EMF meter and TSCM question

[John Connor]

Technical Surveillance Counter Measures.

Just bought an EMF detector on ebay, hasn't arrived yet, but I was wondering if this could suffice as a power mans bug detector. I'm thinking even with a bug that transmits using DSSS or FHSS you could see a higher EMF field than the ambient area. This unit also measures E fields. I have a couple frequency counters, but those don't work with modulations like FHSS, DSSS or DECT 6.0, etc.

 

[William Gaatjes]

Could you just not use a Software Defined Radio kit as a automated scanner for that ? You would need to have or make a program that scans all the bands and looks for specific AM or FM modulation or for digital forms of modulation like for example QPSK. Look for everything that does not look like random noise. Only bugs that hide themselves by transmitting data in such a way that it seems noise should be very hard to track. What is also the case, the higher the frequency, the smaller the device can be but less distance the signal will travel for a give amount of input power (battery).

If the bug has a microphone :
If it is analog, it would send continuously.
If it is digital, it would send in packets. Especially if that bug does compression as well before transmitting, bursting data.
But i think it would be better if it sends continuously, it can then hide as random noise.

An SDR kit that can go up to several GHz would be needed.

 

[Murloc]

maybe you mean technical surveillance countermeasures....

I like william's idea, imagination is your limit with that stuff. You can look for signals with that stuff, I've seen it in action.

 

[John Connor]

Well, I know about some expensive analyzers specificly for digital modulation. The trouble is FHSS, DSS, DECT 6.0, QPSK and so on are hard to track. I'm thinking an EMF detector could sniff out the RF energy. Just curios. I did Google this and some companies do sell advanced EMF detectors for bug finding I guess, so the Secret Service probably has one in their tool kit.

 

[John Connor]

maybe you mean technical surveillance countermeasures....

That's what that means. Been awhile.