Burble Update and Improvement

9/18/06

Ok, I'm still working to get this thing juuuuuust right. Like I said in earlier articles, this device isn't the indisputable proof, but may be a stepping stone. Unfortunately some of the stones have had a little wet moss on them...

Some of you may have built one, and experienced some problems of the thing not turning off or "cancelling" itself when a field is no longer present.

Here are the reasons the LED sometimes refuses to go out...

When the FET transistor is inactive, meaning it isn't detecting a field at the time, the LED may still remain on...because, the FET is still allowing current to flow to the LED.  Duh!

How do we know this, you ask? A cool discovery was made while trying some breadboard work with the circuit.

When a speaker jack is added to the circuit, you can audibly hear (through headphones) the changes in a Static Field. It will have varying tones and individual volumes.

This improved discovery, rather than the alarm we've been using, can detect physical changes in field strength unlike the monotone of the piezo alarm.

Pretty damn cool, huh? Oh yeah! I did the happy dance!!

So basically the LED turned into an indicator light, just letting you know the Burble is turned on. It's indicating the minute field around the room or you, that's about all.

The LED will still go out when you cancel it by waving hair or rubbing it on your clothes.

Another improvement, is toning down the sensitivity of the device. The antenna may make the device TOO sensitive, resulting in picking up your movements...footfalls, clothing, etc...

I did some reading on the original design, and they say to place a capacitor of 100 pico farads or less between the gate (antenna leg) and another leg of the transistor. They said it didn't matter which leg. I tried this, and didn't get the result I was after, even when a 1 pico farad capacitor was used. You'd need a field of tremendous strength to get the thing to cooperate. The solution was another "Duh!"...shorten the antenna!! Told you it was a "Duh!". *sigh*

To fix this, I used a long jumper wire as the antenna, and wrapped it around the front of the box.

(jumper wire set...from Radio Shack, of course)

Our little burble is starting to grow up...awwwww.

Anyway, these improvements will help the effectiveness and usefulness of the device.

It looked good on paper, and worked well in breadboard testing.

*** Again, don't try to claim this is your idea, or I'll hunt you down and set your shirt on fire.

This is the breadboard circuit. When fixing your's, just replace the piezo alarm with a headphone jack.

With this improvement, you CAN walk around with it. The LED may still blink when you walk, but that's no big deal. We know that now. However, you cannot just use it as you would an old Burble and set it down. You MUST use headphones or ear buds with it, for these are needed to complete the circuit in order for it to function. You can use an extension cable and set it down a distance away...we've done that with some success by plugging a couple of 6-footers together and placing the Burble in another room.

I'm not going to go through the whole step-by-step assembly again, but I'll show you the shortcuts to make to your's.

Time to make a Radio Shack run!!

If you're in the Lorain/Elyria area, go see my buddy Kellie at the store in Midway Crossing (in front of wal-mart across from toys-r-us). She'll set you up with everything you need.

New Antenna:

~ Remove the old antenna (telescopic or coat hanger), and drill a tiny hole using a 1/16" drill bit even with the mounting post inside the box, on both sides.

~ Strip the plastic coating from the jumper wire and make a small loop with needle nose pliers and attach it to one of the mounting posts with a small screw.

~ Start another screw into the other post, and wrap the long jumper wire around the front of the box.

~ Pull the jumper wire tightly around the box, and thread it into the other hole. Pull it tightly with your needle nose pliers and wrap it around the screw. Tighten the screw.

Make sure the wire is snug, and not too loose. This will prevent it from snagging on something, and ripping it out.

~ Put the circuit board back into the box, and VERY CAREFULLY bend the antenna leg of the FET so it touches the wire.

Headphone Jack:

You need a simple jack...Radio Shack part # 274-249...3-Conductor Stereo, 1/8" Phone Jack. They come two in a package, for just a couple bucks.

There are three leads coming off of it...Here's the tricky part, and secret...

Leads 1 and 3 go to the positive hookup, Lead 2 goes to the positive leg (the longer one) of the LED.

~ Find a spot on the side of the box, like you did on your first try, mark an "x" between the lines, use a 1/4" drill. If you haven't made one before, refer to the "Making Your Own Burble" page.

~ DO NOT hook the 1 and 3 wire together! Solder them on either side of the FET leg, and attach them to the leg with a solder glob.

~ Attach the black wire to the Positive of LED to the 2 lead.

~ The wiring should look something like this

~ Mount it in the hole...There ya have it!

Remember, the LED will still come on indicating ANY static field, but a field of any consideration will "Buzz" through the headphones.

When you have this completed, test it out near your TV set. You'll hear the different tones and volumes as the picture on the TV changes. It'll buzz, it'll go off, it'll get loud, it'll be soft, it'll be high or low... It's pretty neat and DOES work on-site. We worked with this at Longwood Manor.

Ok, so this is all well and good...but you want something solid to review, right?

Say no more...Try this.

You can hook your new and improved "Burble 2.0" to your audio recorder...but you might need to make that ever anticipated Radio Shack run!

Here's what you'll need:

~ 1- Two-into-One Jack Adapter

~ 1- Male/Male Cable

 
(this is the 12")

~ And your favorite Recorder of choice

Recording with regular cassette and digital recorders are different, so try either methods.

Recording with a Digital Voice Recorder:

~ Plug the Adapter into the Burble 2.0

~ Plug the Cable and your ear buds into the Adapter

~ Plug the Cable into the Mic jack of the Recorder

Recording with Cassette Tape:

The hook-up is different, but gives the same result.

~ Plug the Cable into the Burble 2.0

~ Plug the other end into the Mic jack

~ Plug your headphones into the headphone jack

This will work with either regular size or micro-cassette recorders.

Headphones work better with cassettes, ear buds work better with digital recorders.

Now you'll be able to hear when you're near a Static Field of any significance. Its a good idea to carry along a second recording device, in case "someone" present would like to speak.

Making a discovery like this is what gives a person the satisfaction of doing REAL research, unlike those that merely claim to be "Researchers" while waiting for someone else to do the work, then pretending it was their idea on their websites to make themselves look impressive...What, you don't think people surf?

~~~copyright 2006 Dr. Ken

None of this material may be used without
the written consent of Dr. Ken