Television can be a wonderful thing – at least, it was before Breaking Bad ended. In public places, though, a blaring TV is often nothing short of obnoxious, especially when your tastes aren’t the same as the proprietor’s.

Not everyone wants to see news reports on car accidents while eating dinner, be bombarded by ads for things they don’t need, or listen to terrible music. Usually, whoever is in charge of the remote isn’t unreasonable about changing the channel or keeping the noise down, but occasionally they’ll claim that “other people like it” or refer to some “policy” which may or may not exist.

This is where the TV-B-Gone comes in. Small enough to carry in your pocket, it sends out coded infrared pulses that almost all televisions on the market interpret as “shut up and go to sleep”. Of course, we don’t recommend being a jerk with it. Don’t turn off the television in a crowded bar just because your sports team is losing, but if your next-door neighbor refuses to turn down the volume after 10 p.m, you’ll probably be able to zap his TV through a window.

Please note that this product is supplied in kit form; you’ll need to know or learn how to do basic soldering. There are assembly instruction on the manufacturer site and several instruction video’s on Youtube, so as long as you have a steady hand and can pay attention to detail, this won’t be an insurmountable obstacle.

It also comes without a case. It does look quite suspicious, so you will probably want to disguise it in some way. This may require you to get a little creative, but at least the circuit board will work on its own as long as you treat it gently.

If you’re concerned that the assembly process will be too complicated, though, you can also buy the less powerful keychain version.