From: kondrak Date: Mon Apr 26, 2004 5:35pm Subject: Re: Cavity Bug (Great Seal Bug) Tech Questions. Off the top of my head, a moving "vane" inside a resonate cavity at any frequency would tend to introduce frequency/phase deviation on the returned signal...maybe it was simple FM? Or more likely Phase Modulation. I dont think it was that elaborate... At 01:49 4/25/2004, you wrote: >Hi, > >I have some questions regarding the great Seal Bug. This was a "bug" >planted in the Great Seal behind the ambassadors desk in Moscow. > >The device consisted of a small metal cyclinder containing an >internal metal adjustable height mushroom. The endwall opposite the >mushroom was made of a thin metallic diaphragm which would vibrate >when exposed to audio. A small antenna entered the cylinder. The >device was totally passive. It contained no power source.(See URL at >end of my message). > >*Apparently the "howl" frequency was 1800Mhz however the operating >frequency of the device was found to be 800Mhz (info from Spycatcher >book). What are the maths for determining the dimensions/resonant >frequency of such a device? It seems that Peter Wright determined the >frequency by sweeping the device...there must be some maths that >would be able to better predict the "operating" frequency. > >*Why isn't the howl frequency the same as the operating frequency? > >*What kind of modulation would result when the "diaphragm" vibrates >with audio. Is it AM? Would the modulation be very low (ie 5%)? > >My interest is purely academic. I have read conflicting accounts of >this device and would like some "expert" opinion. > >Regards From, >Henry. > >PS:Here is a URL related to the Great Seal. >http://www.spybusters.com/Great_Seal_Bug.html > > >PPS: There is a bit written about this device (nicknamed "The Thing" >in the Peter Wright biography titled "Spycatcher"). Also some mention >in Keith Meltons book on spy gadgets. > > > > >======================================================== > TSCM-L Technical Security Mailing List > "In a multitude of counselors there is strength" > > To subscribe to the TSCM-L mailing list visit: > http://www.yahoogroups.com/community/TSCM-L > > It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion. > It is by the juice of Star Bucks that thoughts acquire speed, > the hands acquire shaking, the shaking is a warning. > It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion. >=================================================== TSKS >Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > 8507 From: James M. Atkinson Date: Tue Apr 27, 2004 10:40am Subject: Special Item on E-Bay Here is a very special item on E-Bay that list members should check out. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4146756343#ebayphotohosting -jma ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We Expertly Hunt Real Spies, Real Eavesdroppers, and Real Wiretappers. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- James M. Atkinson Phone: (978) 546-3803 Granite Island Group Fax: (978) 546-9467 127 Eastern Avenue #291 Web: http://www.tscm.com/ Gloucester, MA 01931-8008 Email: mailto:jmatk@t... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- World Class, Professional, Ethical, and Competent Bug Sweeps, and Wiretap Detection using Sophisticated Laboratory Grade Test Equipment. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8508 From: Robin Hunter Date: Tue Apr 27, 2004 11:22am Subject: Re-Special item on E-Bay Excellent Jim, has fairly brightened what had been an otherwise dull day. I would also like to make it clear I am not the guy from Scotland who contacted the seller. regards from Edinburgh, ROBIN HUNTER AEGIS INTELLIGENCE LIMITED "KNOWLEDGE IS POWER" Member of EPIC (www.epic-uk.com) tel. 0131 312 8480 fax. 087 0132 8085 mobile. 07790900005 email. enquiries@a... www.aegisintelligence.co.uk Standby Member of Missingkin.com www.missingkin.com This message and any attachments are confidential and strictly for the use of the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient or the person responsible for delivery to the intended recipient, be aware that you have received this message in error and that any use is strictly prohibited. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] 8509 From: Tom Lee Byron Date: Tue Apr 27, 2004 4:46pm Subject: Laser Monitoring Systems A quick question, are Laser Monitoring Systems the only option if the operator is not able to enter the target room in order to place a transmitter. I have heard, the are not reliable , and damm expensive too. Any good manufacturer? 8510 From: contranl Date: Tue Apr 27, 2004 4:54pm Subject: Gps tracker detection.....Amazing ! ! . [GPS-TRACKER-DETECTION ] The weather was nice and sunny ... so i went to the beach. I decided to bring along my "Yupiteru" radioscanner and a "Protrak- Scout" to do some testing A beach is a fairly good area to do some radio experiments since it's far from any manmade radio-noises I'ts a flat area too with no obstacles and no reflections . PROTRAK-SCOUT: ----------------------------- The "Protrak-Scout" is by far the most popular and most sold 'covert" gps tracker in the world It's simple to use and very lowcost (500 US $)...For that price you can't expect a top tracker and it will (most of the time) not be used by the real professionals such as police etc. But it does the job The unit is build in a plastic housing and contains 2 boards... 1 is the gps receiver-board (furuno gn79) 1 microprocessor-board A vibration sensor is included and will put the unit in sleepmode when no vibrations are detected The "Protrak-Scout" is a "logger" wich means it will only collect and store the data...in order to read this data you will have to remove it from the object and connect it to a PC Depending on the position sampling rate it can store max 18 days of tracked positions. Powersupply is from 4 built-in penlitebatteries (1,5 V) A seperate Gps patch antenna with a 5 meter coax-cable is included YUPITERU MVT 7100: --------------------------------- The Yupiteru mvt 7100 is a low cost ( 350 Us $) radioscanner , it's far from perfect and can't be compared with highend equipment starting from 8000 Us $......but it's small and handy...and most important it has 1 khz tuning steps and a SSB mode (single sideband),a signal-strength meter is included too. THE TEST: ---------------- The purpose of the test was to see if there was any radiation coming from the "Protrak-Scout" in order to establish if the unit would be "detectable" when covertly installed in a car. Since it's only a receiver one cannot expect strong signals. So i put the "Protrak-Scout" on the ground in the middle of the beach...the antenna was not rolled out ...it was left like it came in the package ( rolled out about 35 cm's ) After i switched it on i took my "Yupiteru" and sat down in 2 meters distance while keeping the 50cm telescopic antenna in parallel with the "Protrak-Scout" I then did a search from 1 mhz to 500 mhz in 1 khz steps .....every 2 minutes i gave the "Protrak-Scout" a little kick to make shure it would'nt go into sleep-mode) RESULTS: ---------------- Immidiatly i started to receive the harmonics...i was shocked ! .......there where.....!!!!!! THOUSANDS !!!!!! ( on a spectrum analyzer closeby it might even look like a spreadspectrum transmitter... LOL :) :) :) After a while i determined wich where the strongest harmonics and how far (distance) they could be received Below is a small list with some of the strongest frequencies (harmonics) that showed up followed by the maximum distance they could be heard...first in Narrow Band FM (NFM)...then in Single Side Band (SSB) 34,8140 Mhz 3 meters (NFM) 8 meters (SSB) 69,6280 Mhz 6 meters (NFM) 25 meters (SSB) 75,7500 Mhz 4 meters (NFM) 20 meters (SSB) 81,6300 Mhz 7 meters (NFM) 18 meters (SSB) 99,5350 Mhz 12 meters (NFM) 50 meters (SSB) 110,5930 Mhz 18 meters (NFM) 54 meters (SSB) 116,0480 Mhz 14 meters (NFM) 30 meters (SSB) 121,6530 Mhz 23 meters (NFM) 52 meters (SSB) 127,1830 Mhz 28 meters (NFM) 74 meters (SSB) 127,6530 Mhz 26 meters (NFM) 72 meters (SSB) 191,6970 Mhz 25 meters (NFM) 82 meters (SSB) 255,3080 Mhz 24 meters (NFM) 71 meters (SSB) Now is'nt that amazing ?....it's ridiculous ! this unit has so many strong radiations that it could never be approved by the FCC or EC. REMARKS / OBSERVATIONS: ---------------------------------------------- One of the crystals (on the microprocessor board) says FS11.05 wich probably stands for 11,05 mhz and its the main cause of the strongest harmonics. Once again the "Protrak-Scout" is a low cost unit and does what it does...but it's detectable like hell ! Placing the unit in a car will ofcourse affect it's maximum radiation range ..but there will be more then enough radiation left to find it in less then 2 minutes ! As you see from the table...it radiates strongly in the FM-broadcast band...so a victim might even hear it on his own radio ! (sounds like a bumper beeper...a steady carrier with 1 sec tone- pulses) Some reasons why it radiates so strong are: 1) No metal housing 2) No filtering 3) Very big microprocessor 4) 2 different high-level quarz oszillators 5) Unnecessary large pcb tracks 6) No internal screenings and not designed for low emissions 7) To long antenna cable GARMIN eTREX: -------------------------- As reference i did a quick test on a "Garmin Etrex" A "Garmin Etrex" is a much smaller Gps unit...it's not a tracker but just a handheld navigation tool I assume its quality is much better..it has an internal antenna and probably only 1 crystal oscillator It is not build to be covert (allthough very much usable as such...for a 1 day only tracking job) Here are some results: (this time only in SSB) 32,7350 Mhz 5 meters (SSB) 65,4720 Mhz 30 meters (SSB) 98,2080 Mhz 10 meters (SSB) 130,9450 Mhz 25 meters (SSB) 163,6810 Mhz 26 meters (SSB) 196,4180 Mhz 24 meters (SSB) 229,1560 Mhz 30 meters (SSB) 261,8930 Mhz 20 meters (SSB) 392,8390 Mhz 16 meters (SSB) All the Garmin units have a service-mode...wich can be acessed by holding down 1 of the buttons and pressing the power-button at the same time, You will then see various values such as: serial-number , battery-voltage , temperature , etc also you will see "Frequency" wich in this case was around 16368342 This must be the frequency of the crystal at the processor (16,368342 Mhz) As you can see the above frequencies are exact multiples (harmonics) of this crystal-frequency RESUMING ----------------- With simple and lowcost methods i have shown that Gps-receivers are detectable over a respectable distance When hidden in a car the distances are shorter but more than enough for detection ( the metal body of a car causes reflections and conducting...just touching a metal part (blank or painted) might increase reception considerably) Do'nt forget that in this test i used a cheap receiver...a better receiver might give 20~30 % better results A good designed "Covert-Gps-Tracker will have much less radiation but still enough to be detectable. ... they wil cost at least 8000 US $ and are not easely available.... and therefore will only be used by government I am still working on a device to quickly find all Gps-trackers... i have now incorporated a guided step by step "elimination-process" this will let you quickly eliminate all "false" alarms ( caused by other electronics or "outside-broadcasts" ) A "template" (spectrum of a car) maybe stored for later reference using the car's numberplate or code Eventually the unit might also be usable as a bugdetector with some features specially for cars Comments and ideas are welcome (here or private) Greetings Tetrascanner www.tetrascanner.com . 