DIY electric shepherd for sheep, cows and goats at home

Why do you need an electric shepherd and how does it work?

1. Metal wire
   , which makes up the main part of the fence.
2. Generator
   , it transmits current through a wire.

The device of the electric shepherd is simple. The live wire does not allow the animal to leave the pen or go beyond its boundaries. If cattle are grazing in a certain place, the electric shepherd will not allow them to leave the pasture area. But you can see what a factory device for cows looks like.

Circuit and software component of the electric shepherd.

If cows graze freely, which is suitable for, then the fence will help protect crops, haystacks, flowers and other decorative plants from them.

On the video - why an electric shepherd is needed:

On some farms, such a fence is used to protect the feeders of other animals from pigs.

Electric shepherds are also used to protect their own plot of land from “encroachments and raids” by various animals. The fence is installed around the perimeter.

Necessary materials

If you still decide to purchase wooden or metal supports, then for high-quality work of the shepherd you cannot do without insulators. There are several options for their manufacture and fastening.

• Perhaps the most common and budget option are cut plastic bottles. They can be easily secured using self-tapping screws. The wire should be threaded into the cut hole.
• One of the simplest ways to make insulators is to wrap the places where the wire passes with electrical tape.
• You can even use plastic bottle caps for insulators.
• Ordinary bicycle tubes, which are secured with self-tapping screws, are also suitable for the design.

We can talk about the selection of materials for an electric shepherd for a very long time, because in the manufacture of this design a variety of things are suitable for use. Being resourceful and knowing how to use tools will serve you well in budgeting. It is only important not to forget about basic safety rules.

Grounding for the fence can also be inexpensive. These are pieces of reinforcement and ordinary iron rods. The main parameter that you need to focus on when choosing grounding materials is their length, which is at least 130 cm. The rods need to be placed to a depth of about a meter so that their work is of high quality. Advanced cattle breeders note the need to wet the rods during particularly dry times in order to achieve the desired result. Remember: if the grounding is not done well, the entire structure will lose its meaning.

What is needed to create a device from an ignition coil with your own hands - diagram

• metal wire or mesh
  (it should not touch the ground);
• poles
  capable of withstanding high voltage;
• grounded source
  of high-voltage pulses.

Do not be afraid that the current will harm a person or animal. The impulses will not cause harm and are not life-threatening. Contact with a fence is fraught with the occurrence of inconspicuous sensations and severe discomfort, which will scare away the animal, but will not cause significant harm to its health. Provided that all safety rules are followed. It may also be useful for you to know what this problem looks like and what can be done about it.

On the video - how to make equipment with your own hands:

The main manufacturers of electric shepherds for cows, how much do they cost?

Animal breeders can choose models of electric fences made in Russia and also abroad. Of the foreign models on the market, German and French fences are mainly represented. They will cost a little more than domestic ones.

The only enterprise in Russia that produces electric shepherds is the Rix plant, located in the Sverdlovsk region. It offers a decent selection of hedges.

Manufacturer Rix

Their models are developed in accordance with the direction in animal husbandry. That is, fences for beef cattle are different from fences for dairy cows. A separate segment is electric shepherds for calves. There are also electric shepherds for sheep; owners of Dorper sheep respond quite positively to the device.

The price of the kit depends, first of all, on the area of ​​the fenced area. A device designed for 1 hectare of land will cost the livestock breeder 12 thousand rubles. This price includes all components. A fence on 6 hectares will cost 18 thousand rubles.

This is the cost of a single row system. A three-row one will cost much more. A fence designed for 1 hectare will cost about 20 thousand rubles, and for 6 hectares - more than 30.

But this information will help you understand what the Kalmyk breed of cows looks like and how it needs to be kept and how to feed it correctly.

Among foreign products, models from Finnish companies OLLI and WILE are widely used in Russia. The cost of their kits is not much higher. The price for a two-row OLLI kit (for 1 hectare) is approximately 18 thousand rubles.

In the video - OLLI electric shepherd:

The choice of electric shepherds from these companies is simply huge. They produce fences for all types of animals. In addition, they produce kits that protect apiaries and farm plots from attacks by wild animals.

Here's what to do. When a cow has a stomach problem and what measures should be taken, this information will help you understand.

