• !

A Strange and D
at Forbidden T angerous Look
echnology
Mick Tyner
 READ THIS BEFORE YOU READ THE BOOK

This text treats a number of topics, many harmless, others extremely dangerous, at least to carry
out, not to read about, and that meets the author's intent: to provide something lively to read. He
states here, and repeats throughout, that he recommends absolutely no hazardous or illegal activity
to anyone.

Human nature includes in its repertoire the capacity for vicarious experience. We may read a
murder-mystery laced with killings, robbery, torture, kinky sex, and pigging out on chocolate-and
relish every page. Yet no sane person would actually wallow in those perversions, especially not
thick indulgence in dark candy.

The same point applies to surveillance, lock-picking, strange weapons, illegal fireworks, and a host
of spooklore this book treats as casually as talk of cross-stitch. The author intends it as no more
than vicarious adventure for the reader.

Reading about it and doing it tap different sides of human nature. Age does nothing to dull our
fascination with risk, but brings with it an appreciation of our frailty and mortality. The text speaks
easily of gray-zone projects now fading from memory, but would no more endorse them today than it
would condone child-molesting.

The book relates the step-by-step of things because they happened that way, at least those of
which the author was a part some years back. Journalistic credibility demands that frankness.
People read tech studies to glean hard detail. Books that omit it prompt them to look elsewhere,
often to sources unconcerned with safety, or to those that invoke a handy political code to justify
reckless advice.

Nothing contained herein may be construed as evidence of illegal activity on the part of the author.
Some names of individuals and organizations have been fabricated to suit a literary need for
fictitious entities. All registered trademarks mentioned in this book are hereby recognized.

Neither the author nor the publisher assumes any responsibility whatever for use or misuse of the
information contained in this book. This book is sold solely for informational purposes.
 THE SPOOK BOOK

A Strange and Dangerous Look at Forbidden Technology

By Mick Tyner

All rights reserved worldwide. No part of this book may be reproduced in

any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without written
permission from the author.

Copyright © 1989 by Trentland Press

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN 0-940401-72-X Softcover

Neither the author nor the publisher assumes any responsibility whatever
for the use or misuse of information contained in this book. This book
is sold solely for informational purposes.
 CONTENTS

READ THIS BEFORE YOU READ THE BOOK

INTENTS, PURPOSES, & ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 4

ONE: AUDIO 5

TWO: ULTRA AMP 53

THREE: VIDEO 62

FOUR: LOCKS 74

FIVE: SECURITY 91

SIX: WEAPONS 118

SEVEN: EXTREMELY DANGEROUS FIREWORKS 177

EIGHT: ODDS & ENDS 215

NINE: SOURCES, RESOURCES, & REFERENCES 245

BATF FORMS 249

 INTENTS, PURPOSES, & ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Many books that deal with spooklore carry the look of a catalog. To a degree this is unavoidable:
The hardware bears the message. A picture of a microtransmitter stuck to the end of a thumbnail
speaks silently of its potential. In fact, perusing a catalog from the typical "police supplier" tells
much of what is possible, from both attack and defense, with modern bugging technique. The U.S.
Embassy fiasco in Moscow highlights a climate of technological subterfuge that demands a hard-
nosed approach to surveillance, since we have come to feel its cold hand in ever-more aspects of
daily life. Those who refuse to learn the etiquette of attack and defense disarm themselves. They
deserve to suffer their ignorance.

And yet, we still find room for that whimsy that takes us back to better days, touchy though it may
be to treat some points. Readers have shown a lasting fascination with bugging, illegal fireworks,
and tools of violence, along with sex and smut-but television has co-opted those last topics. This
book admits and caters to the spy, cop, detective, commando, and basement bomber in us all, but
discourages irresponsible conduct, and even throws in a few safety tips from an ex-pyro, long since
quit from that racy caper.

The author has sought to avoid repetition of what's already seen print. He treats material either to
flesh out points touched in other works or to tackle obstacles that arise when one applies techniques
detailed in those texts, but not anticipated by them. His participation in a few offbeat gigs lets him
offer bits of original material here and there.

Generous contributions from many individuals made this book possible. The author hereby expresses
heartfelt thanks to those sources. After much thought, he has elected to credit no one by name,
since persons who gave freely of their expertise were not aware when they did so that the book
embraced material with which they might not wish to be identified. Some sources were placed with
firms that most surely would take a dim view of studies presented herein. Rather than have sources
suffer guilt by association, the author has given them anonymity.

Have fun, but don't break the law and don't get hurt.

4
 1
AUDIO

••• the ineluctable modality of the audible.

-James Joyce, Ulysses

* * *

Sometime in the dark interlude between Taxi Driver and Blue Velvet America admitted to itself, if only at
some sunken gut level, that bugging had become more pervasive than venereal disease. That uneasy sense
seeped through the national regard like an evil anesthetic, slowly numbing us to ever-more fearsome means of
privacy invasion, an almost welcome surrender to the lewd caress of 1984. By and large, a sheep-like
populace embraced Isaac Asimov's roll-over-and-die stance that you can't regain what's already lost. Much
of the fare to nurture this nervous change crawled out of spook literature and slunk toward big-time in the
media.

One school of journalistic thought insists that the reporter involve himself in the scene to impart it correctly.
Others argue for detachment. But this business of bugging and its close cousins have eliminated detachment
as an option. The wolf is at the door, in the basement, and coming down the chimney like some Soviet Santa
Claus. Bugging and its emotional fallout have sewn themselves into the fabric of American life.

Audio maintains the pre-eminent spot in surveillance. It seeks to maximize pickup of intelligible human
speech. The simplest surveillance unit is an eavesdropper. He performs all aspects of interception, processing,
even interpretation. But most audio surveillance depends in varying degrees on some form of electronics.
Analysis of the sound path in electronic surveillance generates a predictable circuit whose elements we must
grasp:

1) input-usually a microphone
2) preamplifier
3) processor(s)
4) output-headphones, recorder, transmitter, etc.
5) sometimes, post-processing

ONE: MICROPHONES-THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE TERRIBLY SMALL

A microphone (mic) transforms one type of force into another. Energy enters as sound and emerges as
electricity. Mics effect this sea-change through varied means that make for special properties that we must
factor in to our selection and use of them. This details only the basics. Microphone design has proven

5
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6
surprisingly complex, as perusal of texts on the subject will show. The tricky stuff slips wretchedly into
fourth-semester calculus.

DYNAMIC MICROPHONES
Take the grill off one of your stereo speakers. Pump in some music with a heavy bass-beat, and watch, or
feel, the largest speaker, known as the woofer. It vibrates in response to electrical output from your stereo
amplifier.

Were you to connect the speaker terminals to a sensitive voltmeter, then tap the woofer cone, you would see
that speakers work in reverse: If you move their cones, they generate electricity. This has to do with
movement of a conductor in a magnetic field, Michael Faraday, and a depraved series of equations the author
never mastered.

Dynamic mics are miniature loudspeakers optimized for their ability to produce electricity in response to
sound, while speakers are optimized to perform the reverse.

These units tend to be rugged, weather-resistant, low impedance-and large. They find use in directional
mics, but only the rare dynamic element can rival the electret for tiny size. The photo illustrates a modern
dynamic mic element; the single-tube listener project described below uses a 3" speaker as its dynamic mic.
They are prone to pick up 60 Hz AC hum unless shielded.

Most dynamic elements the author has seen are optimized to the human voice spoken less than a foot from
the mic. To no one's surprise, this type performs poorly in surveillance applications.

CRYSTAL MICROPHONES
The species takes its name from the crystal of Rochelle salt that forms its piezoelectric heart. Subject this
salt to physical force and it generates electricity, up to thousands of volts from a truly sharp rap. But place
a small bit of the stuff on the end of a tiny piston connected to a diaphragm, then wire the crystal to an
output, and we have a crystal microphone. Its close cousin, which differs in no major regard, is the ceramic
mic, a crystal mic by another name, since it uses barium titanate in lieu of Rochelle salt. It has proven a bit
more weather-resistant than the usual crystal mic, offers slightly lower impedance, but belongs with the same
breed.

For more than 30 years the darling of the hobbyist, the crystal mic has ceded its place to the modern
condenser mic. Yet, it still finds application where its high output, high impedance, and low cost give us an
edge. Some hearing aids, for example, use crystal mics.

While testing our nascent Ultra Amp, described in the next chapter, we wrung it out with a gaggle of mics,
including 5 different crystal and ceramic mics. We discovered a world of similarity in performance among
them. All sounded tinny and/or gave nasty treble peaks. Lowest impedance was 7K, highest 25K ohms.
Output ranged from -70 dB to -55 dB. Taking the electret at -64 dB as average, we found that the -55 dB
mics gave the equivalent of 10 dB of boost before the signal reached the preamp. Unfortunately, their
abysmal fidelity took them out of contention for serious work unless we were saddled with electronics which
only their high output could overcome. They cost about the same as the average electret element.

Perhaps the major application for crystal mics in surveillance are contact mics-spike mics, limpet mics-
wherein a probe of some sort links directly to the piezo crystal.

CONDENSER AND ELECTRET MICROPHONES

The breed predominates nowadays. Modest cost coupled with wide, smooth frequency response and
surprisingly small size make it attractive, particularly for clandestine work. The photo shows a dime, which
dwarfs Radio Shack's Model 270-090, which in turn dwarfs Panasonic's Model WM -62A (found in the
innards of Radio Shack's credit card-size omnidirectional mic, catalog #33-1089, mounted with its
preamp/impedance matcher). Digi-Key carries the WM-62A sans frills for $3.75.

7
 co

TOP LEFT: Parade of mics. Top row various crystal/ceramic

mics. Bottom row, from L to R: crystal mic, electret,
dynamic element, and another electret mounted w/preamp.
ABOVE: dime, Radio Shack's PC-mount electret mic, and
the tiny Panasonic WM-62A. LEFT: Top is Richard Pearson's
"laser listener" board, bottom is similar device from "Sound
On Light." See text.
The operating principle depends upon a change in distance, and therefore capacitance, between 2 electrically
charged membranes. At least 1 of the 2 membranes is fl imsy, such that sound alters the distance between
them. Few amplifiers can deal with variable capacitance as an input, so the condenser must mate to its own
built-in field effect transistor (FET) amplifier, which does two things. First, it changes the capacitance
variation into a change of voltage or current. Second, it drops what would be an impedance of millions of
ohms to mid-impedance territory, 500-2000 ohms being typical. Thus, these mics require a power supply.
Some use a tiny battery held in the mic casing itself. Others draw energy through their output leads,
something known as "phantom power."

The true condenser mic uses its power supply to create a voltage across its membranes, while the electret
mic is nothing more than a condenser mic that maintains its charge permanently through some wizardry we
needn It explore. But the electret still needs that FET preamp/impedance match and so requires external
power.

Frequency response here rates good-too good in fact, for it reaches well below the range of the human
voice. Than means pickup of unwanted and typically overwhelming low frequency noise that we must filter,
adding another set of parts to the amp. We performed our tests using a pair of AKG-240 headphones for
monitoring. These phones are renowned for their bass response. Without exception, all electret mics we
tested with preamps set for "flat" response overpowered us with their bass fidelity. After achieving high gain,
our first processing step turned toward trimming the bottom end. (Of course, if we intend to put the signal
through a voice-stress analyzer or similar tool of evil, and can record in genuinely quiet surroundings, we
may wish to retain that awesome low end •••• ) The high end, too, extends far above all but soprano
harmonics. We can roll it off around 6 KHz and miss little.

OTHERS
Some mics just weren't meant for surveillance. The size, cost, and fragility of large ribbon mics used in
recording studios disqualifies them from surveillance work.

The carbon mic seems now to be gasping its last. Formerly the exclusive mic of telephone mouthpieces, it
packed carbon granules between conductive plates charged relative to one another. Sound pressure hitting
the plates compressed the carbon granules, altering their net resistance in response to audio modulation,
thereby changing the current flowing between plates.

The carbon mic is big, offers mediocre response adequate for phone lines, and is now found in only a few
phones made and sold by companies who made them before deregulation, and who've found no reason to
change.

A popular item in bugging circles used to be the drop-in transmitter, a device close in size and shape to a
carbon phone mic that could be dropped into the screw-off mouthpiece of any "standard" phone. It would
transmit the conversation via radio over short distances. Needless to say, with practically no two phones
alike today, and most using condenser mics, the carbon mic has become a relic in the lore of surveillance.

The pressure-zone microphone (PZM [tm]) is not so much a type as a design, since the element could in
theory be dynamic, condenser, or what-have-you. Pressure zone refers to the placement of a boundary about
1/32" in front of the mic surface. This results in a special phenomenon, the arrival of direct and reflected
sound at the element such as to cancel echoes. Since much of the boomy quality of sound recorded in closed
spaces traces to echoes, the PZ mic enhances intelligibility. Its drawback is bulk, though models are
available that will fit in a front shirt pocket. Crown holds the patent on this design but has licensed
manufacture to other firms.

MICROPHONE SPECIFICATIONS
All mics possess unique operating characteristics known as specifications or specs. We must know these and
understand them in order to select and use mics to best advantage.

The first spec defines frequency response: What range of sound will drive usable output from the mic? Human

9
hearing is said to span 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz. High fidelity recordings demand the widest response we can
get. But for surveillance work, which consists almost entirely of intercepting the human voice, we seek to
lim it the response to the range of speech fundamentals and overtones, and to exclude bands that would
interfere, such as wind-noise or 60-cycle hum.

Whatever the range of frequency response, we seek smoothness. Refer to the diagram. It shows two
microphone response curves. The first is smooth, with little deviation from flat at most frequencies. The
second shows a nasty "peak" at about 3 KHz. This causes a harsh, tinny sound that makes listening tiresome.

Second, how sensitive is the mic? In other word, for a given sound level, how much electrical output can we
expect? In scenes where prized sounds may be mere whispers, or have traveled from afar, we seek the most
sensitive mic that does not sacrifice other performance variables.

Third, what is its signal-to-noise ratio (abbreviated SIN)? Even the quietest of microphones introduce their
own electrical noise, typically hiss-like. This emerges as a problem when the amplitude of the mic's own
noise looms large relative to its input signal. This specification is usually expressed in "dB" or decibels. The
SiN ratio tells the number of decibels louder than the mic's noise the input signal measures.

Some compact disc players quote a phenomenal SiN ratio of 90 dB. The appliance itself makes no noise
audible to humans. Vinyl records, on the other hand, clock in at 50-60 dB. In quiet passages their hisses,
clicks, and pops sound like "Rice Crispies" cereal, but a SIN figure of 50 dB is not bad when talking
surveillance gear. Typical condenser mic cartridges claim SiN ratios of 38-42 dB, not that great. When
added to the noise of high-gain preamplifiers, we cannot escape annoying hiss.

Note also that noise accumulates with each stage: mic noise, preamp noise, processor noise, amplifier noise,
and tape recorder noise, particularly if we must use shoddy gear or dub the tape. This points up the
advantages of digitizing an audio signal as early as possible, since we can process or dub infinite generations
of digital data with no decline in SIN ratio when we return it to analog form. See section below on the
ominous specter of digital sound processing.

Fourth, what is the mic's impedance? Impedance refers to net resistance to flow of alternating current,
usually at a specified frequency, such as 1000 Hz.

Mics fall into one of two impedance categories, high and low. High impedance mics suffer a potential shortfall
in that their high frequency response falls off rapidly in long runs of cable, a problem low impedance mics do
not share.

Low impedance generally means anything from 50 to 600 ohms, high covers 5000 to more than 20,000
ohms. Most dynamic and condenser/electret mics are low-impedance devices, while crystal and ceramic mics
are high-impedance. Some mics come with tiny transformers built into them such that impedance may be
toggled high or low at the flip of a switch.

For spook work it is not so much the mic's absolute impedance as it is the need that we closely match it
with interfacing machinery, or suffer a loss of signal or a decIine in SiN ratio. Lousy function blamed on the
electronics often traces to mismatch between amp and mic or other source.

If a mic and its interface do not match, use a transformer to match them. Take the example of the single-
tube directional mic described below. Its mic is in fact a 3" speaker whose impedance measures about 8
ohms; but the input impedance of the amplifier rates about 1000 ohms. That explains the interposition of a
transformer that matches the impedance of the mic to that of the amp. Without it, tests showed a sharp drop
in performance. (If we chose a mic whose nominal impedance rated 1000 ohms we could dispense with the
transformer. )

Fifth, how durable is the mic? How does it hold up under environmental changes of humidity, temperature,
and shock? Dynamic and electret mics have proven sturdy and stable in most respects.

Sixth, how large or small is the mic? Refer to the mic photos, and note that hearing aids use mics smaller
than the smallest we have shown here, a Panasonic WM-62A.

10
Large si ze proved to be an asset in one case, since it almost fooled the sweep-team on the trai I of a
concealed mic. A crafty snooper had used a built-in ceiling speaker, ordinarily a source of background music,
as a low-impedance mic. What put the sweepers onto it was its silence while the rest of the speakers in the
office played some variant of Muzak [tm].

TWO: PREAMPLIFICATION
Generally, the caliber of the preamp determines worth of the system. Good preamps can compensate for
marginal elements elsewhere in the sound path. Bad ones can nullify the best mics and equalizers. Prime
preamps are scarce.

Signals generated by most mics or other sensors, such as phototransistors in the dread laser bug, lack power
to do anything useful. We must enlarge them to allow further exploitation, known as processing. This initial
boost is known as preampIification because it usually precedes a second stage of boost that drives speaker or
headphones.

Two key factors in preamplification are gain and noise. Gain refers to increase in signal afforded by the
preamp. Noise refers to unwanted sound introduced by preampIification.

No theoretical barrier limits the amount of gain we may apply. The practical barrier looms as noise and
electrical breakdown. Noise parallels gain, limiting gain to the point at which noise remains tolerable.
Electrical breakdown occurs when we push gain so high that either oscillation occurs, sending a hefty squeal
through the phones, or inaudible ultrasonic feedback caused by mere proximity of components shuts down the
amp.

Practical preamplifiers enjoy high gain and low noise. Preamp designers tend to favor Del Shannon's records,
'cause they're always Searchin' -for higher gain and lower noise.

The engineering trend toward operational amplifiers and away from discrete components lies with the fact
that op amps are easier to handle, the math less complex, manufacturing simpler, and they tend overall to
cost less. Yet, after testing a gaggle of amps/preamps, we found that properly executed designs that used
discrete components in the front end did not suffer in comparison even to "low noise" integrated circuits.