8511 From: Steve Uhrig Date: Tue Apr 27, 2004 10:01pm Subject: Re: Laser Monitoring Systems Once upon a midnight dreary, Tom Lee Byron pondered, weak and weary: > A quick question, are Laser Monitoring Systems the only option if the > operator is not able to enter the target room in order to place a > transmitter. There are many other options, however this is not the venue to discuss them. Persons with authority to do this will have access to channels to obtain the info. > I have heard, the are not reliable , and damm expensive too. Short of laboratory curiosities in staged phony demos, laser eavesdropping is worthless for any real world application. Whether cheap or expensive, if you buy something purporting to be one you will be cheated. > Any good manufacturer? No. Plenty of places who will make claims, throw buzzwords and fancy lit at you, and take your money however. This list discusses defensive practices against eavesdropping. It is not the place to seek information on eavesdropping equipment or technique. Steve ******************************************************************* Steve Uhrig, SWS Security, Maryland (USA) Mfrs of electronic surveillance equip mailto:Steve@s... website http://www.swssec.com tel +1+410-879-4035, fax +1+410-836-1190 "In God we trust, all others we monitor" ******************************************************************* 8512 From: James M. Atkinson Date: Tue Apr 27, 2004 10:15pm Subject: Upcoming Price Uncrease on OSC-5000 Effective 1 May 2004 the price for an OSC-5000 is jumping by $2750, so if you want to same some serious money you have to get the order on our books before the end of the day on this coming Friday. -jma ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We Expertly Hunt Real Spies, Real Eavesdroppers, and Real Wiretappers. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- James M. Atkinson Phone: (978) 546-3803 Granite Island Group Fax: (978) 546-9467 127 Eastern Avenue #291 Web: http://www.tscm.com/ Gloucester, MA 01931-8008 Email: mailto:jmatk@t... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- World Class, Professional, Ethical, and Competent Bug Sweeps, and Wiretap Detection using Sophisticated Laboratory Grade Test Equipment. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8513 From: Hawkspirit Date: Wed Apr 28, 2004 11:33am Subject: GPS Detection Very good, you now have some feeling for the detection of processor noise; now take a guess about the technique to differentiate GPS processor noise from other processor noise and display strobe noise in a dashboard. Roger Tolces www.bugsweeps.com Date: Tue, 27 Apr 2004 21:54:11 -0000 From: "contranl" Subject: Gps tracker detection.....Amazing ! ! [GPS-TRACKER-DETECTION ] The weather was nice and sunny ... so i went to the beach. I decided to bring along my "Yupiteru" radioscanner and a "Protrak- Scout" to do some testing A beach is a fairly good area to do some radio experiments since it's far from any manmade radio-noises I'ts a flat area too with no obstacles and no reflections . [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] 8514 From: Shawn Hughes Date: Wed Apr 28, 2004 11:57am Subject: Re: GPS Detection I see you are really making an effort, so, let me throw you a bone here. You have determined you can locate a device in basically a lab setting ( reduced but not eliminated RF sources and most reflecting surfaces). Keep in mind that some frequencies carry for many, many miles based on the atmospheric conditions. Did you do a reference test of the area prior to testing your device? You might be surprised.....even your receiver may have a similar set of harmonics ( scanner people call them 'birdies' ). However, what happens to these signals when you raise the noise floor? As in a typical sweep, in an urban area. In a typical installation? Now that you have your baseline readings, put the thing in a vehicle like you are going to use it, then take readings 360 degrees around the vehicle, and in several arcs from the horizontal to the vertical plane. Use an omni antenna initially, then pick the strongest spur and use some notch filtering and directional antennas and repeat the process. See if you can obtain repeatable results. Good luck! -Shawn Shawn Hughes Tactical Response Inc. USA At 09:54 AM 4/28/04 , TSCM-L@yahoogroups.com wrote: >From: "contranl" >Subject: Gps tracker detection.....Amazing ! ! 8515 From: Date: Wed Apr 28, 2004 10:16am Subject: Hello to old friends Just a quick note to say “Hello!” to old friends with whom I haven’t spoken in many moons. Some of you know me from my former life with the gov, and others when I owned Robert Douglas Associates. Anyhow, the new life now (since about 2 years ago) is as Dean of Technology programs at DeVry’s Crystal City campus in Arlington, VA. I’ve just finished spearheading development of a new regionally accredited Bachelor’s program in Security Engineering Technology. It’s rolling out at Arlington this summer, and should hit the other 26 campuses across the country over the course of about a year. It’s a good program where the various courses were suggested by a focus group consisting of friends at CIA, NSA, DOE, State, and several commercial entities. Steve Uhrig should have been there and was missed (he had a problem at the time that precluded his attending). Anyway, I’m currently writing a textbook titled “Physical and Technical Security: An Introduction”. The book will be released by Thomson Delmar publishers early in 2005. I’m just in chapter 11 out of 12 now, and this is what brings me to you. This chapter is dedicated to TSCM (introductory only!). If anyone would like to contribute a short blurb or two, let me know, and I’ll email a permission to republish form to you. The book should get good coverage, mainly for programs in physical security at community colleges. So ---- Hello again and thanks for letting me be a part of the group. Best regards, Bob Gruber 8516 From: Hawkspirit Date: Thu Apr 29, 2004 10:14am Subject: GPS Detection Here's a bone for you. Ambient signals and noise floors are fairly irrelevant here because what you are doing is making near field measurements to a device that will at times during the inspection be within a foot of the measuring antenna. Roger Tolces www.bugsweeps.com Date: Wed, 28 Apr 2004 12:57:43 -0400 From: Shawn Hughes Subject: Re: GPS Detection I see you are really making an effort, so, let me throw you a bone here. You have determined you can locate a device in basically a lab setting ( reduced but not eliminated RF sources and most reflecting surfaces). Keep in mind that some frequencies carry for many, many miles based on the atmospheric conditions. Did you do a reference test of the area prior to testing your device? You might be surprised.....even your receiver may have a similar set of harmonics ( scanner people call them 'birdies' ). However, what happens to these signals when you raise the noise floor? As in a typical sweep, in an urban area. In a typical installation? Now that you have your baseline readings, put the thing in a vehicle like you are going to use it, then take readings 360 degrees around the vehicle, and in several arcs from the horizontal to the vertical plane. Use an omni antenna initially, then pick the strongest spur and use some notch filtering and directional antennas and repeat the process. See if you can obtain repeatable results. Good luck! -Shawn Shawn Hughes Tactical Response Inc. USA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] 8517 From: Date: Thu Apr 29, 2004 1:01pm Subject: TV producer charged over taping incident TV producer charged over taping incident Thursday, April 29, 2004 By Ken Kolker and Barton Deiters The Grand Rapids Press A local TV station producer is facing a felony charge after allegedly setting up a hidden video camera in his roommate's bedroom. Daniel Gallagher, 28, who has produced the Daybreak early morning news program at WOOD-TV (Channel 8) is to appear in Grand Rapids District Court next week for a preliminary hearing on a charge of installing an eavesdropping device, according to court records. "The defendant allegedly installed video and audio equipment over his roommate's bed in an attempt to disclose his promiscuity," police wrote in court records. The alleged victim, who also worked at the station, discovered the device last weekend and reported it to police. The men lived together in a fourth-floor apartment at Boardwalk Apartments, an upscale development in an old factory at 940 Monroe Ave. NW. Adam Budnick, who is listed as a witness in court records, said Gallagher allowed the alleged victim to live with him for about a fourth of the rent. The two knew each other from college. "I told (the alleged victim), there's no