Livestock breeders should also pay attention to the products of the Polish plant AGRI. Their models are quite affordable, and the prices are not very different from the cost of kits from Russia

Electric shepherd AGRI

It is easy to order products from large foreign companies in Russia. There are many representatives of these companies engaged in the delivery and sale of various models of electric fences.

When choosing a manufacturer, you should pay great attention to reviews from other customers. The models of the companies listed above have long been used by our compatriots and are time-tested

But what does the Jersey breed of cows look like and what are the conditions for keeping it? This video will help you understand.

The electric shepherd is an indispensable device in livestock farming. It allows rational use of pastures and teaches animals discipline. Thanks to an electric fence, any owner can protect himself from losses and possible injuries to animals.

Using such a device, the livestock breeder can be sure that his livestock will not wander away and will not fall under the wheels of cars. In addition, operating personnel costs are significantly reduced.

Electric fencing systems have been in use for several decades and have proven themselves to be reliable assistants for any cattle breeder. Their popularity in our country is increasing year by year. More and more owners are switching to this method of grazing cattle.

Cons and pros

Among the advantages of a fence it is worth highlighting:

1. Reliable protection from cattle raids and more.
2. Relative ease of creation.
3. Relatively low cost.

If you construct a fence yourself, problems may arise:

• with source material;
• with the diagram and its understanding.

It is advisable to have certain design skills; this will help to avoid mistakes when creating an electric shepherd. But what the symptoms of mastitis in cows may be will help you understand.

Reviews

This year we installed an electric shepherd and are very pleased with it! We keep ponies, which were previously quite difficult to keep track of. But now all the problems have disappeared, the animals walk eight hours a day, happy and healthy! It is convenient to carry the structure. I recommend!

Vladimir, 38 years old

To say that we are satisfied with the purchase of this device is to say nothing! Simply a wonderful device that makes life much easier. The cattle are in perfect order, the electric shepherd stands strong and reliably. Before purchasing, it is really important to consult with a specialist to choose the fence that is right for you.

Alexander, 42 years old

We have been using it for more than three years now, and the results are quite satisfactory.
When operated correctly, it is absolutely safe for both livestock and their owners. All our stables are fenced, and not a single horse has yet broken through their boundaries. It is important to pay attention to such an item as grounding. Then everything will function as it should. Anastasia, 38 years old

The principle of creating a homemade electrical device for shepherds for livestock

You will need an ignition coil. It will act as a voltage source and as a device that converts voltage into impulse. In order for the fence to only scare away livestock and not kill them, it is necessary to focus on the transmission of short impulses. They will be repeated at a certain frequency (interval). It is not difficult to make a generator if you take a completely finished transistor, which will transmit impulses or directly to the ignition coil from a passenger car. But what breeds of dairy cows there are and how to raise them correctly are indicated.

The ignition coil plays the role of a transformer; it is a device that performs 2 functions. The coil “generates” voltage and converts it into impulses.

High voltage pulses in the car are transmitted to the spark plugs, and in the electric shepherd they are sent to the fence. What to do with mesh or wire, as well as poles, is very clear. After the structure is installed, it should be connected to the generator. Maybe

Benefits of use

Electric shepherd for cattle has many positive aspects:

1. Budgeting. If we take the same area of ​​pasture and compare the construction of a permanent paddock and the installation of an electric fence, then the second will be 30-40% of the cost of the first option. Grazing is carried out almost without human participation, which means you can save on maintenance personnel, because the electric shepherd replaces several workers in the pasture.
2. Mobility. The structure is easy to assemble and disassemble. Moving the fencing to different places will bring the grass under control, and choosing places with more valuable vegetation will improve the milk and meat quality of livestock.
3. Strength. The materials of construction are of high quality and resist various environmental influences.
4. Safety. The pain caused to the animal is within reasonable limits. Electrical discharges do not disrupt the sensitivity of receptors on the body of cattle and do not affect productivity indicators.

Electrical discharges do not disrupt the sensitivity of receptors

Consequences of using electric drives for sheep and cows

It is advisable to choose a scheme with a short pulse, because if the pulse is long and quite powerful, the animal will not be able to leave the dangerous place. The unpredictable behavior of the animal (this rule applies to horses to a greater extent) is caused by muscle spasms. The spasm occurs due to too long and powerful an impulse. And if the animal does not leave the dangerous place, then a second impulse will follow and as a result of such an impact it may die.

