The story of the Instant Karma Machine; Noisy Neighbor Retraining Device

The history and explanation of the infamous Instant Karma Machine, a noisy neighbor retraining device. The IK Machine was devised as a way of dealing with some horrible upstairs neighbors by returning their noise back to them in triplicate...

This all happened years ago before Youtube and smart phones with cameras everywhere. I didn't think to video this at the time but took some stills of the set up.

The SoniScape Natural Noise Neutralizer is a healthier way to get through the night, but the IK Machine was a blast...

For a video of what it was like living beneath the horrible neighbors.

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[mariarohmer]

I wish we lived in a world where bad neighbors were sent to live with bad neighbors. Bad neighbors always have the luxury of living around good neighbors. That needs to change.

[BillyMinnow]

I had a similar experience with neighbors. There were, at least 8 people, including 2 toddlers, living above me, in a 2 bedroom apartment. The landlord was awful and did nothing. The children would regularly be up and running until 3-4am. The adults would have regular gambling sessions. Anytime I went up to talk with them they acted as if they didn't speak english (literally). This was happening within the first month of me living there. I would spend my sleeping hours online looking for ways out of my lease. Turns out, it's far more simple than you might think, despite what your landlord might tell you.

I would first suggest buying a security camera that that also records sound and is backed by an online database of some sort. Every time you hear noises that are "out of control" be sure to WRITE AN EMAIL to your landlord. Not call. Not text. EMAIL. If your landlord calls you, let it go to voicemail.

My landlord took me to court after I broke my lease. He didn't know I had been documenting everything for around 5 months. I had literal days worth of footage with near non-stop noise. Accompanied by emails letting him know about the problem and voicemails with his response, all with the clause in the lease agreement that had a rule against excessive noise, which was grounds for eviction if it was recurrent. My lawyer suggested we counter-sue. I ended up getting 2 months rent back, plus the security deposit.

[neonnerd]

I've learned with bad neighbors you can't ask them politely to stop doing something because then they're just gonna do it ten fold just to irritate you for asking. I had a neighbor that loved his system in his car a little too much. He'd come home at 3am shaking everyone's houses and then he'd sit in his car like that until the song ended before he shut it off and went inside leaving me and my wife the task of getting a 2 year old and a newborn at the time back to sleep. Luckily he's gone now and our kids can get their sleep.

[lucindagaskill]

After living in apartments for years, I bought a small house and vowed to NEVER live in an apartment again in EVER.
After months of harassment (like in your situation) I got so stressed out, that I developed shingles & had to be hospitalized.
RENTERS have no rights !

[miaofearth]

I enjoyed this video purely because of how much he enjoyed telling it

[boxingphysique]

The same story with me- I asked them to stop stomping her feet and she answered that this is how she walks normally.... After I asked I regret for asking.... they started jumping with full force while screaming simultaneously, moving the fridge and furniture in 2 am with insane now I play 10 hour of drilling machine sound effect and its all good :)

[letsbuildaort]

People definitely lose it. I know I did when this was happening to me. Noise is in fact a torture tecnique that has been used by the military for decades.

[dnsmithnc]

The clearest indication of class is the level of noise they produce.

[Phelper]

I'd much rather lug groceries to the top floor than live with people above me.

[prb]

Another one of the worst effects of going through this is when you mention this to your family, friend, therapist, etc. and they automatically have to assume you’re being petty or don’t get why this bothers me. But this is torturous. And watching the videos and reading stories of others going through this resonates with me deeply. I can feel their anxiety and astonishment and the psychological impact it has on them - just like it does on me. Others will never know what you’re going through. In every case, it wasn’t until they came over to my place and experienced it first-hand that they reacted just like me and were shocked. And then I get mad inside for them not believing me in the first place. And I’m not even one with a reputation of being irrational for them not to believe me! Have been going through this for three years. There’s some improvement, but work has to be constantly done to control and remind the neighbors (who happens to be the LANDLORD) that NOTHING CHANGES!

[BlackStarEOP]

The joy you still get while telling this story is extremely contagious :)

[JuliahistoryLover]

That’s brilliant, you’re not creating any noise you’re simply giving it back to them

[Fatherlake]

"I thought the earthquake was her" 😂😂😂

[bmell]

He’s so proud. He’s a genius. I know his pain.

