According to the creator of the video, you can also get really good view of the craters on the moon, so it could be ideal for star glazing.

Another advantage of building a webcam telescope is that it allows for recording on your hard drive. If you are a wildlife enthusiast you can do a bit of bird spotting, or if you a more sinister kind, you can perhaps record what your neighbours get up to. Make sure not to get caught though!

Like any of these videos, the success is judged by whether others are being able to follow the instructions and build it succesfully for themselves. Judging by a few of the responses to the video it seems this has been quite a big hit and quite a few people seem to have been very impressed with the resulting telescope and its focus.

Wouldn’t it be really cool to have a spy camera that could be used to record a video of exactly what you see? Wouldn’t it be even better to have it completely concealed so that nobody knew that you were spying on them? Sounds something you would see in the TV Series Bugs (actually Season 3, Episode 8: Buried Treasure to be precise!). This great article on Instructables shows you how you can make your own covert spy camera sunglasses made from low cost chunky sunglasses and a cheap spy camera from eBay.

The camera is simply a wired pinhole spy camera that’s very easy to obtain. Using some black wires, the audio, video and power cables to the camera are extended so that they can be plugged into a video recorder. The video recorder could easily be concealed within a backpack, and the wires can be concealed under the strap too.

I think the real trick to these spy sunglasses is that they are chunky enough to conceal a whole camera. Spy cameras are pretty small, but they can still feel awkward if they are located next to your eye. Finding the smallest possible camera will make the glasses that little more comfortable.

To get some “ideas” on what you can use the spy sunglasses for, have a watch of the amusing video below!

Instructables via MAKE: Blog.

The UberTracker is a combination of GSM and GPS technologies just like the Parallel Track GPS tracker that I reviewed recently. However, the UberTracker is a completely customisable device that can report GPS coordinates via email or over GPRS to a web server. You can configuring the logging frequency, how much log data is sent to an email address or web server and the type of location format too.

The UberTracker is designed to operate from a 6V power supply, but you can use a voltage regulator to a voltage between 8V to 14V for use within a vehicle. The location data can be reported using one of three formats, Google Maps links, regular text and NMEA standard. You can also configure how many GPS fixes are taken each day. If the tracker loses GSM reception, you can set it up to send up to 240 of the logs at once when the GSM reception is re-established.

The UberTracker has been designed to work in the US, using an AT&T data sim card for the GPRS data transfer. However, there’s no indication of an EU or UK version. It’s really interesting to see a tracker that allows for individuals to create their own tracking facilities. For those who do not want to create their own infrastructure, then you can use the Track America service. For those of us in the UK, the Parallel Track GPS tracker is still your best bet.

The UberTracker via MAKE: Blog.

This tiny microphone the size of a matchstick is only 3mm in diameter, and is an excellent accessory for audio surveillance equipment. The microphone uses a standard-sized 3.5mm socket with a clip to allow you to connect it to your audio equipment. The audio socket does need to provide a power supply, but that’s very common for sound recorders these days.

A microphone of this size is suited to concealment in a variety of devices. Since its so small, it does attract a price tag of nearly $150, so you might want something a little cheaper (and larger) at around $40 such as this standard amplified microphone. These sorts of microphones can be connected to minidisc recorders and digital dictaphones to allow covert recording.

If you fancy a little bit of DIY, you can make your own covert microphone that’s only 6mm in diameter using these electret microphone inserts (i.e. the active component in the mics available above). The circuit diagram shows how you can connect the microphone to a battery to make it highly sensitive. You could make your own mics for about $10 using inserts such as I show above.

Location trackers are getting frighteningly common now, and even I’m getting overwhelmed with how many different variations there are. The most useful type of tracker is one that allows you to remotely find out the location of the GPS device. For example, if you have a car with a GPS tracker fitted into it, and the car is stolen, you can find out where its located by sending it a text message. The pricing for such a bit of kit can vary, but often starts at the £200 ($400) mark for the entry-level kit.

