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The Dream Machine

 
 
Captain Zoom
16:20 / 17.01.02
Does anyone know where I can find instructions to build one of these? I've been looking all day and can't find anything.

Zoom.
 
 
Bear
16:51 / 17.01.02
I might be able to help Mr. Zoom but it will probably take a couple of days another site I used to go on had instructions and I'll see if anyone still has them....

There's software aswell that can stimulate dreaming...

Or of course you could get some NovaDreamer glasses I picked some up from ebay last year...
 
 
Rollo Kim, on location
17:21 / 17.01.02
I've definitely seen the 'ingredients' and instructions for making your own online somewhere. Might have been a site connected with Psychic TV. It's out there somewhere... Maybe try a Google search.
 
 
Captain Zoom
17:34 / 17.01.02
I've found a few instructions for building one with a 78 rpm turntable, but there were a few hints of modifictations for a 45/33 rpm turntable. That's more what I'm interested in as that's all I've got available to me right now. I've been looking all afternoon and have come across some fairly technical stuff. I've got the basics. If someone knew of the modifications for a slower speed turntable I'd appreciate it. I'll keep looking. Thanks for any help.

Zoom.
 
 
klint
04:05 / 18.01.02
Has anyone here had results using one of these?
 
 
tom-karika nukes it from orbit
08:32 / 18.01.02
What is a dream machine? Is it like those night-learning tapes, or does it involve wiring electrodes to your head? sounds like fun anyway.

[ 18-01-2002: Message edited by: K=}[Karika] ]
 
 
The Return Of Rothkoid
11:22 / 18.01.02
Plans here, I think.
 
 
Captain Zoom
14:07 / 18.01.02
Thanks Rothkoid. That's one of the sites I found too, but it's still for a 78 rpm turntable. I've found a formula for increasing the number of holes for a 45 rpm one, but my math's a little rusty.

K - a dream machine is a device made from a turntable, a cylinder with holes cut in it and a light bulb. If the lights are moving at the right speed and you sit near it with your eyes closed it is said to induce strange geometrical hallucinations. I came across it years ago in the Doom Patrol comic and have been wanting to make one since. There's some online versions, though I've not tried them properly yet.

Thanks you lot for your help.

Zoom.
 
 
Sleeperservice
16:22 / 18.01.02
Ah, all becomes clear... I had some glasses with leds on the inside that had a similar effect. You attached them to a box of tricks & the lights pulsed in changing patterns (you have your eyes closed).

Now I admit to my alterior motive... Drop a couple of tabs of acid, select some suitable music, put on head phones & glasses & away you go... What alternate dimension would you like to visit today sir?

Sleeper
 
 
Spatula Clarke
16:28 / 18.01.02


[ 18-01-2002: Message edited by: Q. Randy Dupre ]
 
 
Spatula Clarke
16:28 / 18.01.02
I think either Lionheart or Enamon have had a go this before. You might want to try PM-ing them.
 
 
Magic Mutley
08:08 / 19.01.02
I built something like this a while back - it was a project in an electronics magazine (I might be able to dig out the circuit diagram if anyone's interested). It had an oscillator that flashed LED lights mounted on a pair of glasses, & also an audio output for headphones. It produced a slightly different tone in each ear, the idea being that your brain tends to oscillate at the beat tone (the difference between them) - which was also the freq of the flashing lights. Yeah, it had some interesting effects, especiallly when you hit certain frequencies. Don't do this if you're epileptic tho'.

I had another circuit - I never built this one, but I find it more interesting - that would measure the dominant freq of your brain & give an audiable feedback. The idea being that you could learn to control it & put yourself into whatever state - beta, gamma etc.
 
 
angharad
12:09 / 19.01.02
I've never used a Dream Machine but I did have interesting experiences with the tones thing that Wheaty-G mentions - they are known as 'binaural beats' and apparently 'entrain' the brain to emulate their frequency - thus enabling you to enter different brain states more easily.

I used a program called Brainwave Generator. Their
links page has some good resources on this whole area, including to some instructions on how to build LED glasses.

[ 19-01-2002: Message edited by: angharad ]
 
 
Lionheart
17:31 / 30.01.02
Yeah I hear that Brainwave generator is really good. Oh, you need headphones to use it but don't forget that it's shareware!

The dream machine is basically an analog strobe light.

Just buy a strobelight in which you can specify the degree of flicker.

Look up "beta, alpha, theta and delta" brain states up on the internet. Don't forget that Hz= hertz = cycles per second = flashes per second.

I'm too cheap. So I use the biological drema machine. I look, with my eyes closed, at a source of light. Preferably bright like the sun. Then I take my hand, spread my fingers and move them in front of my face.

Badda-bing-badda-boom!

 
 
Caleigh
09:35 / 22.02.03
Build one, they are great fun and can induce incredibly intense visions.

the math not so hard

first choose what frequency you want the flahes to be, lets say 8 becuase that's a good low brainwave frequency.

33.3 rpm = 33.3rpm / 60seconds/minute = .5 revolutions per second, give or take.

8/.5 = 16 so you need 16 holes in a cylinder to make it flash at 8 Hz


speaking from experience (i used a homemade dreammachine for a few years then got rid of my turntable in a move) since you have to have both holes and seperating spaces that makes 32 sections in your cylinder, that's alot.

if you do it at 45rpm you get

45rpm / 60sec/minute = .75 rps

8/.75 = 10.6667 which you can round off to 11

so you make one layer with 11, one with 12 and one with 13 holes and you have a good range to work with.
 
 
Warewullf
12:56 / 22.02.03
How to build your own Lucid Dream Goggles
 
 
STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK
11:04 / 23.02.03
Funnily enough, I was thinking of building myself one of these recently too (all that TG I've been listening to probably has something to do with it). Me and some mates made one years ago- seemed to be getting some kind of result but I don't think we were taking it seriously enough... after half an hour or so it was "fuck it, let's just drop mushrooms".
As I recall, our main problem back then was getting a 78 rpm turntable. So the "slower speed" info is a great help.
 
 
glassonion
13:14 / 23.02.03
got a friend of mine to make me a dream machine for christmas a few years ago. he's good with his hands. eat a few crumbs of hash, close eyes and sit in front of it for an hour. i remember falling over a lot when you try to stand up afterwards. likesay, i was using hash too, and people [people lke me] often tend to get interested in things like this when there's lots of acid around anyway, making any anecdotal record of what dream machines can do only fairly reliable imo.
 
 
jackamo
02:53 / 13.04.03
get flicker/dreamachine on codex press,brighton >lots of definative articles on how brion gysion and ian summerville came up with it in the 60's and so on.
also includes a template that can be used on a 45rpm machine as the old templates,like the original dreamachine were for 78rpm.
made several over the years > all with interesting results...it works..put simply..its cheap..and several people can use it at once...just close your eyes.
interestingly gysion was going to market it as a toy.
"anything done chemically,can be done by other means" - ws burroughs.
 
 
jackamo
03:04 / 13.04.03
infact, heres the url to download dreamachine plans for 45rpm.
on paul cecil's site who commisioned the book on codex press:

http://www.btinternet.com/~process/dmpdown.htm
 
  
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