[dmsdmullins]

Had the same problem with a neighbor when I was in the service. After many failed attempts at some civil conversation and about 10 complaints to the building manager I decided to do something about it. Unbeknownst to my neighbor I know a thing or two about electricity and the service panel for his unit was on the outside of the building. So one night after knocking to discuss the noise with no answer I removed the 200 amp service cut-off breaker for his unit and threw it in the woods. Next night, new breaker lots of noise and the same result, another breaker in the woods. Few days later new breaker, loud noise, same result, another expensive service breaker in the woods. The third time was the charm as the apartment manager was tired of replacing breakers and I denied any involvement, which of course they knew what I was doing. August in Texas with no air-conditioning can be a powerful motivational tool. Last time I had problems with noise from the neighbor.

[thomashunt]

These comments are like a support group for me. Good to know I'm not alone !

[Lululila]

Its ridiculous how these managers allow the bad tenants to stay and the good usually leave because they just will not evict these people. I'm going through a similar situation (however not as bad as yours).

[tcotton]

A few years back my former wife and I moved into an upstairs apartment and shortly after these little 20 year old punks moved in downstairs. They would party evvvvery single night. Loud music, yelling etc. I had asked them to quiet down several times and even went as far as having to call the police on them a lot. The landlord refused to do anything about it. One night they were blasting music at 11pm and I had just about had enough. Everyone in the entire building had had enough of this too. I made a few calls to some friends who compete in car audio bass competitions (whatever they’re called lol) and they called their friends, their friends called their friends. Before I knew it we had four or five car audio subwoofer boxes in every single room all facing the floor, amps, and everything. I think they were powered by car battery chargers? Anyways every night they were blasting their music, I would play the most obnoxious stuff I could find and would literally shake the entire building. Pictures were rattling off the walls, things were falling and breaking and it was just great lol. A few nights later and after about the 10th time of listening to Limp Bizkit “The Nookie” on repeat a couple of them actually came upstairs to ask ME to turn it down and words were exchanged and I thought we had a truce.... so everything was dismantled and the audio equipment went back to its individual owners. I had won! It was finally over!!! Until one night a few days later. I had come home from a 15hr shift working on the hot sun to a car in every parking space (they even took my spot and I was forced to park on the street) and this HUGE rager going on in the downstairs apartment. They were louder than ever, there was more people than ever and their music was bumping louder than ever as well. I walked into my apartment with my heavy steel toe boots on and could hear the loud music and the majority of the noice coming from the kitchen area. All 220lbs of me walked into my kitchen and proceeded to jump up and down as hard as I could BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!
All I could hear was screaming lol. That’s when this heffapotamus stomped up the stairs banging my door down and screaming “you wanna come down here and clean up all the glass you just broke!?!?” And that’s when I realized we all have huge hanging glass chandeliers in our kitchens lol. According to the police that came shortly after, I had broken their chandelier and sent shards of broken glass raining down on everyone in their kitchen. HA! Nothing ever came of it except for a mail out from the landlord about being respectful to your neighbors and blah blah blah. Shortly after they moved out and so did we as we were already looking at a house. Just the image of broken glass raining down on everyone still makes me giggle a little bit to this day. Since then I’ve only had my one recent sucky neighbor I share a wall with. Every night he has his sound system blasting. So I bought a saxophone... I have no freakin idea how to play one but it’s still fun to “practice” as loud as I can while facing his bedroom wall every night he pulls that crap.

[zykonot]

"you just kinda loose it.. I've been there"

lol I know that that feeling all too well. Had noisy neighbors under me who left their TV on 24/7 with the bass turned wayyy up. After many polite notes, calls to management and the cops with no avail I just lost it... I managed to find the breaker box for their specific apartment. Every night before I went to bed I would shut their power off and laugh my ass off listening to them trying to figure out what happened

[JohnSmith-kieq]

So about five years ago I had some really shitty neighbors who were always making noise at ungodly hours. I'm the quiet type and these people really set my teeth on edge. one day I bought a cheap USB powered mini vacuum cleaner for my computer keyboard, it turned out to be the worst pile of cheap Chinese crap ever but it was also the greatest revenge machine I've ever seen. When you used the vacuum cleaner it would cause every other electrical device in a ten yard radius to lose signal or put so much interference in the signal stream that they became horrible to watch or listen to.

A few days passed and my horrible neighbors decided to make noise all day Friday, bad luck for them because I was leaving that afternoon to go visit family for the weekend and I had devilish plan in mind. I found some USB extension cables and a USB power adapter, I taped the vacuum cleaner to the ceiling of my apartment (they lived above me) and turned it on. Almost instantly I heard them shouting at each other from different rooms because their cell phones/TV/PC/radio you name it had developed problems.

Three days later when I came home all was deathly quiet, I later found out that after tearing their place apart looking for the cause of the problem and discovering nothing they were forced to sit and talk to each other like humans for a change, they soon discovered that they didn't like each other and broke up, the jerkface boyfriend moved out first and the work shy girl moved out a short while later.