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How to choose a stun gun

 

How to choose a stun gunThis article will focus on stun guns. We will turn a little to history, then consider the technical side of the issue, and finally outline the factors that should be considered when choosing a stun gun for personal defense.

On March 30, 1852, the German inventor Albert Sonnenburg received a patent for an electric whaling harpoon. The device was intended for hunting whales, with the help of it the mammal was shocked by a dynamo generator on board the vessel to paralyze the whale and calmly catch it. For a hundred years, this was the only type of electric weapon - an electric harpoon for whaling, to which electricity was transmitted from a hand-held electric generator by wire directly from the side of the vessel.

Nevertheless, the problem remained unresolved - the police of some countries fired too often during the arrest, and cases of unjustified killings, due to the use of firearms by law enforcement officers, became very frequent.

In response to this challenge, Thomas Ryan, inventor of electric weapons from the United States, patented in 1957 non-lethal, disorienting and paralyzing electric weapons. But the first working model of electric weapons for law enforcement officers with a paralyzing effect was developed only in the 70th year by NASA employee Jack Cover, but for a long time he remained unclaimed.

And only in the 90s with an increased interest in non-traumatic and non-lethal weapons, the idea of ​​Carpet interested developers from several companies. As a result, several samples of electroshock devices appeared on the US market. Tasertron and Taser International have become leaders in this area over time.

stun gun

Initially, electroshock devices were developed for use exclusively by special services, police, security organizations, etc. But today, stun guns often serve as means of individual civil self-defense, because street crime in the world does not want to be eradicated, and citizens do not want to be its victims.

For this reason, stun guns are so popular today as a non-lethal weapon, a means of personal self-defense. In addition, a wild dog that is about to attack you or your loved one can be effectively scared away by a stun gun.

Thus, today the stun gun is a highly effective means of personal protection, while it does not apply to firearms, and its effect is to defeat the enemy with a high-voltage electric discharge.

The level of discharge voltage and the duration of the strike can be different, and depending on these parameters, the action of the stun gun paralyzes the neuromuscular activity of the human body for a period of 5 to 20 minutes, thereby neutralizing the enemy.

powerful stun gun

It is believed that there are no harmful consequences for the human body from an electric shock, but this is still a moot point. In Russia, for example, stun guns complying with GOST R 50940-96 “Electroshock devices” refer to civilian weapons, and this GOST defines the maximum average power at a load of 1 kΩ at 3 W, and the maximum spark discharge voltage should not exceed 90 for wearable devices kV The limitation is due to the fact that large discharge parameters can disrupt the activity of the heart, and lead to death.

The impact of the stun gun on the body is due to the fact that the muscles experience strong cramps from the discharge, and the nervous system cannot control them as effectively as in a calm state.

The defeat causes a violation of coordination of movements, and deprives the enemy of the opportunity to actively resist.Thus, pain from electric shock is not the only factor in the action of a stun gun discharge on a biological object. The decisive factor is the temporary loss of normal working capacity by the muscles, since local paralysis occurs, which will pass only after some time.

If your opponent is drunk, then the effectiveness of the action of the stun gun increases, and turns out to be higher than in the case of protection by other means, such as a pneumatic gun or gas spray, since the sensitivity of a person under the influence of psychotropic drugs is reduced.

The defeat occurs when the combat electrodes come in contact with the body or through clothing, since the discharge current easily pierces it if the electrodes are pressed tightly to the body of the attacker.

stun gun

A very effective stun gun prevents the attack of aggressive animals, such as wild dogs, whose nervous system is very vulnerable. In addition, from the sound and type of discharge, accompanied by the ozone released during discharge into the air, animals panicly flee.

The stun gun is convenient to use in confined spaces where firearms or gas weapons are not so convenient to use. It has small dimensions and weight, causes minimal harm, therefore, it belongs to one of the most humane means of self-defense, although it can cause knockout.


So what kind of device is a stun gun? What does it consist of and how does it work?

Next, we will analyze the stun gun device and find out the principle of its action. We will consider the device of a conventional civilian stun gun, typical of many models, leaving solutions with firing electrodes outside the scope of this article.

Stun gun device

In the case of the stun gun, one or more batteries are required, which can be batteries (lithium or nickel-metal hydride) or replaceable batteries, giving a total voltage of about 7 volts. If the power is supplied by the built-in battery, then the stun gun will need to be charged periodically, for this purpose the charger is included, and there is a special socket on the case. If powered by batteries, then after a series of discharges the batteries will need to be replaced.

