Human Continuity Tester! (Using Carbon Heat Tape)

by Just4Fun Media in Circuits > Gadgets

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Human Continuity Tester! (Using Carbon Heat Tape)

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If you have ever wondered how conductive the human body is, or just want to embrace you inner mad scientist and treat your friends to an electrifying experience this Halloween, THIS IS THE INSTRUCTABLE FOR YOU! :-)

NOTE: This project only uses 3.3v; the electrifying experience should not cause any pain, but a slight tingling may be felt.

Materials

- Carbon Heat Tape (available from http://www.carbonheater.us/)

- Three Male-to-Male jumper wires

- A micro-contoller (I used a MediaTek LinkIt)

- Tape

- A piece of card stock or cardboard.

- A computer with Arduino IDE and a MicroUSB cable.

A huge thank you to instructables, autodesk, MediaTek, and Penolopy Bulnick for sending me the Link It One used in this instructable.



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Wiring and Assembly

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Cut two pieces of carbon heat tape (to use as contacts) then insert a jumper wire into your micro-controller's 3.3v and an analog pin.

Next insert the end of each lead into one of the pieces of heat tape, then tape it down to a thin piece of card stock.

Once both contacts are attached to the card stock you are all ready for testing.

An Electrifying Experience

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Now connect your micro-controller to your computer and upload the above code (adjust the analog pin and serial communication bandwidth to suit).

After the code has compiled and uploaded open the serial monitor. If the contacts are bare, you should see a string of zeros. If you place a jumper wire between the contacts you should see a stable value of 680. If so the continuity tester is fully functioning.

Touch both of the contacts to observe your continuity reading. Licking your fingers can make a huge difference, hence why fresh toast and warm baths don't mix.

Have a great day and feel free to post any improvements or insights below!

- Just4Fun Media