How to make spy things with your own hands at home for children

Making a spy device with your own hands using improvised materials

There are many different ways to spy. Surely each of you has heard about listening using a laser, or through heating radiators, or using microphones built into the walls of a building. And all this is shrouded in some kind of mystical meaning, although in fact it is simple and accessible for everyone to understand and repeat. And most importantly, everything is assembled from improvised means.

Once upon a time in the shaggy years, I wrote a similar article in one popular IT publication, but probably did not really reveal the essence of how exactly it works and how to use such devices. And let’s be honest, the option that I presented in the article looked cool, but was not very workable.

"Spy" device of that time

As a result, I decided to make it myself and demonstrate how it works.

Important!

Before we go further, we must understand that the manufacture and use of spy devices falls under the following articles:

Criminal Code of the Russian Federation Article 138.1. Illegal trafficking of special technical means intended for secretly obtaining information.
Criminal Code of the Russian Federation Article 137. Violation of privacy.
Criminal Code of the Russian Federation Article 183. Illegal receipt and disclosure of information constituting commercial, tax or banking secrets.

Thus, everything presented in the article is just a demonstration of the capabilities and is intended for informational purposes only!
It must be well understood that repetition and use of the methods described in this article can lead to very real prison terms. I will say for myself that I did not in any way try to spy on anyone, since I consider this, at the very least, unethical. I just played in the room and in the kitchen, recording myself. Don't be naughty, I warned you!

Getting the iron ready

The device that we will make is called a trite contact microphone. It is not prohibited in any way, there are a lot of instructions on how to make it on the Internet, but few people know that it can be used to secretly obtain information. To make it we will need: a piezo speaker for voice frequencies (any one operating in the range between 300 and 3400 Hz), a matching resistor, some wires and maybe even a soldering iron, but at first I did without it. Everything was purchased from a well-known boutique for radio amateurs.

I wanted to use a mobile phone as a recording device. But, as it turned out, it identifies the headset by its resistance. I didn’t have these resistors, and I was too lazy to go to the fashion boutique the second time. However, I will tell you how to do this, you never know who wants to record mystical sounds - it is completely legal. We need to assemble an equivalent circuit for the headset.

Electrical circuit of a telephone headset

Thus, in order for the phone to detect our contact microphone, we need to solder 30 Ohm resistors in place of the speakers, and in place of the microphone, a 1.5 kOhm resistor parallel to the piezodynamics. I’ll tell you why this is a little later.

For my experiments, I chose an old cassette recorder, which by chance I dug up on the mezzanine. We will connect our contact microphone instead of the audio head of one of the cassettes. Despite all the absurdity of this solution, it has one huge advantage: very high sensitivity, because the head must register barely noticeable magnetic pulsations of the audio cassette. And we get a finished amplifier.

To record audio, with great difficulty, we managed to buy an audio cassette in the center of Moscow. Blank cassettes cost as much as a cast iron bridge; I had to buy them with a recording.

I honestly listened to both sides of this tape, wiping nostalgic tears from my face and blood from my ears. As a result, I concluded that the future generation will not lose anything if I erase it.

I disassemble the tape recorder and inside I see how three heads (one for recording) come to the motherboard of the tape recorder. Playback heads have three contacts: left, right and ground (usually a braid). I combine the left and right channels, and throw the ground onto the braid in the same way. The wires must be shielded, otherwise there will be a very strong hum of interference (we have a highly sensitive amplifier).

Head connector

From scrap materials I make a connector instead of the standard head of the right cassette player and install it in place.

Now let's talk about the sensor. A little school-level physics theory. The magnetic head, as you might guess from its name, is an inductance coil of very low resistance

. When the tape is pulled, a very small EMF is induced in it and hits the amplifier. In fact, the magnetic head can be thought of as a voltage source in series with a resistance. A piezodynamic is essentially a capacitor with a very large ohmic resistance (can be considered equal to infinity), which is a source of current and produces current regardless of resistance. By the way, this is why piezoelectric elements have found application in lighters: they will give a strictly low current, regardless of air resistance, while the voltage can grow to enormous sizes.

I got distracted. My task was to make an equivalent circuit of a magnetic head (read EMF + resistance) from a current source. Those who know the Theoretical Fundamentals of Electrical Engineering well understand what I mean. And for those who don’t understand, see the diagram below.

Thus, it is enough to solder an equivalent resistance in parallel with the piezoelectric sensor and the job is done. In my case it was about 50 ohms. But I'll be honest, I soldered the first resistor I found in the house, but it worked.