Different animal species require different characteristics. Therefore, before starting to manufacture an electric fence, you should familiarize yourself with the related information.

Disadvantages of such a generator

:

1. It works constantly, consumes a lot of energy, which leads to rapid wear of the battery.

They asked us to build an electric fence. I googled, there are a lot of diagrams, but nothing really caught my eye. Circuits powered by 220 volts are out of the question: stupid and dangerous. The common circuit on three 555 timers surprised with its redundancy; an electric chair based on the PWM ignition coil principle will not give a sufficient spark length and is just as dangerous.

What is an electric sheath? In the simplest case, it is a plot of land fenced with a wire or special tape under voltage.

So what happened:

The circuit operates from 10 to 14 volts. The primary converter charges C4+C5 to 400 volts, after which they are discharged to the ignition coil. The discharge frequency is regulated by R2 and limited by R3; these resistors are responsible for the duty cycle of the primary converter pulses. The converter itself is powered by the common SG3525 microcircuit, which in this connection requires a minimum of wiring. The frequency of the converter (C1 and R1) is selected depending on the transformer, in my case ~66kHz. In my case, the maximum duty cycle is limited by resistor R3 at ~18%, and the maximum current consumption from a 12-volt source is ~250mA. If the power is not limited, you may need a snubber and replacing the transistor with something more powerful, such as IRF3205.

C2 at 25 volts. Transformer T1 on the RM8 N87 AL=250 core is redundant, but no smaller cores were found. Calculate the turns in the Old Man program, in the secondary winding there are ~250 turns, this is enough with a margin on almost any core, and since This is a flyback, I highly recommend layer-by-layer insulation to avoid breakdown.

Next come two diodes and a current-limiting resistor R5, which uselessly consumes power, heats up and helps to lock the thyristor in this connection. It is better to make it a composite of two parallel or series resistors with a power of 2 watts of suitable ratings. Capacitors C4 and C5 at 630 volts. C3 can be taken at 50 volts. Ratings of the dinistor and thyristor in the diagram.

Resistor R6 regulates the response voltage of the threshold unit, I set it to 400 volts, which seems to me excessive, the spark is too powerful, all this will be adjusted during the experiments.

T2 – ignition coil, the primary winding is shunted by 3 serial HER208 diodes.

I don’t like the threshold node because of R5, it will be redone, but for experiments it will do just fine.

At the moment, the discharge frequency at maximum (R2) power is about 4Hz, it seems to me that more is not needed, but most likely less, if you leave this frequency and reduce the operating voltage of the threshold unit to 100-200 volts, the consumption will be about 50-100 milliamps, respectively, from a car battery this circuit will live forever.

For safety, it is planned to connect the HV output of the ignition coil to the fence through a 5 megaohm composite resistor, which will allow limiting the current that offends animals to a safe level.

Upd: The electric shepherd was tested, here is the video:

The voltage on the capacitors is reduced from 400 to about 150-200 volts, the spark is about two centimeters, maybe a little more.

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If the area allocated for pasture is large, then it can be difficult to fence it all off. And sometimes animals belonging to other owners also come to someone’s fields. In all cases, an electric shepherd comes to the rescue.

This device is a strip or wire that can be easily installed on a fence or moved to another location. The article will discuss how to make the device itself and a generator for an electric shepherd with your own hands.

Installation process and diagram

How to make a bee trap with your own hands?

When installing an electric shepherd, it is necessary to take into account some nuances on which the safety of the cows and the calm state of the farmer will depend

It is important to consider the following points

• Height. To prevent animals from escaping, it is necessary to select suitable support posts. The optimal height is at least a meter. For convenient use, at least 3 lines of string parallel to the ground are suitable.
• Distance. If you calculate everything correctly, the design will serve you for many years. From the lowest string to the ground there should be 25 cm. The second is 55 cm, that is, 2 times higher, and the third, respectively, is 90 cm.
• Power. It is worth considering the size of the livestock. If these are average cows, then a standard power of up to 10 kV will do, but if they are larger and longer-haired, then the power will have to be increased.

First, you need to plan the pasture location for the future paddock and the location of the fixing posts, integral components of the structure. The distance from rack to rack should be 20 meters. You also need to install a gate; it will allow staff and animals to pass through without much effort.