THREE: SIGNAL PROCESSING

Gathering sound and boosting the signal pose little challenge for even the dilettante spook. Culling intelligible
speech from marginal signals presents a conundrum that we may conquer using methods that fit under the
rubric of "processing." Ideally, we process the audio as it leaves the preamp, but sometimes this proves
impractical; so we tape the signal and process later, but call it "post-processing." (Ideally, taping introduces
no noise. The better open-reel decks and video-based recorders pass muster. Hand-held units throw in noise
from their own electronics and basically rotten tape, dumping added freight on the post-processor.)

3-A: SPEECH PASSBAND

A first step in processing might well remove sounds outside the speech band. This takes a load off later
segments of the chain in that they need deal only with this pre-screened sound, rather than a barrage of
useless interference along with the conversation. Those who have used a spectrum analyzer appreciate the
point. The spectrum analyzer displays relative sound levels centered at octave frequencies in home stereo
gear, one-half or one-third octaves in studio gear. We are hardly aware of the 40 dB nearly subsonic boom
of footsteps until we see it on the analyzer, or of the constant, 30 dB rumble of distant traffic. Our internal
auditory processors filter it automatically. Your mic and amp will not. At the least these sounds annoy. At
worst they defeat surveillance. Thus, we eliminate many headaches-literally-by limiting the frequency
response of the amplifier to the speech passband.

To grasp this step, think of a hi-fi speaker with three drivers, typically a woofer for low frequencies, a

11
midrange for the mids, and a tweeter for the highs. Such speakers incorporate a passive device known as a
crossover. Crossovers shunt low frequencies to the woofer, mids to the midrange, and highs to the tweeter.
Let's assume our imaginary speaker's midrange driver covers 300-3000 Hz, the speech passband. By
discarding the woofer and tweeter, as well as those elements of the crossover that fed them, we could both
accomplish our goal and simplify the setup.

Speaker crossovers employ big inductors and capacitors that would dwarf the average spy-type amp. They
ill-suit the task. On the other hand, operational amplifiers have shown themselves perfectly suited to
electrically powered ("active") filters. We seek a filter to cut out sounds below 300 Hz and above 3000
Hz. This is known as a speech passband filter.

Actual circuit design can get dangerously complex, as perusal of Don Lancaster's classic (11 printings from
'75 to '86) Active Filter Cookbook will show; yet, the task lies within the grasp of the average electronics
hobbyist, at least if he or his computer are willing to wade through the math. (Or use the "ripoff" section in
Lancaster's book. It prints tables that let the first-timer design filters with 6 to 36 dB/octave slopes.)

3-B: COMPRESSION
A second dreary hindrance of spook amps lies with subjects' ruthless tendency to speak at vastly different
levels, from a whisper to a shout, and to move about the surveillance area, altering their distance from the
microphone, thus changing the sound level. This creates an input of extremely wide dynamic range.

The advent of digital recording thrust this twisted concept into the Iimelight. Formerly, with the recording
media of tape and vinyl records, we could not bring full dynamic range to the Iistener due to the fact that
the recording medium would not support it. Fifty to 60 dB was considered excellent for vinyl. Digital
recordings on compact discs or digital audio tape, and "Hi-Fi" videocassette recorders offer dynamic range in
the 80-90 dB spread, an enormous increase given that power doubles with each few dB. Now we can record
the majesty of an orchestra with full dynamic fidelity from its pianissimos to its fortissimos and beyond, and
play it back as forcefully as our amplifiers, speakers, and ears will stand.

We desire the exact opposite of expanded dynamic range when recording speech in surveillance work. We
wish to hear Whispers as if they had been spoken aloud. We want shouts reduced to the level of conversation.
This calls for a type of processing known as compression. It automatically boosts the level of small signals,
and cuts the level of big ones, handing us an even signal level easy on the ears for real-time monitoring, as
well as more intell igible.

A door slamming or sounds of gunfire could distort your recording; or, if you happened to be monitoring in
real time, with gear capable of accurately capturing the ruckus, you could suffer hearing damage, or at least
a headache. (Those who have done hard time hooked up to high-gain amps running wide open to catch that
ghastly incriminating moan will confirm that the noise gets to them, and quickly. Oh, our Divine Lady of
Alka-Seltzer, don't quit me now •••• )

The diagram shows in graphic form what the NEC uPC1571 compander chip does in compressor mode (it may
be configured also as an expander; call NEC at 1-415-960-6000 and ask for the data sheet on this versatile
chip, avai lable from Mouser Electronics for less than $3; this chip is known generically as a "571," and is
available from other manufacturers). An input at 0 dB level results in neither gain nor cut. An input at -80
dB, extremely low level, results in automatic signal boost of 40 dB, a tremendous gain. Input at +20 dB
causes the signal to be cut to +10 dB. The broken line shows the theoretical effect of feeding the output of
one channel of this dual-channel unit into the second channel: double compression.

How much does compression improve listenability? Once you have used a genuinely effective compressor, you
can't go home again.

The limiter makes a brutal but undeniably sure substitute to the compressor. This simple electronic
arrangement clamps peak-to-peak voltage at a set level. The resultant harsh/fuzzy sound takes some getting

12
used to. Listen to radio communications in the opening carrier-deck sequence of Top Gun to catch the effect.
A reversed diode-pair coupled capacitively to the output of the preamp shunts the signal to ground once it
passes the turn-on voltage of the diodes. We can use 4 diodes-2 in series, reversed-to raise the cutoff
level. Limiters leave signals below their threshold alone, meaning that only loud sounds will provoke their
ruthless effect. A limiter is easily engineered into a preamp, protects us from sudden, unexpected bursts of
sound that might overwhelm a compressor; but, after extensive testing, we found it a feature that should be
selectable.

3-C: EQUALIZATION
Inevitably, we will meet unwanted sound within the speech passband, as noisome as that outside it. We wish
both to have the capability to boost the level of speech, and tone down the level of speech-band noise, feats
easily met by an equalizer, but one with special properties. The equalizers familiar to most home-stereo
owners are called "graphic" equalizers. The frequencies they boost or cut are set by the design of the unit,
usually at octave points (30 Hz, 60 Hz, 120 Hz, and so on up to 16 KHz). What if the unwanted noise lies
between two of the equalizer's center frequencies? We must compromise by adjusting the controls nearest it.

But there exists another type of equalizer that lets us select the exact center frequency to boost or cut, and
the width of adjacent frequencies affected, something related to an audio concept called "Q," an obscure
notion it would cloud matters to discuss. Best that we refer to it as bandwidth to keep things simple. This
other brand of equalizer is known as the parametric. Due to its infinite audio frequency span, we have need
of far fewer bands than a graphic equal izer. A parametric equal izer with two or three bands can out-perform
a one-third-octave graphic equalizer having 30 bands in this specialized arena. In most cases, we need zero
in on only one or two noises to tone down, and on speech to boost. The parametric suits this to a tee.

Since sound energy below 300 Hz and above 3 KHz will have been filtered by the time the signal reaches
this stage, the dedicated parametric should concentrate its effects from, say, 200-4000 Hz. Two or three
independent controls covering this range should suffice.

As for the parametric in action, let's say you have locked on to the target with your limpet bug stuck to the
window. Speech passband fi Itering has attenuated 80 percent of noise, your compressor has kept dynamic
range from lapsing into helpless depravity. Yet, the marks have set some manner of appliance, probably the
refrigerator, right next to the window. Its monotonous whir lies well within the speech band, but is separate
from voice-tones of your marks. First, narrow the bandwidth, adjust cut to max, tune in on the noise, then
widen bandwidth to remove most noise possible without detracting from speech. Next, narrow the width of
another band, crank up the gain, then fine tune the bandwidth to heighten speech signals.

These define the essentials of a dedicated spook amp. Other features qualify as desirable. We would like to be
able to switch each processor in and out of the circuit at will. We would like not to have to drag out an
impedance-matching transformer when switching from one type of mic to another. We would like for the unit
to be able to process mic-Ievel as well as line-level inputs without external attenuators. We would like to be
able to drive a speaker, or headphones of either low or high impedance, and to have appropriate output jacks
for line-level gear, such as a recorder •

....all of which are easily built into the unit if factored into the design phase. Trouble is, few amps, at least
among those we have seen marketed from an array of vendors, build all features into the works. It may be
more profitable to sell this gear a la carte, which would explain it. Think about it long enough and money
explains everything.

HEARING AIDS AND ....

It came with little surprise that some of the meatiest material for the would-be snooper crops up in the
literature of hearing loss and hearing aids. Audiologists, too, seek low noise, high gain, selective frequency
amplification, compression (sometimes dual-mode and quite sophisticated), miniaturization, and application of
digital technology to screen noise and enhance intelligibility.

13
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Truly, nothing new has sprung under the sun. Amplification For The Hearing Impaired quotes a galaxy of
references. Digital sound processing exists in real-time, but not yet in portable, mass-market hearing aids
(but soon).

Getting this industry to talk to you about applying its gains to surveillance••• well ••• if they wouldn't talk to
Popular Science, they wouldn't talk to us. It may be possible to pump an audiologist or hearing-aid vendor if
he believes you are interested in hearing aids, rather than spook stuff.

Audiology keys in on what makes human speech intelligible~ Vowels, most of whose energy concentrates in
low frequencies, convey emotion. Consonants contribute most to intelligibility and content. Spectral analysis
shows their energy peak in the treble range. Now, the most common form of hearing loss as folks age happens
to be high-tone loss, where, coincidentally, the consonant sounds clump their energy. Distance, closed doors,
and walls attenuate high more than low frequencies, too ••••

Next time you hear communications between aircraft or spacecraft and ground control, notice A) the peculiar
qualities that immediately identify them as air traffic transmissions, and B) the extremely high intelligibility of
the speech, even when the speaker mumbles.

-none of which happened by accident. Aircraft depend upon reliable voice communications. It comes as no
surprise that much engineering has gone into the study of making speech intelligible under adverse conditions.
First, it is frequency-limited. Second, it's highly compressed and sometimes clip-limited. A whisper comes
through as loud as a shout, nothing overloads the transmitter by exceeding its input limits. Third, there is
threshold activation of the transmitter such that all systems are muted when nobody's talking (this led to
deletion of a snippet of Neal Armstrong's mini-speech when he stepped onto the lonely surface of the moon).
Fourth, microphones and filter circuits reject ambient noise, such as the thunderous roar of rocket boosters.

Vendors of ham radio and CB peripherals have surrendered to temptation. They have marketed processors
that fit between the microphone and the transmitter input. Now, these perform useful functions, such as
compression and bandwidth-limiting; but some models lapse helplessly into a foul and loathsome indulgence by
adding sound-effect generators, echo devices, and the like. Your good buddy on the CB can hear you as if
you were standing on the edge of Echo Canyon; or you could zap him with your laser cannon sound generator
as punishment for some degenerate pun. Hardly unexpected from a society that puts talking toilet paper on
TV.

FOUR: OUTPUT (BETTER HOMES & RECORDINGS)

We can and often do monitor in real time, but most intelligence of any worth deserves to be archived for
later review. That means recording it.

For fixed setups, open-reel tape is fading in favor of formats with both longer uninterrupted recording times
and superior frequency response. VHS Hi -Fi, using T-160 tape and Extended Play speed, gives just over 8
hours of continuous recording per tape, near-digital quality. In many outlets these recorders sell for less than
$400 and offer the freebie that, if the subject is under video surveillance, we can record video
simultaneously.

Those with ultra-high fidelity taping needs might step up to Pulse Code Modulation, a true digital format
with better dropout compensation than VHS Hi-Fi. Outboard PCM units can input to most any video
recorder, and, at least until recently, some dedicated units had integral PCM capability.

Digital Audio Tape exists, but has snagged on coils of barbed wire strung by the folks who produce records
and tapes. They claim DAT will allow duplication of copyrighted material in a form indistinguishable from the
original. If DAT units are supplied with true digital inputs and outputs, they're right.

Digital inputs and outputs bear implications for security of our taped treasures. Wouldn't it be as easy as
walking out before the end of Friday the 13th, Part XX to market an outboard encoder/decoder based on
DES or a proprietary algorithm that would render confiscated tapes useless to those who grabbed 'em? Look

15
for it. Or, for an extra ten grand to cover a parts cost of $150, install an inboard unit, such that all digital
recordings were automatically encoded, making them useless to any but the original recordist. (Studio analog
masters of rock albums ready for the vinyl have been stolen. Rather than re-record the session, which took
months the first time, the groups paid ransom. If the master had been digital, encoded, and a backup stashed
in a secure cache-hey, no problem.)

Solid-state digital recorders that store and replay a few seconds of voice have been bui It into certain
Japanese watches as a cute bell-and-whistle. The recently unveiled "Memo-me" records 16 seconds at high
resolution or 32 seconds at low resolution, with an onboard memory of 512K. No moving parts, never any
degradation of the sound, direct analog-to-digital conversion. The unit measures 5.6 x 3.2 x 2.3 inches, and
from the looks of the conventional circuit board and components, could lose about 80 percent of its volume
by substituting surface-mount devices and eliminating the built-in speaker. After all, bugs should be designed
as record-only devices. "Memo-me" was available at press time for $69 in U.S. currency from: Computer
Age Ltd., PO Box 730, Ontario, Canada, LOG 1NO.

The limit to such applications up to now has been memory; but with the 1 megabit chip a real ity and 4
megabit chips on the way, it can't be long before we can record true digital sound for meaningful periods
with this no-moving-parts technique.

Note the relationship between memory requirements and frequency response. To record to 20 KHz, we must
sample at 40 KHz, preferably a bit above that. Given that the speech passband extends only to about 3
KHz, we need sample at only 6 KHz to give us that top end. The lower the sampling rate, the longer a
recording we can store in a given bank of memory.

DIGITAL SOUND PROCESSING

Compact discs and the imminent DAT machines record by transforming analog signals into digital pulses. They
reproduce the signal by the reverse process. Both formats employ error-correction circuitry that can
interpolate between sounds otherwise lost from the datastream, whether due to damage to the tape or a
sharp rap on the CD player. The best units conceal their work so well that we do not know when they
activate.

And from that innocent revelation it is impossible not to extrapolate from music to speech, or to believe that
this same error-correction technology could not fill in the gaps, as it were, in otherwise unintelligible analog
speech recordings. Simply convert them to digital format and feed them through the processor.

But existing if expensive and/or classified digital processors can do much more. They can "remove" noise and
echoes, filter, and compensate for changes in dynamic range in the digital domain, far better than analog
technique. Note the alternative block diagram that factors in the power of digital signal processing. Even the
analog portions of the chain change in response to computer command. True digital processing should, in
theory, allow sound cancellation, interpolation and extrapolation of voices, automatic verification of truth,
transcription, and translation from one language to another. Gear claiming some of these capabilities is listed
in the CCS catalog, but the true state of the art in digital audio processing has not been made public. The
NSA wants it that way. Like Lola, it usually gets what it wants••••

On intuitive groundS, we can see that difficult bugging jobs, those that do not give us satisfactory audio from
analog methods, demand a different approach, one that bypasses all processing in favor of digitizing the signal
as early as possible. Once digitiZed, the signal can be recorded, dubbed to infinite generations without loss.
Processi ng can proceed at a later date, under guidance of a supercomputer, to whatever level needed to
pluck conversation out of the spirit-world.

MICROPHONES: DIRECTIONAL RESPONSE

We omitted one vital trait from mic specs: response pattern; that is to say, the output of the mic plotted in
polar coordinates against direction of incoming signal.

16
When spook books speak of mics per se, they usually mean the mic element, rather than the completed
device. Most elements are omnidirectional. Only placement in a properly configured holder endows them with
directional properties.

A mic that responds fully to sound originating from any direction is said to have an omnidirectional response
pattern. This proves desirable in some circumstances, but not those that call for us to zoom in on a target.
Such mics have proven prone to feedback when used in public address work. Most find uses as lavalier mics
(this gets awfully complex when we start talking about placing a mic next to a boundary, such as the
wearer's body, si nce frequency response and polar pattern change).

A more desirable pattern has come to be known as cardioid, out of its heart-shape in the polar plot. It shows
a null in response directly behind the mic, with a broad, even sensitivity sweep that semi-peaks to the front.
Hand-held and stand-mounted mics use the cardioid pattern to best advantage out of their rejection of
unwanted sound from the rear.

But some situations call for even greater rejection of sound to the rear and sides. The pattern has been
dubbed hypercardioid. While more directional that the simple cardioid, the hypercardioid still leaves
something to be desired in spook-level directional work.

The next step up in directionality is the supercardioid. Note carefully that it possesses no inherent
amplification of incoming sound, merely rejects sounds coming from the back and sides, compared with those
barreling in on the long axis. Think of it as the sound equal of a telephoto lens. The lens does not amplify
light, merely captures a smaller segment of a scene.

If the supercardioid mic gives us only directionality, we must depend upon raw gain in the amp to let us hear
what comes in, at least if we expect to hear better through the system than with the unaided ear. As gain
rises, so do noise levels, even in the best amplifiers. Trouble comes when this parallel rise in noise cancels
benefits of higher gain.

Finally, the most highly directional, non-amplifying mic is the shotgun, not the same as Popular Electronics'
shotgun. This design is usually a single tube configured to eliminate resonances that would otherwise plague a
unit tube. The diagram shows the polar response pattern of a shotgun mic. It rejects sound from the rear to
the tune of 20 dB ••••

....but only at high frequencies. Look again at the diagram. Note that response at 250 Hz shows much less
directionality than that at 8 KHz-and recall that the band we wish to hear spans only 300-3000 Hz,
meaning that even the shotgun mic isn't as directional as its name or shape would imply. The same principle
holds for parabolic mics. True, they amplify sound, but suffer the same drop in directional power as frequency
falls below 8 KHz.

DIRECTIONAL MICS IN PERSPECTIVE

What percentage of audio intelligence is gathered by directional microphones compared with that gathered by
bugging or wire-tapping?

Not much, by the look of things. Yet this fiendish tool, the mic that hears at a distance, fascinates enough
people that directional gear has proven a perennial favorite. Space ads in magazines cost a great deal of
money. From the persistence and pervasiveness of ads for hand-held microphones/amplifiers, with and without
directional capability, there has to be a hefty market for them just to defray the cost of hype. Recent prices
for outwardly similar products range $50-$130. Some incorporate a small (5" or so, by the look of it)
reflector. While clearly less conspicuous than a full-size 18" dish, whose effectiveness in a properly executed
design no one denies, we have to ask: Who buys these things, and for what do they use them?

The ads themselves are nebulous as to purpose; some perhaps unintentionally comic. As everyone knows, it is
illegal to use a directional listening device to tune in on conversations of persons at a distance without their
knowledge and consent.