free lunch," Budnick said. "This guy wants something." Budnick said suspicion arose when Gallagher was aware of events in his roommate's life that they had not talked about. On Saturday, the alleged victim, 23, found a laundry hamper covering an audio and video recording device in Gallagher's bedroom with wires leading to duct work in the other bedroom, Budnick said. A video tape allegedly was brought to police. The apartment was searched and numerous tapes of the roommate were found. Grand Rapids Police Lt. Paul Warwick said detectives were trying to determine how long ago the device was installed. "It's been going on over the last few weeks," he said. He said police seized some recordings. It wasn't known if any of the recordings were distributed. "Those are things that are being investigated," Warwick said. Gallagher was arrested on Saturday, the same day his roommate called police. He was released on a $5,000 cash-surety bond with the condition that he "not possess any computer, camera or digital device capable of recording fixed or moving images," court records show. If convicted, he faces up to two years in prison. He could not be reached for comment. Gallagher, a Detroit native, moved to Grand Rapids four months ago for the job at WOOD, according to court records. He was in charge of creating and putting together the Daybreak news program, WOOD-TV news director Patti McGettigan said. She declined to say what action, if any, the station has taken regarding Gallagher. "The situation is under review," she said. "It's a personnel matter." The station reported the story Wednesday on its noon broadcast. McGettigan said there was no indication Gallagher used equipment from the station. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] 8518 From: Date: Thu Apr 29, 2004 1:05pm Subject: London Times claims it bugged UK politians with Bluetooth Times claims it bugged UK politians with Bluetooth More amazing claims for 'Bluesnarfing' By Tony Dennis: Monday 26 April 2004, 06:03 IN GOOD old fashioned sensationalist style The Times has gone to the British Palace of Westminster to prove that 'bluesnarfing' is a threat to the country's security. The claims are based on software developed by Adam Laurie of A.L. Digital that software running on his ordinary Panasonic notebook can break the security of Bluetooth on standard mobile handsets. And in this case turn Bluetooth handsets into 'bugs'. He seems to maintain that the Nokia 6310 and Sony Ericsson T610 are the most vulnerable. Laurie refuses to say how the attacks actually work but presumably it exploits a flaw whereby a default 'pairing' password (probably only four characters) is guessed and the handset owner has left the device with Bluetooth switched on and visibility set to 'all'. What is amasing is that Laurie appears to suggest that he can seize control of such a handset and then listen to what's going on around the owner at the time. Curiously Laurie appears to have tested his software against the Sony Ericsson Z1010 - a device which isn't shipping yet. Sony Ericsson did tell The Times that software upgrades are available to counteract some aspects of malicious attacks. Nokia has admitted to examining the risks to certain models. Rather than worry about leaky Bluetooth handsets, the INQ suggest the government investigates how Mr Laurie 'smuggled his laptop' into the Central Lobby of our Parliament. © 2004 Breakthrough Publishing Ltd. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] 8519 From: Date: Thu Apr 29, 2004 1:10pm Subject: MOGUL FACING TAP RAP MOGUL FACING TAP RAP By KIERAN CROWLEY NY Post April 23, 2004 -- A wealthy real-estate mogul has been arrested and charged with wiretapping - for allegedly bugging his estranged wife's phone calls at their Long Island mansion. Mark Laffey, 34, was arrested Wednesday and charged with criminal eavesdropping for allegedly rigging a hidden tape recorder to record wife Maureen's phone calls at their Oyster Bay estate. Maureen Laffey, 35, called police after she uncovered the hidden recorder inside her bedroom closet, said Nassau Detective Lt. Steven Skrynecki. "This is a domestic situation. They are involved in a divorce," said Skrynecki. "We have reason to believe that the husband was taping conversations between the wife and other people. " Skrynecki said detectives recovered "an audio recording device" from the bedroom. "The charge is that he was eavesdropping on telephonic conversations," Skrynecki said. Mark Laffey, the chief operating officer of Century 21 Laffey Associates Fine Homes, spent the night in jail and was arraigned on the charge yesterday morning at Nassau County 1st District Court in Hempstead. A prosecutor asked the judge to issue an order of protection to keep Mark away from his wife - even though they both still live in the same home. Defense lawyer Dominic Barbara objected, saying his client had never been arrested before and had no history of violence. Barbara said his client was not guilty. "I'm not suggesting he did tap the phone," Barbara said in court. "How do you know he put the recorder there?" The judge did not issue an order of protection, and he set Laffey free on his own recognizance. "My client categorically denies that he was taping any phone calls," Barbara said after the court appearance. A lawyer for Mrs. Laffey declined to comment on the arrest. Mark is charged with a felony and faces up to four years behind bars if convicted. Mrs. Laffey filed for divorce last year. The couple are also battling for custody of their 7-year-old daughter. Mark's firm, which sells in Queens and on Long Island, "is one of the fastest-growing real estate companies in the country," according to company promotional material. He has been a real-estate broker for 14 years. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] 8520 From: Lawrence Dillard Date: Thu Apr 29, 2004 11:59am Subject: virus? NEW VIRUS Just got this in from a reliable source. It seems there is a virus called the "Senile Virus" that even the most advanced programs of Norton and McAfee cannot take care of it .... so be warned. The virus appears to affect those of us who were born before 1950! Symptoms of the Senile Virus: 1. Causes you to send the same e-mail twice. 2. Causes you to send blank e-mail. 3. Causes you to send e-mail to the wrong person. 4. Causes you to send e-mail back to the person who sent it to you. 5. Causes you to forget to attach attachments. 6. Causes you to hit "SEND" before you've finished the e-mail. Now that I'm 'older' (but refuse to grow up), here's what I've discovered: 1. I started out with nothing, and I still have most of it. 2. My wild oats have turned into prunes and All Bran. 3. I finally got my head together; now my body is falling apart. 5. Funny, I don't remember being absent minded... 6. All reports are in; life is now officially unfair. 7. If all is not lost, where is it? 8. It is easier to get older than it is to get wiser. 10. Some days you're the dog; some days you're the hydrant. 11. I wish the buck stopped here; I sure could use a few... 12. Kids in the back seat cause accidents. 13. Accidents in the back seat cause kids. 15. It's hard to make a come back when you haven't been anywhere. 16. The only time the world beats a path to your door is when you're in the bathroom. 17. If God wanted me to touch my toes, he would have put them on my knees. 18. When I'm finally holding all the cards, why does everyone decide to play chess? 19. Funny, I don't remember being absent minded... 20. It's not hard to meet expenses... they're everywhere. 21. The only difference between a rut and a grave is the rut is open ended. 23. I AM UNABLE TO REMEMBER why the difference makes any difference. 24. Funny, I don't remember being . . . . . absent minded... Now, I think you're supposed to send this to ... oh, heck, just send it to a bunch of your friends if you can remember who they are. Then something is supposed to happen...... I think. Maybe you get your memory back or something! 8521 From: Steve Uhrig Date: Fri Apr 30, 2004 0:35am Subject: Congrats to Ed Michaels KC2MWI Belated congrats to list member Ed Michaels, who got his first ham license recently and now signs the call KC2MWI on 2 meters and UHF. Like most of us, he was checking the FCC database every few hours after he passed the test waiting to see what his new call would be. In my training and mentoring, I've always encouraged persons interested in surveillance and countersurveillance to consider ham radio as a hobby. It's no coincidence most of the highly respected sweepers and surveillance operators are hams. In fact, it's unusual to find one who isn't. It's not just for kids. Ed is one of the more geriatric members of this list! He's got a few years on me. Much of the technology you'd use for the ham radio hobby transfers directly to commercial applications. You learn communications and electronics theory and practice painlessly while enjoying it as a hobby. And, in the U.S. at least, I believe some licenses now are Morse-code- free which never was the case before, so any remaining excuse not to get a license has been removed. And it's not necessarily an expensive hobby, especially if you build the majority of your equipment as many of us have done. Drop a handful of parts from a wrecked television on the floor, and someone like Marty Kaiser W3VCG will be on the air by the time he picks them up. A lot of Marty's skills were developed as a direct result of his lifelong ham radio hobby, as were mine and those of many other respected surveillance types. If you run into someone who really, truly knows his stuff, it's almost a sure bet he's a ham. You can do anything from micro powered CW (code) to work worldwide, to data, to television, to moonbounce, to extremely low frequencies, to microwave, to the latest spread spectrum, to military backup commo support, Civil Defense backup commo, Civil Air Patrol backup commo, to standard AM or SSB voice, to chasing rare stations and countries some of which have no hams (and some of which are underwater part of the day) but are visited by hams once in a while, to contesting, to remote control, VHF, UHF, mobile telephone, repeaters, micro-sized