So, the first thing you need to do is install the corner posts, they are a little different, since they are the main ones, they need to be fixed very firmly in the ground. The work begins with the corner posts; insulators are attached to them - these are plastic fasteners that are responsible for fixing the wire. And a string is attached to the insulators and stretches through them.

Now you need to install the generator. Next to it there is a grounding pole about 80 cm deep in the soil. The main thing is that it is not on the ground, so we install it on a stand, you need to connect its wires, there are 2 of them. The first wire goes to the grounding system of the electric shepherd, and the other to the wire.

To improve the quality of livestock safety and better quality of construction, high-quality grounding is imperative. But here you need to calculate everything correctly, it is desirable that it is 10 meters or more from the grounding of other nearby objects. The electric fence must include a lightning rod. When all these components are installed, the ground and lightning rod are connected to the generator and only then connected to the power supply.

The optimal voltage for a fence is from 4.0 kV to 10 kV. There should be no sparks or burning smell when connecting to electricity.

How does the device affect animals?

When contacting such a fence, a current is passed through the animal’s body and goes into the ground. It is not life-threatening, but the horse, for example, will remember the unpleasant sensations it received here and will no longer approach such a place.

When the device is turned on, it generates and supplies voltage pulses emanating from the enclosing wire.

The generator for the electric shepherd organizes a walk that is safe and well controlled. You can simply forget about ropes, chains and similar devices, as well as all the hassle associated with them.

Advantages and disadvantages of a fence

The principle of operation of the electric shepherd is as follows: the animal, in contact with the wire, feels an electric discharge of up to 3 mA and is subsequently afraid to approach the fence at a close distance or collide with it.

Such current power does not harm health, but only causes discomfort.

The generator of the installation is powered from the mains or solar battery with a power of 12 volts or more. But the latter case is less effective. The electric shepherd is a practical and convenient device.

Its main advantages:

• Easy to install, portable (can be moved to another location).
• Grazing is carried out without the participation of people, the pen operates autonomously.
• Ease of construction.
• Low cost.
• Restriction of animal grazing in a specific area.
• Can be used to protect crops from free-roaming livestock.

During the warm season, cattle spend up to 14-15 hours on open pastures. Pasture grazing has undoubted advantages:

• green grass is the best food for livestock;
• animals move calmly and slowly, which favors the proper development of organisms;
• fresh air, sun - promote the growth of animals;
• the costs of pasture maintenance are much lower than the costs of camp maintenance.

Kit in store

A generator for electric cattle herding can be purchased in the online store. It comes in foreign and domestic production. Typically the kit includes the following components:

• a unit that supplies voltage, powered by a battery or directly through the network;
• woven ribbon (it comes in different colors);
• pegs for insulators;
• the insulators themselves on which the tape is installed;
• wire for connecting the block and the grounded pin;
• the pin itself.

Features of using an electric shepherd for cows

Not every pasture can be surrounded by a permanent fence.
If the herd is too large and the grazing land is huge, this is simply impossible. In such cases, many get out of the situation by hiring a shepherd. But this measure does not always pay off, since first you need to find a suitable employee. An excellent solution is an electric shepherd for cattle. This concept means a light fence that is located along the entire perimeter of the pasture. These are posts on which conductive tape is stretched. It periodically delivers short electrical pulses of high voltage.

When the animal intends to leave the pasture, it receives a mild electric shock. This cannot cause any harm; rather, it creates an irritating effect, but the animal returns to its place. This contributes to the development of a conditioned reflex and the cows stop even coming close to such a fence.

Useful tools at hand

A device made independently will be the most economical option.

Thin welding wire is used as an electric fence. And in order for the animals to see it, they stretch an additional ribbon with flaps. You can immediately provide a wide tape, but you will have to pay for it. True, in the wind it sags, and when wet snow falls, the latter settles and freezes on it, so the conductivity can be reduced.

But for the construction of insulators, you can come up with a lot of means, for example, a wooden stake with plastic bottles (as self-tapping screws), in which two vertical slits are made and a tape is threaded through them. Or you can simply wrap the post with tape. Instead of plastic bottles, some people use other things.

Grounding can be done using an ordinary piece of reinforcement or an iron rod, a little more than a meter in length. It is driven into the ground about a meter. For best performance, it is good to water the soil in dry weather.