17
 BUGS

Relax. We aren It about to re-catalog all modes of bugs and bugging, merely hit a few spots that have caught
our eye of late and which mirror an evolving technology. You'll find deep profiles of tape recorders, contact
mics, assembled transmitters, and the like in references cited elsewhere in the book.

LIGHT TRANSMISSION OF SOUND: THE IR LED BUG

Those who build an effective RF sniffer learn quickly why it has remained the staple of the debugging trade
since bugging via transmitter began. The sniffer picks up conventional RF bugs too easily. Once the target
suspects he has been bugged and runs an RF sweep, the odds approach 100 percent a sniffer will lead him to
the transmitter, which has your prints all over it, not to mention microtraces of your DNA if you built it
yourself••••

Although the dread laser bug has drawn greatest press, other light-reliant methods require less sophisticated
and costly equipment and do not depend on the vagaries of windows. Nor do they betray themselves with ugly
RF pollution. For example, take the infrared diode bug. A standard mic inside the target premises feeds a
small preamplifier which, in turn, modulates the output of an invisible infrared light-emitting diode mounted
discreetly outside the premises. A snooper need only know the location of the diode to lock in on it with a
simple optical device equipped with an infrared detector, usually a phototransistor, that yields crystalline
audio.

This type of bug comes in portable units about the size of a box of matches, designed to be placed at a
window; yet these seem too obvious if discovered. Relying on battery power, they die after a day or so. A
potential improvement would mount a solar cell on each side of the unit, to charge a nicad battery that
would keep the mic going overnight. Who knows how long such a thing might remain active?

The simplicity of IR technology happens also to be responsible for the now-universal infrared wireless remote
control devices, as well as recently introduced cordless headphones and speakers. The circuitry has been
reduced to a pair of chips. The 1989 Radio Shack catalog lists an IR detector with built-in amplifier,
limiter, bandpass filter, comparator, and integrator (part# 276-137; $3.49). It's the type of component
whose power fairly begs for lewd abuse in surveillance work.

Straight audio modulation of IR intensity and use of a receiver that keys on these gross changes subjects the
device to noise. For example, either fluorescent or incandescent lighting drowns light-sensitive viewers with
60 Hz hum. The solution to that problem lies with use of a carrier signal of tens of thousands of Hz on which
the audio is frequency-modulated. The analogy to AM and FM radio is crude, but gives an idea of the
reduction in interference and noise to be had with this technique (commercial cordless headphones and
speakers use it). Natch, it bogs down the circuit in extra parts, and the operative must sometimes choose
between size/power requirements and performance.

Infrared light shows up on infrared viewers, making a nocturnal IR-scan of the exterior of the premises part
of a truly professional debugging sweep.

Incidentally, this type of setup lends itself extremely well to mounting behind an AC wall socket, where it
can gulp all the power it needs, enough to power an IR laser diode if need be, perhaps visible to trained
watchers from miles, and remaining active indefinitely or until the power company cuts you off....

THE LASER LISTENER (SO WHAT ELSE IS NEW?)

Considered exotic a few years back, the laser bug graced the cover of the October, 1987 issue of Radio-
Electronics in build-it-yourself trim. With a laser and about $25 worth of electronic parts the hobbyist can
build an unsophisticated but working laser bug. R-E kindly granted permission for us to reprint the schematic.
The discussion below of Dirijo Corporation bears on certain thematic aspects of laser bugging.

The principle must by now be known to all, but to summarize for those naive to it, laser light possesses the

18
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19
property of coherence. Stated another way, it's light of a single wavelength, marching in step, as it were.
Sunlight and other sources of white light contain the entire visible spectrum, as passage through a prism will
show.

The laser's special properties that suit it to bugging lie in its near-inconsequential divergence over vast
distances; power, which enables use at those distances; and invisibi Iity in the case of infrared and ultraviolet
lasers.

We have seen that one bugging method calls for an audio signal to modulate the output of an infrared diode.
These changes in intensity can be picked up at moderate distances, demodulated, and processed as desired.

But the IR bug is active in the sense that it demands a mic inside the target premises, or at least a limpet
mic hugging the wall or window. The laser bug is deemed passive because all working components lie outside
the target.

Laser light bounces off surfaces. A thin, highly reflective mirror modulated by the voices of targets would
make the ideal reflector, but we find few such surfaces accessible to the deadly beam. Windows have been
primary targets out of their reflectivity, thinness, and outside visibility.

We beam the laser at a window. Since the window vibrates as the pigeons inside speak, reflected laser light
carries these modulations. We detect the reflected light with apparatus similar to that used for the IR bug,
and demodulate the signal to extract the audio.

Angle of incidence can vary widely without degrading performance. The laser source could be mounted one
location, the receiver at another, though finding the beam poses problems. Ideally, laser and receiver mount
coaxially on a single unit, but this limits the angles from which we may shoot the target window to near-
perpendicular in two planes.

Use of a visible laser at night carries risk if the target is familiar not with laser listeners, but with laser
sights used on guns. He may spot that telltale red glow on the curtain and take you for a sniper. And who
knows what breed of executive action that might prompt?

Experimenters would be advised to begin with visible, low-power lasers, always bearing in mind that even
these can cause permanent eye damage. (Experimenting with lasers is a craft unto itself, with safety
precautions for experimenter and bystanders, special goggles to buy, and the like. Master laser safety before
trying the bug.)

The laser bug has been around long enough to have seen several sinister refinements. First, it's been found
that window-glass is by no means the only surface that will suit the needs of the principle. Shiny objects
inside the house can offer better reflectivity, and are less likely to be screened with white noise generators
attached to them. Second, surfaces not ordinarily considered reflective have proven adequate for laser
Iistening -walls, doors, and so forth. Third, we need not limit the technique to fixed structures such as
houses or offices. Moving cars, reflective objects near marks engaged in conversation, and so forth have been
targeted, though techniques involved lie beyond the financial reach of hobbyists. (Hint: For years, the
military complained that the major roadblock to genuinely effective laser weapons lay with lack of an aiming
system that would fix the beam in situations where both target and laser were moving. Airborne lasers have
downed incoming Sidewinder missiles aimed at them. Breakthroughs in aiming high-power lasers could just as
readily serve eavesdropping.) Fourth, in theory, the laser bug will work at frightening distances. One of the
first experiments conducted with lasers bounced the beam off the moon. A range of several miles with Class
IV (i.e., powerful) infrared lasers should surprise no one. We have to wonder whether this equipment nestles
aboard our latest generation of spy satellites, to track conversations inside cars with a beam bounced off the
roof. Digital audio processing has expanded the laser bug's potential by eliminating former noise obstacles.

To counter the laser bug, several firms market white-noise generators designed to stick on windows at risk.
They modulate the window just as any sound would, only more strongly, making it difficult but not impossible
to extract conversation.

20
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SCHEMATIC OF LASER LISTENER, DESIGNED BY RICHARD PEARSON, WHICH
APPEARED IN THE ARTICLE HLASER LISTENERu IN THE OCTOBER, 1987 ISSUE OF
uRADIO-ELECTRONICSH MAGAZINE. COPYRIGHT (C) 1987 GERNSBACK PUBLICATIONS,
INC. REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION.
The letters column of Radio-Electronics, November, 1987, printed commentary from Forrest Mims III, a well
known contributor to the electronics field (and, we learned through research for the rocket section, an
innovative model rocketeer). He felt that R-E should not have published Richard Pearson's laser listener
project in an article that allegedly encouraged illegal use of such a unit. Mims related that a newspaper had
approached him in 1976 to use an infrared laser to bug Howard Hughes' suite atop a hotel. He stated that
the paper had convinced him that Hughes' conversations might give evidence of illegal activity, but
complained that the paper failed to tell him (Mims) that bugging in that manner was illegal. Few who've read
this man's work doubt that he could have pulled off the feat, even back in '76. Due to missed connections
the deal never went down. Other readers advised the editor that, whi Ie they agreed that certain knowledge
could serve nefarious ends, they wished to stay informed, and applauded publication of the article. It is
perhaps fair to say that some statements in or pointing to Mr. Pearson's article were suggestive, but that
reasonable men could not conclude beyond doubt that they encouraged illegal conduct.

The author admits readily to a helpless naivete when it comes to electronic engineering, but even he cannot
help but note that no laser listener circuit he has seen to date takes advantage of genuinely low-noise
technology. The LM380 audio amplifier Ie used in Mr. Pearson's circuit offers a SIN ratio adequate to
portable radios and such, but preamps and op amps available in the past ten years eclipse its noise figure by
orders of magnitude. Those amps coupled to progressively quieter infrared phototransistors should in theory
enhance the LL's range and fidelity. Perhaps circuits printed to date represent sops tossed out to satisfy our
curiosity and blunt the urge to improve.

TRANSMITTERS ••• AND WHAT THE ADS DON'T TELL

TRIMMING THE ANTENNA

Love, hate, and the fact that RF transmitters require power and antennas have found a place among
universal human truths. The particulars do not see much space in ads for spook gear, though. Messy details
detract from sales.

Spook transmitters are short-range devices, necessarily so in light of their unlicensed status and the fact that
too much power would let innocents within a several-mile radius tune in on the conversation, if they
happened accidentally to lock on to the signal.

This shortage of power leaves no room for error in configuring the device. Once the experimenter has
selected a frequency, either by crystal tuning or adjustment of a variable capacitor, he must (or should) tune
the antenna, a process known as "pruning."

Most spook gear uses a simple "pole" antenna. This can be a collapsible type, or, most likely, a strand of
thin, insulated wire. Note that the length of the antenna should bear a special relationship to the wavelength
of the frequency being transmitted. Ideally, they should be equal, but this is seldom practical with gear
working below UHF band. More often, particularly for gear transmitting in the 108 MHz region, lengths half
or a quarter of the wavelength perform best.

Now, it is possible to calculate antenna length working from frequency, but these calculations do not
automatically result in a perfectly tuned antenna. Experience has proven that pruning offers significant gains.
To prune an antenna, you must have access to either a field-strength meter or an RF sniffer easily built for
less than $20 and quite sensitive. (In fact, the first piece of gear the beginner builds should be a reliable RF
sniffer. In addition to avoiding legal hassles, it acquaints you with circuit boards, soldering, and facilitates
later setup of RF senders that might or might not be legal •••• )

Power up the transmitter and the sniffer. Adjust the sniffer such that it reads about half scale when placed
within easy view of the transmitter.

The antenna wire should be a few inches longer than its calculated length, whether quarter- or half-wave. It
should hang as near to vertical as possible. Orient the sniffer's antenna vertically also.

Begin snipping off quarter-inch bites from the end of the antenna wire. Watch the meter as you go. When the

22
meter begins to show a stronger signal, cut the bites to an eighth of an inch. It may be necessary to lower
the gain if the meter goes full-scale. When a snip gives a barely perceptible drop in signal strength, the
antenna is tuned ....

.. ..at least for that set of circumstances. Environmental changes can detune the setup. For example, if you
tuned a transmitter designed to be worn on the body this way, it would probably lose some of its gain when
worn because proximity to the human body alters capacitance critical to tuning. The solution calls for
antenna-pruning while a subject wears the transmitter.

Proximity of metal objects to transmitter or antenna can make a huge difference in signal strength. If
surrounded by too much ferrous material, transmission may be blocked altogether. (Take a look at the metal
backing that holds the punch-down block, discussed below. Although it's the perfect spot to secrete a
transmitter, the antenna wire has to go somewhere not blocked by metal to send its now-detuned signal.)

Beware that once you have tuned the antenna for a set frequency, it would not do to let the frequency drift.
Crystal-controlled transmitters suffer least drift, but happen to be the most expensive and least often built by
hobbyists. The variable capacitor tuning method is especially prone to drift. Many pros who use this brand of
gear lock the capacitor in place with a drop of epoxy, wax, or hot-melt glue after selecting a frequency but
before pruning the antenna.

It goes without saying that the antenna should hang as near vertical as possible, and sit as high as practical,
since these factors-proper orientation and height-give maximum range. Thin, multi-stranded wire handles
more easily than single-stranded wire of the same gauge.

RECHARGE IT
Efficiency of solar cells continues its climb. It has reached the point that several firms market units designed
to keep nicads charged in portable electronic gear. The concept fairly begs to be applied to surveillance
devices that would otherwise die after a day or so. Check out the flyer from Sovonics [tm] Solar Systems,
Box 1101, Southgate, MI, 48195. Send them a SASE.

REPEATERS
Gear that hobbyists build transmits most often in the 108-109 MHz region, accessible to FM radios. For
reasons noted above, power has to be low or the world knows your game, since most of the world owns an
FM radio. Far fewer geeks own CB radios, though enough to make transmitting on standard CB frequencies
chancy as well (and more likely to bring in the FCC, whose computerized direction-finding gear is the envy
of the trade).

Hobbyists, under determined tutelage of veteran spooks, have been sold plans to build repeaters. A repeater
receives a radio signal on one frequency and re-broadcasts it on another. The principle has found use all over
the United States for years. Pol ice departments, ham radio operators, and cellular telephone equipment use
it.

Spook repeaters, at least at the hobbyist level, typically receive 108 MHz signals and rebroadcast them at
higher power on crystal-controlled gear or equally stable frequency-synthesis units that have been detuned
slightly, such that a standard CB receiver will not lock onto the signal unless it, too, has been detuned. This
technique adds blocks to miles to the effective range of an RF bug and is quite illegal.

THE ETIQUETTE OF WEARING A WIRE

The author has always felt a fondness for the Panasonic RN12. Selling for about $175 in 1985, measuring
only 9/16" x 2 -1/8" x 4", weighing mere ounces, and running quietly enough for field use. It goes at least 2
hours continuously on a set of fresh alkaline batteries, or, in the model the author tested with two different
brands of nicads, 1.5 hours on them with a fresh charge.

23
TOP: Noise spectrum of Panasonic RN12 tape unit recording in dead-quiet room w/mic attached.
MIDDLE: Same setup w/mic detached from unit. Note dramatic drop in noise level. Scale is 3
dB/division. BOTTOM: Delicate left hand swallows the tiny RN12; recorder using standard cassette
in right hand.

24
Wearing a wire always involves a gamble, since the mark may be wearing gear that detects either the bias
oscillations thrown off by the tape recorder, or an RF sniffer, or a combination unit. Such units let the
wearer know without letting you know that he knows. They signal by means of a small, silent vibrator; or, in
desktop models, with discreet flashing of an LED. (Crude models use an audio tone sent through an earphone.
Beware of persons under the age of sixty wearing IIhearing aids. 1I If they're wearing aviator shades with the
earphone and look like the athletic type, they're feds •••• )

TAPE RECORDERS
Scan the pages of any finished-gear discount electronics catalog. Odds are, it wi II feature a flock of
microcassette tape recorders tiny enough to slip in your inside jacket pocket, in a ladies' purse, even in your
front shirt pocket. From this vantage it can record face-to-face conversations handily from a built-in mic.
Simple, no?

Actually, it isn't quite that simple. Details separate success from failure in all walks of life, and so it goes
with wearing a wire.

Dry runs are essential. They tip you off to so many potential problems easily correCted once you know about
them. Take externally audible noise, for instance. It would not do to have the mark hear that telltale whir of
the motor. It could lead to embarrassing questions that undermine your, ah, credibility ••••

If tape transport noise proves externally audible, you'd better believe that an integral mic is not only picking
it up, but it may overwhelm the conversation. A crude audio spectrum analyzer illustrates this graphically.
The photo-pair shows the output of recordings taken in a dead-quiet room, using the unit's integral mic
attached (a Panasonic RN-12), and that same mic detached from the unit. Note the dramatic drop in noise
levels. (A third reading from bulk-erased blank tape showed near-complete absence of noise, at least relative
to that produced by the recording process alone in this small unit.)

The RN-12 comes with a sensitive, detachable mic, complete with tie clip, though not the smallest we have
seen. Make a test run with the mic detached but placed in the front coat pocket. Note the overwhelming
rustle of fabric every time you move, even breathe. In this position the mic gives good recordings only if you
remain rigid and breathe shallowly. We obtained somewhat better results in a serious run using Radio Shack's
IIcredit-card-size ll mic. Another advantage of using a separate mic is that it allows you to place the recorder
somewhere less likely to betray itself. Your side jacket pocket, even a rear pants pocket. The author taped a
sensitive conversation that way once. He had to punch holes in the armpit of his shirt and jacket to get the
mic wire back around to the recorder, placed in his left rear pants pocket. Operation of the unit was
inaudible, but it would have been embarrassing to have been asked to remove his jacket ••••

How long will the conversation last, and what will your unit do when it reaches the end of tape? Will it
surprise you with a beep? Best to find out these things in advance. First, as to length, with unmodified units,
we can record forty-five minutes at standard speed (2.4 em/sec) or an hour and a half at half speed (1.2
em/sec), without turning the tape over. Double these times for units equipped with auto-reverse, but test
the auto-reverse to be certain it works inaudibly.

Tests will show that slow-speed fidelity is dreadful but usually intelligible. When you cannot gauge the length
of the conversation in advance, best to use slow speed. High speed offers better fidelity, nothing near that of
recorders that use standard-size cassettes. Those units bear the onus of size, though the gap has narrowed.

It goes without saying that the unit will run on batteries. Best that they not fail during the interview. Use
only fresh alkaline cells. Burnish their contacts as well as the contacts in the battery compartment. If you
are not sure they will drive the recorder for its maximum operation time, test a set before going into action.

You wi II note from early test-recordings an annoying, boomy quality to speech. Mostly reflected sound
reaches the mic, which explains the boom. It is also a push for using a pressure-zone mic if possible, since
this will reduce the boom.

25
VOICE-ACTIVATION CIRCUITRY (VOX)
VOX units start the recorder only when they "hear" conversation loudly enough to trigger them. They save
tape, and in many cases it is impractical to use a recorder without a VOX, out of limited tape capacity. But
the inertia inherent in tape-transport mechanisms means that VOX units lose starts of most phrases. If tests
show the lag to be inconsequential, fine; but do not rely on the VOX without first testing its delay.

AUTOMATIC LEVEL CONTROL

In experimenting with the NEC uPC1571 compander chip, the author configured it both as a compressor and
as an automatic level control per circuits supplied by NEC. The distinction sometimes blurs, since a fast-
acting automatic level control will in essence compress the signal. That observation aside, note that many
high-end compact tape recorders feature automatic level control as a bell-and-whistle, just like VOX. It's a
good feature to have, and both ALC and VOX are available without resorting to dedicated spook gear.

WEARING A TRANSMITTER
Much the same advice about tape recorders applies to wearing a transmitter: dry run, check the batteries
and range, etc. Transmitters aren't suitable for locales where you might walk out of range, unless a cohort
shadows you with the receiver and recorder. Generally, they are iffier than portable recorders, cost
considerably more in reliable trim, and demand more attention to detail than do portable tape units.