Our ready-made contact microphone

Everything is ready for evil experiments!

Demonstration of work

It’s better to see and hear how it works once than to read it a thousand times. Therefore, here is a video, and then we will look at how it all works.

In this video I went over the basic principles of espionage. All of them are based on the fact that bodies vibrate due to sound vibrations. Of course, vibration occurs at the natural frequency, but if you remove it with a mathematical filter or analog filter and normalize the signal, you can get the original voice signal. This principle is the basis for espionage using communications or microphones built into walls, espionage through laser recording of glass vibrations, recording vibrations of lighting lamps, and even the famous spy device at the US Embassy. Let's take a closer look at all these methods.

Voice recorders - simple remote listening

It is safe to say that an ordinary voice recorder is the simplest and cheapest device for eavesdropping at a distance.
These gadgets are found at every step. They can be purchased at any electronics stores and in a wide price range. You can order in the online store with delivery. This function is available in any smartphone. Overall, this is a very common thing. There are a lot of types of voice recorders - from cheap Chinese ones to professional voice recorders for journalists. However, there is one nuance here - there are voice recorders disguised as various pens, keychains and figurines. There are spy voice recorders built into clothing and various interior items. So, all such equipment, no matter how ridiculous it may sound, belongs to special equipment and its use is limited by law with all criminal and administrative liability. Be careful when ordering such trinkets on Chinese Aliexpress.

Wiretapping with voice recorders is extremely simple - you just need to discreetly turn on the device for recording and hide it in the office in which the negotiations will take place. Then just pick it up. Some devices can even remain in a standby state while there is no sound in the room, which saves battery, extends operating time and allows you to quickly find the information you need among the recorded information.

Listening by intercepting lamp vibrations

There is an excellent article (English) that describes the principle of operation and shows a video of such espionage.

Screenshot from video demonstration

In my video I already described the principle of operation. You can use the same microphone, just replace the piezo sensor with a resistor with a phototransistor or photoresistor (additional power may be needed), or just a solar battery. Perhaps I would repeat this experiment, but there is no optics. Therefore, I will tell you purely theoretically.

The lampshade of any lamp has a frequency of its own vibrations. When we speak near him, we excite his vibrations. We can’t see them visually, but from the street it’s quite possible to record these vibrations using a telescope, illuminate any optical sensor with it, and digitize them. The camera could be adjusted, but it must shoot at least 22,000 frames per second. Therefore, we simply take any photocell. Then we digitize this data. filter, normalize, remove noise and get the original. The filtering method is suitable for all other methods of secretly obtaining information. In any case, I recommend everyone to read the article in more detail.

conclusions

It is clear that not all methods of wiretapping at a distance are listed. The sample did not include unpromising and insignificant approaches to the issue, for example, hydroacoustic sensors and similar systems. We also deliberately avoided the simplest and most effective way of wiretapping - spyware for mobile phones. We did this because the question is comprehensively covered in a special section of the site, where you can not only figure out the question, but also download such a program to your phone.

See similar materials:

Directional microphones - what are they really?
Mobile Spy SPYERA - wiretapping mobile, tablet and...
What types of bugs are there for wiretapping?
Examples of disguised spy wiretaps
Air Taser - an innovative means of self-defense

Method of listening through communications

In general, without any technical means, put your ear to your battery on a weekday, when the neighbors’ children are screaming, dogs are barking, etc. And it turns out that the pipes, even when embedded in the wall, transmit sound perfectly.

The battery begins to resonate at its own frequency, and the metal perfectly transmits sound waves over very long distances. Next you need to secure the sensor well. By the way, my method of attaching using a magnet is not the best. It is necessary that the piezoelectric sensor has a mass pressure so that it is well deformed from vibrations; and in such a way that its contact area is maximum. In my case, it contacted a small area with both the lamp and the battery. I think that's why the sound wasn't very good.

Directional microphones are the most effective way to listen at a distance

Please note that spectacular does not mean effective (read why here).
The purpose of such devices is to cut off unnecessary sounds and amplify signals from the desired direction. This can be achieved in several ways - through interference and through the collection of weak signals from a large area. It is clear that in this case it is still necessary to cut off unnecessary waves. Conventional microphones are able to “adequately” perceive a person’s voice at normal volume at a distance of approximately 15 meters. In a quiet environment without extraneous noise, the distance increases by an order of magnitude. But this was not enough for espionage purposes. In addition, the solution has already been found by physicists and tested (for example, in the space industry).

