Spy Review

Finding a decent bug detector that doesn’t cost a fortune is hard work. You need to be wary of any bug detector that claims to “do it all” when it comes to bug detection. The Hand Held Multifunctional Sweep Unit doesn’t claim to do everything, but it does boast an impressive selection of features. The detector is capable of detecting RF signals from spy cameras and bugs, telephone line taps and laser microphones. All these features are packed into a smart looking unit too.

What leads me to believe the claims of the device is because the features aren’t too far-fetched. RF bug detection devices with a range of 100Hz to 3.5GHz are very common. The unit has a telescopic aerial, so you can adjust the aerial length to match the frequency of the bug you’re looking for. Basically if the length of the aerial matches a harmonic of the transmitter frequency, the bug detector is considerably more sensitive.

A device that plugs into the telephone line to detect phone taps is less common, but it’s really easy to find dedicated telephone tap detection units that will do the job. This is an area I’m less familiar with, but this relates to a difference in voltage on the telephone line compared to what’s expected.

The laser microphone detection puzzles me however. How is this device able to detect a very narrow wavelength of light that would suggest a laser had been found? If the laser beam is modulated to a specific signal, the beam could be easy to detect. However, there will be laser microphones that don’t modulate the beam, and therefore impossible to detect unless the light was visible to the naked eye.

So the Hand Held Multifunctional Sweep Unit looks like an interesting device, but I’d like to see more technical information. Specifically with how it claims to detect laser mics. And for $495.50, its going to break the bank too!