If you’re a fan of The IT Crowd, you’ve probably fantasized about building The Internet Black Box. You may have also dreamed about playing the same trick on your co-workers as Roy and Moss play on Jen. The good news is, now you can. If you’re not a fan of The IT Crowd GTFO! If you have no idea what The IT Crowd is, do yourself a favor and go watch it right now.
At DIY Nerds we decided The Internet would be our triumphant return. So here it is, our awesome replica of “The Internet” prop from The IT Crowd. The IT Crowd was a geeky British sitcom on Channel 4. The Internet was a mysterious black box and prank in Season 3, Episode 4 of The IT Crowd. Our replica doesn’t come with an on/off switch, because that’s just crazytalk, nobody turns off the interwebs. You’re more than welcome to add an on/off switch to your build though, or you can always just buy a ready-made replica (Etsy, $45).
What You Will Need to Build the Internet Black Box
Total Cost: $15-$25
Build Time: 10-15 minutes
- One (1) Black Project Box
- One (1) AAA Battery Holder
- One (1) Blinking Red LED
- One (1) Drill
- One (1) 1/4″ Drill Bit
- One (1) Roll of Masking Tape
- One (1) Roll of Electrical Tape
- One (1) Phillips Screwdriver
- Two (2) “AAA” Batteries
Optional:
- One (1) Soldering Iron
- One (1) Spindle of Solder
- One (1) On/Off Switch
How-To Build the Internet Black Box Summary
First we went to find the center of the top of our black project box. There are a couple ways to do this, but the laziest easiest way to do it is to put two strips of masking tape going across the top. The first strip should be centered and going vertical, while the other is centered and going horizontal. Feel free to eyeball it. The masking tape also provides a clean and safe way of drilling a hole through the top.
After you’ve applied the masking tape and it is centered as best you can. We want to use our 1/4″ drill bit and drill a hole directly in the middle. (Your drill bit may need to be different depending on the size of your Blinking Red LED).
Lastly, we twist the red wire from our Blinking Red LED to our red wire on the AAA Battery Holder. We then repeat the same step and twist the black wires together from the Blinking Red LED to the AAA Battery Holder. The wires will now need a couple small strips of electrical tape. (Alternatively, you can solder the wires together and use some heat shrink tubing for a cleaner look)
Plug in your batteries, ensure the light is blinking or turned on, and screw in the enclosure with your phillips screwdriver.
How-To Build the Internet Black Box Instructions
- Take two strips of masking tape and apply them to the top of the black project box to form an “X” and identify the center of the top as seen below.
Two strips of masking tape across the top to find the center - Using the 1/4″ Drill bit, drill a hole through the top of the box and in the center of the top
Drill a hole through the top of the box in the center 
The masking tape helps keep the hole nice and clean and provide grip for the drillbit - Feed the blinking red LED through the hole on the top and secure it with the nut on the backside, as seen below
Don’t forget to tighten the nut and secure the LED - Connect the red wires from the LED to the AAA battery holder by twisting them together. Then connect the black wires the same way. Wrap some electrical tape around the ends to secure them
Twist the matching colored wires and cover them with electrical tape - Finally, secure the battery holder to the inside of the project box and then screw closed the bottom plate
One simple strip of electrical or masking tape should do the trick That’s all it takes and luckily for you, you can have now the The Internet for your own office. While ours doesn’t have an on/off switch, the batteries should last
forevera long time to only power a single LED. Make sure you take pictures and include them in the comments below. We can’t wait to see you one-up us and what kind of mods you include in your project.
