EMF (Electro Magnetic Field) is all around us, but we do not see or hear them. By amplifying it with EMF amplifier, you can listen to them.
Many artists work with EMF amplifiers in their artistic expressions. One can also use E-Textile techniques to make soft textile antennas and create wearable EMF listeners.
In E-Textile Summercamp 2016, Afroditi Psarra and Martin De Bie lead a workshop on this topic introducing few method/circuit to amplify EMF around us.
http://etextile-summercamp.org/2016/emf/
Inspired by their workshop, we made EMF listener jacket and cape using conductive thread and fabric as antennas. Here is the circuit we used from Martin’s fabric EMF amplifier circuit.
Here is the original circuit layout from Martin
and it will look something like this when built (the circuit in the photo is not finished)
This can be made with TO-92 package transistors, but you can also use SMD transistors to make it flat and small. For EMF cape, it is made with SMD transistor soldered directly on Karl Grimm copper conductive thread and couched on fabric button.
To build the EMF circuit, you will need
-2N3904 NPN transistor x4
-2N3906 PNP transistor x1
-Audio Jack x1
Then you can use conductive textile materials something like these to build the fabric PCB. If you do not have the exact material, you can improvise with other types of conductive textile materials.
-Copper Ripstop conductive fabric with Iron-on Fusible
-Silver Stretch conductive fabric coincell battery holder
-Karl Grimm copper conductive thread
-Metal gimp Cuivre-Brass conductive thread (Antenna)
Here is an instruction PDF
EMF_instruction
Leave a comment