If you fancied making your own remote GPS tracker for around £150, have a read of this Interfacing an AVR controller to a GPS Mobile Phone article on Tickerlog.

The design is based on using a GM862-GPS module that integrates GSM and a GPS receiver together. The GSM part of the device gives you all the functionality of a mobile phone, i.e. SMS, recieving calls and making calls. The module is just electronics side of things, but you just need an aerial, a sim card and the electronics to control it. If you want audio, then you need to add a microphone and speaker too.

The GM862-GPS module is controlled by a ATmega8 microcontroller, which I think was chosen due to having UART serial interfaces that allows it to operate with a PC. I have no experience of AVR microcontrollers, but I do see them being used a lot for projects on MAKE: Magazine. I get the impression that they are really simple to program and operate.

Once the GPS tracker is operational, the microcontroller is programmed to send an SMS with its location. Showing this location on Google Maps involves sending an SMS via an SMS-to-email service, so that you get an email with a Google Maps compatible link to click on.

I do like the style of this article because it focuses on simplicity. I briefly checked to see if you can get the parts in the UK and EU (as the article focuses on US stockists), and its not difficult to find the parts whatsoever. So if you fancy making your own GPS tracker, give it a go!

If you’re a fan of making your own spy kit, then here’s another kit for you. The MK120 Infra-red (IR) breakbeam detector kit allows you to construct a gadget that sounds an alarm when the IR beam is broken by someone walking between the transmitter and the receiver unit.

The transmitter unit creates a pulsed beam of infra-red light that is detected by the matching IR receiver. When the receiver stops receiving the signal, the buzzer on the receiver sounds loudly. You typically put this device in a doorway or narrow corridor so that the beam is broken by someone walking through the beam. You see this sort of thing in with laser tripwires in the Hollywood movies too.

The range of the transmitter is between 1 and 4 metres. The kit requires soldering skills and comes with all components, but does not come with power supplies or enclosure boxes. You can easily power the devices from a 9V battery though. The MK120 kit is easy to obtain, either from Maplin in the UK or Apogee in the US.

The Everyday Practical Electronics (EPE) Magazine is the number one hobby electronics and computer projects magazine in the UK. Their focus is on practical circuits and projects, and the magazine features a number of smaller useful circuits in addition to those featured on the front cover.

I’ve long been a reader of their magazines, and even collected most of them for a while. Foolishly, I gave most of them away a few years ago when I was clearing out. However, they do offer a back issue order service, so I can get any issues I really want. EPE recently started an online version of the EPE magazine which makes it easier and cheaper for non-UK electronics enthusiasts to get hold of.

They have a very helpful online forum called Chat Zone, where you can get help, advice and even help others too.

If you want to improve your knowledge of electronics for building your own spy circuits, or simply want to gain enough knowledge to hack your own spy gadgets, then I recommend EPE very highly.

We’ve all considered lock picking at some stage, often when we’ve lost the key or locked ourselves out someplace. So here are a couple of ways you can make your own lock picks, both the traditional type, and using a computer hard drive!!

Firstly there’s a 24 minute instructional video on YouTube which gives you a detailed tutorial on making your own lock picks. Have a look on YouTube for “lock picking” and related keywords, as there are plenty of videos to help you pick locks using simple devices.

Secondly is the article that shows you how to pick locks with a hard drive, a mouse, and also a network card. The article takes you through a variation of a lock pick gun which exploits vibration to open a lock. Cool huh?

This is an interesting article that I found on how to make a Secret Hollow Book using an old book, PVA glue, water, a sharp knife and lots of patience! The level of detail is great, giving you tips to make sure the finished product looks good.

If you want to try a coke can (soda can to our US friends), then the same site also has an article on how to make a Secret Hollow Soda Can.

Having a covert storage item such as a book is an excellent security technique. You probably don’t want to store anything too important in the book due to the lack of a lock, but its great for general concealment. As they say, “out of sight, out of mind”. I wish this was the case for those chocolate biscuits I love! I still manage to keep finding them!