gear, super high and legal power, antenna experimenting, high fidelity voice, Internet/radio links for worldwide communications using an inexpensive handheld radio to communications with the Russian Space Station or U.S. Shuttles almost all of which have amateur stations (I have a QSL card from one shuttle verifying I spoke with Owen Garriott as the shuttle passed over Maryland, and I was using an antique handheld radio), to amateur satellite communication, remote command, teletype, manual or automatic Morse Code, radio direction finding and hidden transmitter hunts, public service backing up government communications during times of emergency, weather spotting, microprocessor radios, vacuum tube radios, tuna can radios, converting old military equipment, software- controlled radios, boatanchor radios (generally pre WW2 commercial or military), and much more. You get the idea. My personal favorite happens to be CW (Morse Code) on the 10 meter/28 megacycle band, using extremely low power with a homebuilt transceiver chasing rare stations when the sunspots are favorable. I put less RF power into the antenna than into the dial lights, and far less than a CB radio uses. Using generally between 50 milliwatts and a few hundred milliwatts, I've worked around 30 states and 33 countries. You don't need high power or expensive equipment to have a lot of fun and learn a lot! Part of my career kind of got started in 1972 when the ham radio magazine called 73 Magazine purchased my first article for $40. It was on designing and building a logic probe for digital troubleshooting back when digital was just starting. That was 333 published articles ago. Magazines pay well and are desperate for an ongoing supply of technical articles, and having a ham license gets you a certain amount of instant credibility in certain circles. Another area to consider. If you can write, you can sell articles to the tech magazines. Good work Ed. The FCC doesn't give those licenses away (actually you have to pay for them). Not really; just study up some on rules and regs, make sure you know your basics in electronics, AC and DC theory and communications, some basic formulas like Ohm's law, reactances and massaging decibels and stuff like that, then take the sample tests at www.qrz.com or www.nemarc.org, and when you're doing well on a regular basis you're ready for the test. Most of the electronics will be no real challenge for persons involved in the TSCM profession. You do need to memorize some simple regulations, frequency and band limits, privileges of various license classes, etc. The sample exams available free draw from the identical question pool used in the real exam, so if you take the practice exams enough times you will have seen every question and answer you would on a test. Tests in the U.S. are given by volunteer examiners usually attached to a radio club. There are thousands of radio clubs all over the U.S. Tests also frequently are given at 'hamfests' which are electronics flea markets run by clubs as fund raisers usually at a fairgrounds or similar. Visit one if you hear of one in your area. If anyone is interested in getting into ham radio, there are a very large number of resources on the web, local clubs in many areas, and national organizations. You can start with www.arrl.org and www.qrz.com for a few. Training software which I highly recommend can be found at www.N3FJP.com if you decide to go that route. It's really not difficult. If Ed got licensed, you *know* it's not difficult! Once you have a license, it's yours for life. Ham radio will benefit your career if you do anything in electronics or communications. And, it's FUN! Steve (WA3SWS since 1971). ******************************************************************* Steve Uhrig, SWS Security, Maryland (USA) Mfrs of electronic surveillance equip mailto:Steve@s... website http://www.swssec.com tel +1+410-879-4035, fax +1+410-836-1190 "In God we trust, all others we monitor" ******************************************************************* 8522 From: kondrak Date: Fri Apr 30, 2004 3:25am Subject: Re: Congrats to Ed Michaels KC2MWI A hearty congratz to Ed... Steve...somehow I get the feeling you were somehow his "Elmer"... At 01:35 4/30/2004, you wrote: >Belated congrats to list member Ed Michaels, who got his first ham >license recently and now signs the call KC2MWI on 2 meters and UHF. >In my training and mentoring, I've always encouraged persons >interested in surveillance and countersurveillance to consider ham >radio as a hobby. It's no coincidence most of the highly respected >sweepers and surveillance operators are hams. In fact, it's unusual >to find one who isn't. > >It's not just for kids. Ed is one of the more geriatric members of >this list! He's got a few years on me. Hey, I've got a 8 year old nephew who's doing 5wpm now, I've got to wheel him up to a hamfest soon to a VEC...he asked and got a soldering iron last Christmas.... >Much of the technology you'd use for the ham radio hobby transfers >directly to commercial applications. You learn communications and >electronics theory and practice painlessly while enjoying it as a >hobby. Its seamless, many of us who are in telephony, broadcast, satellite, land mobile, and yes, TSCM are avowed hams, and many have been for a while...took me to age 14 to get my general...and that was back in the days when radioman were men and power supplies were lethal... >And, in the U.S. at least, I believe some licenses now are Morse-code- >free which never was the case before, so any remaining excuse not to >get a license has been removed. Yes, to this date they've resisted dumbing them down to a vending machine item, but with what we call our "FCC" that may not last for long, as soon as they figure a way to auction them off for political profit, I'm sure that will be the way they go. >And it's not necessarily an expensive >hobby, especially if you build the majority of your equipment as many >of us have done. Cof..."BUILD"? Please Steve, don't scare them off just yet....(My first CW [thats code for the lurkers] transmitter was built out of an old TV set, using 6CD6's for a push-pull output stage. (60w with the wind blowing from the right direction) My first CW contact after being licensed was 20 miles away...ho hum...(on 40 meters) >Drop a handful of parts from a wrecked television on >the floor, and someone like Marty Kaiser W3VCG will be on the air by >the time he picks them up. A lot of Marty's skills were developed as >a direct result of his lifelong ham radio hobby, as were mine and >those of many other respected surveillance types. If you run into >someone who really, truly knows his stuff, it's almost a sure bet >he's a ham. Not out of todays TV's. Maybe an old Admiral, or a Silvertone (if you didn't mind tubes with alien filament voltages). But out of today's crap that passes for a TV, you'd be lucky to get a signal out on 3.5879... or 1575 khz.... >You can do anything from micro powered CW (code) to work worldwide, >to data, to television, to moonbounce, to extremely low frequencies, >to microwave, to the latest spread spectrum, to military backup commo >support, Civil Defense backup commo, Civil Air Patrol backup commo, >to standard AM or SSB voice, to chasing rare stations and countries >some of which have no hams (and some of which are underwater part of >the day) but are visited by hams once in a while, to contesting, to >remote control, VHF, UHF, mobile telephone, repeaters, micro-sized >gear, super high and legal power, antenna experimenting, high >fidelity voice, Internet/radio links for worldwide communications >using an inexpensive handheld radio to communications with the >Russian Space Station or U.S. Shuttles almost all of which have >amateur stations (I have a QSL card from one shuttle verifying I >spoke with Owen Garriott as the shuttle passed over Maryland, and I >was using an antique handheld radio), to amateur satellite >communication, remote command, teletype, manual or automatic Morse >Code, radio direction finding and hidden transmitter hunts, public >service backing up government communications during times of >emergency, weather spotting, microprocessor radios, vacuum tube >radios, tuna can radios, converting old military equipment, software- >controlled radios, boatanchor radios (generally pre WW2 commercial or >military), and much more. You get the idea. Yup, done most of that....don't forget microwave, the last frontier, where hams are setting world distance records the commercial guys only drool over...packet networks rivaling the internet for reach as well. >My personal favorite happens to be CW (Morse Code) on the 10 meter/28 >megacycle band, using extremely low power with a homebuilt >transceiver chasing rare stations when the sunspots are favorable. Mine is 6m CW, with 2 watts, battery operated. QSL'ed 28 states now... > I >put less RF power into the antenna than into the dial lights, and far >less than a CB radio uses. Using generally between 50 milliwatts and >a few hundred milliwatts, I've worked around 30 states and 33 >countries. You don't need high power or expensive equipment to have a >lot of fun and learn a lot! > >Part of my career kind of got started in 1972 when the ham radio >magazine called 73 Magazine purchased my first article for $40. Bless Wayne Green... >It >was on designing and building a logic probe for digital >troubleshooting back when digital was just starting. That was 333 >published articles ago. Magazines pay well and are desperate for an >ongoing supply of technical articles, and having a ham license gets >you a certain amount of instant credibility in certain circles. >Another area to consider. If you can write, you can sell articles to >the tech magazines. > >Good work Ed. The FCC doesn't give those licenses away (actually you >have to pay for them). yes, again welcome Ed... >Not really; just study up some on rules and regs, make sure you know >your basics in electronics, AC and DC theory and communications, some >basic formulas like Ohm's law, reactances and massaging decibels and >stuff like that, then take the sample tests at www.qrz.com or >www.nemarc.org, and when you're doing well on a regular