You are kidding, right?
Posted on 03/17/2010 6:04:52 PM PDT by Aussie Dasher
AN electronic device small enough to fit in a shirt pocket and big enough to bring down an airplane can be easily bought over the internet for just $55. Fox News reports that all a terrorist needs is a credit card and $55 to buy a GPS jammer used by car thieves in the UK.
Jammers transmit a low-power signal that creates signal noise and fools a GPS receiver into thinking the satellites are not available.
They can be used to confuse police and avoid toll charges and some pranksters use them to nettle unsuspecting iPhone users.
Experts say it's only a matter of time until terrorists in the United States catch on and use them to disrupt GPS reception on airplanes or in military operations.
The devices pose serious societal risks and they are illegal to buy and use in the United States.
Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar. .End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar. The Federal Communications Commission is bullish about pursuing anyone who buys a GPS jammer and will prosecute and jail anyone who uses one.
Yet they're easily bought online, and their proponents say they should stay that way.
Fox News was able to buy GPS jammers for as little as $55 from numerous online sources.
(Excerpt) Read more at heraldsun.com.au ...
way to go Fox News, now for al Qaeda and Romney and Obama
all the time.
You are kidding, right?
“Fox News was able to buy GPS jammers for as little as $55 from numerous online sources.”
AND
“The devices pose serious societal risks and they are illegal to buy and use in the United States.”
DOES NOT COMPUTE.
The counter measure is just as simple, If it emits a signal it can be found with an inexpensive hand held directional receiver.
Hey I want one... two weeks from now it might come in handy
**** “The counter measure is just as simple, If it emits a signal it can be found with an inexpensive hand held directional receiver” *****
or a missile that can’t miss
TT
If indeed it is a “low level” transmitter, the unit would have to be a “suicide bomber” attempt. It might interfere with GPS receivers in an aircraft, but unless I’m mistaken, aircraft don’t land under GPS control.
Just how big a missle do you need inside a jetliner?
No biggy, no problem for any pilot that knows his stuff. We still have VORs and ILS in every major and many small airports. Not only that these devices (I know where to get one of $49) have very short rnage, and your GPS sustem would a. Alert you, and b. reset itself in a few minutes.
The counter measure is just as simple, If it emits a signal it can be found with an inexpensive hand held directional receiver.
Ummmmm..., is that before or after the plane crashes? .... :-)
GPS routes can be flown but all aircraft today still have all the ground based navigation instruments in use.
There are currently GPS instrument approaches but not at commercial airports.
I would expect that the so called jamming device would have to be activated on board the aircraft to be effective
How would jamming the Internet bring down a plane?
Like igniting one’s shorts?
It does have a use for someone who thinks they may be tracked by someone planting a GPS device on their car. You just plug this baby in and you jam anyone trying to track you... :-)
If the flaw is true then Fox is acting like the New York Times and should be ashamed over the story.
NextGen Air Traffic Control is at least 10 years off, at this point it couldn’t do anything but annoy a pilot! Bring down a plane or make it’s navigation systems inoperable is impossible!
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