Paranormal Tool DIY - The REMPOD

A REMPOD is device that emits an electromagnetic field, and when that EM field is altered, emits sound and/or lights to indicate a disturbance in the force. If this sounds familiar, then perhaps you’re aware of a musical instrument known as a “Theremin” that does this very thing. Invented in 1920 by Leon Theremin, the player uses their hands to manipulate the EM field generated by the device to produce musical tones. Fast forward to the 21^st century and this same concept has been adopted for paranormal research, branded as the “REMPOD”, and popularized by shows like Ghost Adventures.

Many of those in the paranormal community believe spirits have the ability to produce and manipulate electromagnetic fields, and that this would allow their presence to be detected using something like an EMF Meter. EMF Meters are a common tool used in many professions and have long been used in paranormal research as well, with the classic “K2” being one of the most popular for many years. The problem with an EMF Meter is it requires the presence of an EM field, so a spirit would have to generate one strong enough to register on the meter, and many of those in the community believe not all spirits are strong enough to do this. Enter the REMPOD.

Since a REMPOD is basically just a miniaturized modern Theremin, it produces its own EM field, and so it’s theorized a spirit can manipulate that EM field much easier than trying to produce one themselves. This would allow researchers to communicate with spirits, and detect their presence, much more reliably than with an EMF meter alone. At least, that’s the theory.

I’m a skeptic by nature, and while I find paranormal research fascinating and entertaining, my logical brain often gets in the way of actually believing the “evidence” often captured using devices like this. The thing about EMF fields is they exist everywhere, even in the absence of man made electrical devices, they’re produced by forces in the Earth and all around us, and in wildly varying intensities. EM fields are very easy to manipulate, they’re not all that stable in nature, and are subject to interference. Meaning that just because you detect a random EM field somewhere there is no electrical power, does not mean it’s a ghost. The same goes for a REMPOD, its own EM field can be interfered with and “detect” the presence of electromagnetic waves, but it can’t tell you where those waves are coming from. It could be from the Earth itself, the radios many investigators use, or even from sources outside the sphere of their investigation. Basically, our world is flooded with electromagnetic waves, so saying a detection by a device is a ghost just don’t sell it for me.

That all being said, many paranormal investigators use multiple different tools to try and collaborate what they see, hear, and detect. So, it’s really all down to what you believe. Personally, I don’t have to believe in it to think it’s cool and respect those who do. As well as those who are genuinely trying to prove the existence of the paranormal or help people.

Now, let’s get down to the REMPD itself. They have been around a while now, and have gone through changes and upgrades, but their all basically the same thing, a Theremin circuit. The original, as seen in the tear-down photo shared below from “Skeptical Enquirer”, is literally just a modified “Junior Theremin” DIY soldering kit from a company called MadLab. While some later versions are custom similar circuits, they all still do the same thing. Thankfully, these kits are still available for around $20 or less from various places, meaning you can modify one yourself to make your own custom REMPOD! 

 

Buy: https://amzn.to/3cPzIjh

This Theremin circuit is really simple, powered by a 555 timer and 12C508 micro-controller, supported by the necessary capacitors, resistors, a voltage regulator, LEDs, speaker, antenna, and power inputs. Meaning, it would be easy to duplicate using something like an Arduino or more common Atmel Micro-controller. MadLab even made the code on the 12C508 available for anyone to use, or modify, but that’s a bridge I will cross later. For now, we’ll stick with the original and modify it to fit our own design. I'm not trying to hide what's inside and I want it easy to duplicate. 

 

I wanted to keep our REMPOD prototype as small and portable as possible and have a simple on/off switch. I also want to keep it easy to service and modify later, so I won’t be encasing it in resin or glue, but I may use a little in the prototype to hold things in place.

One future alteration I will be making is a custom 3D printed housing, but since I haven’t designed one yet, a small basic project box will do for our prototype, and it will make it easier to design an enclosure later. With this in mind, I built the circuit, extended the LED, speaker, and power connections. Once I verified the circuit was working correctly, I made the necessary quick and dirty alterations to the project enclosure and crammed everything inside, using a bit of hot glue to keep things from moving around.

Now that our prototype is complete and fully functional, I can honestly say it seems to work quite well. My wife will be able to use her custom, and considerably cheaper, REMPOD to hunt ghosts. Along with the other tools I have made for her, she’s almost got as many tools as the pros on TV. She’s happy to have another tool for her hobby, and I’m happy to make them for her since that’s my hobby! 

 

Now, it's time to work on getting that custom enclosure designed and printed, it's almost done! Here is a snapshot of what I got so far. I'm new to 3D design, so I'm still getting the hang of it.