H
HC
- Jan 1, 1970
- 0
Hey, all, I have about 4 of my 5 acres fenced to contain my dogs (I
have to keep them fenced since someone, I don't know for sure who,
around here shoots dogs). I have fenced most of my 5 acres so they're
not just in some little pen but they kept digging out. To deter that
I have installed an electric fence around the perimeter, a few inches
above the ground and about 6 inches in from the pen so they cannot dig
under the fence without hitting it. Unfortunately, it's a low-powered
fence charger and grass and weeds grow into it and seem to short it
out, nullifying it's effectiveness and the dogs have been able to dig
out in a few places. I would like to use a more powerful fence
charger and it occurred to me to try to build something homemade
instead of just throwing money at a more expensive/powerful charger.
Back in an electronics class I took in college we used a 12 volt power
supply and a small inductor in a simple circuit that passed current
through the inductor, through a load of some kind and then, when we
broke the power supply to the circuit, the inductor would cause a
spike back through a different portion of the circuit and would light
a small bulb (I don't know what they are called; they have gas of some
kind in them (not LEDs), with two sticks for electrodes, no
filament). The thing would flash that light very briefly but very
brightly, something that the original 12 volts could not do on its
own. The idea they were trying to point out was how an
electromagnetic field could form around a conductor when electrons
(current) passed through it and how much it could amplify the voltage
when that field collapsed.
So, I'm wondering, could I use a similar circuit (how do I build
that? It's been 15 years since I took that class.) to make a homemade
fence charger and use a coil from an old car as the inductor? That
should be good for 10-15k volts I would think, low amperage, and only
momentary stimulus. Should be enough juice to burn through weeds and
grass, and if it hits only about once a second or maybe twice a second
it shouldn't do anything to the dogs but convince them not to touch
it.
I'm only saving maybe a hundred bucks by doing it myself, but I'll
feel pretty good about myself if I do it. I can handle some simple
stuff like a 555 timer to run a relay to switch the load and some
other simple electronics. Can I make this work? Is there some better
way (short of buying an off-the-shelf solution)?
Thank you for your time and help.
--HC
have to keep them fenced since someone, I don't know for sure who,
around here shoots dogs). I have fenced most of my 5 acres so they're
not just in some little pen but they kept digging out. To deter that
I have installed an electric fence around the perimeter, a few inches
above the ground and about 6 inches in from the pen so they cannot dig
under the fence without hitting it. Unfortunately, it's a low-powered
fence charger and grass and weeds grow into it and seem to short it
out, nullifying it's effectiveness and the dogs have been able to dig
out in a few places. I would like to use a more powerful fence
charger and it occurred to me to try to build something homemade
instead of just throwing money at a more expensive/powerful charger.
Back in an electronics class I took in college we used a 12 volt power
supply and a small inductor in a simple circuit that passed current
through the inductor, through a load of some kind and then, when we
broke the power supply to the circuit, the inductor would cause a
spike back through a different portion of the circuit and would light
a small bulb (I don't know what they are called; they have gas of some
kind in them (not LEDs), with two sticks for electrodes, no
filament). The thing would flash that light very briefly but very
brightly, something that the original 12 volts could not do on its
own. The idea they were trying to point out was how an
electromagnetic field could form around a conductor when electrons
(current) passed through it and how much it could amplify the voltage
when that field collapsed.
So, I'm wondering, could I use a similar circuit (how do I build
that? It's been 15 years since I took that class.) to make a homemade
fence charger and use a coil from an old car as the inductor? That
should be good for 10-15k volts I would think, low amperage, and only
momentary stimulus. Should be enough juice to burn through weeds and
grass, and if it hits only about once a second or maybe twice a second
it shouldn't do anything to the dogs but convince them not to touch
it.
I'm only saving maybe a hundred bucks by doing it myself, but I'll
feel pretty good about myself if I do it. I can handle some simple
stuff like a 555 timer to run a relay to switch the load and some
other simple electronics. Can I make this work? Is there some better
way (short of buying an off-the-shelf solution)?
Thank you for your time and help.
--HC