basis you're >ready for the test. Most of the electronics will be no real challenge >for persons involved in the TSCM profession. You do need to memorize >some simple regulations, frequency and band limits, privileges of >various license classes, etc. The sample exams available free draw >from the identical question pool used in the real exam, so if you >take the practice exams enough times you will have seen every >question and answer you would on a test. Tests in the U.S. are given >by volunteer examiners usually attached to a radio club. There are >thousands of radio clubs all over the U.S. Tests also frequently are >given at 'hamfests' which are electronics flea markets run by clubs >as fund raisers usually at a fairgrounds or similar. Visit one if you >hear of one in your area. mention...commitment....its not something you do on a whim, its a lifestyle, and you've got to admit that's true...Its one of the biggest fraternity/sororities in the world....in the heart of the cold war, some of the warmest receptions, and possibly the forerunners to glasnost were ham to ham visits between US and USSR hams. Its the one hobby that can affect world relations, even tho it might seem small potatoes. You can travel the world, and a ham will always extend the hand of friendship to another ham. Its an un-written rule. >If anyone is interested in getting into ham radio, there are a very >large number of resources on the web, local clubs in many areas, and >national organizations. You can start with www.arrl.org and >www.qrz.com for a few. Training software which I highly recommend can >be found at www.N3FJP.com if you decide to go that route. It's really >not difficult. > >If Ed got licensed, you *know* it's not difficult! > >Once you have a license, it's yours for life. > >Ham radio will benefit your career if you do anything in electronics >or communications. And, it's FUN! > >Steve (WA3SWS since 1971). Oh man, I know we've talked, but I cant say my call because of my position, but Ive been a ham since 1964... Good Promo Steve, I can echo everything you say...and I'll add, ham radio can be everytihng to everyone because of the diversity of the many facets of the hobby. Its a cerebral hobby, one I encourage anyone with a keen exploring mind to look into. Some of the greatest people I've ever met were or are hams. It's was a neat thing to call CQ on 15 meters one day (at the tender age of 16) and find myself talking to the king of Jordan, or Arthur Godfrey, or Barry Goldwater...all of whom I have verified QSL cards from. I passed emergency traffic during any number of incidents over the years, from car accidents to blizzards to power outages. Emergency communications and organizations like RACES, ARES, Red Cross and SATERN are all worthy callings, as is the MARS services (Military Affiliated Radio System) and CAP. Its a lifelong hobby, and I can say I'm very glad I spent a summer a long time ago learning CW and a plate from a grid...I built a career on it as well.... 8523 From: Shawn Hughes Date: Fri Apr 30, 2004 9:43am Subject: Re: GPS Roger, Thanks for the bone, but I'm having a little difficulty chewing on it...... Sure, it's a near field measurement, but if it's ALSO near the clock, stereo, ECM, PCM, ABS, or any of the other systems on a modern vehicle with an oscillator, how are you going to know which is which? Worse, if one of those has a similar clk freq as the GPS, the GPS could snuggle in behind the other items' signature. Having an attenuator and directional antennas would help, but are you saying you're gonna find a GPS reliably and repeatably based on the oscillator and harmonics alone? V/R, Shawn Shawn Hughes Tactical Response, Inc. USA At 10:10 AM 4/30/04 , you wrote: > > > > >Here's a bone for you. > > > >Ambient signals and noise floors are fairly irrelevant here because what you >are doing is making near field measurements to a device that will at times >during the inspection be within a foot of the measuring antenna. > >Roger Tolces 8524 From: Date: Fri Apr 30, 2004 9:24am Subject: In this wealthy town, cameras record every visitor Posted on Fri, Apr. 30, 2004 In this wealthy town, cameras record every visitor BY NOAH BIERMAN Knight Ridder Newspapers MANALAPAN, Fla. - (KRT) - One of the nation's richest towns has decided to digitally record the license plate of every car that meanders through its small stretch of mansions on the Palm Beach County, Fla., coast and to run an automatic background check on each driver. Strategically placed cameras will take infrared photos that record a driver's tag number. Software will automatically run the numbers through law enforcement databases and alert a 911 dispatcher if the driver is in a stolen car or is the subject of a "be on the lookout" warning. If there's a robbery, police will be able to comb records to determine who drove through town on a given afternoon or evening. Next to the tag number, police will have a picture of the driver, taken with another set of cameras, upgraded versions of the standard surveillance cameras already in place. Manalapan's town council authorized $60,000 in security upgrades last week after three burglaries this winter robbed residents of $400,000 in jewelry. The town averages two or three burglaries per year and residents demanded swift response, said Town Manager Gregory Dunham. The 2000 Census listed Manalapan among the nation's richest cities, with two out of every three homes worth more than $500,000. Enter the PIPS Technology camera, developed in England with a large operation in Knoxville, Tenn. PIPS is among several companies that claim their machines can capture license plate digits from cars speeding faster than 100 mph through rain, sleet, snow, darkness or fog. Manalapan is the second Florida city that will put the PIPS equipment on a public road. PIPS Vice President Craig Cantrell said the town of Palm Beach has been testing it since December. A spokeswoman for the department declined to comment. England's bobbies have been more aggressive, mounting plate cameras on patrol cars to scan for outlaws since the 1990s. Experts say bold and simple European tags are easier for a camera to interpret than America's busy and varied tags. The PIPS system, for example, has trouble distinguishing between states because that information may be printed lightly or not at all on the tag. "It is a very daunting task to teach a machine to recognize numbers," said Lee J. Nelson, principal systems consultant for Electro-Optical Technologies, Inc. in Falls Church, Va. Police Chief Clay Walker said his dispatchers will look at the plate numbers that trigger their alarm system to make sure they match the corresponding photos of the cars before sending police after them. They'd better be right. Agencies around the country have been forced to offer sheepish apologies after misreading license plates and chasing down innocent people. Walker says that if all goes well with the first phase - placing two cameras on a quiet road that leads to the island's "point" neighborhood - he'll put a camera directly on the A1A highway, so that everyone who passes through the busy area will be recorded. It's one of the more extreme examples of how technology - be it a home computer, a SunPass transponder, or a cellphone - is changing the nature of personal privacy. The technology planned for Manalapan, Fla., has been in development for decades but is just emerging as a security tool in this country. SunPass has been using license plate cameras since 1999 to make sure people pay turnpike tolls. Miami International Airport began using them in November to make sure people don't underpay for long-term parking. Miami-Dade police are looking into using the technology but could not provide details about their plans. "Courts have ruled that in a public area, you have no expectation of privacy," said Walker, one of 11 sworn officers who protects Manalapan's 321 residents. Walker is no J. Edgar Hoover. He has his own concerns about the freedoms Americans gave up with the passage of the USA Patriot Act. He says Manalapan's data will be destroyed every three months and that his officers are sensitive to discrimination concerns. Still, civil libertarians worry about the potential to put innocent drivers on an electronic lineup just because they happen to drive along the beach. "It's just more of the Big Brother act," said Maria Laneve, 29, a bartender at Callaro's Prime Steak and Seafood, in the town's only shopping center. Rich Wishart, a 40-year-old waiter, said, "If you're not doing anything wrong, you've got nothing to worry about." "These people have a lot invested in this community," he added. In Tampa, Fla.'s, Ybor City neighborhood, police installed facial recognition technology in 2001. Cameras and software were designed to match facial features of passers-by with a database of wanted persons. They scrapped the program last year after it raised the ire of privacy advocates but failed to catch a single criminal. © 2004, The Miami Herald. