Customer Reviews

Build Your Own Laser, Phaser, Ion Ray Gun and Other Working Space Age Projects

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book teaches practical,
hands-on experience with some exciting
science projects that you aren't likely to
encounter elsewhere.

The ultrasonic listener extends the sense of
hearing to the realm of sounds above 20kHz.

The low-power one-transistor fm radio
transmitter is a useful tool to have in
your bag of tricks; it can be built on an
hour's notice, and for under $1.

It is an educational and worthwhile book.

That's the good news.

Now for a word of caution:

What I'm suggesting here is that you approach
the projects in this great book with wisdom and
an ability to think vigorously and persistently.

On one hand, If you mangage to complete and operate
all this book's projects, including adjustment of the
high-voltage supply of the cutting CO2 laser, and still
have not qualified for a postumous Darwin Award, then you
have demonstrated you are either a bizzarrely lucky fool
or a master technician who has the iron will to stay
alive by sticking to impeccable safety procedures.

And before you make your own homemade EMP generator,
consider that, at the time Mr. Ianinni wrote
this wonderous book, the electronic landscape
was much less involved, without the so many
co$tly thing$ like cell phone$ and PDA$ in it.
The radius of de$truction could lead irate
villagers (now reduced to a technological level of
torches and pitchforks) directly to your laboratory.

At least one of the devices i.e taser, have gotten
negative legislative attention since the book was
first published.

Ok; so now you know some of these projects
are genuinely hazardous.
Take care. Pay attention. Get old.
Keep one hand in your pocket.

This is an exlent book of electronics fo beginners and experts alike. It gives step-by-step instructions on building real lasers, imitation lasers, cutting lasers, sonic devices, ultrasonic devices, magnetic disturbance detectors, and much more. Requires little or no electrical experience.

~Good Stuff~: I found this book every interesting. The author shows you the basic of some simple projects and then improves on them. ~Needs help~: Some of the advanced projects require a solid foundation in electronics if you want to understand what is going on with it. Some of the contruction diagrams are really hard to follow, they are not diagrammed clearly, and some info is missing on one or two. The author never gives you a rough estimate on the cost of building each project.

Robert E. Iannini seemed to of spent a lot of time building and wrtiting about all of the projects in his 390 page book. His techinical expertese in the field guided me greatly when I built to of his projects. The Solid State Tesla Coil, which makes a spark about 1/4 inch long, and I also made a Pocket Ultrasonic device that discourges vicious dogs from attacking. (I haven't tested it yet, but that's what he says it does). There are lots of other projects like a home-made laser pointer, battery chargers and eliminators and a great project that I am going to build next: the magnetic field distortion detector, if calabrated correctally, can tell you if what you are looking at is a real UFO!! This is a great book for people who have a lot of time on their hands, and know a great deal about soldering, eletrical theory, wireing, and of course, some handy work with drills, saws, pliers, etc.

This is a very cool book, but it really is not for the average joe. You get a parts list, and some limited instructions, and then a picture of how the project should look when it's like 75% done. It is hard to follow. From parts list to 3/4 done in a matter of like a page.

This is the classic even when it was new. When I imagine tinkering I visualize these gadgets. Newer books may have one or two of these projects but this one is front to back maker coolness. Only the newer "for the evil genius" series even compare.

Very well written and concise book. Book gives detailed information on building some really interesting electronic projects as the title implies. I do not recommend a novice building some of these circuits since most of the projects involve high voltage and both R.F. and acoustic radiation. If you already have experience building electronic circuits and are aware of the dangers of working with high voltages, then this is the book for you. This is fringe electronics that is somewhat outside what I would call mainstream electronic circuits.

I love the projects in this book! It brings a lot of ideas from star wars and other science fiction films to real life! It is a must for all science fiction enthusiasts and inventers.

I think I checked this book out 20 times when I was a teen. It was basically a catalog for Information Unlimited, a company that sold electronic kits. But it was a serious explanation of how the projects work, including drawings and schematics. I think I bought every PN2222 and 555 timer IC the local radio slack had to build some of the projects. The radio transmitter is a good intro and you really can't hurt yourself. A friend of mine built the Tesla coil and we had a lot of fun with it.
The cover is hokey and might make you think the book is something it's not. It's an electronics how-to book for people who know how to use a soldering iron and probably own their own 12v power supply. It is not really a beginners book. If you've never even wired up a door bell or replaced an outlet in your house, you might want to steer clear of this.

Maybe I should have read the description more carefully, but I thought this book would provide instructions for building prop phasers, blasters, lightsabers, etc. It does not.

This is a book about building actual working lasers and other gadgets (mostly for fun, but I can see that some of these projects would have practical applications). The book is seriously cool, but is not what I was looking for.