TELEPHONE SECURITY IN THE AGE OF CORDLESS PHONES

Until lately, there was no security when using these devices. The author has picked up one side of a cordless
phone's duplex transmission on a plain FM radio. The voice was buried in a high-pitch howl, abrasive to hear
but fully intelligible, apparently an unsuppressed harmonic of the 40-50 MHz range common to these units.
On the other hand, maybe he intercepted the transmission of a sloppily designed bug ••••

These phones use separate channels on different frequencies, a setup known as duplex. Usual frequencies span
46 to 49 MHz. Ordinary scanners can receive the channels. A bugger need only know the make of the
phone, check with the manufacturer to see what frequencies are being used. Or use an RF frequency
counter. When it detects radio waves, it displays the frequency.

The latest phones automatically select among ten channels for clearest communication, something akin to so-
called diversity systems used in high-end car stereos and professional wireless mics. This adds a degree of
security, since selection cannot be predicted and changes constantly, though not in the same manner as
dedicated frequency-hopping units. Southwestern Bell has introduced its model FF-4500 with built-in
scrambling capability, though not DES-level. Still, it would require dedicated effort to intercept and
descramble transmissions that both hopped about a spread of ten frequencies and sounded like Donald Duck
stoned on Seconal. These features are long overdue on consumer products blithely assumed to offer privacy.

Cellular telephones present an even nastier problem, since everybody with a scanner can tap into them,
either at their unit frequencies or at repeater frequencies. Cellular phones have become scary status symbols
in this terrible era. One mailorder firm marketed a stick-on dummy antenna that looked like it matched a
cellular phone, for about $20 ••••

Scramblers based on DES are available on business-band and public service transceivers costing several
thousand dollars. The transmissions sound like hiss and are secure to attack by non-governmental foes, at
least for the time being. Either get a compatible receiver and today's code, or bug the car.

PHONE BUGGING

TAPPING THE OFFICE LINE: THE PUNCH-DOWN BLOCK

Assume for the moment that we will not be using inductive pickups or other iffy connections; that we will
make direct contact with "the pair" as it's known in phone company jive. Short of tapping in on the pole, or
the nearest junction box, where and how do we proceed?

26
Any number of attack points. First, in modular systems, if you can get to a wall jack, simply remove it and
hook your clips onto the proper terminals (green and red color-coded). For the single-line phone, there will
be only one pair. On multiple line phones you must decide which is likely to bear juiciest fruit.

For businesses, though, you will need to know about the punch-down block. This seems to be the universal
interface between the phone company's lines and the user's. The photos show a typical example.

Note several points. First, wires are color-coded, with a sample being "line-1," which in all commercial and
telco setups we have seen consists of the white wire with blue stripes and the blue wire with white stripes.
The left side is the company side, the right side of the block is the user's. The two lugs on the left are
connected internally to one another, the two on the right are connected to one another, but the left and
right pair are not connected. To make contact, to make the actual connection between company and
customer, the installer applies a bridge or clip across the inner pair of lugs, shown in the photos.

Now, if your design required interposition of the unit (a series bug), you would remove the clips, then attach
your break-out using alligator clips or whatever (though we will see momentarily the better, chameleon's
way to do things). Parallel bugs need no break in the line.

A "pair" consists of tip and ringer, but polarity makes no difference with most types of bugs.

In every installation the author has seen, the pairs always run from the top down: the fi rst two wires,
vertically, form the line-1 pair, the next two line-2, and so forth. Color codes for the first 3 lines of a
"standard" system are blue/white, orange/white, and green/white; that is to say, the first pair consists of a
white wire with blue stripes and a blue wire with white stripes; and so on down.

It takes little diligence to spot a pair of alligator clips clamped to the works, as in the parallel bug in the
photo. Isn't there an easier way, a way that will escape casual inspection by even the phone company?

Of course. Attach your device using wires that match the color codes for the pair you want, and instead of
using clips, simply use the punch down block. A telco employee could spot the extras quickly, if he is looking
for them, but they will escape the casual glance, and non-telco personnel haven't the foggiest as to what
wires belong and what don't. Where do you get color-coded wire? Purchase a length of cable with at least
one Amphenol [tm] connector on the end. Strip off the insulation, and inside you will find these same
universally color-coded pairs.

To do it in a genuinely professional way, you will need a special tool. It punches the wire down to the
bottom of the clamp, strips a bit of insulation, then clips it off as neat as you please, all with one crisp
stroke.

And it costs only $23 from Jensen Tools (7815 S. 46th St, Phoenix, AZ, 85044; 1-602-968-6231). But
what's $23 compared to detection of your gimmick? The author once used a screwdriver in lieu of the special
tool to install his own 3-line business phone system, including intercom and many extras. He found that the
screwdriver left more than 10 percent of punched-down wires unconnected. These then had to be traced and
manually stripped. Take it from one who has been there, that stiff price of a punch-down tool is worth it if
you will be doing your own, ah, installations••••

An alternative involves removal of the two large screws that hold the block to the mount. This offers
extended access to that tangle of wire behind the block. Here the color coding helps enormously. You can
tap in, parallel or series, in a region ordinarily hidden from view. An inductive bug might run into problems if
several lines were in use simultaneously, though, but might offer the freebie of tapping into pot luck from a
single bug.

If you want lines 1 through 4, they are easily spotted by location and color coding. In more complex systems,
as found in offices with 20 lines or so, you will have to identify the correct pair. This can be done in a
number of ways. The oldest is to buy a phone company handset and systematically attach clips to pairs until
you get the right one (it helps to have an assistant talking on the line; otherwise, the method is impractical).

Several companies make equipment that sends a pulsing tone through the pair, sometimes audio, sometimes

27
 111

co
N

DETAILS OF THE PUNCH-DOWN BLOCK. TOP LEFT: Pointer on telco side. TOP CENTER: Pointer on user side.
TOP RIGHT: Clip removed. Left pair and right pair are internally connected, but the two pair are electrically isolated,
hence need for clip to make contact. BOnOM LEFT: Telco side shows color-coded wiring as described in text. BOTTOM
CENTER: Looking down into the maze of wiring behind the block. Color-coding makes it easy to get your chosen "pair."
BonOM RIGHT: Experimental parallel transmitter connected to punch-down block. Transmitter no longer exists, and
certainly wasn't used for bugging....
RF, that can be picked up by the operative in seconds, thus saving considerable time. John Wilson markets
plans for a device that will not send its signal until you "tell" it to do so from your site at the block, a
feature that enhances security. (Think hard. You are on the premises installing a bug, for chrissakes. That's
a felony. You need all the protection you can get.)

It wouldn't hurt to inspect the block in your own office once in a while, would it.... ?

* * *

BUILD OR BUY?
Spookdom has evolved dichotomously, split like the rest of the world along lines of wealth. We have amateur
gear that serves handily for most operations, and costs only the plans and parts. And this is only what's
advertised. One professional engineer told the author that he "keeps the good stuff in the closet" in any
case. Since his hobbyist plans are among the best to be had, it gets scary thinking what this man has cooked
up for cl ients he asked us not to name••••

DO-IT-YOURSELF: THE FINAL FRONTIER

Assembled gear of medium-to-outta-sight price has seen wide exposure in spook literature. A dedicated look
at the plans market has been lacking.

At the deep-pockets end of the spectrum, we have the government-it dips as deeply as it wishes into our
pockets -along with foreign governments and gaggles of extremely well heeled private rogues for whom
money means little, but the notion of security holds worth. Touring devices accessible to them is like turning
a kid loose in a toy store where everything is free.

Selection depends on your Objectives, expertise, and budget. For those with no prior experience in electronic
circuit design, and that includes most of the populace, and assuming an average budget, best return on time,
money, and effort comes from building circuits designed by pros.

For modest cost -roughly $5 to $25 -one can purchase plans for (potential) bugging gear, as well as
debugging and audio processing circuits. Most vendors sell plans only, while others sell plans, parts, complete
kits, and in some cases, assembled units.

The cost of making this gear varies, but, with a serious connection to one of the larger electronics suppliers,
or dedicated hobbyist suppliers, one can build devices that out-perform slickly packaged merch selling for
hundreds, even thousands, of dollars. (In one case some years back, a vendor sold plans for an RF-detector
that flat shamed units a debugging supplier was foisting on Uncle Sugar for more than ten grand a hit. The
vendor naturally sought to capitalize on his splendid plans and put the readily proven facts in his ads. The
result was to call forth a shirtload of rancor, with ugly overtones of menace and heavy elements of ill will.
Those who know Who's Who in countersurveillance engineering, and the system that turns $20 worth of parts
into $500 worth of product, do not doubt this tale, which we happened to get straight from the horse's
mouth .... )

The point being, don't discount the performance of gear you assemble yourself. It lacks the panache of
custom labels and enclosures. But it works.

"Companies" selling plans are in most cases one person, which is no sin. Free enterprise spawned this book.
The person has usually not set out to become a designer of hobby electronics gear, but gathered the know-
how through other avenues, such as professional engineering; saw an opportunity in the pages of electronics
publications, whipped up plans, and marketed them.

Note that it is illegal to sell completed survei Ilance units of most types. Sell ing plans only, or at most a kit,
stays on the lawful side of the fence.

When choosing a device, let's say and amplifier or transmitter, it is wise to check the length of time the

29
company has been around, their reported experience, whether they offer follow-up or other help after the
sale.

Kits with all parts, and most important, an etched and drilled printed circuit board, will save many
headaches. Matching components on perfboard to a schematic diagram has brought on many a migraine.

KNOWLEDGE FOR SALE

These five profiles sample what's current in the knowledge market. We chose a combination of vendors whose
emphases tend to complement one another:

PANAXIS
Offering plans and kits since 1975, Panaxis Productions, under the tutelage of Ernest Wilson (no relation to
John) has grown into what is probably the most comprehensive offering reviewed here.

Like many in the information business, Mr. Wilson calls upon an extensive technical background dating back
to the fifties, which includes work with ion accelerators, analog computers, digital telemetry, and broadcast
engineering. He has held posts teaching electronics, but has devoted his efforts primarily to Panaxis for the
past 10 years, as well as serving as a broadcasting consultant.

Panaxis sells plans and some kits related to amateur radio, CB radio, various aspects of television, including
scrambling; computer software, and low-power to full-power FM broadcasting. Some of the more interesting
plans/kits include active antennas, anti-bugging devices, infinity transmitters, various transmitters named in
the catalog as "bugs" (plans only); a transmitter for tailing autos; ultrasonic jammer, non-digital voice
scrambler /descrambler; various RF sniffers, parabolic mic, electronic voice disguiser, SCA decoder, notch
filters to remove hash video signals, 75,000-volt electrical defense weapon, theremin (see the discussion of
proximity sensors in the Alarm section); various audio compressors-gear close to the author's heart; and a
host of other plans and treatises that span an incredibly broad spectrum. Prices rank among the most
reasonable we have seen, from plans up to complete kits.

Panaxis' catalog spans 34 professionally typeset pages. Any reader with an interest in electronics in general
or surveillance/countersurveillance in particular should order a free copy from: Panaxis, Box 130, Paradise,
CA, 95697.

CONSUMERTRONICS
What's related here reflects Consumertronics' catalog in profile, as well as hands-on experience with two
items we had the publisher buy for testing. We asked all vendors for a more detailed bio than appears in ads
or literature, but former Lockheed engineer John J. Williams' reply suggested that he wasn't interested
unless we had national media connections. Judging from Mr. Williams' material, he's at least as deep-fringe-
oriented as this awful rag ••••

Ah, well. To business. Consumertronics sells hard, meaty, usable data at upmarket prices, though not
unreasonable beside prices of close-to-the-edge material sold elsewhere. We've detailed its marketing of the
Pakistani "Brain" computer virus in the chapter on Security and threats thereto.

Consumertronics' current catalog includes treatises on computer phreaking, phone phreaking, cryptanalysis,
encryption (Mr. Williams is among those who've posted a monetary reward for anyone who can break his
cipher), magnetic fields, electrical weapons, various aspects of computer programming, and automatic teller
machines. Appropriate material can be bought with or without diskettes of software discussed. In addition, he
offers to research topics, no matter how outre', for a fee; and solicits consultants to pay $25 to sign up as
part of his consultant database. That's right: You pay to be on his list. An offering that paid Consumertronics
a commission based on fees consultants actually received as a result of referrals from the firm might attract
more potential members, but that's hardly our affair.

We purchased two products: "Beyond van Eck Phreaking" ($20) and "Cryptanalysis Techniques" w/diskette
($25).
30
BVEP contains 12.5 pages of meat, including a letter to Wim van Eck and his reply, and a half page of
advertising. Print density averages two to three times that of the average full, single-spaced typewritten
page; Mr. Williams wastes few words attacking the point of the treatise: intercepting EMF radiated from
computers and their peripherals and reconstructing the screen display. He offers several schematics, but, like
the text, they assume the reader to have a genuinely sl ick grasp of electronics in general and
video/television in particular. Readers without that savvy will drown quickly in this stuff. TV cognoscenti will
find instantly applicable material-but do not expect the type of write-up that holds your hand from
beginning to end, along with a parts list and PC board layout as one might expect from one of the project-
oriented electronics mags.

Cryptanalysis Techniques (15 pages plus diskette) again serves up a platter of rich fare that demands several
close readings to extract all its content. Running the computer programs offers insight into decryption as no
text alone can, though do not hold unrealistic expectations of them. They teach about n-gram analysis and
Kasiski analysis, among other things, but don't expect to load ciphertext, sit back and wait for the decrypted
message to appear. The diskette throws in additional software in compressed form that those with access to
an electronic bulletin board can decompress using a downloadable utility.

Assuming Mr. Williams writes his own ads we infer that he has a firm grip on the psychology of hype-and
that's a compliment. Ads live or die by the force of their hype. Consumertronics' ads lack nothing in that
sphere. Current catalog $2, free w/order. Box 537, Alamogordo, NM, 88310. Recommended •••even if he
won't rub elbows with us sleazes••••

DIRIJO CORPORATION
Richard Pearson has been a notable contributor to Radio-Electronics magazine. He is also the principal of
Dirijo Corporation. He wrote the now-infamous laser-bug article that made the cover of R-E and triggered a
reproof from Forrest Mims III. He designed the schematic that R-E kindly let us reprint. Dirijo sells (or sold)
a semi-printed circuit board for this project, with parts layout diagrammed for ease of assembly. It was well
worth the price of $7, including P&H. Included with that board were refinements in the original design and
changes in certain components that alone were worth money.

The current catalog lists plans for an FM transmitter with built-in automatic level control. It offers treatises
on special aspects of satellite and cable TV descrambling and police radar. The radar material was
particularly informative.

We wrote Mr. Pearson about visiting him, and mentioned casually that we would like to photograph his laser-
listener prototype. His reply seemed defensive-and we are reading liberally between the lines here-in the
sense that he stated that the device no longer existed; that he had been informed that possession of it was a
crime.

Well. Let's digress a bit to tackle this business of when a bug is a bug is a bug. In 1985 the author received
as a gift a kit called "Sound on Light." Its input was a phototransistor that fed an operational amplifier, the
works mounting in a tube fitted with crude lenses for aiming. The device came with a shiny metal reflector,
plus instructions for the following experiment: One subject would stand in direct sunlight, hold the reflector
near his face, and bounce sunlight off the shiny surface in the direction of the second subject, who aimed the
tube device-now activated, and feeding a pair of headphones-at the light. When the first subject spoke,
the second subject could hear the words. His voice caused the metallic reflector to vibrate, modulating
sunlight with audio. The receiver demodulated the audio.

No one with a basic grasp of physics can doubt that this project could demodulate laser light as easily as it
did sunl ight. It differs in design from Mr. Pearson's receiver only in its choice of phototransistor and
amplifier, and the lack of a meter. Perhaps more important, nowhere in the literature that came with the
device did it mention its potential use for bugging; whereas the laser listener article waved a red flag in the
face of federal bulls charged with enforcing the anti-bugging laws.

True, it's hard to call a coaxially mounted laser and matching receiver anything but a laser listener, for its
design speaks to that purpose. It is equally difficult, some might say impossible, to call a parabolic
microphone anything but a listener; or to call the "babysitting transmitter monitor" sold at Radio Shack
anything but a listener.
31
Listeners serve lawful ends. We can indeed see the mother of a young child wanting to listen to her infant's
room while she rakes the yard. We have seen parabolic mics out in force at pro football games, and heard
their pickup played back matched to films of the game. The individuals recorded had given permission, thus
no crime was involved.

The point that seems to determine how the enforcers treat an item with potential bugging use lies with
stated or overt intent as to its use, or with actual use. Who's to say that hundreds of laser listeners built by
hobbyists represent anything more than experiments of the genuinely curious, aimed only at windows of
knowing and cooperative subjects?

Enough badinage; the point has been made.

Mr. Pearson looks to have the know-how to expand his line of plans. We hope that he does. A hungry market
for descrambling and laser-bug-Iike material is out here, waiting. Box 212, Lowell, NC, 28098.

INFORMATION UNLIMITED
Although Robert lannini's book, Build Your Own Laser, Phaser, Ion Ray Gun & Other Working Space-Age
Projects (ISBN 0-8306-0604-1), suggested that I.U. has several employees, Mr. lannini is the man behind
the firm. He holds a number of patents, including those related to use of ultrasonics in pest-control. We
wrote and asked for his patent numbers to get the copies of the patents, in hope of extracting information of
interest to readers. Mr. lannini gracefully declined, but kindly sent us a free I.U. catalog.

I.U. has been profiled more extensively in other works. Our comments here try to clue readers in on the least
expensive means to assess I.U. 's products: get a copy of the book, either through interlibrary loan or by
purchase from TAB books for $16.95. Though copyright 1983, its plans show no remarkable changes from
those in the current catalog (plans that cost us $40 before discovering the book).

His plans may intimidate the novice, what with their talk of custom-wound transformers and such. They
speak of osci lIoscope waveforms almost on the assumption that the bui Ider has access to a 'scope and the
chops to use it. The one kit we bought and assembled, described in the Weapons chapter, might challenge
the soldering skills of all but experienced kit-builders.

I.U.'s emphasis lies with high-voltage devices, lasers, infrared imaging units, ultrasonic generators in varied
configurations, and a few surveillance-related devices, such as FM transmitters and a two-foot parabol ic
microphone with high-gain amp. Catalog $1. Box 716, Amherst, NH, 03031.

