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Cheap Cell-Phone Detector

Posted by timothy on from the and-tim-gets-10%-for-fairness dept.

An anonymous reader contributes a link to a BBC News article on a cheap cell-phone detector created by six New Zealand high-school students for a business competition, excerpting "The detector, which they have called CellTrac-r, works by picking up the bursts of radio frequency activity that emit from a mobile each time it sends or receives a call or a text message. The device can detect these bursts of electro-magnetic energy up to a radius of 30 metres. It can also measure the amount of the energy to determine the distance of the mobile.", and noting "Seems like a perfect /.er hack project, and as initiator I get 5% of gross profits."

4 of 296 comments (clear)

  1. Neat, Now if only by novalogic · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ... I can tie it into a cellphone JAMMER on my car, so I can detect moron drivers on phones as they come close, and jam them when they become a danger.

    I can see police cars equipted with this kinda stuff in places where Yack and Drive is illegal.

    These kids are rich.

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  2. This is news? by Captain_Chaos · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Come on! We've been getting these for free with our Coke and popcorn for years. I've a small green Heineken bottle that lights up when my cell phone is active, and also a pen with a little red light at the end which does the same.

    There's even ones that don't need batteries and work solely on the energy that's broadcast by the phone (although these have to be attached to the phone so they're not much good as "cell phone detectors"). All of these have been around for quite a while (or at least they have here in Europe).

  3. Re:Isn't it Obvious Anyway? by stupid_is · · Score: 3, Interesting
    I think that at least one use of them was mentioned in the article (but of course, who reads that, nowadays?) in that students use them on silent mode during exams. Schools aren't necessarily the richest institutions in the world either.

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    -- Intelligence is soluble in alcohol
  4. A number of reasons this device might be practical by SmoothTom · · Score: 3, Interesting

    1) It might detect a cellphone being used for sureptitious evesedropping on a conversation

    2) It might detect a cellphone in a silent text ony mode receiving test answers

    3) It might detect an active cellphone in a secure environment where they are prohibited

    Not all potential uses are obvious ones.

    Consider the prison example from the article (You did RTFA, right?) - if prisoners are prohibited cellphones and you detect one in use in a cellblock, it is time to do a detailed search...

    --Tomas