Paranormal Sensor Suggestions?

Question

I had a couple of ambitious true ghost hunters approach me about a build to help them on their adventures.

I'm definitely going to help them with a raspberry pi solution. However, I feel like I could use some more sensors. Here's what I thought of so far:

Temperature (if it changes a degree in less than 10 seconds)
PIR motion sensor
Infrared camera that records
Record audio
Voltage sensing poles (thinking I would just have some metal rods that would allow me to detect a change in voltage between the two.

What other thoughts do you have that would be cool for ghost hunting?

Thanks,

Sean

jw0752 · Answer

Hi Sean,

About 4 years ago Shabaz shabaz had a great build kit for detecting the EM field of mains wiring:

https://www.element14.com/community/groups/internet-of-things/blog/2014/08/11/diy-fun-building-a-mains-power-line-sniffer?sr=search&searchId=7e807a4d-500b-412e-be45-0e7596faa536&searchIndex=8

It isn't too complicated to build and works quite well, if you wanted to add an EM field detector to your Ghost detector.

John

genebren · Answer

I would rather not hunt for something that I don't want to find. Good luck on your creations. Gene

jw0752 · Answer

Hi Sean, Here is another great project that may apply. Once again it is by Top Dog shabaz . It is a very sensitive magnetic field sensor and even can resolve the Earth's magnetic field. https://www.element14.com/community/community/project14/diytestequipment/blog/2017/08/22/building-a-fluxgate-magnetometer-based-current-probe The name alone demands inclusion " Fluxgate- Magnetometer" John

dougw · Answer

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Copper-Ghost-Hunting-Dowsing-Divining-Rods-Detector-WaterWitching-Lost-ObjectAUS/253965085589?ha…

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/QRP-30W-3uW-Digital-HF-Power-Meter-DIY-KIT-dBm-50-RF-Milliwattmeter-Log-Scale/202396383494?hash=…

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/UVB-UV-Rays-Module-Sensor-Detector-Breakout-Test-ML8511-Module-ASS/263874439154?hash=item3d70246…

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/DIY-Kit-Metal-Detector-Kit-Electronic-Kit-DC-3-5V-60mm-Non-contact-Sensor-Module/183519797019?ha…

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/INSIGNIA-LABS-GAS-SMOKE-DETECTOR-ALARM-DIY-KIT-DIY-ELECTRONIC-PROJECT/163019350494?hash=item25f4…

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/1pcs-SPU0410LR5H-QB-7-ORIGINAL-SMD-Silicon-microphone-ultrasonic-sensor-NEW/391832478828?hash=it…

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/GY-273-HMC5883L-Triple-Axis-Compass-Magnetometer-Sensor-Module-For-Arduino3VJJB/263886857550?has…

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Infrared-LED-IR-Light-3W-For-Raspberry-Pi-Camera-Module-Night-Vision-Sight-Light/292665752679?ha…

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/BE62-IR-Hunting-Camera-Trail-Camera-Animal-Surveillance-Camera-Portable/153183735674?hash=item23…

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Surface-Resistance-Resistivity-Electrostatic-Static-Electricity-Tester-Meter-ESD/263902929111?ha…

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/BMP180-Replace-BMP085-Digital-Barometric-Pressure-Sensor-Board-Module-Arduino-GM/262136732285?ha…

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/MPU-6050-6-DOF-3-Axis-Accelerometer-Gyroscope-Sensor-Module-GY-521-for-Arduino/253770567385?hash…

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/3-3-5V-SW-420-Motion-Tilt-Sensor-Vibration-Switch-Alarm-Module-for-Arduino/262590333975?hash=ite…

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/1-pcs-HR31-Humidity-Resistance-HR202L-Humidity-Sensor-Resistor-Practical/272693332746?hash=item3…

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/MILONT-MP503-Four-stage-TVOC-peculiar-smell-sensor-for-vehicle-air-purifier/292203383559?hash=it…

DAB · Answer

I would add capacitive sensing. If there is any kind of charged field around the entity, you should be able to detect it and if you put out an array of sense plates you can also track direction and movement.

DAB

14rhb · Answer

Coincidentally I was watching the film "Sixth Sense" last night - so can recommend the following (without adding spoilers). Some of which are already mentioned. So for fun:

Temperature - not just a temperature guage but a sudden rate of change. It seemed to drop really quickly so you could get a value for that by differentiating an analog temperature sensor output and then using a comparator to trigger an alarm? You could also enter it in Back to Analog

Very quiet audio - you'd need a way to ramp the gain up whilst negating any 'standard' room noise. Perhaps an Op-amp subtracting one microphone signal (directional in area of investigation) from the other (omni directional near user). You could also add a fast acting Automatic Gain Control (AGC) to limit loud sounds completely by blanking the audio out?

The following are not in the film:

Low Frequency Audio - seen that I'm sure in other films. A frequency multiplier circuit is needed.

Audio Reverse Playback - when you get an audio recording it will most likely be backward (I've watched a few films so I know this is true, definately) so you'll need to reverse the recording to understand what they are saying.

Conductivity of Air. This might be fun (if not a bit dangerous), a high voltage unit to detect electrical breakdown of air.....all the paranormals create plasma etc.

Air Pressure. Perhaps that changes before/during an event ?

Mains Voltage. You need to enter Keithley Bench Digital Multimeter as they will need to measure the mains voltage over a long duration. Again, in many films the light bulbs flicker or over-volt at the same time as an event.

Rod

jw0752 · Answer

It seems sometimes that half the devices on the market cater to imaginary problems or provide snake oil solutions to real problems. As long as Sean isn't promising results he might as well have some fun with designing and making a specialized sensor array with which his friends can delude themselves and chase sensory glitches around old houses. John

Sean_Miller · Answer

John, you summed it up perfectly. I see this as a cool opportunity to make a very neat prop and integrate every sensor I can imagine into it. When we're done, my boy and I will have a full library of custom code and Eagle schematics to leverage forward in our projects. For the two ghost hunters, they would just like to capture physical changes in their environment and speculate as to what caused it in historical haunted settings. Due to the underground railroad and help from Mark Twain, the nearby town Alton, Illinois has become a paranormal enthusiasts tourist destination with town haunted tours. So, as a hobby, they enjoy getting in on the action. I've only watched the Ghost Hunter TV show a couple of times and I got a kick out of things like out of focus dust floaters being called "orbs". So with the sensors suggested on this thread, I think we can up their game immensely. -Sean

ankur608 · Answer

I would recommend to go with the Kinect sensor, numerous videos exist on YouTube for such task.. ::(. )