JOHN WILSON, JR
Wilson has been around a number of years, made a solid reputation selling mainly plans and some completed
gear, notably his RF-sniffer, which, to this day, has to be the bargain in countersurveillance. The plans cost
$22; careful shopping can keep the parts cost below $20, including a Radio Shack "blue box" and knobs for
the controls. (We ferreted out a 0-50 microamp meter for $2 from Fertik's. The typical panel meter goes for
$10-$20.) For less than $40 total you get an incredibly sensitive device. How sensitive? We'd like to be
able to put it in mathematical terms, but only engineers would grasp it. We built an FM phone-line
transmitter whose antenna had not been pruned; yet that short-range unit sent the sniffer's meter to full
scale from a distance of 10 feet. We tried it on a low-power UHF transmitter that an accomplice had hidden
in a 2-bedroom apartment. This took a systematic sweep of all rooms, but the sniffer found that tiny bug as
well. Here we had to get within a foot of it to read full scale.

The unit built by the author, with extreme and unnatural disregard for all cosmetic appeal, appears in the
photos. Bulky, ugly, but goddamn is it sensitive. A bit of planning and a proper box could make it look
presentable. Its useful bandwidth spans 10 MHz to "well into UHF." In fact, it reads microwaves leaking out
your oven.

Wilson gives advice after the sale, will look over built-from-scratch units to help duffers find out where they
goofed, answers letters promptly, and freely shares his vast knowledge of electronics and related lore. His
catalog costs $5, but he says he pegged the price high to screen his clientele to those with some serious

32
interest in hobby electronics. In any case, the price is refundable with the first order. For the true beginner,
his material offers the most in terms of guidance, with the assurance of "service after the sale" on boards
etched and drilled from scratch, quite a commitment that has earned him something of an international fan
club ••••

His current catalog offers plans and/or information on directional mics, audio amps and preamps; an array of
transmitters, both crystal controlled and RC-tuned; bumper beeper, repeater, improved antennas, phone
transmitter; his famous bug sniffer and a sniffer with more bells and whistles, known as a bug finder; a phone
line locator, converting CB gear to non-standard frequencieS, and making circuit boards and enclosures. He
just brought out plans that use Radio Shack's "receiver on a Chip" to make an FM radio that will fit in your
palm, for those special frequencies.

Mr. Wilson does custom design work to just about any specification, but restricts special gear for those who
have proper credentials, meaning a badge or connections with agencies usually tagged as three-letter groups.
He also has the means to spot phonies very quickly, in case you were thinking of printing up a police
letterhead to access his "back burner" stuff. He kindly lent us the tiny transmitter built into an aspirin box
shown in the photo, and gave us an interesting BG on its history, probably best not chronicled here••••

There is a great deal we would like to relate about Mr. Wilson and his activities, since it would lend this
book more intrigue; inside dope always has that effect. Of all sources listed here his background puts him
closest to true spooks, but he keeps a low profile out of legitimate intents that we respect.

Check out Wilson's catalog (John Wilson, Jr, Box 5264, Augusta, GA, 30906; $5). We do not aim to
endorse or pan any product or vendor here, but, having built a trainload of projects researching this book, we
have to offer as sound advice that the first piece of surveillance-related gear the beginner builds should be
Wilson's RF sniffer. It will facilitate tuning transmitters and acquaint you with an extremely easy method to
make printed circuit boards. The author swept his residence after completing that project, and found a little
surprise in the master bedroom. The unit is so sensitive, it was probably a false reading. Probably ••••

MAGAZINES
The electronics literature has latched onto this fascination with spook stuff because it sells magazines. The
cover of the October, 1987 issue of Radio-Electronics depicts use of the laser listener, something Buck
Rogersesque back in the sixties, that the average hobbyist could build for less that $40, minus cost of the
laser, which will run another $200 to several thousand, depending on power, aiming capability, wavelength,
etc. R-E and Hands-On Electronics have featured articles and construction projects on cable TV
descrambl ing (the multipart series in R-E is worth buying back-issues to get), copyguard defeating,
directional microphones, defeating copy-protected software, data encryption, voice scrambling, phone
phreaking (from the historical perspective only), and laser listening.

BUYING PARTS
Take a thousand parts off the shelf of any electronics supplier and test them. Odds are, a percentage will fail
to meet their specs. The very best parts are individually tested before leaving the factory. This does not
guarantee they will not fail later, but is the best that can be done short of a prolonged burn-in.

To no one's surprise, these parts sell for more than untested units. As an example, one vendor sells individual
MRF901 transistors for $1.25. He has tested each one for all variables except gain (which should be tested
before using this RF transistor in a critical application). The same vendor sells 901s ten for a buck,
untested. He told the author in a phone conversation that he buys them $85 per thousand, and that about
half test bad ••••

The MRF901 transistor qualifies as a considerably more delicate component than most resistors and
capacitors, yet the same principle applies to all: The only means of assuring a component's integrity is to
test it. Often, pre-testing components before soldering them to the board will save many hours of
troubleshooting when the thing fails to work.

33
Resistors and capacitors test easi Iy using the latest generation of digital multimeters, with accuracy
heretofore unobtainable. Many units selling for $50 and up also sport the ability to test some aspects of diode
and transistor function, though thorough testing will require a dedicated checker. Still, the multimeter gives
a go/no-go signal for semiconductors.

Buying and using first-line parts will cost, but may save in peace of mind and fewer failed projects. Bulk
buyers (a hundred or more of each part) are just the type to own equipment to test their cheap and iffy
parts, and to catch bad merch before using it.

Some parts, such as logic devices, are impractical to test without a dedicated unit. Hobby magazines have
published articles detailing construction of just such test devices, and they are available assembled at semi-
reasonable cost.

The morals that concern parts: A) The second device you purchase should be a digital multimeter with as
many functions as you can afford. You can get a carload for less than $75; B) Where possible, test key parts
before using them; C) If your project uses integrated circuits, solder sockets in place of the chips the first
go-round. That way, you do not have to desolder a 16-pin chip, with risk of heat destruction, to replace it.
Merely plug in another chip.

MAKING YOUR OWN PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARDS

For projects that give you a schematic only, the novice starting from scratch will meet trouble. To get
something worth building, and functional, almost always demands use of perfboard at the least, preferably a
printed circuit. Making printed circuit boards is easy in theory, a bit tricky in practice.

Count on failure with your first try, because it will probably happen, and for that reason start with a small,
simple pattern it won't wreck you to lose. The nature of the defects in your first board will guide you on the
second. Make your first board an extremely simple one. The example in the photo set may tax the first-
timer, but by no means lies beyond his reach if he is careful.

Printed circuit boards are nothing more than hard, flat insulators, such as phenolic resin or Fiberglas, laid
with conductive traces of copper on one or both sides, and drilled to accept components to complete a
circuit.

But most boards start out fully coated with copper on one side. Making a useful board demands removal of
some copper to leave conductive pads and traces. This process is called etching.

Etching involves immersion of the entire marked board in a solution that dissolves raw copper. This can be
touchy. The chemical most commonly used is ferric chloride. You'll find this ugly brown corrosive
(hydrochloric acid) on the shelf at the local Radio Shack, and stocked also by most purveyors of circuit-
building goods. Before using it, be aware that it eats/stains almost anything, inclUding a "stainless" steel
sink. Spill it on the carpet and you are in either for a dye-job or replacement of a swatch. Take it from one
who's been there that steam-cleaning won't cut it.

And as a corrosive, well, adequate eye-protection is a must. The author once spilled a cupful of ferric
chloride etchant on his leg. It felt like fifty hungry mosquitoes biting at once. Natch, he hit the showers
pronto.

Begin with simple designs. Layout pads and traces using either commercially sold rub-on pads and strips, or
the resist-ink pen. Rub-on traces resist etchant much better than does ink. If you use ink, retrace the
circuit after it dries the first time. These marked areas will remain while unprotected copper dissolves in the
etching process. Photo methods discussed below offer many advantages for those projects that provide you a
dandy black-and-white pattern, but best to use simpler methods for familiarization.

Cold solution etches more slowly than warm solution. Chemical reactions accelerate at higher temperatures.
Ideally, ferric chloride should be heated to 90-120 degrees F. Pour about a quarter-inch of solution into your
small, flat, clear plastic tray (the one that came with your beginner's kit works fine; NEVER use a metal
tray). Pop it in the microwave on medium power for three seconds at a time. Stop when the solution as felt

34
MAKING PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARDS. TOP LEFT: Thin copper-clad board, extremely inexpensive ($2 for
the sheet shown) from Fair Radio Sales. TOP RIGHT: Easily cut with tin snips or heavy scissors. BOTTOM
LEFT: RUbbing on traces and pads. MID RIGHT: Completed layout, ready for the tank. BOTTOM RIGHT:
Etching. Be careful •••• (continued next page)

35
(continued from last page) TOP LEFT: Etched board burnished with steel wool. TOP RIGHT: Drilling. MID
LEFT: Note that bit used was #60, too large for these pads; alternatively, we could have used larger pads.
A #66 bit would have suited this project better. MID RIGHT: Project nears completion. BOTTOM LEFT:
Correct mounting of thin bits for drilling boards. BOTTOM RIGHT: Incorrect mounting. The bit will break
easier than a toothpick.

36
through the container (don't dip your fingers in it) feels just warm. Immerse the laid board copper-side up,
then begin gently rocking the tray back and forth, side to side, washing etchant evenly over the surface.

Etching will seem to take forever. Count on 20 to 60 minutes' agitation per board. A hotter solution etches
quicker, but adds the danger of eating through thin traces by getting up under the edges. The virtue of
patience turns out the best boards, both cosmetically and functionally.

Do not assume, as many beginners do, that you can let the board soak overnight in cold solution and have
perfect traces greet you next morning. The board will look moth-eaten with broken traces in many places.
The etchant gets up under the edges of the resist. It usually means a wasted board.

Stop to inspect the board every few minutes while rocking it. Cease etching once all superfluous copper has
dissolved. Since ferric chloride blackens as it works, you must remove the board and rinse it to inspect it
closely. A pair of rubber gloves come in handy to keep your hands free of nicotine-like stains. Check the
board more often as you near the end of the process.

When only traces remain, remove the board and place it under cold running water for at least two minutes.
This stops the etch reaction still occurring under the edges of the traces. Pour the used ferric chloride in the
commode and flush. Again, it will mar stainless steel, so don't splash it in the sink.

Another chemical, ammonium persulphate, will etch copper clad boards. It costs less than $2 per pound, and
a pound dissolved in distilled water makes a gallon of etchant, far more economical than ferric chloride. Try
both, see which you prefer. Ammonium persulphate is available from Mouser Electronics, as of this writing.

Next, clean off the lacquer or other trace material as recommended by the maker. Some traces require a
lighter-fluid-like solution, while others come off with gentle scrubbing with a polyester pad. Then burnish the
copper to a uniform sheen with fine steel wool under running water (wear gloves and goggles).

Fancier boards coat the copper with tin using a solution available from Datak. It prevents oxidation of the
copper and wets more easily with solder.

Drilling holes: The 1/16" bit included with some PC kits makes holes that swallow the tiny wires of
electrical components. It will obliterate small pads. It bores holes simply too big for quality work. A #60 bit
is about the largest you will want for component leads, but even this size is a too big for some small-circuit
work. As you become more sophisticated, you will want a variety of bit sizes, #66 and #74 for example,
smaller ones for components with thin leads, larger ones for direct board-mounting of jacks and transformers.
Hobby shops that cater to the radio-control airplane trade usually stock bits in this range, as do printed
circuit vendors and Edmund Scientific.

A Iightweight, cordless dri II is used to good effect for circuits that demand only a few holes. Mount the bit in
the chuck such that only enough protrudes to penetrate the board. Those slender bits break as easily as
toothpicks. Center the tip of the bit on a pad or other spot needing a hole, then start the chuck turning
slowly. Once it has begun to bite, go to "high" speed, i.e., enough not to waste time, but not as fast as the
drill will go. You are holding a device that may weigh several pounds over a delicate structure. Should you
punch through with too much verve, the chuck could tear the pad or fracture the board. Go easy until you
get a feel for it.

For large boards, or for those demanding extremely precise placement of small holes, a jeweler's drill press
may be needed.

There is no agreement as to whether you should drill before or after you etch. The author has had best
results drilling after, but the reader should experiment.

DESIGNING BOARDS
Unless you intend to get into this heavily, best leave the work of designing the board to the person who
created the circuit. Professionally made designs, such as computer motherboards, are masterpieces of elegant
engineering that optimize component placement and minimize use of jumpers (connections between traces on

37
the upper surface of the board). Many of these designs could not have been produced without the aid of
computers.

For extremely simple circuits, try laying out components in diagrammatic form and connect the dots. This will
give a functional if inelegant piece of work.

If you can, examine some examples of professionally produced boards used in, say, stereo components. You
will note that, unless it is a computer circuit, its traces are extremely thick compared to the ones on your
first few boards. The reason has to do with speed, sometimes with shielding: the thicker the traces, the less
copper must be removed, the less time etching takes, and the less chemical is required to process a given
batch of boards. As the wisdom of this sinks in, you will find yourself filling blanks on your boards with etch-
resist so at least that splotch need not be etched, saving you time and etchant.

With a bit of care, it is possible to layout a board with paper and pencil, then transfer the design by hand,
estimating visually, directly to a board using rub-on traces or a resist-ink pen. For a more professional
appearance, or to modify a complex design at a later date, help is available in the form of several computer
assisted design programs, some of them dedicated to making PC artwork, though generic CAD programs will
serve well. Many will crank out an image on your dot matrix printer that you can use for one of the photo
methods.

PHOTO METHODS
The magazine article for the voice scrambler described in the chapter on Security includes a life-size black-
and-white image of the circuit board. But you must somehow transfer that detailed image intact to the
copper clad side of a blank, and do it such that the black traces resist etching. This calls for the photoresist
method.

Two basic principles are in use, the positive method and the negative method. The negative method, the
copper traces appear in black. The positive method, they are white or clear. Both methods demand
"exposure" (as to a strong light source) of a "sensitized" board, one whose copper has been coated with
photoreactive material. Some boards come this way, other must be painted with photoresist.

The next step is "development." This removes the photosensitive compound from the appropriate areas,
depending on whether it was a negative or positive, thus leaving the board coated with resist as if you had
appl ied it manually.

From here, the etching process proceeds the same, though an added step involves removal of the photoresist
from the finished board, followed by burnishing with steel wool, etc.

Whatever method you use, always inspect the completed board for shorted or broken traces. Repair those
with minor flaws using either a wire jumper or conductive ink sold for the purpose.

SOLDERING
Soldering has changed. Irons the author bought in 1963 and 1975 to assemble electronic kits sported a 1/8"
tip. Today, working tips start as 1/16" chisels and shrink to points that demand a magnifier to see. Solder
has become available, of necessity, in strands that rival human hair for thinness. An illuminated magnifier is
helpful during construction and for inspecting the work afterwards. Screw-ups happen so often that
desoldering equipment to rectify them has seen a boom. Components have become so sensitive to static
electricity that safely soldering some of them requires an iron with a grounded tip. The $4.95 special
imported from Hong Kong has given way to the $200 variable console iron with an array of tips and integral
grounding.

If you have no soldering experience whatever, you may run into trouble assembl ing that transmitter whose
whole works will hide behind a quarter. Best to begin with visible (i.e., large) boards and work your way
down.

The ancient teachings told us to place the iron simultaneously in contact with copper pad and lead of the

38
component to be soldered, wait a second for it to heat both metals up to the solder's melting point, then
touch the solder wire to the junction. It would melt, form a globule, and make an electrical connection.
Easy.

Or it would be if electrical components were immune to heat. Some, such as resistors and ceramic
capacitors, show excellent heat tolerance. But others-transistors, especially infrared phototransistors;
integrated circuits, and diodes-"die" when too much heat crawls up the lead into the device. And the
smaller the part, the less heat it can take.

This has two implications. First, spend as little time as possible with the tip of the iron touching the board.
Second, use heat sinks in heat-sensitive components, such as that $20 microwave transistor at the heart of
your latest miracle. (A heat sink is a reservoir of sorts that soaks up heat headed for a component. An
alligator clip snapped onto the lead you are about to solder will do in most cases.) For integrated circuits,
instead of soldering the chip directly to the board on the first try, use an IC socket (sockets are available for
most low-power transistors, too; give them a thought for early projects, or those whose components you wish
to use in other projects, or to have to replace; it's ten times easier than desoldering).

While talking about the means by which components may suffer damage we should mention static electricity.
Devices made with MOS (metallic oxide surface) technology, as so many low-power devices are these days,
can be destroyed by an otherwise unnoticed static charge, the kind you pick up walking across carpet on a
dry day, or sliding out of a vinyl chair.

Notice that these static-sensitive devices come packed in what looks like sponge. It's actually conductive
material to keep all leads at the same potential. When handling such devices, the safest course places
everything-you, the board, the work surface, the soldering iron, and the component-at ground potential.
That means electrically connecting them all simultaneously.

Which ain't so hard in practice. First, place the board on a conductive surface. Specially made pads can be
had, but a big swatch of aluminum foil works fine. Second, connect yourself to this ground. Laying your bare
elbows on the foil will do. Third, before you remove the component from its protective sponge, touch the
sponge. This way, you, the board, and the component are all connected electrically. Finally, touch the tip of
the soldering iron briefly to the aluminum foil. In theory, there should then be no current to flow through the
device before it gets plugged in.

Natch, you do not work with powered-up circuits in this fashion ••••

DANGERS IN FIRST-RUN ARTICLES AND PROJECTS

If you plan to build devices detailed in electronics hobby magazines, be aware that errors in parts lists,
schematics, and PC board layouts are the rule. Authors or readers catch them, and usually the magazine will
print corrections in its next one to three issues, so a subscription is indicated for those who plan to get
heavily into this. (And in every case in which the author has ordered the etched and drilled PC board offered
with many projects, the seller of the board pointed out changes or errors not mentioned by the magazine;
none of these independent board vendors want the FTC hassle of returned boards: no mailorder sale is "final"
for thirty days, whether the vendor says so or not, so they make a point of testing their work •••• )

BUT HOW DO YOU KNOW IT WILL WORK?

We are not dealing with Heathkits here. There is little recourse after the sale, certainly no "We won't let
you fail!" philosophy. No, the only way to test a gizmo is either to go whole hog and build it, board and all,
or build it first on a test-board, known in common parlance as a breadboard.

A breadboard provides a grid of holes with 0.1" spacing common to many electrical components, and usually
includes an AC-derived power supply, though that is a convenience, not a necessity. Most projects will be
battery powered in any case, and it is just as easy to hook up a battery pack as it is to run the AC supply
(which usually introduces undesirable 60 Hz AC hum in preamplifiers; if your circuit uses transformers, it will
pick up hum radiated by the transformer in the breadboard's power supply).

