Revisiting DIY HERF Guns

An anonymous reader writes "HERF guns have previously been regarded as nothing more than an interesting project with uses ranging from at-home experiments to malicious pranks. But the deployment of 'morally gray' forms of high-tech crowd control, such as the recent use of a sound cannon against domestic protesters, along with the likely future unleashing of the pain gun on more than just 'foreign terrorists,' creates a new purpose for these relatively easily assembled devices. Could HERF guns become a new method to counter the silencing of protesters via these sophisticated attacks, or is there any other way to prevent such efficient, convenient crowd dispersal?"

Absurdly safe

[Anonymous Coward]

That company has been making those soft foam toys for years, and I don't think anyone has ever been hurt. I've seen the guns and they are harmless.

Re:From the last Slashdot article and FYI:

[m.ducharme]

And possibly killing him as well. Having a car die in the middle of a crowded freeway is not a zero-risk event.

That is a risk I'd be willing to take*.

Personally I'd just like to get one of those scrolling LED text displays mounted to the back of my car. "HEY DUDE, BACK THE FUCK OFF. I'M NOT INTO THAT."

That sounds like fun too.

*okay, not really, but wouldn't you want to?

Re:Silver foil

[rtyhurst]

All you have to do is wear a Faraday Cage (see wikipedia on HERF)and you're immune!

The fools!

Re:From the last Slashdot article and FYI:

[icebraining]

Can that kill cellphones that are blasting shitty and distorted hiphop? That would be great!

Hmmm

[Reilaos]

I can't be the only one who read this as "DIY NERF Guns" and imagined an arena of people duking it out with homebrewed foam weapons, right?

Re:From the last Slashdot article and FYI:

[Rogerborg]

Having a car die in the middle of a crowded freeway is not a zero-risk event.

It's zero risk to me. What are you, some kind of communist?

Boring

[gmuslera]

Wake me up when someone puts a cheap and easy to assemble orgasmatron or tasp. That would be the ultimate weapon to control masses.

Re:From the last Slashdot article and FYI:

[Tumbleweed]

Come on, it wasn't a great joke, but surely you couldn't have missed it completely, could you? Could you?

Never underestimate the the ability of someone on Slashdot to miss even the most obvious of jokes.

How to circumvent crowd dispersal tech ?

[Anonymous Coward]

Simple.

Current technology allows the common citizen to counter the device used to inflict pain from a distance upon a crowd. It's called a rifle.

One shooter with a sufficient sized weapon who is optically equipped can either destroy the device with a well placed shot, or the operators responsible for running it. Either way, the device gets shut down.

Efficient crowd dispersal

[camperdave]

"...or is there any other way to prevent such efficient, convenient crowd dispersal?"

I developed an apathy gas once. I thought if you just fog this into a crowd, they'd get bored and just go away. Thing is, my storage container developed a leak and I couldn't be bothered to patch it. I was partway through filling out the patent paperwork, and I figured "Meh, what's the point?". I think I have the formula somewhere, or at least part of it. I never did get around to writing it all down, and frankly, I can't be bothered to find it.