Okay, I feel bad about teasing and bailing… but I haven’t been on the board in quite some time. But I figured I would come and explain my contraption… and try to post some pictures of it within the next few days.
This is a very simple thing to construct and it builds off of two commonly used and available items. As I said before it measures ionization levels in the air… and if we all remember the wise words of Mr. Ray Stanz… “If the ionization rate of all ectoplasmic entities is constant, WE COULD REALLY BUST SOME HEADS!” Or something like that.
So years ago back when I was in highschool I started doing some research. I found out that there is a device that EVERYONE has in their home… or should have, that has a connection to ion levels in the air. It’s a smoke detector!
Yes that’s right, a simple 10.00 dollar smoke alarm, the little round thing that beeps at you whenever the battery goes dead!
The way they work is there is a very very tiny chip of radioactive isotope inside the smoke alarm. If you look at the little plastic cage inside, the one with the silver top, it should have a radioactive warning on it.
STOP - let me just say that according to what I read on the How Stuff Works website… they claim the level of radiation comming out of this thing is so small it can’t hurt you… they say the radiation couldn’t even pass through a sheet of paper so your skin is enough to block it. But let me just say that I WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ADVERSE REACTIONS OF SIDE EFFECTS OF PLAYING WITH THE INSIDES OF A SMOKE ALARM! YOUR CHOICE TO BUILD THIS PROJECT IS COMPLETELY YOURS. I ACCEPT NO RESPONSIBILITY.
So if you grow another arm later, don’t come looking for trouble! 
Anyway, the smoke alarm passes a small electrical current over this chip of isotope and monitors the voltage across the circuit. Whenever smoke makes it’s way into the detector and hits the chip… (and this is the important part) THE IONS IN THE SMOKE CAUSE A DROP IN THE VOLTAGE!
So whenever these ions are present, the voltage drops and the alarm sounds.
SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR GHOSTS?
I’m glad you asked. All you have to do is buy a small digital multimeter from radioshack or home depot or the like. Cut the probes off of the end and solder them to the appropriate spot on the smoke alarm. This will give you a readout of the voltage across the chip.
So whenever ions are present… such as those from ghosts… you should be able to watch the voltage drop on the multi-meter.
The reason I suggest a digital one is that the amount of voltage we’re talking about here is extremely tiny… so with an analog meter(the one with the needle) you might not see much movement. But the digitial ones will give you hundreths or thousands of a volt so you can really watch this baby change readings.
I will try to get some pictures soon once I dig my old ghost detector out of whatever box it’s in… to show where I soldered my connections.
Also let me say that since I’ve never actually SEEN a ghost I can’t tell you “oh this thing worls!” But I did take it up to what was supposedly one of the most haunted places near my hometown in North Carolina, and I went to the place where the ghost is supposed to frequent. I walked all around with my detector and watched the readings go up and down as I walked toward and away from the spot she supposedly killed herself in. So, not concrete but I think it will be interesting to see if any of you build one of these, if you have any stories you can share.
So even though this is VERY homebrew, and it isn’t proven in a lab… I think the theories are solid, and it’s not that expensive to build so why not try it?!
And please feel free to go to Howstuffworks.com and check out my theories for yourself.
Just a few more things…
When buying your smoke detector be sure you don’t get one that uses a photoresistor… be sure you get the cheapy one with the little black plastic cage inside it. And it SHOULD have some sort of radiation warning on the inside of it.
Also, when I built mine I cut the speaker off the circuit board… I don’t need it and I didn’t want it accidentally going off… those things are loud!
Another point… since the ions actually have to make contact with the sensor, I took the little plastic cage off of mine… to make it more sensitive.
And if you’re planning on putting this into a iona shoe polisher shell keep in mind you will have to have a way for the ions to get inside and touch the sensor. My suggestion would be to NOT shave off the round part on the bottom. Leave it on and just put a bunch of holes in it or something so the ghost bits can hit the sensor!
Well there it is folks… my own theory of a ghost detector. Feel free to ask any questions, if I didn’t explain things properly. I had considered trying to sell this but I figured it’d be better as free knowlege to a very cool propmaknig community. Now if anyone wants to shower me with gifts to show their gratitude… I of course cannot object… (hint hint… a iona shell would be really cool!)
But really… I expect NOTHING. Other than maybe a little credit… and some cool stories of how you use your detector!
And I really will TRY to get pics soon so you know where to attatch everything.
So waddya think?