39
Slapping the circuit together correctly on a breadboard, like laying out PC boards, proves tougher than it
looks. And if you make the wrong kind of wiring error, such as reversing the polarity of the power supply,
you can kiss several expensive chips goodbye.

General rules: First, keep leads as short as possible, since this will closely mimic PC board layout. Second,
use insulated jumpers (a wire-stripping tool is worth its weight in platinum). Third, always double check your
work before applying power to the circuit. Fourth, if the circuit fails to work when power is applied, shut it
down immediately. The same holds if a working circuit inexplicably quits on you. Feel the chip(s). Some
types of wrong wiring kill the chip by overheating it. Realize that 99 percent of failures trace to your own
wiring errors. Fifth, curb the tendency to move leads while the circuit is powered up. As one example of how
this can kill a chip, many circuits use capacitors, units which store energy. Plucked out of one socket fully
charged, then plunged into another, it may dump its load into a sensitive junction that Iives no more. Work
carefully, power down before altering a circuit. Note that, when experimenting with one half of a dual or
"stereo" chip, killing one channel might not harm the other, leaving it in shape to carryon. Sixth, long leads
make for unintended shorts. Watch this carefully. Finally, do not start with some complex function generator.
Make something simple, a project to give you positive feedback in the form of success.

Those who breadboard circuits soon find themselves hankering for test gear. In many cases it is all but
impossible to trouble-shoot a circuit without a VOM at the least, often a digital multimeter and an
osc iIloscope.

Exercise great care when transferring circuits from breadboard to printed circuit board. For reasons the
author hasn't been able to delineate fully, projects that blew your socks off on the breadboard either lose it
on the PC board or don't work at all. We encountered vexing problems with the LM382, which, after days
of reconfiguring the circuit, turned out to be a partially blown channel 1. The second channel of this dual
device worked fine, meaning that we had accidentally damaged the bad channel through exactly the
amateurish practices the reader should avoid. If the entire channel would die completely, it would betray
itself quickly; but mere parts of an IC die, leaving the rest to carryon, after a fashion, so as to mislead the
trouble-shooter.

SURFACE MOUNTED DEVICES

Surveillance devices described, sold, and made using conventional electrical components are in any practical
sense small enough to accompl ish thei r task without detection due to size. Yet we must take note of
increasing availability to the hobbyist of electrically identical components a fraction the size of the common
variety. They are known as surface mounted devices, and have been around since the 1960s. Consumer
electronics which called them to our attention were the ever-shrinking line of Sony Walkmen, and the
Cincinnati Microwave Passport[tm] radar detector. SMDs are now available to the hobbyist.

Their two vital properties are A) small size, B) soldering to the copper side of the circuit board, rather than
having their leads pushed through holes for soldering on the other side (they have no leads). It is possible also
to increase the density of components by printing circuits on both sides of the board and loading them with
components.

At this writing, you can purchase resistors, capacitors, variable resistors and caps, inductors, LEDs, and
from some sources, ICs and transistors in surface-mount configuration. The electrical specs don't change.

Board design, handling, and mounting change, though. You will absolutely need that magnifier, along with
tweezers, micro-tipped soldering irons, some special desoldering gear •••and a great deal of patience. This can
be like making a watch, the old mechanical kind, from scratch. The entire circuit board may fit behind a
postage stamp.

Aside from a certain novelty about them, their place in home-brew surveillance equipment has yet to define
itself. Servicing is harder out of small size, as is substitution of components in experimental work.

Best to know that they are available, though, for that transmitter that has to lose about 75 percent of its
bulk to escape detection.

40
 * * *

THE PARADE OF PROJECTS

To illustrate a sliver of the incredible variety of audio amplifiers, either sold or easily built, we include
schematics of units, along with comments as to their idiosyncrasies. Some mate to directional mics, for
readers interested in listening to bird calls.

1. CLONE AN AMP
The first schematic shows Radio Shack's model 277-1008B audio amplifier. It requires a 9 volt battery and
sports an input impedance of 5000 ohms. It contains a small built-in speaker as well as low-impedance
headphone output. For the money, it isn't a bad buy, but you can bu iId superior amps for the same cost,
starting from scratch. A good way to get your feet wet making PC boards would be to duplicate this unit's
layout.

2. A GRIM AND FATEFUL HISTORY

In the summer of 1964, the author, then a tyke of 11 years, read an article in the now-defunct Popular
Electronics that detailed construction of a device billed as a tubular microphone, known of late as a shotgun
mic, a frightful and extremely sinister device for eavesdropping at a distance. In December of that fated year
he built this tubular microphone as a science fair project. (Do schools still hold science fairs? "A New
Method for Synthesis of Cocaine," by Robbie McPherson, 11th grade, Future Chemists of America •••• )

Reminiscing now, it's easy to grasp those terrible looks of dread and awe this engine of corruption evoked.
Teachers and classmates seemed stunned that a mere child had hatched the deadly unit. It won no prize, but
the eighth-grade science teacher, who fancied himself hip, kept badgering the author with, "Is it NPN or
PNP?" (You got it, teach.)

The tubular microphone has gone on a bit since those easy days. It is now a felony to possess such a device
and use it to eavesdrop. Units in existence today are used for, uh, listening to bird calls.

And the shotgun mic is straightforward if tedious to make. Following the original plans in Popular Electronics
will rob you of the power of the latest microphones and amplifiers.

Pictorial directions practically explain themselves (but read the kicker at the end of this section before
charging out to build a tUbe-mic). First, make the tube assembly. You will need just under 56 feet of thin-
walled aluminum or PVC tubing with an inside diameter of about 1/4". Cut it into 3 7 tubes ranging from 36"
to 1" in length (i.e., one 36", one 35", one 34", and so on down to 1" tubes, of which you will need two
to fill out the hexagon).

Assemble them as shown in a steadily shrinking pattern, like some demented calliope, beginning with the 36"
tube in the center and working outward in a downward spiral. Use one of the fast-drying adhesives, such as
cyanoacrylate or 5-minute epoxy, assuming you grasp the hazards of that gunk. The author waited patiently,
hours it seemed, in 1964 for then-new epoxy resin to harden. What's more, the sheer bulk of glue required
tended to disal ign the tubes.

As a safety measure and a cosmetic one for those who use metal tubes, try to cut them off at a clean right
angle. If you use a hacksaw, be prepared to file off burrs. You'll get a sharp, menacing edge even if you use
a rotary pipe cutter due to aluminum's softness. Anticipate it. Deal with it.

The amplifier: A quarter-century ago, the Popular Electronics article commended Lafayette Radio's 5-
transistor all-purpose audio amp, which has gone to some nameless electronic heaven. Back in '64, Lafayette
sold 3-, 4-, and 5-transistor jobs. What a time of simplicity: The number of transistors in a device defined
its power, price, and worth. That was the era of the Beatles, the Great Society, hot books on drugstore
racks (the immortal Sin Suburbia), Lyndon Johnson, Billy Sol Estes, and a host of desperate cultural symbols
rarely showcased on Entertainment Tonight ....

41
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to- Breadboarding a simple 36 dB/oct high-pass filter,
mating directly to a quasi-18 dB/oct low-pass filter, all
using one quad op amp. Don't let those leads touch ••••

42
In its day, the 5-transistor job made a dandy piece of gear, but it was noisy. Just powering it up filled your
headphones with a roaring hiss that overwhelmed much of what that pathetic mic picked up. (The original
used a crystal mic whose impedance, if memory serves, rated 200,000 ohms. It had to be coupled with an
impedance-matching transformer.)

Its modern-day counterpart is Radio Shack's model 277-1008B amplifier, whose schematic we printed. Note
that it is in essence a two-stage device. the 2SC1815 transistor serves as preamplifier feeding an LM386
audio ampl ifier integrated circuit. A 10 microfarad capacitor is connected across pins 1 and 8 of this chip,
which sets its gain to maximum, other things being equal.

With properly matched impedances (input 5000 ohms and phones of 8-25 ohms; note that most condenser
mics rarely top 1000 ohms, so you gain a bit by using an impedance matching transformer for the input
stage) this device gives solid performance for its price. It remains cursed by noise in the form of hiss, less
than the old Lafayette, but will do for uncritical applications.

We did a bit of experimenting with this amp. First, it is easy to duplicate by making your own PC board (you
can copy the traces by hand onto a board smaller than the one that comes with the unit). Second, since you
rarely use a speaker, you can do it for $5 in parts, compared to $11 retail. Third, we discovered that feeding
the output of one of John Wilson's low-noise preamps into this amp produced an extremely high-gain
combination, suitable for directional work, that showed excellent stability.

Back to the shotgun. Once you have the tubes assembled, you must mount a microphone at the rear so as to
seal off all sound save that barreling through the tubes. The original article recommended an aluminum funnel
for this, and if you can find just the right size with a good lip, it may work fine. But be prepared to use,
say, the nearest size PVC end cap and fill the gaps with caulk. It wouldn't hurt to shock-mount whatever
mic you have chosen in rubber foam.

Fill out the picture with some type of handle or mount, such as would screw easily into a tripod. The
resultant unit bears an troubled likeness to the big raygun featured in the Republic Serial, Radar Men From
The Moon, and stands out just as badly.

The principles on which the tubular microphone functions include, in theory, directional ity and resonance (a
mechanical speech passband filter/amplifier?). Hollow cavities possess the property of resonance at a given
frequency. Resonance reinforces sound. The frequency depends on the size and shape of the cavity, and
whether it is open or closed. Use the tubes in a pipe organ for comparison. The actual sound of each pipe
originates in air blowing past a whistle at the base of a long open tube. The pitch of the whistle and the pipe
are matched such that the column of air in the pipe resonates at the pitch of the whistle (or boom, in the
case of the bass pedals). No one who has felt in his chest the bass rumble of a pipe organ doubts the power
of resonance to amplify sound.

The human voice produces fundamental frequencies over a narrow range, say, 300-3000 cycles per second.
For that reason, relatively few tubes are required for a functional tubular microphone.

The second principle is directionality. We can see intuitively that sound entering along the long axis of the
tube has a better chance of making it through without reflection or absorption, and this is in fact the case. A
single tube will enhance the directionality of a microphone, something applied in "sound-spot" microphones
used in studio recording, designed to record sounds from a small area and exclude other nearby sounds.

The microphone element you choose will have a tremendous bearing on the effectiveness and
durability/weatherproofing of the finished product. Experience with the crystal mic recommended in the
original Popular Electronics article showed that it left much to be desired. It suffered a limited frequency
response and lent sounds it picked up a tinny timbre, hardly surprising given that its diaphragm was made of
aluminum foil.

Why not take advantage of the sensitivity, broad frequency response and stabi Iity of the condenser
microphones available through literally all mailorder electronics parts houses? If the objective is to pick up
distant sounds and bring them up to audibility, it just makes sense to use the best. The microphone and
preamplifier, more than the tube array, determine performance.

43
After that dour verbiage on the tubular mic, note that the author's effort left him underwhelmed, though the
Popular Electronics article detailed catching outdoor conversations at great distances, and some sources tell
of these dread tools picking up voices "through closed windows!" at ranges of 40 yards or so. One
professional wire-man who'd built 3 tubular mics told the author that he too found the big shotgun both
conspicuous and lackluster in action.

(What happened to that squalid tubular mic? The author subjected it to a grim series of destruction tests
using extremely powerful Black Cat firecrackers on New Year's Day, 1969, a wanton pursuit utterly devoid
of redemption.)

3. SINGLE-TUBE LISTENER
The third project comes courtesy Hands-On Electronics, January, 1988. This single-tube directional listener
uses a 3" speaker as its microphone, whose 8-ohm impedance is matched by transformer to that of the
preamp, a TL082 dual operational amplifier. One op amp feeds the second op amp, that in turn feeding the
LM386 audio amplifier integrated circuit.

Total gain of all stages is 15,000. Its tremendous gain suffers from tremendous noise, as well as certain
quirks in the directional mic built around this mic/amp setup described below. We built the model
photographed from a set of parts obtained from Krystal Kits (PO Box 445, Bentonville, AR, 72712) for
about $40, including all frills.

How well does it work? First, the amp indeed boasts tremendous gain. With properly matched impedances it
was almost impossible to prevent feedback through headphones as soon as we switched the thing on inside a
room.

Despite thick foam insulating the speaker/mic, anything that thumps the tube will set off a peal of thunder in
you ears. At the least, we would insert a limiter between the TL082 and the LM386 if we were to use this
circuit for serious work.

Third, boomy resonances that seem to peak in the 250-350 Hz region plague the device. Take the tube
alone and hold it to your ear. It's like listening to a conch shell, whose roar is nothing more than resonance
of ambient sounds. That resonance would be fine if it hit the speech band, rather than a hollow, boomy note.
Here even a speech passband filter might not help, making the parametric equalizer useful.

Fourth, the parallel rise of noise with gain is unavoidable. This unit was as noisy as the old Lafayette 5-
transistor amp hooked up to a crystal mic, but did give greater gain. Note that the front end of the amp
circuit uses a dual op amp, the TL082, which comes in a "low-noise" version, the 072. We purchased an
072 and plugged it into the circuit, with no discernible drop in noise, meaning that the bulk of noise
originated in components outside the dual op amp, or that a conventional op amp was too noisy for this
application in the first place.

Fifth, 3" speakers were not designed as microphones. Their response profile lacks much in the human speech
region.

Sixth, low frequencies proved troublesome. You can banish much of them by inserting a 1 uF nonpolarized
electrolytic capacitor in series with one of the input leads on the 8-ohm side of the transformer. Since we
use a speaker as a mic, we might as well throw in a crossover ....

Seventh, at least to our ears, we were unable to improve over what we could hear with the unaided ear.
This type of setup amplifies both the target sounds and those we can normally filter by concentration, or do
not hear because we have become accustomed to them. Testing this mic inside one's home, for example,
proves instantly that the loudest sound comes from the refrigerator. Do not try a test while the air
conditioner is running. In fact, testing directional mics inside a dwelling is often doomed to give a poor
reflection of performance due to echoes. Test outside whenever possible. (As for drawing attention, well, you
had to be there to see crowds at the shopping mall act as if we were aiming a bazooka at them. We split
before the police arrived .... )

44
 BATTERY • CIRCUIT BOARD ATTACHED TO END CAP

2· THICK FOAM
.. " PVC PIPE
3" 8-0HI1 SPEAKER USED AS I1IC
END CAP
~
PHONE JACK

'- . - HANOLECOPTIONAL)
k~ -'--- ~>I

r- APPROX ~2 INCHES

r---...,...-----------------..... +
llFORnER:
-OHll I'RI I221.F
+
11K
- - - - - ' W \ r - - - - -......-...,-....-.
'ITI --l..-

I:
111'-OH" SEC IV -----

83K 2!1.F ::;J;

\ ,...----+-1. t-:L
.".
.1

I-oH" SPKR
USED RS "Ie

SCHEMATIC FOR SINGLE-TUBE LISTENER AMP, FROM "HANOS-ON ELECTRONICS"

MAGAZ I NE, JANUARY. 1988. COPVR I GHT C C) 1988 GERNSBACK PUBl. I CAT! ONS, INC.
REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION. KIT OF PARTS FOR PROJECT DIRECTED THAT
'1.T.F CAP AT PIN ~ OF l.M388 8E REPl.ACEO WITH '1T.F CAP.

SINGLE-TUBE LISTENER. TOP: diagram of layout. MIDDLE: Schematic of amplifier. BOTTOM: Photo of
unit built by author. Life-size PC-board layout printed elsewhere in this chapter.

45
4. DISCRETE COMPONENT PREAMP
We got the fourth schematic courtesy John Wilson, Jr, a professional engineer with vast experience in
surveillance and countersurveillance electronics, as well as, ah, other areas••••

This simple setup served as preamp for an FM transmitter Wilson custom-designed for an enforcement agency
embroiled in ongoing drug-wars. Note that it incorporates something of a speech passband filter, showing
audio response rolling off below 290 Hz and chopping off the high end around 10 KHz. What's more, it uses
a Iimiter (the double diodes) which keeps the signal from rising above a certain level and rattling your
eardrums. Instrumented tests proved it an extremely quiet design. Wilson later re-designed this preamp and
coupled it to an output stage to make his current model 6020 High-Gain Intelligence Amplifier plans, which
retain the frequency-cutoff and limiter, and facilitate interfacing the unit with phones, an external mic, and
line-level gear, such as a tape recorder. Hobbyists set up to build their own printed circuit boards can get
exceptional performance from this unit for less than $10 in parts. Of all build-it-yourself amps/preamps the
author tested, this unit gave best bang for the buck.

The hobbyist willing to put in time with a breadboard can find a use for the schematic we've printed. It
performed well with several types of audio amplifier IC's and served as feed for our early experiments with
the uPC1571 chip.

5. SURFACE MOUNT AMP

The August, 1988 issue of Radio-Electronics published an article on building an audio amplifier, which must
be the most common electronic project. This amp's claim to glory lay in its adaptability to surface mount
components. The PC board for the SMD version is about the size of a quarter. Schematic and PC board
template are reprinted with kind permission from Gernsback PUblications, Inc., but, due to the special
soldering techniques involved in the SMD version, you might want to order that back-issue for a detailed
description. Also, check with BCT Electronics (8742 Belair Rd, Baltimore, MD, 21236) to see if a
complete SMD kit is still available @ $14.95 plus $1.50 P&H.

* * *

PARABOLIC REFLECTORS
The mathematics of a parabola define it as a curve with special properties. Made into a physical surface,
parabolas reflect parallel-incoming signals onto a spot called a focal point. Or, they reflect waves originating
at the focal point out parallel to the axis of the antenna in, say, satellite uplinks. A rigid parabolic plastic
surface about 18" in diameter, with a sensitive microphone placed at its focal point should magnify sounds
and offer considerable directionality, and this in fact happens. Portions of spheres and ellipses reflect and
focus sound, too, but have proven less handy than the parabola for directional mics.

Edmund Scientific, for many years a hobbyist's delight, sells both an upscale, full-featured parabolic mic with
several bells & whistles (but be prepared to part with several hundred for this gem). They sell plain 18"
aluminum parabolic reflectors, too. Information Unlimited sells a 2' plastic dish that mayor may not be
available a la carte. Make your own amp and choose your mic.

Note that, like lenses refracting light, a parabolic surface does not reflect all sonic frequencies the same
way. Practicable reflectors, 1.5-2' in diameter, do not live up to the theoretical potential of parabolas due
to their small size. Some sources suggest that a reflector 5 to 10 feet in diameter would fulfill expectations
for the parabolic mic in the human speech band. Dead satellite dishes may yet find a use••••

To get a look at parabolic mics in action, simply watch pro football any day of the season. You will see
authorized sound men (it's illegal to do this without authorization) roaming the sidelines, taping players,
huddles, and coaches. It seems that the soundtracks get matched up with film loops that appear in "NFL
Highlights" or some such.

