Mischievous teen arrested for turning camera into taser

Regardless of what the UN / Taser thinks, the fuzz around Clinton, Connecticut aren't too fond of taser-like weapons being in the hands of teenagers. Case in point: a 14-year old with a certain knack for wandering around the intarwebz and filling his brain with all sorts of hacktastic methodologies managed to stumble upon directions (what, these?) for transforming a vanilla disposable camera into something "capable of zapping people with an electrical charge." School Resource Officer Kyle Strunjo even said that the improvised weapon was "potentially capable of a 600-volt shock," though it wasn't actually used on anyone before it got swiped by the boys in blue. Chin up kid, you've got a future waiting for you yet.

[Image courtesy of DIYLive, thanks Ninad]

[Vassago @ Apr 4th 2008 10:37AM]

They put a article in Maxim in the last two months that had instructions for this.
HA

[aardvark sandwich @ Apr 4th 2008 10:40AM]

Considering I was playing freaking Super Mario World when I was 14, not bad. Not bad at all.

[Andrew Wieland @ Apr 4th 2008 10:45AM]

Who didn't do this in High School? I had a set of them.

Also, the shock is hardly comparable to that of a taser; it just stings a little.

[cmonkey @ Apr 4th 2008 5:33PM]

Exactly. Amusingly, I graduated from the high school in the town next to Clinton, and nobody cared when we did this to cameras during engineering class.

Its been interesting watching this story change as it grew from local news to the AP to blogs to aggregators.

[Valgas @ Apr 4th 2008 10:45AM]

I swear, if someone tried to be funny and zapped me with one of these I'd fuckin kill em. That is of course if I don't go into cardiac arrest first.

[TC @ Apr 4th 2008 10:45AM]

Really, demobilizing? I did this when I was 14, it's not anything exciting. I love how they say the voltage like it's some sort of valid measure of danger.

[Uber_Mexico @ Apr 4th 2008 10:47AM]

It's not even dangerous or damaging. It's just like those buzzers from spencers. Whatever it's touching twitches and feels funny. Unless you put this INTO someone's heart, it won't have any real effect.

[Chris Anderson @ Apr 4th 2008 10:50AM]

This is stupid...kids made these all the time when i was in highschool. And i was shocked a few times as well...it's nothing dangerous, although somewhat painful and long-lasting.

[Jeff @ Apr 4th 2008 10:53AM]

Don't take my picture bro.

[Technex @ Apr 5th 2008 6:26PM]

Jeff for king! LOL!

[sully @ Apr 4th 2008 10:56AM]

My favorite was taking a high capacity capacitor and sticking two wires out of a box. Then taking a completely irrelevant cord and leaving it unplugged next to an outlet. Charge the capacitor and leave a "HIGH VOLTAGE. DO NOT TOUCH." warning next to the box and people will inevitablely thinkt that since it's unplugged it's harmless.

[Infamouship @ Apr 4th 2008 4:58PM]

OH MY GOD....

[Mark @ Apr 4th 2008 10:57AM]

cheese!

[SjD @ Apr 4th 2008 10:59AM]

Remember kiddies, Voltage means little, its amps that you sense.

A teslacoil puts out thousands of volts, hell even getting out of your chair with those polyester pants yields hundreds of volts.

[ouphie @ Apr 4th 2008 11:05AM]

My sophomore year of college, I used a disposable camera to make a small caliber coil gun capable of firing a BB nearly 10 feet. It would have been more impressive if we had a solid state switch (the push button switch kept arcing and spot welding together).
While working with it, I shorted the switch with my finger and it discharged. It tingled, and got my attention, but there really wasn't enough current available to do any damage.

[Brandon @ Apr 4th 2008 11:07AM]

What? Me and a few friends built this when we were 13 out of a few bits of copper wire and a disposable camera and it never, ever shocked anyone with 600 volts, it felt like one of those trick pens...the point is that is a mound of BS there is no way a camera can do that, we're talking AA batteries here.

[analyzewithin @ Apr 4th 2008 11:09AM]

EXACTLY. How does 600 volts compare to 20,000 to 50,000 volts from a Taser? Come on.
The Fuzz is taking all the fun out of it! ;)

[IndiaTech @ Apr 4th 2008 11:14AM]

I guess this is what happens when you hang around Engadget too much....

[nemu-iii @ Apr 4th 2008 11:14AM]

i think that they've seen it on tomshardware...

http://www.tomshardware.com/site/flash_videos/the_homemade_taser.html

[Dave @ Apr 4th 2008 11:22AM]

So it's all right to have an automatic machine pistol, protected by the constitution no less. But a relatively harmless broken camera will get you arrested.

Sheesh, America certainly has a screwed sense of priorities!

[UKNigel @ Apr 4th 2008 11:25AM]

The shock is also very short, so it hurts a bit, but nothing like a taz0r where the shock keeps going and going. This is just one single zap, like a shock from static electricity.

[John @ Apr 4th 2008 11:29AM]

So, would these officers also consider that a doorknob is a taser as well, if paired with socks and a carpet?

[JS @ Apr 4th 2008 11:30AM]

At this rate, kindergarten kids will be locked up for convincing classmates to lick 9V batteries.

[andy @ Apr 4th 2008 11:32AM]

We did this in school, before the internet, and back then it wasn't considered a "taser." It was considered ingenuity, a knack for electronics, and a mind for tinkering. Today people are just too damn uptight!

[packetsniffer @ Apr 4th 2008 11:35AM]

Are you saying a tesla coil isn't dangerous? Those can put out more than enough amperage to kill you...

