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Anyone recognize the electronics found inside the Boston bombs?

Posted on 04/17/2013 9:29:17 AM PDT by swamp40

Anyone recognize the electronics found inside the Boston bombs?

I design electronics for a living, so these boards caught my attention.

The green board has some round corner notches. (Those are to avoid the screw posts in a rectangular enclosure.)

While not exactly unusual, they ARE distinctive.

I'm guessing they are some kind of remote control electronics from a place like ebay, especially since the battery used:

probably came from ebay:

The green pcb looks similar, but not exactly like an E-flite Blade CP (RC helicopter)- so I'm guessing it's a different model from E-flite.

Google Image Search for Blade CP pcb


TOPICS: US: Massachusetts; War on Terror; Your Opinion/Questions
KEYWORDS: boston; bostonbombing; marathon; vanity
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1 posted on 04/17/2013 9:29:17 AM PDT by swamp40
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To: swamp40

Futabu?


2 posted on 04/17/2013 9:29:52 AM PDT by al baby (Hi Mom)
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To: swamp40

Can you enhance the 1st pic anymore? It’s too fuzzy to correctly make out many of the components on the PCB. As an electronics tech I am very interested in seeing the electonics package used.


3 posted on 04/17/2013 9:35:28 AM PDT by sean327 (God created all men equal, then some become Marines!)
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To: swamp40

I’ve been designing PCB’s since ‘99, and they all look alike to me. Tough to tell what they are without much better pictures.


4 posted on 04/17/2013 9:37:53 AM PDT by Tijeras_Slim
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To: sean327

The pics are here:

http://photoblog.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04/17/17793425-anatomy-of-a-bombing-photos-show-battery-wires-used-in-device?lite


5 posted on 04/17/2013 9:38:35 AM PDT by RushIsMyTeddyBear (Great vid by ShorelineMike! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOZjJk6nbD4&feature=plcp)
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To: swamp40

I’d expected to see no electronics that weren’t from a mobile phone, and that’s not mobile phone electronics. The circuit board is another level of complexity in an IED.

Interesting that a Tenergy CR123 battery is found. They’re rechargeable. They’re also not intended for use in LED flashlights that use circuitry because they have voltage spikes that can damage electronics.


6 posted on 04/17/2013 9:39:18 AM PDT by The KG9 Kid (Demand Common Sense Nut Control.)
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To: al baby
Maybe Futaba. Here's a 2.4GHz receiver pic with notches.
7 posted on 04/17/2013 9:41:34 AM PDT by swamp40
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To: sean327

No, I can’t enhance it easily - but it’s easy enough for me to see.

It’s just a couple 1206 surface mount resistors and a couple surface mount caps.

The two thru-hole caps on the bottom are a tantalum (yellow) and a large (blown-up) electrolytic - those are used to stabilize the power supply.

Not enough to figure out what it does.

Someone (probably an RC enthusiast) will recognize the exact board outlines.


8 posted on 04/17/2013 9:46:27 AM PDT by swamp40
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To: swamp40
Doesn't look like an iPhone or Android circuit board. Their boards are far more complicated. Example:


9 posted on 04/17/2013 9:47:15 AM PDT by mnehring
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To: swamp40

The green one looks the the board from a Syma S107 rc helicopter. the other one looks the board from a WL v911 rc helicopter.


10 posted on 04/17/2013 9:47:48 AM PDT by ImAmerican
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To: swamp40

I think that’s the remains of a battery back - note the black cap, transparent sleeve and leads from this site -

http://www.all-battery.com/tenergypropel72v4200mah45adrainratenimhbatterypackswithtamiyaconnectors.aspx


11 posted on 04/17/2013 9:49:02 AM PDT by biggerten (Love you, Mom.)
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To: swamp40

Just as a point of interest, the Blade CP is older and I think originally had a 72 Mhz radio. These would be unacceptably (from the bomber’s point of view) susceptible to interference and accidental detonation. All more recent transmitter/receiver combinations would be 2.4 Ghz, including literally hundreds of Chinese variations with much more secure operation. DSM, DSMX, etc., and similar with sophisticated frequency hopping, spread spectrum protocols. Bundled transmitters have very short range but upgrading to a higher power radio is straightforward. A higher power controller could have been operated from a half mile away or more.


12 posted on 04/17/2013 9:49:11 AM PDT by steve86 (Acerbic by Nature, not Nurture™)
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To: ImAmerican

Good eye.


13 posted on 04/17/2013 9:49:58 AM PDT by steve86 (Acerbic by Nature, not Nurture™)
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To: sean327

Yes, definitely higher resolution pic of the second one. Looks like there are some SMT tactile pushbuttons on it? Or they may be power transistor packages? Could be an RC model receiver of some make. The first pic looked like cheap massed produced toy electronics.


14 posted on 04/17/2013 9:50:16 AM PDT by factoryrat (We are the producers, the creators. Grow it, mine it, build it.)
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To: The KG9 Kid
I don't see anything mobile phone related.

I see boring low-tech cheap RC or electronics hobbyist parts.

The trigger would be one of these:

15 posted on 04/17/2013 9:50:47 AM PDT by swamp40
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To: steve86

Background checks for mall heli purchasers now!

Better be safe than sorry.


16 posted on 04/17/2013 9:51:37 AM PDT by steve86 (Acerbic by Nature, not Nurture™)
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To: mnehring

I agree.


17 posted on 04/17/2013 9:52:10 AM PDT by swamp40
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To: biggerten

Yes, I agree 100%. Ebay sells them, as well.


18 posted on 04/17/2013 9:52:57 AM PDT by swamp40
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To: swamp40

Tenergy? Is that a common brand? Never heard of it myself.

One thing Muslims do before jihad is shave themselves completely. Are there tiny shaved-off hairs in the components
or bag?


19 posted on 04/17/2013 9:53:00 AM PDT by txhurl (Breitbart lives.)
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To: swamp40
It looks like the cable was made to Canadian 'FT2' standards

"FT2 on an electrical cord refers to the CSA (Canadian Standards Associations) test designation for wires and cables. FT2 is the minimum mandatory horizontal flame test for Flexible Cord. A burner flame is applied to a horizontal sample for five 15 second applications and must not exceed 100mm from end to end. There should also be no type of flame particles falling from the sample."


20 posted on 04/17/2013 9:54:32 AM PDT by Perdogg (Sen Ted Cruz, Sen Mike Lee, and Sen Rand Paul are my adoptive Senators)
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