Apart from recording gaffes for the NFL Follies and merry mirth, parabolic microphones can be used
legitimately for, ah, recording bird calls-yes, that's it: recording bird calls. Because it's sure as hell illegal
to point these sinister dishes at pre-trial litigants to record conspiratorial chats without their knowledge or
consent ••••
46
 +9V DC

~
el

leS
•1

1+7 uF
+ . e1
22 uF
p'+
- 10K
.01
'''1 ~~ i I • OUTPUT

1N911+
ELECTRET rH 6.8 uF TAN
MIC

~
-..J
I j" j, j, j , . OUTPUT

~ -SVOC
PREAMP DESIGNEO BY JOHN ~ILSON. JR. AS FRONT END OF CUSTOM
FM TRANSMITTER. FEATURES LIMITED BANO~IDTH (APPROX aee Hz - 10 KHz)
AHO DIODE-PAIR LIMITER. OUTPUT MAY HEED TO BE COUPLED
CAPACITIVELY TO NEXT STAGE.

ABOVE: Schematic as described. ABOVE RIGHT and RIGHT: RF-

sniffer built from plans designed by John Wilson, Jr. Extremely
effective device could be cosmetically improved.
 1K
+ 33pF 2.7K
1. ~ VOLTS
METAL CHASSIS
eND (IF USED)

220K

MIC UJ::: INPUT s

... 10K
1501<
Sl

OUTPUT

SCHEMATIC FOR AUDIO AMP USING SURFACE-MOUNT COMPONENTS OR

CONVENTIONAL ONES. FROM HMICRO-SIZED AMPLIFIER.H RADIO-ELECTRONICS
MAGAZINE. AUGUST. 1988. COPYRIGHT (C> 1988 GERNSBACK PUBLICATIONS. INC. CX)
REPRINTED ~ITH PERMISSION. SEE TEXT FOR DETAILS RE: COMPONENTS.
"'"

TOP LEFT: Schematic for micro-sized audio amp. ABOVE: PC board template
TWICE ACTUAL SIZE. Template Copyright (c) 1988 Gernsback Publications,
Inc. Reprinted with permission. LEFT: O.1uF cap and a resistor, along with
their surface-mount electrical equivalents. SMD cap rests on standard cap;
SMD resistor rests on SMD cap. You'll need a magnifier and tiny tweezers to
handle SMDs....
Does the directional microphone have a place in modern surveillance? If it does, the author hasn't been able
to find one that would not be better served by planting a small, sensitive mic/transmitter or recorder close
to the subjects, so that variables such as wind-shift or overhead aircraft drowning out the sound could be
eliminated. The size of most practical directional mics presents prohibitive risk of detection.

On the other hand, some situations offer excellent concealment for the operative, particularly the night, in
which the mark is reasonably close.

LOW COST/NO COST

SPEECH PASSBAND FILTER

To make your ten-band graphic equalizer a speech passband filter, simply bump the 500, 1000, and 2000
Hz sliders up to max gain. Leave the 250 Hz and 4000 Hz sliders at zero. Pull the remaining sliders down
to max cut. This will give you a roughly 300-3000 Hz passband. In the fortunate event you own a 27 - or
30-band equal izer, you can both isolate the speech passband and play with ten slim bands within that
spectrum to heighten speech and further cut noise. If the equalizer happens to be stereo, which in the case of
home audio gear seems likely, feed the output of one channel into the inputs of the other. This doubles the
number of decibels of boost/cut. (Beware that the input and output impedances may vary tremendously in the
same unit. Consult the spec sheet, assuming you sti II have it. You may have to provide a matching
transformer for max performance.)

POOR MAN'S COMPRESSOR

Those who own a cassette deck or open reel deck with dbx[tm] noise reduction can try this: Dub the
recording, processed and equalized to the max, onto the deck using dbx. Then play it back with dbx switched
out. You will hear it compressed 2:1. Loud peaks that battered your eardrums will be smoothed. Soft
passages that escaped will magically rise to audibility. You can even repeat the process from a clean enough
master for 4: 1 compression.

Be aware that dbx applies a sharp treble pre-emphasis, so you should set up to apply hard treble cut to the
playback to avoid excessive hiss, though this pre-emphasis may benefit cases where accented sibilants
heighten intelligibility.

CHEAPEST PARAMETRIC
Retailing for $39.95 but available on sale at $29.95, less outboard power supply that adds another $10 to
the tab, is Radio Shack's Model 32-1106 3-band semiparametric equalizer. We say semiparametric since the
unit lets us adjust center frequency and boost/cut, but not bandwidth. It is not a true parametric, yet our
tests proved it useful in post-processing of recorded human speech that had fed through a 300-3000 Hz
passband filter and a compressor. The unit runs on batteries, but the power supply saves rubles in the long
run.

This is a stereo unit. As with a graphic equalizer, one potential mod feeds the output of one channel through
the input of the other. This expands the degree of boost/cut, but note that this unit's rated input impedance
is 50,000 ohms, its output impedance 250 ohms. That means interposition of a matching transformer; or
perhaps not, since some attenuation of the signal may be needed in order to avoid overloading the second
stage. Mouser Electronics carries transformers that would match the feeds if needed.

* * *

DEBUGGING
A huge business in debugging gear and services exists. It renders some types of bugging harder, but the
aggressor has always enjoyed the advantage and always will. A genuinely professional debugging sweep may
force snoopers into other modes of operation, but will deter only wimps. Debugging compares with faith-
healing in that the buyer gets peace of mind, rather than visible results.
49
 PARABOLIC REFLECTOR

A~~ SIGNA~S STR1K1HG THE PARAIOL1C REFLECTOR PERPEN01CULAR

TO A P~ANE PAII1NG THROUGH IT 10 AI TO FOA" A eIRC~E
(l.E•• SlGHftLS conIHG 'ST~lGHT lH') W1LL IE
REFLECTEO TO TNE FOCAL P01HT OF THE PARAIOLA. THI.
ACCOUNTS FOR 10TN THE OlRECTIONALITY AND
SOUND-GATHERINC PRQPERT1EI OF PARAIOLIC nlCI.

IV THE lAnE TOKEN. ALL SIGNALI ORGIN1HftT1NG FRO"

THE FOCAL POINT WILL IE REFLECTED DFF THE
PARAIDLA CA PARAIOLIC ANTENNA. FOR EXAnPLE)
IN A ITRAICNT LINE. THIIE RECEPTIYE AND E"ITTIYE
PROPEIT1!l ARE USED IN TNE ANTENNAS THftT lEND AND
RECEIYE SATlLL1TE AND UlND-IAIEO "lCROWAYE ConnUNICATIDN'.

ol!)

TOP LEFT: Radio Shack semiparametric equalizer. TOP RIGHT: Illustration of certain principles of
the parabolic surface. BOnOM LEFT: Experimental transmitter hooked up to modular phone block.
Incidentally, in this configuration, it won't pick up a thing: both clips are on one terminal. Second
clip should hook to adjacent terminal (green/red pair). BOnOM RIGHT: The wages of sin ....
U1

• TOP LEFT: Top is professionally made PC board for single-tube listener amp;
below it is a functional copy made by visual estimation, except for the IC
socket pads, transferred by rub-ons. LEFT: Life-size PC template for single
tube Iistener project from January, 1988 issue of Hands-On Electronics.
Copyright (c) 1988 Gernsback Publications, Inc. Reprinted with permission.
ABOVE: The real thing: custom-made body-worn transmitter actually used by
enforcement agents. Unit loaned to us by John Wilson, Jr •

•
The ease of bugging has changed our behavior, since the most effective countermeasure refuses to expose
sensitive information to bugging, and the only way to assure security of some material is not to expose it.

Other spook books have done a superb job of profiling technical aspects of debugging phone lines, residences,
and so forth. Rather than rehash that, we punctuate the behavioral changes occasioned by the fact of
bugging.

WHITHER BUGGING?
First, think of yourself as a prospective wire-man, in legal contexts only, such as taping phone conversations
or taping face-to-face. Discretion will multiply the worth of what you have many-fold. Gather the data, then
hold it in reserve until you can use it to defend against betrayal or scurrilous attack. The boss said you'd be
VP by 1994? Play the tape for the jury after he has perjured himself.

Never reveal to anyone, including your wife (especially your wife; the divorce rate runs 40 percent and up,
and jilted wives can be the most vicious enemies; they'll squeal even to the IRS •••• ) that you have taped
conversations. Those tapes hold heavy artillery. Bring it to bear only when the outcome justifies the
inevitable stigma of taping. Afterwards, no one, if you do not have to leave town, will speak frankly in your
presence.

Now think of yourself as a potential victim. Be careful what you say. It may be going on record. If you later
have to swear as to the substance of a conversation that even might have been taped, well, maybe your
memory ain't so good, Your Honor ••••

THE ETIQUETTE OF GETTING CAUGHT

Floods of material tell us how to make and use bugs. Let no one claim that material counsels us well in not
having the bug betray us. Those who understand the rote behind detective work see where the point leads.

First, if you left a paper trail showing that you bought parts, kits, plans, or other paraphernalia to make the
bug, the cops pretty well understand that you did. A Miami lawyer with the right connections might sway
the jury toward reasonable doubt but it would be a close and costly call.

Second, it's hard to assemble a bug without leaving some trace of oneself, particularly since the advent of
DNA coding that takes a microscopic mote of skin and matches it with your skin as surely as a full set of
prints. Other traces prove less impressive, but no less damning. For instance, if you cut a printed circuit
board with a hacksaw, the heat's forensic lab can match the cut edge of the board to the saw •••and when
the heat snatches the saw itself in a raid, and finds particles of phenolic circuit board and copper on the
blade, well, the jig is up. Fingerprints: you might not leave a whole print, but enough partials to offer
circumstantial evidence.

Third, will the heat find corroborative evidence in the form of spook books and catalogs of surveillance plans,
gear, or raw electronic parts when they come a-knockin' in the wee hours? Have you bragged on to cronies
about your electronics prowess? Do your computer files contain references to bugging?

Fourth, do you own a "special" receiver that tunes to the bug's frequency; or some exotic infrared 'scope
good for nothing save sucking the audio out of IR radiation? Can you spell "plea bargain"?

Fifth, can the opposition establish that you had access to the bugged premises? That you had a motive for
bugging? Circumstantial evidence, but it mounts.

In short, building and using bugs digs dozens of ditches that lead straight to you, should the bug surface,
unless you see to it that all avenues terminate in dead ends. This may mean destroying or discarding a great
deal of expensive and otherwise useful equipment months in advance of putting a bug to work. Analyze it: the
cost of those goodies compared to the cost of defending against criminal prosecution, or the terrible price of
conviction on a felony rap. Bugging is illegal. Don't do it.

52
 2
ULTRAAMP

When in doubt, bore it out.

-Harley Davidson

* * *

Researching this book made the author aware of the range of complex and useful electronics that had been
shrunk and laid out on tiny silicon slabs known as integrated circuits. Study poisoned his mind with absurd
delusions that he might actually make something handy from these ingenious building blocks.

To shorten it, he bought the Heath Basic Electronics Course, along with its breadboard and built-in power
supply, and started connecting chips on the board.

Most early projects failed. Each maddening flop exiled the breadboard to the closet until the next attack of
delusional grandeur hit, then out it came for another grim try.

Eventually, and mostly through trial and error, rather than the wisdom of texts, chips began to do what they
were supposed to do. Those lessons breathed life into what had been hazy knowledge, letting the author suc-
cessfully breadboard active filters, a graphic equalizer, a true parametric equalizer, a compressor/automatic
level control, and several extremely high-gain/low-noise preamplifiers. Note that harnessing the wizardry of
chips disti lied to rigging circuits, or their empirically derived variants, lifted straight from manufacturers I
data sheets. No true engineering was involved. The circuits printed here originated with makers of the
respective chips, not the author. He merely swapped components until the chips did his bidding.

The next frustrating round of failures plagued pathetic attempts to mate those individually working blocks into
a unit he had begun to call-in a funk of black humor, since it did not exist-"Ultra-Amp."

The idea behind Ultra begged to include in a single device everything the serious spook might want, giVing
him the power to perform post-processing in real time and in the field, rather than make helpless recordings
for later rescue using discrete and expensive bench gear. Put it all in a portable box that would ease the
work.

Dedicated preamps, compressors, passband filters, tunable notch filters, and equalizers offer outstanding
performance. That surprises no one, since pros engineered the gear and it costs a bundle. Yet so far, no one
seems to have packed it all in one case, simple as parts-shrinkage has made that task. High-gain/low-noise
audio preamps offer astounding performance on a chip. Choose from the National Semiconductor LM381,
382, or 387; or the Signetics NE542, which the author found pin-equal to the LM387. The NEC uPC1571

53
compander chip puts 2 channels of compression or automatic level control in a 16-pin DIP (dual inline pin)
package. Almost any current-generation, high-performance operational amplifier will serve for brewing those
dread active filters (as in "speech passband"), or the parametric equalizer described in Audio IC Op Amp
Applications, or the graphic equalizer from Signetics' data sheet on its 5532/5534 series of chips.

The author mentioned offhand this bent concept of the ideal spook amp to some folks connected with Registry
Distributing (yes, an authorized dealer for this book), and showed them a crude prototype he had fashioned
after playing with breadboard versions for a few weeks. He thought nothing further of it. Six months later,
Registry let him know in ominous and secretive tones that their Ultra-Amp model existed. They had molded
it in the image of perfection, like some electronic Pygmalion. Did we wish to wring out the unit? You
betcha.

Review the block diagram in the last chapter that mapped the electronic path audio follows on its way to
discerning ears: input, preamplification, frequency limiting (usually the speech passband), compression, and
parametric equalization. Compare it with the more explicit block printed here. There is nothing superfluous
to any of these steps. Ask agents who've used, or tried to use, directional mics in the field. Turn up the gain
to catch bird calls or authorized conversations, and background noise drowns it. Second-drawer electronics
pollute with their own noise, impossible to banish.

In terms of power spectra, about 80 percent of background noise lies far below 300 Hz, the arbitrarily
chosen lower limit of the speech band. A filter that eliminates sound below that band isolates the human
voice. We needn't put up with the roar of traffic or the boom of surf 3 blocks away. Simply thread the signal
through an appropriate passband fi Iter.

Filters differ in many particulars, one called~. Slope measures how quickly response drops off below the
nominative cutoff, generally taken as 3 dB below input level. Steepness of slope is expressed in dB/octave.
For obscure mathematical reasons, this occurs in multiples of 6 dB, each multiple corresponding to one
"order." For example, a first-order 300 Hz high-pass filter rolls off lazily at 6 dB per octave below the
cutoff. A second-order fi Iter rolls off at 12 dB per octave, and so on up to sixth-order fi Iters that slash an
incredible 36 dB per octave. A 150 Hz signal should be 36 dB down, a 75 Hz signal 72 dB down-
inaudible in any practical sense-and signals below 75 Hz near-nonexistent after passage through such a
fi Iter.

Ideally, we seek infinite slope, impractically attained with real-world electronics. The sharper the roll-off,
the more complex the filter design, the more components it needs, the tighter their tolerances, the costlier
parts become. Compromises in specs need not compromise performance. For instance, if tests showed that we
needed a 300-3000 Hz passband filter with 24 dB/octave slopes at each end to get usable noise reduction,
we might try a simpler design with 18 dB slopes, but shift the cutoff points to 500 and 2000 Hz. At press
time, we had breadboarded low- and high-pass filters with 18, 24, and 36 dB/octave slopes and found that
they performed "as advertised" and behaved well when mated to other parts of the chain, though they do
demand attention to details outlined in the Active Filter Cookbook.

As an experiment, we rigged an LM387 low-noise preamplifier on a breadboard. We fed it with a wide-range

electret mic and monitored the output using a pair of high-quality 600-ohm headphones. Note that this IC
will drive high-impedance headphones directly, with a few safety precautions; it is probably best not to use
low-impedance phones, which the chip might see as a short circuit, not good for it. We configured it for
"high gain," on the order of 70 dB in a single stage.

The apartment was dead quiet before we switched on the amp. Instantly, the roar of otherwise unheard
traffic passing blocks distant filled the phones. Then the refrigerator kicked in. It screamed like a leaf-blower
in the throes of death. As we listened, we became aware of what our spectrum analyzer had foretold: We
Iive in a torrent of high-power low-frequency noise. Wideband amps don't discriminate. They amplify
whatever the mic feeds them. Our otherwise subsonic footfalls overloaded the amp with every step.
(Incidentally, 70 dB of gain forced us to move at least 10 feet from the mic to stem feedback that pierced
the phones like the banshee wail; the phones weren't sealed.)

We could hear our own whisper from another room 20 feet away, though the now-overwhelming background

54
 ~IHE LEVEL DUT~UT

BLOCK DIACRAM OF THE OMINOUS *ULTRA AMp H

FILTERS, EQUALIZER, AND COMPRESSOR S~ITCHABLE
IN/OUT OF CIRCUIT.

ALl. CAPS +12V

~ F TANTALUM
.. 1 u

(Jl

~
(Jl 2.2.F
TANTALUM
~ END CAPS 2.2 uF:
CENTER CAP I.F +12V
PINOUT OF l.M387

.r1~PUT

y.
luF NP +12V
118 12 11 lB 8
~

hF NP
1S 11:l 1'1 U 12 11 Ie 8

1 NEC uPC1:l'l'1 NEC uPC1:l?1

I.F NP
INPUT~ 2 3
l~'t :l 8 T 8 :l 8 T 8 hF NP
~ IL-.
luF NP ~TPUT TO ADDITIONAL
22K 2BB ~PROCESSING BLOCKS

1
... m
t
.,
~ ! ' "' TINTAL"
TANTALUM
FIRST STAGE IN GENESIS OF *ULTRA AMP,N ~ORKED ~ELL-ON BREADBOARD.
uPC1~?1 CONFIGURED FOR DOUBLE COMPRESSION. 200-0HM VARIABLE
RESISTOR TRIMS GAIN. TESTED ~/ELECTRET MIC, WHICH GAVE TOO MUCH
LOW FREQUENCY RESPONSE, REDUCED BY CHANGING luF CAP AT INPUT TO uPCl~?1 CONFIGURED AS ALe.
.el-.eel: EXPERIMENT FOR DESIRED RESPONSE.
noise masked it. The test grew tiresome and painful after less than 3 minutes of that raucous roar. Though
the preamp doubtless contributed noise of its own, despite an exemplary SiN ratio, we could detect no noise
from it under field conditions, in contrast to some other amps we had tested; they tended to drown in their
own noise.

