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The increasing use of surveillance cameras in response to concerns about terrorism means
that when you're in public, there's a chance you're being watched and recorded. While such
security measures make some people feel safe, others worry about the implications of being
watched by "Big Brother." By embedding a hat with high-brightness infrared (IR) LEDs, you
can obstruct your face from being recorded by any kind of hidden, security, paparazzi,
or personal video camera. To do so, follow these instructions.
Wire the LEDs.. Make sure your wires are long enough (around
15cm / 6 in each) depending on how big your hat is. Start wiring up the LEDs one by one,
making sure to note the positive and negative terminals. (Color-coding the wires is highly
recommended: for example, you can use a white wire for each positive terminal and a color
wires for each negative terminal.) Wrap the wires tightly to each LED so they won't fall
apart. You can even solder the connections, though it's probably not necessary.
Mark and cut the hat.. This part is also crucial, as you need to
pick logical (but inconspicuous) spots to place the LEDs: if you place them too far
apart from each other, the light beam won't be strong enough to blind a camera, but if
you place them too close, they will hide your face from a certain angle but not others.
Think this out and position them well. Mark each spot with a marker, then cut a few holes
with a pair of small scissors in the middle of the front of the hat as well as a few on
the sides. Attach the LEDs..
Turn the hat inside out. Take each LED and place it tight in its hole. For extra stability,
secure each LED with a dab of glue so that it won't fall out; however, try not to cover
the bulb, focusing instead on holding the wire in place. Hot glue will work well for
this purpose. When you're done, flip the hat right-side-out.
Secure wires with tape.. Tape all the wires together using electrical
tape and secure them to the inside of the hat.
Power up.. Connect a small 9v battery to the wires and
secure it with electrical tape. (This is where having color-coded wires will really come
in handy, as they will tell you which wires to connect to the positive and negative terminal
of the battery.) You can even add a little on/off switch if you want. In this example,
the battery is placed on the inside back of the hat.
Finished..
Thank you for watching!