To connect the block, conductor and fence, so-called crocodile cords for cars are used. They are cut in two.

If you buy columns, they will not be cheap. A lot of them are usually required, since the maximum distance from each other should be ten meters. But it is advisable to install them even more often. At companies, the posts are made of plastic. It is extremely difficult to find flattering reviews about such devices. They are praised only when the installation is temporary. But for long-term stationary installation, it is better to use wooden ones, made independently.

Of course, it will be more difficult to score them. It will hardly be convenient to hammer with a sledgehammer. And some people get out of this situation by first driving in metal corners and then screwing wooden posts to them. Alternatively, you can purchase a hand drill and use it instead of driving.

In general, if you use the device itself and the electric shepherd generator correctly, it will do its job perfectly. However, when the stallion is overly active, even such an electric fence will not be able to stop him. For such individuals it is better to duplicate the fence. Although the matter will be troublesome and cost a pretty penny, the horse will be saved.

How to choose a hedge

Currently, the electronic fence market is filled with a variety of models to suit every taste and budget. You can choose exactly the fence that is suitable for your livestock. It should be noted that making the device yourself will be much cheaper than purchasing a ready-made fence. However, regardless of whether you make the fence yourself or order a ready-made product from the store, you cannot avoid such an important step as purchasing support posts, which are not included with the fence itself.

Such poles are most often wooden or metal, but experienced cattle breeders still do not recommend using them. The fact is that fiberglass supports are now available for purchase. This is a more economical and also safer option. In the production of fiberglass rods, the latest technologies and materials of the best quality are used, which can significantly extend the life of the device. Moreover, purchasing such poles will allow you to stop spending money on insulators, because the poles already conduct electricity poorly, that is, they are dielectrics.

To install an electric shepherd, livestock farmers will need a battery, especially if the pasture is far away. Please note that when installing a battery fence you will need some knowledge of electrical devices.

If we talk about the most budget-friendly option for the wire from which the fence itself will be made, then ordinary wire for welding machines is suitable here.

Generator for electric shepherd

The diagram below can be used to assemble the device. A base from a ready-made transformer is used, namely from a car. This is a device with low-resistance primary and high-resistance secondary windings.

When pulsating, impulses arise. If in a car they act on candles, then in a processed form the current is supplied to the electric fence.

To operate the device, a pulse voltage (rhythmically repeating audio frequency pulses) is sent to the primary winding. The process is implemented on three 555 timer chips, where infrasound, sound vibrations and a monovibrator are collected.

The current for the electric shepherd is supplied to the primary winding via a switch. Voltage is generated on the secondary winding, and audio frequency pulses are output from the third timer to the gate of the transistor. Thus, a pulsating current appears in the primary winding of the pulse generator for the electric shepherd.

The device is controlled by sound pulses on the fourth pin A3. The launch occurs through the logical unit level.

The infrasonic generator is assembled on the first timer. The frequency can be adjusted by variable resistance R1.

From the third pin of the first timer, the pulses go to the second pin of the second timer, where the one-shot device is built. Each pulse arriving at the second output of the timer causes the generation of a corresponding pulse (the duration of which can be adjusted using resistance R4).

The pulses of the third output are transferred to the fourth through resistance R6. It turns out that the second timer sets the duration of the high-voltage pulses, which are transferred to the electric fence. In this case, the first timer sets their frequency.

Through the resistance, the pulse is sent to the gate of transistor VT1. The primary winding of the transformer is connected to the drain circuit, and alternating voltage pulses are generated on the secondary winding.

Subtleties and tips

The most important thing is to accustom the cattle to the electric fence; many people think that they let the herd outside the fence and they graze. No, they wrapped wire around their horns and ran away. And if you are used to tearing, half the battle is down the drain, especially young animals. Habituation of cattle lasts at least 3 days, and not the entire herd acclimates immediately. Therefore, we select the dominant heads and tie them on a lygach near the drag so that they can touch but cannot pass.

If the pasture has a large area (20-50 hectares), it is better not to fence everything, but only separate areas and grazing one by one

Here it is important to acquire a powerful generator and a good grounding circuit. The wire should be at a height of 70-80 cm

I use an electronic shepherd to delimit pastures “inside” the plot; the electronic shepherd does not provide a 100% guarantee of “going beyond the perimeter”, so along the edge of the field, where I border with neighbors, there is a grid 0.8-1 m high.