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] 8525 From: Vercingetorix Vercingetorix Date: Fri Apr 30, 2004 9:10am Subject: Welcome to the Fraternity Ed! Welcome to the fraternity Ed! I hope to have the opportunity to run in to you some day on PSK31 or somewhere else in QRP land. I concur with Steve, I know very few people in the business that are not hams or at least who want to become one. There are indeed very diverse opportunities and unique challenges afforded in "amateur" radio. In addition to the technical challenges and camaraderie, I particularly enjoy the emergency preparedness and response aspects of the hobby that truly has become a way of life as well. Every once in a while you do manage to get published in something like 73 or QST http://www.arrl.org/news/features/2001/05/08/1/?nc=1 I find the amateur community extremely robust in the depth of knowledge, experience and for answers to those annoying questions that I do not have the answer to. Again, welcome to the club! Russ N7HOV --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Win a $20,000 Career Makeover at Yahoo! HotJobs [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] 8526 From: Date: Fri Apr 30, 2004 6:00pm Subject: Robber caught by GPS Robber caught by GPS By Chau Lam Staff Writer Newsday April 30, 2004, 8:40 PM EDT On a summer night in 2002, a Nassau police detective secretly planted an electronic tracking device on the undercarriage of a car driven by a Lawrence man suspected of a string of burglaries. For nearly a month, every car trip taken by Richard D. Lacey, 27, a security guard, was recorded by the tracking device -- a global positioning system commonly known as GPS. Lacey didn't have a clue. However, in a case that has broad implications for law enforcement, Lacey's lawyer is challenging the police department's high-tech tactics. In fact, in what is believed to be the first challenge of its kind in the state -- and one of only a handful in the nation -- defense attorney Bruce A. Barket of Garden City is asking a Nassau County Court judge to suppress evidence police gathered with the GPS, saying Lacey's privacy rights were violated. At the heart of Barket's objection is whether police should have been allowed to tag Lacey's black, 1996 Mitsubishi Eclipse, which had Tennessee license plates, with the GPS without first obtaining a court order. "It's somewhat disconcerting to have the law enforcement community assert that they can electronically monitor any person they feel like, at anytime they want to," Barket said. Civil liberties advocates agree. "It makes my skin crawl. That's so shocking," said Barbara Bernstein, executive director of the Nassau chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. "It's like having an invisible police officer sitting in the back seat of every car." However, Nassau prosecutors, hoping to use data from the GPS to make a case against Lacey, who has been charged with six burglaries, contend they didn't need a court order because the Eclipse was parked on a public road. A ruling by Judge Joseph C. Calabrese in Mineola is expected any day. Last September, the Washington state Supreme Court was the first in the nation to issue a ruling on law enforcement's use of GPS to investigate crimes. In a unanimous decision, the court ruled that a GPS tracking device is an intrusive method of surveillance and said law enforcement officials in that state must get a warrant before attaching one to a suspect's car. However, the court refused to overturn the murder conviction of the man who brought the appeal, saying Spokane County sheriff's deputies did get a valid warrant even though the deputies argued they did not need one. In February, a California judge in the Scott Peterson murder case ruled that prosecutors can use data gathered by GPS with a court order as evidence in Peterson's trial. On Long Island, Bernstein and Jared Feuer, executive director of the Suffolk chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the practice of attaching GPS devices on peoples' cars without their knowledge raises a host of concerns. They said the device gives police the ability to track someone's every move -- to the doctor's office, political meetings and places of worship, among others. Currently, there is nothing to stop police from putting the GPS on anyone's car, Bernstein and Feuer said. "We live our lives under the constant threat of surveillance," Feuer said. The GPS system, a network of 24 satellites that hover above the Earth, is a navigational tool that allows users to determine their location anywhere, anytime, in any weather condition. The satellites transmit signals that can be detected by anyone with a GPS receiver. The technology was originally developed by the military to aid in navigation, but has since been used by the public, such as those installed in some cars. The Nassau County Probation Department has been using GPS technology to track high-risk probationers, such as sex offenders, by requiring them to wear electronic bracelets. Although the GPS tracking device has been used for investigations in the Nassau and Suffolk police departments, officials would not discuss the matter, refusing to even say how long it's been in use or how many GPS units the departments own. "The Suffolk County Police Department has access to that technology," said Suffolk Chief of Detectives Kenneth Rau, who would not confirm that police in that county are using GPS technology to investigate crimes. However, Philip Ro bilotto, former chief of the department, said they are. Det. Walter Burnes of the New York City Police Department said it has access to GPS technology and uses it to investigate crimes. But he would not discuss details. What little information there is about how the device is used by Nassau police came from testimony given at hearings in the Lacey case. According to a court transcript, police formed a task force to deal with about 25 unsolved burglaries with the same pattern that had occurred in Nassau's Third and Sixth Precincts, which cover most of the Town of North Hempstead. Witnesses told police they saw two men dressed in suits walking up to homes and knocking on doors. In some cases, witnesses said they saw a black car with a Tennessee tags in the area. In one case, a witness jotted down the plate number. Items stolen were mostly jewelry, police said, as well as cash and computer equipment. Det. Edward Goller of the Nassau Electronics Bureau testified at one of the hearings that on Aug. 21, 2002, at around 3 a.m., he went to Beach 61st Street in Far Rockaway, where Lacey's wife lived and where the Eclipse was parked. With a police lieutenant and a detective acting as lookouts, Goller attached a GPS device to the Eclipse, which belonged to Lacey's wife, who had lived in Tennessee. It took him about 6 minutes to complete the job, Goller said. The GPS device is the size of a pack of cigarettes andis powered by two battery packs, Goller testified. The unit, which is attached to the car by magnets, has three antennae. Police can tell where the car is in real time or where it has been by downloading the information from the GPS. The GPS is so precise that it not only gives the address of the car's location, it also gives the longitude and the latitude. According to Goller's testimony, the Nassau County Police Department owns six GPS units and has been using them for investigations for about 18 months. Goller said he and nine other detectives in his bureau are able to install the GPS, and he alone has installed 15 GPS devices for a variety of investigations. They can be retrieved in minutes. Michael Montesano, president of the Criminal Courts Bar Association of Nassau County, said he doesn't object to the police using GPS technology to investigate crimes, only that they should get a court order first. When a court issues an order allowing police to use a surveillance device, police have to give a reason and the court has to decide that it's sufficient. And a court order is good for a limited time. "The GPS," Montesano said, "has to withstand the same scrutiny as any other surveillance device." Copyright © 2004, Newsday, Inc. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] 8527 From: Mitch D Date: Sat May 1, 2004 4:17am Subject: GPS LOcate The research posted was interesting,but looking at locating gps units placed on a vehicle,practically,consider keeping things simple. Typically a flashlight, along with a creeper and a floor jack w jackstands( we are safety minded) may be the best tools for locating a gps unit on a vehicle....... More in depth studies involve higher grade equipment and controlled test enviroments,as well as techniques. As another list member once quoted: "when you hear hoofbeats,think horses not zebras" and congrats to Ed Michaels on getting his "ticket" MD KB2YOD __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Win a $20,000 Career Makeover at Yahoo! HotJobs http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/careermakeover 8528 From: Steve Whitehead Date: Sat May 1, 2004 8:48am Subject: Basic Course in Electronic Eavesdropping Countermeasures 05 - 16 July 2004 - South Africa The basic course, presented since 1998 is suitable for the individual who has no or little previous experience in technical surveillance countermeasures. The 90-hour course is presented over ten (10) working days. The course has been designed to allow prospective technical surveillance countermeasures practitioners to develop the necessary basic knowledge and skill to provide countermeasures consultation for their companies. The course is endorsed by CASA and recorded at the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA). The course will introduce the attendee to the technical and real life status of current eavesdropping threats and ways to detect and counter them. Various phases of electronic countermeasures are covered and hands-on experience is acquired through the use of various manufacturers' equipment. An additional advantage is that attendees also get the opportunity to work, test and experiment with a variety of offensive equipment such as audio and video transmitters (analogue/digital/encrypted) at the training venue. At the completion of the course the attendee will be able to : Analyse electronic vulnerabilities in office and residential environments; Evaluate equipment performance; Be able to select and appoint outside technical surveillance countermeasures consultants; Perform electronic eavesdropping surveys (sweeps); Advise management/clients/customers regarding technical countermeasures policies/procedures. This is a unique course aimed at assisting companies to protect their information against electronic espionage and snooping. TSCM Services is one of a few institutions in the World offering this training and is known for their excellent courses and services. The company is recognised globally for it's innovation and commitment in the technical surveillance countermeasures training field. Many from the UK, Middle and Far East, Europe, Africa and South Africa have attended this course. You should attend this course if you are Responsible for the protection of information; Offering technical surveillance countermeasures services; Employ or sub-contract technical surveillance countermeasures service providers; Responsible for Risk or Loss Control functions in your company; Interested to learn more about this specialised field. You are welcome to contact us for additional information or a registration form. The final registration date is 18 June 2004. Seating is limited. Read more about the course by visiting 'Training' on our web pages at www.tscm.co.za We are also presenting an Advanced Course in technical surveillance countermeasures. TSCM Services Pretoria South Africa Phone: (012) 664-3157 International (002712) Fax: (012) 664-3180 Web site: http://www.tscm.co.za E-mail: info@t... