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Internet jammer can be bought for $55, can bring down plane, say experts
Fox News via Herald Sun ^ | 18 March 2010 | John Brandon

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 ...


TOPICS: Government; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: bs; internet; planes; terrorism
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To: bitterohiogunclinger

It would make a Boeing 777 fly like a Boeing 767. If the 777 lost GPS, we’d get a message in the cockpit, then go back to drinking coffee and finishing the crossword.


21 posted on 03/17/2010 6:36:00 PM PDT by ALPAPilot
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To: Aussie Dasher

Zero chance this works on military GPS. ...and very little chance it will work on mission critical aviation grade GPS in general.

Yeah, it’ll screw with the tiny chip and antenna in an iPhone, but that wasn’t designed to keep an airplane on course.


22 posted on 03/17/2010 6:36:17 PM PDT by MediaMole
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To: Aussie Dasher


23 posted on 03/17/2010 6:39:45 PM PDT by Star Traveler (Remember to keep the Messiah of Israel in the One-World Government that we look forward to coming)
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To: Aussie Dasher

Let’s see, since we have the hardwire phone lines at the Capitol jammed, let’s jam all of the cell phones there too. ;)


24 posted on 03/17/2010 6:40:42 PM PDT by Never on my watch (Duty, Honor, Country - not Diversity)
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To: ALPAPilot

You guys use those little kitchen timers to avoid passing up your destination airports?


25 posted on 03/17/2010 6:43:43 PM PDT by dragnet2
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To: Aussie Dasher

There are so many different ways of navigating an aircraft losing GPS would warrant maybe a shrug and a “well that sucks”.


26 posted on 03/17/2010 6:49:21 PM PDT by Domandred (Fdisk, format, and reinstall the entire .gov system.)
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To: Aussie Dasher

The radar appears to be...JAMMED!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcArnepkhv0


27 posted on 03/17/2010 6:52:00 PM PDT by Jack Hydrazine
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To: Aussie Dasher
This would be a short range jammer, so it would have to used in close range to an aircraft GPS antenna to jam. The GPS antenna would be on the outside and the jammer would be on the inside of the metallic or graphite fiber conducting cabin which would attenuate the jammer signal, so it might be in doubt the wild claims of being able to bring down an airplane from a weak signal that is just used for navigation, its not like the noise would cause a nose dive. Furthermore the whole idea that cell phone emissions can bring down an aircraft is false as well, although true there can be noise that could effect electronics, the attenuation is high, cell phone bans are as much or more a reason for keeping people quite as much as a safety issue which is blown out of proportion. IMHO
28 posted on 03/17/2010 6:53:20 PM PDT by seastay
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To: Aussie Dasher

Last night had moron drive car into flooded street next to Pasaic River. Cops asked why he was driving there and
avoiding barricades. Said GPS told himt to go that way...


29 posted on 03/17/2010 7:00:19 PM PDT by njslim
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To: dragnet2
You guys use those little kitchen timers to avoid passing up your destination airports?

Only if the flight attendant on are lap doesn't have an alarm on her wristwatch.

30 posted on 03/17/2010 7:00:31 PM PDT by ALPAPilot
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To: Boiler Plate
The counter measure is just as simple, If it emits a signal it can be found with an inexpensive hand held directional receiver.

And effective action can be taken with a .40 directional ... transmitter.

31 posted on 03/17/2010 7:01:20 PM PDT by RobinOfKingston (Democrats, the party of evil. Republicans, the party of stupid.)
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To: ALPAPilot
You guys use those little kitchen timers to avoid passing up your destination airports?

Only if the flight attendant on our lap doesn't have an alarm on her wristwatch.

32 posted on 03/17/2010 7:02:06 PM PDT by ALPAPilot
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To: Fresh Wind
How would jamming the Internet bring down a plane?

I guess they are talking about online flight simulator games here.

33 posted on 03/17/2010 7:03:13 PM PDT by steve86 (Acerbic by nature, not nurture)
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To: Fresh Wind

No one said anything about jamming the I’net. It jams gps signals.


34 posted on 03/17/2010 7:04:16 PM PDT by chooseascreennamepat
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To: ALPAPilot

I flew for years with no GPS at all and never once did I crash. Didn’t even have LORAN, for that matter.


35 posted on 03/17/2010 7:04:42 PM PDT by steve86 (Acerbic by nature, not nurture)
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To: chooseascreennamepat

What does the TITLE say, bonehead?


36 posted on 03/17/2010 7:05:19 PM PDT by steve86 (Acerbic by nature, not nurture)
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To: Aussie Dasher

But what about Blonde*star?


37 posted on 03/17/2010 7:06:07 PM PDT by NonValueAdded ("Shut it down" Rush Limbaugh, 3/3/10)
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To: ALPAPilot
Only if the flight attendant on our lap doesn't have an alarm on her wristwatch.

Hmmm...

The last flight attendants I saw were all homo's with attitudes.


38 posted on 03/17/2010 7:11:33 PM PDT by dragnet2
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To: dalereed

“There are currently GPS instrument approaches but not at commercial airports.”

There are numerous GPS approaches at commercial as well as rural airports. I am an Instrument Flight Instructor and I’m PIC daily in a Cessna Citation jet.


39 posted on 03/17/2010 7:28:05 PM PDT by CFIIIMEIATP737
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To: bitterohiogunclinger

GPS approaches are becoming the norm in the aviation industry.


40 posted on 03/17/2010 7:28:59 PM PDT by CFIIIMEIATP737
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