Modifications of directional microphones:

Tubular directional microphones - listening at a distance is caused by the effect of superposition (interference) of acoustic waves inside a tube with holes. To realize the effect, the holes along the entire length of the tube are designed taking into account the wavelength, thanks to which each hole receives a full set of sounds, but only those that go along the tube are amplified.

Directional microphones with a parabolic reflector, on the one hand, shield the receiver from signals “from behind the reflector” (the receiver is also structurally closed from side signals); on the other, a parabolic antenna collects signals from the target direction to the receiver’s location point. Everyone has seen this technique many times in movies.

An organ-type directional microphone is an assembly of a dozen thin tubes of different lengths directed in one direction. Signals from the axial direction pass into the tubes and are then summed up naturally due to co-phase. This does not happen with side sounds. There is a physical justification for such microphones, but they were not widespread because they were much inferior in convenience, cost and other parameters to the other two technologies.

Removing vibrations of objects using radio waves

It may seem like something out of science fiction. But nevertheless, in this way, the famous espionage of the US Embassy was carried out, when the pioneers presented the ambassador with a coat of arms and he hung it in his office. And in this coat of arms there was a bug that did not have any electronic devices.

The famous spy coat of arms

There was already an article on Habré about this bug, but there was very little information about the principles of its action. It is designed very simply.

Essentially, the membrane picks up sound vibrations and changes the geometry of the antenna! In the house opposite there is a transmitting device that broadcasts at a frequency of 330 MHz. It simply generates pure sine. The receiving antenna is irradiated by this field, changes its geometric dimensions and re-radiates a modulated echo. All you have to do is accept it. This principle is called “high frequency imposition”. The best way to see how this spy device works is in the video below.

Thus, even a knitting needle, if properly secured and of a certain length, can be a spy device. And this is not irony or an attempt to intimidate, but a harsh reality.

Laser microphones

An example of a laser eavesdropping device HPO150 from Hewlett-Packard. Range 1 km. It is based on a helium-neon or semiconductor laser, the beam from which is directed onto the glass surface of the room that needs to be listened to. The reflected signal is registered by the receiver. By its trembling, speech is “recognized”.

In such a device that eavesdrops at a distance, the receiver and transmitter are made separately. It is clear that you won’t be able to quickly accomplish your plans - you need to prepare in advance. You can't assemble a receiver on your knee. The cost of the equipment is high and is only suitable for very serious people.

Homework

Do you want to feel like a real spy without leaving your couch? I have a game for you. I recorded a speech especially for you, with a contact sensor attached to the lamp.

Sound file and program for experiments

The task is to figure out what I'm saying there. There is no need to send a transcript; you can simply name in the comments the work that I am reading. The file itself is here.

It seems to me that any sound engineer can do this easily. At the very beginning, I specifically click on the lamp (in the overload screen at the beginning) so that you can determine the natural frequencies of the lamp, and then highlight my voice. Good luck!

How to live further?

If you are not paranoid, this does not mean that you are not being watched!

“The Motherland Hears” thin.
Vasya Lozhkin What should you do to avoid being followed? In serious organizations, meeting rooms for particularly important meetings are made magnetically protected, lined with sound-absorbing materials and have no windows. However, about you and me, we can say in the words of the joke about the elusive Joe: no one fucking needs him. I don’t think we should think that we are all being watched. And if they are spying, then there are simpler ways of spying, you, everyone has such a wonderful bug in their pocket and everyone who needs it knows everything about you. Don't worry and sleep well.

Spy equipment prohibited in the Russian Federation from Aliexpress (selection No. 89)

Hello, dear readers of the site Uspei.com. Before we start an issue about spy stuff, we ask you to familiarize yourself with the laws of your country, since in Russia you can be fined or locked up for several days for buying a pen with a voice recorder.

Just look at the judicial practice and you will understand everything... We would even advise you not to buy anything, but just check out the interesting prohibited goods from Aliexpress.

Panoramic camera in a light bulb

https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/pHn7zdm — 1169 RUR / 642 orders

A very unusual hidden camera, because no one will look for a bug in a light bulb , and even if there is, it will blind him. The viewing angle is an incredible 360 degrees , the spy function and several other shooting modes are available thanks to the built-in module.

This light bulb also contains a microphone and speaker , which make it possible to record and play back sounds. Connects via Wi-Fi and thus you can monitor your home from anywhere in the world.

The light bulb is controlled using an application on your phone. Supports a memory card of 64 gigabytes , which will last you for 20 days. Several of these light bulbs can replace a whole set of video surveillance.

Well, as you understand, they work directly from the network without any batteries.