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] 8529 From: Hawkspirit Date: Sat May 1, 2004 3:19pm Subject: GPS Detection Have a look again at my original posting Wed, 28 Apr 2004 "Very good, you now have some feeling for the detection of processor noise; now take a guess about the technique to differentiate GPS processor noise from other processor noise and display strobe noise in a dashboard." Now I know you are an experienced TSCM practitioner, take a shot at some possible techniques, also the rest of you top guns let's hear your opinions. Roger Tolces www.bugsweeps.com Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2004 10:43:34 -0400 From: Shawn Hughes Subject: Re: GPS Roger, Thanks for the bone, but I'm having a little difficulty chewing on it...... Sure, it's a near field measurement, but if it's ALSO near the clock, stereo, ECM, PCM, ABS, or any of the other systems on a modern vehicle with an oscillator, how are you going to know which is which? Worse, if one of those has a similar clk freq as the GPS, the GPS could snuggle in behind the other items' signature. Having an attenuator and directional antennas would help, but are you saying you're gonna find a GPS reliably and repeatably based on the oscillator and harmonics alone? V/R, Shawn Shawn Hughes Tactical Response, Inc. USA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] 8530 From: Steve Uhrig Date: Sat May 1, 2004 8:27pm Subject: Re: GPS Detection Once upon a midnight dreary, Hawkspirit pondered, weak and weary: > "Very good, you now have some feeling for the detection of processor > noise; now take a guess about the technique to differentiate GPS > processor noise from other processor noise and display strobe noise in > a dashboard." Tetra's effort is admirable. He's actually doing something rather than just talking about it. That's more than the majority of us can say. I see problems in the procedure myself, but remember back in WW2 a lot of DFing was done with the most crude equipment, little knowledge, a lot of patience and a lot of experimenting. Finding something by sniffing radiation from intermediate stages is an effective technique used at the highest levels. A possible approach at this point would be for Tetra to document his test setup fairly accurately, post his test results, and several of us try the same thing and see if we can reproduce the results. That will be the ultimate challenge. The stray RF from many other systems is indeed a factor. If something radiating from *any* GPS receiver is unique to where it can be quantified and fingerprinted, then there may well be possibilities. And, Tetra's work may be theoretically possible but not necessarily practical on the street. Can't say until others repeat his tests and report their results. I'm the ultimate cynic, but I commend Tetra for working in the field, trying to simulate real world conditions and reporting his results in the appropriate place. Everything starts somewhere. Each technique every one of us uses in our inspections was developed by someone. I'm very willing to listen to someone with foresight to realize a problem, identify a possible solution, and work on it until it's either proven or disproven as practical. With 1120 technically-minded members on this list, how many useful new techniques have been posted over the years? Not many. We just rehash the same old stuff or discuss why something won't work. Someone had the idea for a nonlin, and for other devices and techniques we've come to accept as standard. Tetra's doing it and I'm not, so regardless of the outcome, he has my respect. And regardless of the outcome, he's using and learning valuable skills and broadening his horizons. Can we all say that? Steve ******************************************************************* Steve Uhrig, SWS Security, Maryland (USA) Mfrs of electronic surveillance equip mailto:Steve@s... website http://www.swssec.com tel +1+410-879-4035, fax +1+410-836-1190 "In God we trust, all others we monitor" ******************************************************************* 8531 From: Lawrence Dillard Date: Sat May 1, 2004 9:35am Subject: Kidz Two little kids are in a hospital, lying on stretchers next to each other, outside the operating room. The first kid leans over and asks, "What are you in here for?" The second kid says, "I'm in here to get my tonsils out and I'm a little nervous." The first kid says, "You've got nothing to worry about. I had that done when I was four. They put you to sleep, and when you wake up they give you lots of Jell-O and ice cream. It's a breeze" The second kid then asks, "What are you here for?" The first kid says, "A Circumcision." And the second kid says, "Whoa, Good luck buddy, I had that done when I was born. Couldn't walk for a year. 8532 From: Thomas Shaddack Date: Sat May 1, 2004 9:33am Subject: Bullet Points A nice example that excrement occurs. (from the Furthermore section, www.wired.com, May 1, 2004) Bullet Points During a presentation in Florida, a hapless Drug Enforcement Administration agent inadvertently hammered home the importance of gun safety. The agent was lecturing 50 students and adults when he drew his ..40-caliber weapon and removed the magazine. The agent pulled back the slide and asked an audience member to confirm that the gun was not loaded, then pointed the pistol toward the floor, released the slide and -- woopsie! -- fired a shot into the top of his left thigh. "Everyone was pretty shaken up," said an audience member. "But the point of gun safety hit home. Unfortunately, the agent had to get shot. But after seeing that, my nephew doesn't want to have anything to do with guns." -- Jenny McKeel 8533 From: Date: Sat May 1, 2004 8:28am Subject: Re: Congrats to Ed Michaels KC2MWI Congratulations Ed. Start working on your General. Al Kelly KB3KNW [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] 8534 From: contranl Date: Sat May 1, 2004 7:38pm Subject: . Some responses to the last few "Gps-tracker-detector" postings starting with the last one: >>>>> "Typically a flashlight, along with a creeper and a floor jack w jackstands ( we are safety minded ) may be the best tools for locating a gps unit on a vehicle " <<<<< Shure.....But you still wo'nt see them if they are hidden inside the car or external enclosings.... there are lots of places to hide such a device and you will have to take the car apart ! Specially with the new and upcoming "indoor" gps trackers that do'nt need direct satellite sight anymore. To hide a tracker inside a car 2 things are needed: a) Access to the car b) Time to install it There are thousand ways to get access and time to install such a tracker,here's just a few that i can quickly imagine right now: 1) Let's say your wife wants to "track" you...she will have access and time 2) Someone else could get access and time by obtaining the carkeys or a copy of them and then wait for the right moment where he would be shure that you wont use the car for a few hours....while you are sleeping...while you are at the movies...when you are on hollidays... etc 3) A towing service might remove your car and bring it to a place where they would have all the time to install it...later you would get it back with a tracker installed...including some bla bla explaining why it was removed 4) It could be someone else his car that was temporareley "given" to you by your friendly friend 5) It could be a rental car 6) It could be a company car A "secret of the trade" is to obtain a similar car as the victim's car...that will give them all the time to find the best place to hide a tracker..."they" may even prepare a complete part with the unit already pre-installed........in the same colors ofcourse :) RESUMING : A pure and quick physical inspection is not enough ! ofcourse a complete 2 day dismanteling could do the job....do you enjoy removing the dashboard from a 150.000 US $ Mercedes ? or what about a 15 meters long truck ? They wont bring you a bicycle :) >>>> "clock, stereo, ECM, PCM, ABS, or any of the other systems on a modern vehicle with an oscillator, how are you going to know which is which? " <<<<< A good practice would be the way of "ELIMINATION" ... the step by step method of eliminating/disabling all "false" signals Ofcourse you will switch off all equipment in the car...that will eliminate most "false" signals. ...things that will still work are the clock and alarmsystems... they are easely eliminated. You may also disconnect the power leads to the car's battery.....that will disable all equipment ! except possibly battery-backupped alarmsystems....wich could be easely eliminated by finding it and disconnecting it. Ofcourse disconnecting the battery-powerleads might also disable a possible Gps-tracker that uses only the car's battery as a power supply....