And getting out of a chair in polyester pants can charge more like tens of thousands of volts, not just hundreds.

And I don't even know where you get "sensing" amperage from.

But yeah I see what you're trying to say: it takes amperage to hurt, not simply high voltage.

[packetsniffer @ Apr 4th 2008 11:36AM]

Are you saying a tesla coil isn't dangerous? Those can put out more than enough amperage to kill you...

And getting out of a chair in polyester pants can charge more like tens of thousands of volts, not just hundreds.

And I don't even know where you get "sensing" amperage from.

But yeah I see what you're trying to say: it takes amperage to hurt, not simply high voltage.

[packetsniffer @ Apr 4th 2008 11:36AM]

WTF "Reply" isn't working. Ah, screw it. I was talking to SjD if anyone cares.

[Flashpoint @ Apr 4th 2008 11:37AM]

a mistake made in designing it could cause the capacitor to explode. If that happens it is a fire risk.

[Frank Furter @ Apr 4th 2008 11:38AM]

Weak, weak, weak. Try taking the push-button ignitor out of a gas BBQ grill and see how THAT makes you feel. Pretty decent jolt, enough to get your ass kicked by someone who didn't find it amusing.

[blef @ Apr 4th 2008 11:39AM]

In the process of removing the film & 'free' AA battery from one of these disposable cameras, I touched the electronics on the back. Just my luck, the flash cap was fully charged and I received a pretty substantial jolt. I'm sure it is nothing compared to a tazer, but those that say it is nothing or likening it to a hand buzzer are full of crap, the discharge locked up both of my arms for an instant. Still, I doubt this thing is fatal except in really extreme circumstances.

Any one questioning the arrest over this must not be considering the fact that this ass brought the thing into a school, and apparently attempted to use it during a fight with another student.

[andyg8180 @ Apr 4th 2008 11:41AM]

this was all over break.com on how to make it... i wondered how long it was gonna be till someone got arrested...

[Cahlito @ Apr 4th 2008 11:44AM]

LMAO

[Fernando @ Apr 4th 2008 11:45AM]

This is such an old trick we were doing that as kids back in the 90's when these cameras first came out.

[Arcanum @ Apr 4th 2008 11:47AM]

"All right guys, i just want one shot!"

[Sporkinum @ Apr 4th 2008 11:48AM]

19 ways to get thrown in jail by Idiocracy cops.
http://www.dealextreme.com/products.dx/category.821~search.shock

[tom @ Apr 4th 2008 11:53AM]

Don't forget to say "CHEESE"

[Kurian @ Apr 4th 2008 11:58AM]

Obviously you havent been zapped with a camera flash capacitor.

[Mike @ Apr 4th 2008 12:01PM]

One of my friends did a presentation in a class on how to make one of these camera stun guns while in high school. I was the one who showed him how to make them. The things hurt a ton, and left scotch marks on the skin. I would never let anyone get me with one, although I didn't mind getting them.

[SurKaz @ Apr 4th 2008 12:04PM]

INTO someone's heart... man, that's a lotta stabbing you gotta do to get it in there... Might as well stab them instead..

[MechaDEVO @ Apr 4th 2008 12:04PM]

We did this for a basic circuits project at school. Ours maxed out at a little over 300 volts, and a couple hundred milliamps. Fun stuff. I still have it all put together in a project box, ready to take on that home invader...if we agrees to wait 10 seconds for it to charge.

[neil @ Apr 4th 2008 12:04PM]

haha, excellent yet unfortunate, i did this at school back in the day (bout 92) after the school nerd showed me how to do it, didnt get caught thankfully, there's plenty juice to weld a coin to the terminals when it's charged up... think i only zapped one kid before i sold it to one of the school bullies for a fiver.

;)

[SurKaz @ Apr 4th 2008 12:04PM]

What the ?!? the reply button ain't workin?

[analyzewithin @ Apr 4th 2008 12:10PM]

the reply button seems ineffectual at the moment.

[Michael @ Apr 4th 2008 12:21PM]

I've been shocked by a camera flash, it was unpleasant enough to make me more careful.

However, it does not even compare to being shocked by a dog "anti-barking" collar...my entire arm was numb for 5 minutes. I can't imagine what it would be like on your neck.

[Stevo @ Apr 4th 2008 12:25PM]

I've zapped myself with those, it's not bad. "600 volts" is exactly what the capacitor is labeled, but it is something like .000000002 amps (exaggeration). Higher amps and it might be dangerous. It hurts, but it is a funny hurt, actually me and a few friends zapped each other when we weren't watching.

[jkel @ Apr 4th 2008 12:33PM]

talk about shocking candid celebrity photos.

[tanooki2003 @ Apr 4th 2008 12:41PM]

hehehe this dude is awesome. He officially get's my "Kick A$$" award vote of the month. I used to do stuff sort of like this too, except not this extreme.

[Greg Baz @ Apr 4th 2008 12:42PM]

We used to do this in summer camp 15 years ago. Just take the camera apart. charge the flash and press the solder points of the capacitor on the persons foot. we did this while they were sleeping. It was a lot of fun.

[DWells55 @ Apr 4th 2008 12:44PM]

Yup, it's the amperage that's the danger, not the voltage.

[Able-X @ Apr 4th 2008 12:44PM]

Our instructor in Electronic Principles taught us how to make these when I was in the Air Force. Fun times in the class when you have a bunch of 19/20 year old airman zapping the hell out of each other with them.