How to Build a LEctenna

Want to be able to see invisible electromagnetic waves? It’s easy to make your own LEctenna in just a few minutes to allow you to do just that! NRL’s Elias Wilcoski shows you how.
Parts used in this video:
An RF through-hole Schottky Diode (1N5711)
A through-hole LED
A plastic test tube

[@sustmi]

Thanks for the instructions. I did not understand what you mean by the "notch" so I oriented my LED diode so that it matches yours orientation in such way that the bigger inside part is on the same side as yours. It did not work because this way both diodes were connected anode to anode and cathode to cathode. They must have inverted polarity for them to work as LEctenna. It seems that this is not a reliable way to identify anode and cathode. There are two reliable ways to identify the leads of LED diode: 1st method - length of the leads: Anode (the lead where you connect "+" when you want the LED to light) is the longer lead. It is easiest to check before you bend the leads. Also, this does not work when the leads were cut (eg. when soldered into PCB). 2nd method - flat spot on the body: Cathode (the lead where you connect "-") is the lead near to the little flat spot that is visible when looking at the bottom side. If you look close enough, you can see that the perimeter of the diode body is not perfect circle but it has a small flat spot. This spot identifies the cathode.

[@1Earl100]

Great video man thank you sent here by Dutch

[@samstewart4807]

hey was some guy named tesla working on this a 100 yrs ago??

[@erintreez]

Really nifty demo, especially for budding scientists. Where do you recommend purchasing materials? Also, you definitely have one of the coolest jobs! 😁

[@MrEvanrich]

Digikey or mouser.com

[@TestEric]

Amazing, works great.

[@Philip-hv2kc]

It might have use as a microwave oven leakage detector too . The oven leakage meters also respond to mobile phone signals.

[@tiffanygeomans1246]

Hello, I recently just bought some doides and made several lectennas. I can't seem to get them to work, could you provide any additional information about the specific components to use or other methods of testing them? I tried my phone to no avail.

[@nextnext8902]

Are you sure that your diodes are not fake? Mine lectanna worked with same way (but not with mobile phone)

[@hubercats]

Hi Elias - can you explain why it makes sense to twist the leads so that they are as close to the diodes as possible? To me, doing so seems to result in a very short aperture that does not match the half wavelength tuning goal. Thanks!

[@joelavoie221gmail]

Ty

[@NAREN2181]

why testube.

[@HamguyBacon]

Probably your body is acting as a ground so you shouldn't touch it.

[@HamguyBacon]

What kind of LED are you using? it refuses to power up.

[@johnaweiss]

How do you locate your cellphone antenna?

[@am1manTravel]

Wish there was something like this that would work with my radioactive rocks. Any suggestions? The LED would have to light without any external power source (like an attached battery).

[@hubercats]

What specific Schottky diode did you use? Thank you.

[@TestEric]

He used Schottky Diode (1N5711), I used the same and it worked perfect, but only worked well when i used special low current LEDs.

[@wuyongzheng]

Does this 6cm length design work for 5GHz WiFi?

[@rogerstarkey5390]

Cue the "5g death ray" fraternity! Oops! Too late!

[@jasonpowell8637]

Soo, what are the radio towers really being used for?

[@MrEvanrich]

Giving conspiracy nuts like you something to talk about, clearly.

[@FirstCoder]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/aZuapHSgjMysibM As shown in the video, you connect both diode cathodes and anodes.. That's wrong, no?

[@wpnas2136]

Transmission efficiency... hahahahahah... OK. I am sorry I asked.

[@JK-fc5mg]

So what your saying is all we gotta do is tune our devices with the proper antenna setup and we can transform wifi, 3g, 4g and 5g into usable power for free as Tesla intended before JP Morgan shut him down?.... cool beans👍

[@birdgirl1516]

Nope. That’s not all... The WiFi obviously needs a reliable power source to get to your house...wind & solar aren’t consistent nor are they free either :P Cool demo, however

[@jasonpowell8637]

3g, 4g, and 5g are made available through what means? The reliable power source is already available. And is being added onto by starlink which would ultimately create a world wide survillence and tracking system.

[@alexanderclarke8449]

Nikola Tesla

[@1Earl100]

Dutchsinse John Hutchinson dr. Judy wood Nikola Tesla