Even dust and dirt on the insulator can significantly reduce the efficiency of the shepherd. The same thing happens when you touch damp grass. The power of the device is small and therefore it is necessary to take into account losses from leaks. Therefore, you need to constantly mow the grass under the wire.

The electronic fence does not always stop geese; if it does not help, you have to install a net 0.5-0.8 m high.

A week ago they beat a kilometer of painted stakes for a shepherd. They were replaced with new ones from the store. Tonight their... . A whole kilometer.

- This is a normal phenomenon, I always count on this, I don’t buy expensive posts and insulators, I have a constant supply made from waste, only wire and insulators from bottles and, oddly enough, they practically don’t break cheap ones. Impregnated posts last for 5-6 years, they can be replaced once or twice by screwing on the old post with insulators and wire without even turning it off. According to this scheme, we still win, they get tired of it, and see that it does not bring big losses. Bottom line for cattle, I came to the conclusion that the best option is a powerful generator with excess area, 1 mm wire with a large margin, homemade insulators, wooden stands with a reserve (at first they will tear, but they will get it from the heart, then they will stop). If ill-wishers break the racks, insulators, pull the wire - it’s not a big loss, we’ll restore it 2-3-4 times, they’ll get tired and stop.

The better the insulators, the more efficient the fence and the lower the current consumption from the battery.

Our sheep only crawled out the first day, then they got used to it. At least they don't tear the wire like cows. On the second day of grazing, it rained and there was such an electric shock that my father couldn’t feel his finger for half an hour when he accidentally touched it. As a result, they could not be kicked out of there in the evening - they were simply afraid to approach the fence. From that day on, we stopped watching them - they graze normally.

A possible reason is that they don’t see the wire... so they tear it, not understanding who is beating them and why. We started right away with the wire... our wire is braided with synthetic material, two colors, contrasting pattern. They stopped tearing. - There will be problems, they will start pulling, this will already be useful on the farm, but they stole 200-300 m of galvanized steel and ate it, factory insulators are more pleasant to beat, they are expensive, but the homemade ones are all intact, it’s not a thrill. To make the wire more visible, you can string a white rope with flags next to it parallel to it. Then the fence will be noticeable and people will get used to it much faster.

Question with the “thunderstorm” - I have an electronic shepherd nearby, and during a thunderstorm I disconnect it from the generator.

How the device works

An electric shepherd is a device that is a generator operating from a 220 volt network (or from a 10-12 volt battery) and transmitting current pulses to a bare wire stretched over the insulators of the support posts. The wire fences off the area within which animals graze.

When you touch it, a current discharge passes through the animal’s body and goes into the soil to the grounding part of the device. A low-power discharge is not capable of causing harm to the body, but causes discomfort in the animal. The reflex to avoid the wire is developed very quickly.

Subtleties in manufacturing

Experienced livestock breeders assure: self-made and installed structures will work perfectly if you follow some subtleties in the process.

• Firstly, when choosing a conductor, preference should be given to galvanized wire, whose diameter will ideally be two and a half millimeters. It is better to avoid metal wires, because they quickly become unusable.
• Insulators should not be exposed to the negative effects of moisture. The best option would be porcelain products.
• It is necessary to install a converter in the system, due to which it will be possible to increase the efficiency of the entire structure by lowering the resistance. However, professionals advise not to do this, since increased current discharges can cause harm, not only to animals, but also to their owners.

The structure can receive electrical power from the following types of sources:

• from an autonomous source;
• from power coming from the network;
• from a solar battery.

DIY electric shepherd

Making an electric shepherd for animals (cattle, pigs, sheep, goats) with your own hands is a task that even a novice radio amateur can handle.

Most of the components necessary for this can be found on the farm. What you can't find will have to be purchased.

Support posts

First you need to decide which area around the perimeter needs to be fenced. The maximum distance between two support posts should not exceed ten meters
(if the animals are large and active, then even less).
To find out how many support posts you will need, you should divide the perimeter of the site by the distance between them. A homemade electric shepherd can have support posts made from:

• metal;
• wood;
• polymer materials.

Metal posts (pins sharpened at one end) are heavy, but easy to drive into the ground. Those cut from wood will be cheap, but fixing them in the ground will not be easy; you will have to dig them in. Ready-made posts made of polymer materials, purchased in a store, are an expensive pleasure.