The stun gun charger, as a rule, is not difficult. For example, in the simplest form: through the built-in quenching capacitor as reactance, directly from the network, current is supplied through the diode bridge to the battery, there is an indicator LED. There are better solutions using stabilizer circuits.


Almost every stun gun has a built-in flashlight, and sometimes the shocker itself is made in the form of a flashlight. The LED of the flashlight is powered from the same power source as the warhead of the shocker, and there is a separate button for turning on the light on the case.

The second button on the body serves to enable the shocker directly in combat mode. On some models, there is a switch that allows you to select either a flashlight or a combat mode, on some it is possible to simultaneously work both of them.

The buttons of the switches switch the flashlight circuit and directly to the warhead of the device. The flashlight power button connects the LED to the batteries through a current-limiting resistor, and the combat mode button connects a high voltage shocker converter to the batteries.

Stun circuit

The high-voltage shock converter, as a rule, consists of two stages of voltage increase. The first part is a self-generating high-frequency boost converter, which increases approximately 7 volts to 800 volts. Then this AC voltage rectifies and charges polypropylene high voltage capacitor up to 1000 volts.

The second part of the boost converter is a spark transformer generator, in the primary circuit of which there is a spark gap through which the capacitor periodically (several tens of hertz) is connected to the primary winding of the transformer, and in the secondary circuit there is a secondary high-voltage winding. The conclusions of the secondary winding and are connected to the combat electrodes.

Both transformers have ferrite cores as magnetic cores, and each transformer is manufactured with great care, they both contain about 1000 turns of thin wire (0.1 mm diameter) in the secondary winding, and about 10 turns of wire with a diameter of 0.5-0.7 mm in the primary windings. The windings are carefully isolated from each other and filled with a compound, such as epoxy resin.

The stun gun works as follows. When switching to combat mode, the high-frequency oscillator starts working, raising the low voltage of the power source to 800 volts, which then rectifies and charges the capacitor with a capacity of about 220 pF to 1000 volts, after reaching the breakdown voltage of the spark gap (1000 volts) on the capacitor, a sharp connection occurs charged capacitor with the primary winding of the output step-up transformer.

As a result, the discharge through the primary winding of the output transformer is converted into a high voltage pulse (about 90,000 volts) on its secondary winding, and, accordingly, into a combat current discharge between the fighting electrodes on the shocker body. Discharges are repeated with a frequency of 25 to 400 Hz.

When choosing a stun gun, you need to pay attention to a number of parameters so that the device is right for you. Next, we consider the criteria for choosing a stun gun.

Stun gun

Type of stun gun

The vast majority of stun guns on the market are contact. This means that in order to carry out a combat operation, the defender needs to touch at least the enemy’s clothes with electrodes. But there are shooting stun guns that allow you to hit the enemy from a distance of several meters, when a pair of electrodes are fired like a harpoon, and the discharge is transmitted through thin wires.

If you are sure that you will have to use the stun gun remotely, then pay attention to the shooting stun guns, which require special cassettes.

Shooting stun gun

The size and shape of the stun gun

For the security guard, a stun gun in the form of a baton is suitable, and for a woman - a miniature device that fits in a handbag. There are stun guns in the form of a flashlight that can be used just like a flashlight, for example during a night walk, and in a critical situation, a flashlight will serve as an effective means of self-defense. There are shockers even in the form of a cell phone and other items.

stun gun stunner

Type of food

Batteries or battery? If you plan to demonstrate the sparks of your stun gun everywhere, then choose the battery without options. The battery power of the device is convenient, you do not have to buy batteries, it will be enough to charge the shocker as necessary. If you are sure that you will rarely use a shocker, then you can stop on the option with batteries, which will need to be changed once a year for prevention or after a couple of dozen inclusions in combat mode.


Manufacturer and specifications

Russian law allows stun guns with a maximum power of 3 watts and a maximum voltage of 90,000 volts for civilian use for self-defense. A manufacturer with a license will always provide you with comprehensive documentation for the stun gun, and the technical parameters will never exceed the permissible ones. You should not buy products of dubious production, with unclear characteristics.

telephone stun gun

We hope that our article gave you a general idea about stun guns, how they work, and what you should pay attention to when choosing a device to ensure effective self-defense.

How to make a stun gun do it yourself in the video:

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