(in practice this is very rarely done with temporarely and covert trackers wich come most of the time with built-in batteries)... The above measures will help but are not really necessary...since "my method" uses the principle of scanning only the frequencies related to Gps-trackers...wich are the harmonics of 1,023 mhz..and some other "known frequencies"....that way chances of receiving other non "Gps-related" signals are practically very low...and if they coincidentally occur they can be easely eliminated/recognized My unit will work like this: It's a fast scanning receiver...controlled by a small computer with a little harddisk,it incorporates a touchscreen-display...all of this is contained in a small and very portable unit. On the display you will have a simple menu that guides you trough the "elimination-process" The Gps-tracker "search-menu" will show 20 vertical bars indicating the strengths of the 20 strongest(gps harmonic) signals It scans only gps-related signals (a few hundred)...and only in a certain frequency range...this already eliminates most false signals. and speeds up the process too By clicking on one of these bars you stop the scanning and you can listen to the signal... you may then locate it's origin while listening to it and observing it's fieldstrength (fieldstrength is also audible as tone-clicks)...once found you can disable the source by switching it off or remove it's power leads or fuse...if that is problematic you can "eliminate" the false signal by locking it out from the scanning process...it will then be replaced by the next strongest signal This process can be repeated untill all false signals are eliminated. What is left ...has a very high probabilty of being a Gps-tracker. A Gps related signal most of the time shows up as more then only one bar ( since there are more harmonics at different frequencies) chances of both being from a false source are very minimal A similar bahaviour (increase/decrease) of 2 or more bars while moving the antenna over some distance is another indication of it coming from the same (Gps) source There is a big horizontal bar too...(while scanning) this bar displays the sum of all 20 signals...its value is also audible as a tone ... This is useable as a very fast way of finding any sources of radiation (on the gps-related frequencies)....multiple signals coming from the same source will increase/decrease (enlarge) the sum- value very quickly...and therefore make the unit appear to be very sensitive. a single signal on only 1 frequency will not increase the sum-value that much i still have to test this feature and fine tune it... An attenuator comes in automatically when certain levels exceed a predifined value After some practice ...... just looking at the overall picture (the dynamic search screen with 20 moving bars ) and some screen clicks (eliminations...if any) will be enough to find your Gps-tracker. To complete things a cable is included that connects to the car's cigarettelighter or battery,to measure any harmonics that may exist on the positive or negative power leads To give you a rough idea of how such a "search screen" could look like have a look at: www.tetrascanner.com/gpssearchscreen.html Since the unit is microprocessor controlled and contains a fast scanning receiver (100 + channels /sec and a frequency range up tp 3000 mhz)...and also includes a 8~11 inch color touchscreen- display ....i could later easely add other functions such as: Custom harmonics scanner ( to find other receivers with known harmonics for example pagers) Videoscanner (to detect and see video-transmissions) Gsm/CDMA detector (to detect cellphone bugs and devices) Scanning rf spectrum analyzer (oscor 5000 style but better) Longtime audio recorder (1000 hours ++) Longtime videorecorder with motionsensor (100 hours ++), Wlan/Wifi-/Bluetoooth-scanner Radiocommunications receiver/scanner with full features such as spectrumdisplay 16 band equaliser.diversity reception and so on...anything that could be done with a receiver and computer most functions would only need a software update >>>> "what happens to these signals when you raise the noise floor? As in a typical sweep, in an urban area. In a typical installation? <<<< Before i went to the beach...i have done other tests in my backgarden...my backgarden is very small...it's located in the center of AMSTERDAM and surrounded by hundreds of other peoples houses with computers...tv-sets...wireless phones...there are 5 cellphone-masts within 300 meters distance...each of them transmitting at least 5 rf freqencies at 50 watts ERP..... and so on...i did place both gps-units in the CLOSED...METAL trunk of my car and.....i had no problem receiving the harmonics from both units at a few meters distance ! i was not "tricked" by interference wich was either not present on the harmonic frequencies or easy recognisable as interference >>>>> "then take readings 360 degrees around the vehicle, and in several arcs from the horizontal to the vertical plane" <<<<<< I have done all test using a simple (not tuned to frequency) standard telescopic antenna about 45 cm long...that length would make it best for 150~170 mhz...allthough it was not very critical at all even at higher frequencies the rule was the longer the better I have walked around the car...the full 380 degrees (when i was on the beach i noticed that highest reception levels occured when the antenna was kept in the same direction as the largest part of the tracker (in this case the antenna wire)....nothing special but basic polarisation effect By keeping the antenna horizontal and slowly making a 380 degree turn i was able to determine the direction from the signal...nothing special either and basic directional effect With the units in the car's trunk you get a fairly unpredictable pattern....at a distance ! when close to the car you will notice a signal increase when approaching the trunk. Touching the front of the car with the antenna ( painted parts ! ) gave a sudden increase of one of the strongest signals...it also made an other harmonic appear that i could'nt hear from a distance. All nothing new here and common knowledge >>>> "you might be surprised.....even your receiver may have a similar set of harmonics ( scanner people call them 'birdies' <<<<< Birdies ??? you are kidding me ! (there where lots of them at the beach...big and white...some of them where very noisy.......fighting over some pieces of bread that i threw at them :) Just joking there...do'nt worry i know "birdies" and "birdies" knows me ! i am a licensed radioamateur for 32 years know i have posessed half the scanners ever made...starting with "midland" 4 channel handhelds...then the "revolutionairy" "Optoscanner' wich you had to program with plastic "punchhole-cards"...i quickly discovered that you could make these from carton as well...i probably sold a 10.000 carton cards ! ( by the way that was a real "birdies" scanner compared to that Alfred Hitchcock was nothing) Later i even owned a scannershop !...then i went on to the surveillance business (1983) I still repair them...i modify them...from some of the later models i even know the birdie-frequencies off head !!!...you could call me the "Bill Cheek" of Europe BIRDIES ????? ......this whole subject is about birdies ! (unwanted spurious rf interference caused by mixing,oscillation and distortion of radiosignals ) --------------------------------------------- Some more observations on Gps trackers: In general they consist of minimal 2 boards 1: The gps receiver-board wich does the receiving and calculating of the position 2: The controller-board wich handles all other tasks like: vibration-detection,battery management ,storing and uploading the data,geofencing....etc The Gps receivers have there own crystal controlled processor The processor board also has it's own crystal controlled processor So a Gps-tracker radiates 2 (different) sets of harmonics...caused by the 2 different oscillators ! Usually the radiation from the controllerboard is even more stronger then that from the gps-receiver...simply because...the sizes of the pcb tracks are bigger ...and the oscillators have higher power levels. A gps receiver baord inside a tracker is usually not manufactured by the gps-tracker manafacturer himself...they use ready available gps (OEM) receiver-boards (modules)....so they purchase these somewhere else The manufacturers of these gps-receiver boards use so called chipsets (1 or 2 integrated circuits)wich they in turn purchase from chipsets manufacturers Making a chip for gps processing is not something that everybody does..it is limited to a few manufacturers...you can count them on 1 pair of hands !!!!! Looking at the specs of these chipsets will leave you with only a few oscillator-frequencies wich are used in ALL gps receivers ...these frequencies are choosen carefully to interface easely with data-rates in the Gps processing Have a look at this page from a crystal manufacturer ( biggest one that specializes in gps crystals) you will see a nice list with frequencies...and who uses them ! (The url's are shortened to make them fit here) gps crystal frequencies: http://tinyurl.com/2nh47 and from the same manufacturer the TXCO's (wich have better stability and therefore suitable for the newer "Indoor" trackers wich obviously need that http://tinyurl.com/3f4zd Nice is'nt it ? ......have a good look at the frequencies and do some comparings and calculations you may look at more Gps crystal manufacturers...and find out that they produce the same frequencies That's it for now...more "secrets" when it's ready.... I am happy to get some responses...wich is a better then the "absolutly impossible" from a few months ago, Allthough it takes some effort to convince some of you but that is ok...it forces me to formulate and consider all aspects of the issue. I am off now designing my gps-tracker-detector and trying to get some financing for the project. Thanks and Greetings Tetrascanner www.tetrascanner.com 8535 From: peter eglemont Date: Sat May 1, 2004 5:47pm Subject: SEA SpyFinder Over on; http://www.tentacle.franken.de/papers/hiddencams.pdf which deals with finding hidden cameras, there is mention (page 26) of a device called SpyFinder by SEA Inc, which lives on the interweb at; http://store.yahoo.com/shop-seatech/spyfinder.html and is also to be mentioned on 3/May/2004's episode of CSI: Miami, according to; http://www.seabase.com/page.asp?PageId=130 Roessler's paper guesses that the device works by detecting curved glass objects, which includes camera lenses. The device is said to work even if the camera is inoperative. According to SEA pages there is a patent pending for its technology. The current device has a price tag of $2,300. So, list: have you tried this device or seen it demonstrated, and does it work? What is the technology/method employed? Would it work against cases where for example the lens is separated from the camera itself, eg optical fiber type "http://www.fiberspy.com" devices, which are claimed to be otherwise undetectable by their manufacturer?