The height of the support posts is selected depending on the type of animal for which the electronic shepherd is being made.

Insulators

Each support post must have an insulator to which the wire will be attached. Industrially produced insulators sometimes appear on sale. It would be good if they were ceramic.

You can make insulators with your own hands. A good insulator can be made from a plastic bottle without a bottom. It is put on a post, and several turns of wire are made around the neck.

The wire

The wire must be resistant to adverse environmental factors. Iron will quickly rust. Galvanized with a diameter of 2 mm is suitable.

The bare wire itself is hard to see for animals, so it is worth using it in combination with brightly colored ribbons. A warning message for people is also necessary.

Generator and grounding

You can purchase a ready-made electronic fence pulse generator, but with some experience it is not difficult to assemble one yourself from an ignition coil and three 555 timers.

If an experienced radio amateur gets down to business, this diagram can be somewhat simplified or supplemented.

It is convenient to use an iron rod (one or more) with a length of at least 120 cm as grounding. The grounding goes 1 m deep into the soil. In dry weather, for better electrical conductivity, the soil around the grounding must be shed generously with water.

"represents the following design: the pasture is fenced with bare wire suspended on insulators. A voltage of 1.5...5 kV is supplied to it from a pulse generator. Having touched the wire, the animal receives an unpleasant electric shock, which, of course, is safe for its life.

After several touches, the animal develops a conditioned reflex, and it no longer tries to go beyond the fence. The current can be up to 15 mA (sinusoidal current with a frequency of 50 Hz), with short pulses the pulse generator current can increase to 500 mA. From a safety point of view, the pulse duration should not exceed 0.1 s, and the interval between pulses should be at least 0.75 s. In factory-made electric fences, the pulse duration is several milliseconds with a repetition rate of about 1 Hz, a voltage of 5 kV and a current of up to 300 mA (electric charge of up to 3 mC). Animals are most affected by impulses with a frequency of 250 Hz.

In Fig. 1.1, a shows the electrical circuit diagram of the “electronic fence”. This is a high-voltage generator that produces a voltage of 1.6...2 kV with a frequency of 1 kHz. The voltage pulse appears once per second and lasts about 100 ms. This depends on the capacitance value of capacitor C1 and the resistances of resistors R1, R3. The main part of the device is the transformer Tr1. It uses a ferrite core from a TV's horizontal scan transformer. The primary winding has 55 turns of PEV 0.71 wire and the secondary winding has 18 turns of PEV-1 0.25 wire. The third high-voltage winding is taken ready-made from the line transformer. You can wind the high-voltage winding yourself, but it is difficult. It consists of 1600 turns of insulated wire with a diameter of 0.12 mm, wound in layers of 100 turns each with layers of capacitor paper. For the fence, use copper or galvanized steel wire with a diameter of 1 - 1.5 mm. It is stretched between the posts, which are placed every 25 m.

Rice. 1.1. "electric shepherd"

a - basic electrical diagram (L1- 55 turns PEV 0.71; L2- 18 turns

PEV 0.26; L3- 1600 turns PEV 0.12; b - TV line transformer

converted to work in a generator.

Rice. 1.2. "Electronic fence":

o - wire fencing design; b - insulators for a portable fence.

Insulators - high-voltage insulators from power lines, or, in extreme cases, ordinary, porcelain. Insulators for portable fences can be made from plastic or glass bottles (Fig. 1.2, b) mounted on wooden stakes driven into the ground. Fence wire wraps around the neck of each bottle. It should not touch bushes, grass, etc. It is necessary to pay attention to good quality grounding. The ground is used as the second wire of the high voltage line. The distances between the fence wire and the ground for various cases are shown in Fig. 17.8, a.

Setting up the device consists of obtaining the maximum voltage at the output of the pulse generator. The magnitude of the voltage is judged by the length of the spark that is formed between the output terminal of the generator and the wire connected to the ground. The adjustment is made by variable resistors R1 and R2.

It is necessary to follow safety rules and under no circumstances touch exposed wires!

The operation of the device is checked by carefully bringing your hand to the wire; at a distance of 10 mm to the wire, a spark should jump with a dry crackle of a discharge, and a slight tingling sensation will be felt. Animals come under voltage at a distance of 2…4 mm. The fenced area is 5...10 hectares.

