At 10:11 PM 6/7/96 -0500, Frand Humphrey wrote:
>Hi Tim
>
>Did you know that your car is capable of approximately 6000 revolutions pre
>minute and that the plugs fire at half that rate? Did you also know that a
>capacitor discharge ignition system is used to furnish those 50,000volt
>pulses 3000 times a minute? And did you know that this is also the same
>system used in fence chargers? The main difference is that fence chargers
>are designed to work slower to make the battery last longer. The old brush
>burner type fence chargers are very hard to find because they tend to start
>fires and their sale is forbidden in most states. Also most fence chargers
>only use about 6000 volts. If you really want to deter bears, go to an
>auto parts store and get a high performance electronic ignition system and
>take to your local community college and have them design a trigger circuit
>for about 2 to 3 thousand pulses per minute and mount the whole thing in a
>weather proof box. Believe me, 50,000 volt 2000 times per min. will deter
>the most determined bear.
>
Frank:
Thanks for your comments.
I had not considered the merits of present day automotive electronic
technology. Now that you mention it, I do recall reading about the
voltage values possible with electronic ignition systems. A set-up
that you suggest would indeed prove to be a magnificant challenge to
the most determined bear. I'm not sure that this method would be
cost effective for a hobbyist.
>Now the main reason I' replying to your post is that you are suggesting
>using household AC voltage and current to deter bears. These voltages kill
>more people in the US each year than all others combined. It only takes 1/2
>amp of current through your heart to kill.. 120 VAC and 240 VAC is not high
>enough to knock human loose form the contact but does cause muscle
>contraction. At this point the human body is electrocuted. Now is someone
>stagers into your bear trap at night by mistake, you are going to have a
>dead person on your hand, make no mistake about it. This is not something
>I would not want on my conscience.
I would definitely not want this type of accident on my conscience
either. I failed to explain my situation clearly. I live in the
Northeastern corner of Vermont. My town has 358 people in a 30 sq mi
area. If you look up "boondocks" in the dictionary you'll see a picture
of Kirby. My driveway is 1.5 mi from the nearest paved road and my
driveway is .75mi long. Other than the driveway there is no access to
my property. The house is located on a ridge midway up our 1600'
"mountain". There is a large hayfield below the house and heavy forest
above. No one staggers through any part of my 200 acres. We do have the
occasional moose, bears and coyote wander by, but even they stay clear
of the house and out buildings, for the most part. My hives are located
about 50yds from the house, beyond a knoll that is behind the poultry
coops. You have to want to go there to get there.
As I said in my original post, this is not the method to use in a more
populated area. It is the way in which I have dealt with the problem
within my own unique set of circumstances. I am acutely aware of the
dangers of 120V AC and I am not taking those dangers lightly. The system
is only energized when I am home and if there is a situation where
the risk
is greater than my normal, the power is always secured.
****************
To All interested parties:
As I was thinking on this topic I remembered a low-tech solution
that was
given by someone who wrote a letter to the editor of Bee Culture
Magazine.
It was sometime back and I haven't been able to find the issue yet,
so I
can't give the person credit, but here is what I remember:
Cut up sheets of 1/2" exterior grade plywood into strips 32" x 48" (3 to
a 4'x8' sheet) and drive *many* 8d galv nails through the plywood. The
resulting "pin cushions" would be placed front and rear of the hives
with
the nails sticking up, of course. Supposedly the bear won't cross
over the
nails to get to the hives. Drawbacks: its an awful lot of nailing if
you have
more than a couple of hives and it would be a pain to have to move
them every
time you went to work the hives.
The most effective deterrent maybe being big, fat and ugly. On May
25th a
young bear tipped over my stongest hive. He only did minor damage to two
frames, mainly because I caught him in the act. It was 8AM and when
I saw
that the hive had been tipped over I went storming out. When I
cleared the
top of the knoll I found Mr. Bear sitting contentedly amidst the frames,
munching away. I bellowed "GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE!!! He spun around,
obviously suprised and started to move towards me. Confronted by a
raging
6' 285lb madman, mr bear decided he wanted no part of what I was
offering, and
before I could do or say anything else, he ran down the hill,
through the bog
and up the mountain. I've been told how fast bears can move, and now
I've
witnessed it first hand. To date, the bear has not returned.
Tim Peters, Kirby VT
[log in to unmask]
KirBee Apiary, Bear Bait Honey
I rather be flying!
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