Hard drive with data encryption and password

https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/cO0wegBm — 6200 RUR / 2 orders

Spies are information gatherers who have incredible power, so they need to make sure that the data they collect does not fall into the wrong hands. And it was precisely to save information and security that this hard drive was created.

It is protected with a password that will be impossible to hack . But even if someone manages to find out the password, for example, you said it yourself by mistake, they still won’t find out anything, since all information is automatically encrypted.

The memory capacity of this hard drive is one terabyte, which is quite a lot. For comfortable operation, it is equipped with two types of connections, namely USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 , which are very compactly located on the side panel of the disk.

Headset with voice changing capability

https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/bx1ccwUo — 2900 rub.

another option - https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/MkIIhXE - 795 rubles / 48 orders

Headphones with a sound card, specially designed for online communication. They have a 3.5 millimeter jack, which allows them to work with most mobile phones, computers, laptops or tablets.

The trick of this headset is that you can change your voice with four types of effects : electronic music, children's voice, rough voice and even minion-style.

See also: 20 very useful tools from Aliexpress

Supports reverb adjustment and dodge function to speak with a more outstanding voice. The essence of the function is that the background music fades during a conversation.

This device has a 380 milliamp-hour battery, which ensures long operating time, and is charged from a regular USB cable.

GPS tracker

https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/BhgYu6c — 1135 RUR / 439 orders

A GPS tracker is a small device that is capable of tracking its coordinates using a SIM card, but this device has advanced functionality.

Using messages sent to the GPS tracker SIM card, you can give different types of commands. For example, if you write 3 units, the tracker will record an audio file lasting 10 minutes and save it on the memory card.

There are also many more functions that you can look at in the product description.

On Aliexpress, the seller has two types of this device with a large battery and a small one. If you don't need to keep an eye on someone 24/7, then better get the small version, otherwise the large one will be the size of a grown man's thumb.

Making a spy phone

Many people love various spy devices that allow them to listen in, view conversations and meetings without others noticing. If you also consider yourself a fan of spy things and dream of having your own spy phone, then this material will be useful for you as we will look at a method for making a spy phone at home.

We suggest that you first watch a video that shows the manufacturing process of such a phone.

So, what do we need: - a push-button telephone; — transistor BS440-4, KT315V, KT203A or other analogue; - screwdriver; - electrical tape;

The author uses 4 different transistors. The author has one of them manufactured in the Middle Kingdom and removed from the monitor’s power supply, the other is imported BS440-4, and the remaining two are made in the USSR - KT315V, KT203A. What do you need to know before you start making a spy phone? You need to know which terminal of the transistors the collector is on, which the base is on and which the emitter is on. This will be quite enough to make such a device. You can start working.

Before starting work, it should be noted that for the bug to work, you must enable the automatic call answering function.

First you need to completely disassemble the phone.

Next, you need to cover the central button with electrical tape. This is necessary because we will solder two wires to the central button on the board and there is no need for it to have a contact. It should be specifically noted that the center button should only be used on those phones that use it to answer calls. On relatively new models, a separate button in the form of a green tube is provided for this. In such cases, it is clear that the same procedure must be done with this button.

The next thing we need to do is remove the speaker that plays the melody during a call, a motor with an offset shaft, or, more simply, a vibrator.

We need to make sure that our phone cannot be exposed. Therefore, you can also remove the button illumination LEDs. In fact, we only need SIM card contacts, power, antenna and microphone. Thus, we do not subject the phone to any visible upgrades.

We also seal the contacts of the display so that it does not display any information, the contact of the earpiece.

We take the transistor BS440-4. The transistor collector is soldered in the middle of the central button, the emitter is on the round part that circles the button, and the base output is to one of the speaker contacts. There is no specific option, which means that you need to try one at a time.

According to the author, it was the first transistor, BS440-4, that showed itself best. In order for the bug to work, you just need to call the phone. The auto-answer function will turn on the connection and on the other end you will hear everything that is happening on the spy phone.

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Visual method

Of course, there are very few people with the ability to read lips. And this method did not gain popularity. However, this method involves the use of binoculars and more powerful optics, or video recording equipment for further decryption. And there are no problems with this now. And moreover, this immediately confronts us with the question of automating the process of recognizing what was said. Taking into account the current level of technology development, remembering about artificial intelligence, which is being massively introduced into everything possible, remembering about software algorithms for recognizing faces, emotions and even lies, we get a very promising technology that can soon replace many other methods of wiretapping at a distance. And it is possible that the technology is already being used, it’s just not advertised yet, because this, as they say, is a “competitive advantage.”