A few words about the advantages of “electric shepherds”. The fencing allows for more animals to be grazed than usual. This gives a 20...25% increase in milk or meat production. The fence protects farms and gardens from the invasion of uninvited four-legged guests.

Converter transformer

Core E 25/13/7 N87 (B66317G0250X187) with a gap of 0.25 mm in each half. The wire diameter (by insulation) of the primary is 0.6mm, the secondary is 0.294mm. Winding parameters: first, the primary winding is 12 turns in two wires in one layer, the secondary winding is 210 turns. The minimum diameter of the primary winding wire is 0.5, maximum 0.6mm. The minimum diameter of the secondary winding wire is 0.2, maximum 0.3mm. The width of the tape for insulation between the windings is 15mm, the width of the tape holding the halves of the core together is 5mm. The inductance of the primary winding when measured at a frequency of 1 kHz should be ~22.3uH, the secondary winding should be 6.724mH.

Explanations for the picture:

1. Both windings are wound in one direction, the beginning of each winding is marked with a plasticine ball;
2. The primary winding wire is evenly distributed along the entire length of the frame;
3. The turns are counted on the side opposite to the terminals;
4. The primary winding is insulated with tape in one layer, along the edges we make indents with special tape 1.5-2mm wide;
5. All layers of the secondary winding are wound with indentations of 1.5-2 mm from the edges of the frame;
6. Each layer is insulated with tape in one layer with an overlap of ~4mm;
7. We distribute the turns on the last layer evenly along the entire length of the frame, taking into account the gaps.

You should wind it carefully, turn to turn, avoid “blockages” of the wire at the edges, observe indentations, etc. Poor manufacturing will reduce the efficiency of the device and increase the heating of the transformer and transistor.

Soldering - All about electronics

To protect your plot of land from animals (and not only) you can use an electric fence, which is made of wire or metal mesh stretched on insulating posts; it does not come into contact with the ground, but is connected to a grounded source of high-voltage pulses. In relation to the life of animals or people, this does not pose a danger, but it gives a rather unpleasant and frightening feeling.

In order for the electric fence to perform only a repellent function, it is necessary to apply short high-voltage pulses to it, which are repeated at a certain interval.

You can make a pulse generator according to the circuit shown in Fig. 1. The generator is based on a ready-made high-voltage transformer; its role can be played by an ignition coil taken from a passenger car. The ignition coil is a transformer with a low-resistance primary and high-resistance secondary coils. When current ripples in the primary, high voltage pulses are formed on the secondary. In a car they go to the spark plugs, but here they go to the fence.

For the circuit to operate, a pulse voltage must be applied to the primary, which consists of intermittent trains of audio frequency pulses; they are repeated after a certain period of time. The circuit for recreating these pulses is made using three 555 integrated timers.

Generators of infrasound and sound vibrations, respectively, were made based on timers A1 and AZ. Based on timer A2, it is a one-shot device.

The current to the primary of the ignition coil T1 goes through the switch on the field-effect transistor LG 1. In order for a high voltage to form in the secondary T1, the current must pulsate in the primary. A sound pulse generator is made based on the AZ timer. When it works, audio frequency pulses from its output (pin 3) go to the gate of the transistor. As a result, a pulsating current is formed on the primary T1, which induces a high alternating voltage on the secondary.

The sound pulse generator is controlled by the level at pin 4 AZ. In order for the generator to operate at this pin, a logic one voltage is needed. At logical zero, the generator is blocked and its output is set to logical zero.

An infrasound generator is made based on the A1 timer; it generates pulses. The frequency of these pulses can be adjusted using variable resistor K1. The frequency of supplying high-voltage pulses to your fence depends on this generator. Pulses from pin 3 of A1 go to pin 2 of A2.

Printed circuit board

A one-shot circuit is made based on timer A2. Upon arrival of each pulse at pin 2, it forms one pulse of a given duration, which can be adjusted using variable resistor K4. This pulse signal goes through resistor B10 to the gate of the powerful key field-effect transistor UT1A, in its drain circuit the primary of the standard automobile ignition coil T1 is connected. Almost any ignition coil can be used. It is better to use a coil from cars with a “contact” ignition system. For example, from the Zhiguli VAZ - 2101 or 2106, from the Moskvich - 412 or 2140.