The experiment taught intuitively that removal of sound below 300 Hz would multiply the utility of the setup
by muting low-frequency roar. After checking the input capabilities of various integrated circuits-these
low-noise preamps will not take more than about 300 millivolts input without overloading, perhaps suffering
damage-we decided to add a high-pass filter.

It is hard to overstate the sense of physical relief that filtering brings. Rumbles, roars, and booms made by
common appl iances and other sources of ambient noise fade to the background, freeing the listener to
concentrate on speech-band material.

Experiments with low-pass filters provided a few non-surprises. First, using a filter sloping down at a modest
18 dB/octave, taking 3000 Hz as the cutoff-the speech passband's arbitrarily defined upper limit-reduced
intelligibility to some extent out of its muting of sibilants. This was particularly noticeable with whispers. As
the last chapter pointed out, consonants contribute most to making speech understandable. To our ears an
upper cutoff in the vicinity of 7000 Hz muted hiss without muffling sibilants. Thus, Ultra-Amp's speech
passband filter spans 300 Hz at 24 dB/octave to 7 KHz at 18 dB/octave.

Registry designed the filters from material in Don Lancaster's Active Filter Cookbook. We noted slopes they
chose for the test unit, but heard them babble insanely about pushing full-bore to 36 dB/octave in production
models. Don't hold them to those comments; they smack of gibberish blurted at the height of a bad amphet-
amine rush ....

GAIN?
Let's clear up a point uncovered in research, but which may mislead the builder mulling which chip to use.
National Semiconductor makes the LM381, LM382, and LM387 high-gain low-noise audio preamplifier
integrated circuits. Their specification sheets rate them with gains of 112, 100, and 104 dB, respectively-
but these define "open loop" gain. Practical audio circuits rarely achieve that. Though stated in spec sheets,
open loop gain relates in useful terms only to designers figuring a chip's potential. At open loop gain settings,
usable bandwidth slips to the low bass region, usually to subharmonics, fine if amplifying rumble suits the gig.
In addition, some type of breakdown, often related to mutual inductance or "stray capacitance," plagues high
gain by destabilizing a circuit or shutting it down. The best we could do with an LM382 was rig it per the
manufacturer's instructions for 80 dB of wide-range gain in one stage, which closes in on the limits of
current audio integrated circuits. This proved more than adequate.

Sequential amplifiers can boost total gain to 120 dB and more, but take it from those who have endured this
prodigious feat that situations needing that much gain arise rarely in audio monitoring.

For high gain and low noise Registry used an LM382 set for 80 dB of raw gain. They could have used an
LM381 or 387, but perusal of spec sheets showed idiosyncrasies that made this the most versatile and stable
choice. It worked first try, with minimum external parts. (And check out National Semiconductor's
Application Note 64 on the LM381, from 1974. Do you truly want to wade through that ghastly math?)

As it stood, this combination gave higher gain with less noise than all units we had tested up to that point.
But Registry would not rest. They insisted on making life easier by incorporating a compressor in the next
stage. They deployed an NEC uPC1571 compander chip, and configured both channels for compression, then
fed the output of one channel into the other for double compression. At full gain, we could whack the mic
element itself, but the compressor would instantly mute the boom; or quiet the room and hear the circuit
automatically boost the signal to catch our most furtive whispers. (Do not repeat the mic-thumping test,
especially with high-output crystal mics. It may ki II the preamp.)

Initially, a compressor seems to accentuate noise, or at least hiss; but analyze its actions. First, as a
complex electronic circuit, it suffers its own electronic noise. Second, in environments too quiet to trigger

56
its damping, it automatically boosts gain to a set level. This amplifies otherwise inaudible ambient noise, as
well as noise in the electronics. As soon as some sound above its threshold clicks in, the hiss mutes, as does
the level of the new sound, since the compressor minimizes dynamic range. It will kick whispers up to
audibility, yet clamp loud sounds so they don't overload the tape-or your ears. Some prefer manual gain-
riding to the compressor, no problem, since it's easily switched in or out.

By altering the circuit a bit, the uPC1571 becomes an automatic level control. Frankly, the subjective
difference between an ALC and a compressor seems to be one of speed and degree. The ALC proves
relatively conspicuous in its actions: loud tones mute sound output in a dramatic way that takes a fraction of
a second to recover-sort of a breathing/pumping effect. The compressor, on the other hand, seems inactive
until switched out of the circuit. Then unpleasantly loud sounds resume their noisome level. The author found
both circuits useful, and selection dictated by ambient noise and personal taste. Ultra lets the user choose
either.

Despite the speech passband filter, noise remaining within the band became obnoxious at the incomprehensible
total gain suppl ied by the preamp and compressor chips in sequence, so Registry inserted a manual attenuator
to let the user cut the amount of boost the compressor would apply during quiet periods. The diagrams show
a preliminary double-compressor circuit based on the LM387 and the NEC uPC1571 that worked predictably
and reproducibly on the breadboard. A second schematic differs only in that the uPC1571 is rigged as an
automatic level control. We successfully transferred both designs to printed circuit boards, but considerable
reworking will be needed to achieve peak performance of this chip-pair.

Finally, they recogniZed that noise in the speech band might need further reduction or speech further boost.
So they tagged on a true, 3-band parametric equalizer with overlapping coverage as the final stage of signal
processing. Continuously adjustable boost/cut, center frequency, and bandwidth. Engineering that stage
proved a bitch, and Registry was undecided whether to keep it, or substitute a graphic equalizer limited to
the speech passband. The graphic design cut flexibility somewhat, but required less breadboard engineering to
get it just right as the parametric had. But working that true parametric was sweet: It let us literally "tune
out" speech-band noise from a refrigerator, and boost the high end a bit to accentuate whispered sibilants.

As if strategic features weren't enough, bells and whistles were added. Ultra-Amp provides for low
impedance mic, high impedance mic, and line-level inputs. It offers outputs for high impedance and low
impedance phones, and a line-level output for a tape recorder. And it incorporates circuitry to protect it
from simpletons, such as the author, who "accidentally" reverse polarity of the power supply.

Detailing Ultra-Amp's feats compares with reviewing a Kloss Novabeam 6-1/2' projection TV which, by
chance, the author once owned. A magazine review that reported on an early Kloss around 1980 said
something to the effect that "It's hard not to sound gushy after watching the Novabeam." Having owned one
for 5 years, the author agrees. Putting your vintage 19" color TV beside the big Kloss-the firm now sadly
defunct-compares with using an ordinary spook amp in lieu of the great and powerful Ultra.

Writers tend to exaggerate. The author fought that terrible urge as he relates this anecdote, proved not one
hour prior to typing these words. He set up the Ultra-Amp fed with Radio Shack's PC-mount electret mic
element, and hooked Ultra's output into a pair of AKG-240 headphones. After tweaking the unit, he
attached a 20' headphone cable, repaired to another room, shut the door, and Whispered the opening lines to
Green Lantern's Oath (circa 1962: "In brightest day, in blackest night•••• ")-and heard the words easily,
unmistakably through the headphones. As Will Sonnet used to say, "No brag, jus' fact." The divorcee in the
apartment above was entertaining company. The author curbed the urge to scan that sinister conversation, as
audible as if she had been in the room, this without resorting to a spike mic or pinhole mic, merely amplifying
sounds that seeped down through the woodwork. Then he recharged his power ring and sprang back to the
word processor ••••

Even in prototype, Ultra-Amp impressed the author as the audio equivalent of "Robocop." In days that

57
 "Pre-Ultra" #1: LM387 feeding uPC1571 configured as
automatic level control. Note tiny PC board. Tremendous
performance for its size.
co
LC)

First working version of complete Ultra-Amp on breadboard.

On main board, from left to right, are preamp, speech
passband filter, and compressor/ALC. Triple breakout board
with potentiometers everywhere is a true 3-band parametric
equalizer.

"Pre-Ultra" #2: LM382 feeding uPC1571 configured as

double compressor.
 i ft Q Ie
..:..
I
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..- .-. .-.0.... ole

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2 .-. It
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in

CD

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T T T

Computer Assisted Design program facilitates layout of PC board for Ultra-Amp, shown here about
twice life-size. This first approximation still needs power supply and grounding routes, bypassing
power supply at each op amp, limiter, and input/output buffers for parametric equalizer, but
illustrates utility of electronic design aids. Far easier to change circuit electronically on screen than
by erasure of pencil-drawn diagram.
followed, he tested it outdoors with several types of directional mics. The amps that had offered high gain
and too much of their own noise simply couldn't keep up with a unit that let the operative tailor all aspects
of performance on the spot: adjustable gain, selectable compression, speech passband option (most always left
in), limiter when needed, and a true parametric equalizer for tweaking to peak thrust.

If devoting a chapter to a product in development seems extravagant, it's merely indicative of the disparity
in performance between other units we had bought or built prior to exposure to the awesome power of Ultra-
Amp. It gave greatest gain, versatility, features, and utility under field conditions.

As this goes to press, Registry Distributing has not finalized Ultra-Amp's design, but is gearing up to sell it
in either assembled or kit form (they haven't finalized that, either), with all parts, a professionally etched
and drilled printed circuit board with solder mask (a coating between pads that prevents solder bridges), and
enclosure. They may offer sealed headphones to retard feedback and mask ambient noise, and other goodies
they asked us not to speculate about. For latest information on Ultra-Amp's availability, write: Registry
Distributing, 1616 17th St, Suite 372, Denver, CO, 80202.

* * *

AFTERTHOUGHTS ON ENGINEERING ULTRA-AMP

The bane of genuinely bad Math keeps most of us out of electronic engineering, at least engineering in the
true sense of crafting a device on paper from knowledge of its behavior expressed in numbers-in essence
calculating what should work before moving on to parts and boards. A professional engineer told the author
that equations always come to life on the breadboard, a journeyman stage on the way to production, because
what works in theory must prove itself in hardware.

What a twist that plug-it-in-and-see engineering leads inexorably back to that dread Math to solve problems
in empiric design. Ultra-Amp proved a case in point. We had begun with a single-minded goal of incredible
gain, achieved easily after a few false starts. But with that gain we met unanticipated problems knowledge of
math would have alerted us to well in advance. For example, blocking: overload internal to the preamp that
gave harsh, raspy sounds, produced by common room noises, such as footfalls or a refrigerator. With gain set
high enough to capture whispers from behind a closed door we had to suffer blocking caused by louder
ambient sounds.

A passband filter would not help here, since we could not place the filter in front of the preamp. Preamps
excel at handling low-level, microphone-output signals-on the order of microvolts to a few millivolts. Some
op amps used in active filters can handle low-level signals reasonably well, but filters aren't optimized for
that task. They feel comfortable working with IIline-level ll signals, on the order of 1 volt peak-to-peak (P-
P). We needed to cut low frequencies at the input, using a passive component: a capacitor.

Speaker crossovers use capacitors to pass high frequencies and block low frequencies. We can calculate the
point at which signals pass or block based on a knowledge of the impedance and capacitance involved. In
Ultra's case, we began with the manufacturer's recommended 1 uF input cap for flat response-far too much
bass-and went to progressively lower values. We found that a polypropylene cap of 0.01-0.0022 uF cut
bass response acceptably. Note that slope here rates only 6 dB/octave, such that we had to start rolling off
response several octaves above the problem region, at the cost of some speech-band signal. But since we had
a plethora of gain to start with, this proved no hindrance.

It turns out that chip-makers have designed their preamps to allow a modest degree of frequency-shaping.
Though we cannot achieve the spectacular roll-off rates of active filters, in many cases we can adjust the
high and low frequency response at the input to reduce system noise and eliminate other bugs, such as
blocking. At first glance, Application Note 64 on the LM381 looks like a nightmare out of some college
math text. On closer inspection we find: A) that those grim equations tell exactly what value of components
will alter gain and frequency response, and B) that the average financial calculator makes duck-quiche out of
solving them. Equations hide the power built into a chip. Math unleashes it. It hands us the quickest solution
to what would otherwise prove a problemito.

60
But that was only the start. Total harmonic distortion of our compressor chip rises exponentially as its output
tops 1 volt. That meant we had to engineer it not to exceed that to avoid a horribly distorted sound-which
in turn meant we couldn't feed it all the gain available from the preamp, whose output can swing supply
voltage minus 2 volts, P-P. Assuming a 15 -volt supply, it can give us 13 volts output. The compressor/ALe
squeezes just so much before it has to break the 1-volt output barrier, at which point the signal takes on
serious elements of repugnance, along with raspy overtones of Tom Waits.

Then the active filters saddled us with gain problems. As this is typed, we have on the board one incarnation
of Ultra that uses a high-pass filter with a 36 dB/oct slope, mating directly to a low-pass filter with a 12
dB/oct slope. This unavoidably boosts gain well over 15 dB. The chips handle it in stride. The snag? To
switch the filters in and out of the signal path without a sudden lurch of 15 dB in level we must place
resistors at strategic spots to drop the signal back to input level.

What of the parametric? We specifically designed it to have overlapping frequency coverage. In theory, we
could choose an identical center frequency for all 3 bands, and boost the signal at that point 12 dB per band,
a total boost of 36 dB. Given a 1-volt signal to begin with, that means an output near 64 volts. The chips
won't take it. Here again, we must anticipate the occasional need to reduce gain to allow extremely
powerful but narrow-band boost if needed.

It became clear that lower first-stage gain made an attractive option in this design that offered so much
signal processing capability. The first stage would ease the mic-Ievel input up to line-level, rather than
boosting it into lunar insertion orbit. We can apply as much added gain as we wish at the end of the
processing chain.

We haven't covered limiters, buffers, shielding, IIbypassing the power supply,1I impedances, and so forth. It's
all in the references cited at the end of the book.

Ten different engineers handed Ultra's aims would probably approach it 10 unique ways-all successful.
Preliminary designs sketched here represent one approach, and a naive one at that. But we can't downplay
the results: This crude project turned out a more powerful and flexible spook amp than any commercial unit
we have seen.

61
 3
VIDEO

The ineluctable modality of the visible.

-James Joyce, Ulysses

Smile! You're on Candid Camera!

-Allen Funt

* * *

Two types of visual surveillance gear bland in comparison to exotic and expensive night-vision devices are
ordinary cameras and the latest generation of video camcorders. Since, on a percentage basis, we gather
most material during dayIight hours, it makes sense to examine these admittedly prosaic tools. Veteran photo
buffs can skip this.

Cameras are devices that project an image onto a segment of film for a brief period, usually a fraction of a
second. This changes the film such that chemical treatment will bring out the image in a way that we can
use, and stabilizes the image so that we may access it in years to come.

In order for the image to be useful, it must have well defined edges and texture, i.e., must show sharpness
and detai I. These depend mainly upon: 1) focus, 2) stabi Iity of the image during exposure, and 3) inherent
grain of the film. Assume that we can achieve proper focus. That leaves movement of the image and film
grain as the major factors in sharp pictures. We'll return to focus when we meet lenses that challenge our
abi Iity to focus.

SHUTTER SPEED
The picture blurs if the image moves during exposure. But how much can the image move in the time it takes
a shutter to click? Plenty. Enough to render the shot useless. With 50 mm lenses, commonly called "normal"
lenses, since most 35 mm cameras come equipped with a 50 mm lens, the rule of thumb calls for 1/30th of a
second as the slowest shutter speed that will not visibly smear the image, at least with reasonable care and
hand-holding.

That rule applies only to 50 mm lenses. Lenses of greater focal length magnify the image. In so doing, they
amplify the effect of camera-shake, and demand proportionately higher shutter speeds to assure a sharp
image, assuming a still subject and hand-holding. Moving photographers with moving subjects call for still
faster shutter speeds.

As a rule, the shutter speed should be no slower than the inverse of the focal length of the lens. If you are

62
using a 250 mm telephoto lens, shutter speed should not be slower than 1/250th of a second when hand-
holding. Ideally, you would use a considerably faster speed if lighting conditions allowed. (Another ideal,
often impractical in field work, calls for use of a sturdy triPOd. Pros brace the camera with whatever is
handy, si nee th is added support heightens sharpness.)

FILM SPEED
A a film's speed measures its sensitivity to light. Slow film rates less sensitive, fast film more sensitive. A
series of relative numbers designates speed. For example, 25 speed film takes 4 times as much light to give
the same exposure as does 100 speed film.

Speeds of film available to amateurs ranges from 25 for ultra-fine-grain color slide film, to 3200 for color
print film (Konica SR 3200; other vendors will probably match this speed soon; Fuji markets a 1600 speed,
and Kodak has had a 1000 speed out for several years). Kodak just brought in its T -Max 3200 B&W film,
which may be exposed over a range of 800 to an incredible 25,000 speed, though speeds above 3200
require special processing.

In most cases, we trade grain for speed: the faster a film, the grainier its image, the less it tolerates
enlargement. It takes a professional eye to spot differences in grain between Kodak's 100 and 400 speed
VRG color print films processed at the local drugstore and printed 4 X 6; yet grain is instantly apparent on
Kodak's 1000 speed film and other, faster brands.

As with audio surveillance, we seek utility, not portrait quality. We will gladly trade a grainy image for the
lens and shutter speed needed to snap the mark in flagrante delicto••• whatever that means.

Recalling this business of shutter speeds, film speed relationships work this way: Let's say we have a brightly
lit outdoor scene we wish to shoot from a distance of a quarter of a mile. We must hand-hold, and will be
using a 1000 mm lens with a speed of f16. (F-stops are like film speed, a series of relative numbers to
designate the amount of light a lens admits. But note an inverse relationship: The lower the number, the
faster the lens, the more light it transmits. F16 is a slow lens requiring fast film, bright light, or both.)

Assume that our camera gives automatic exposure, since it is hard to find one without that feature today.

If we load 200 speed film in the camera, set the camera for 200 speed (we must tell its exposure computer
what speed fi 1m we are using), and focus on the scene, we see that a shutter speed of 1/60th of a second
will give proper exposure. For this telephoto lens, even using a triPOd, that's too long. The image will be
properly exposed but hopelessly blurred. We need a minimum shutter speed of 1/1000.

Mental calculation: changing to film speed 400 would give us a shutter speed of 1/120; film speed 800,
shutter speed 1/250; film speed 1600, shutter speed 1/500, and film speed 3200, shutter speed 1/1000.
We need 3200 speed film. What a relief that it's available, grainy but usable.

PUSH PROCESSING
You've loaded 400 speed color print film in the camera, but metering shows you need 1600 to achieve a
shutter speed compatible with your telephoto lens and ambient light, in order to avoid effects of camera-
shake.

Go ahead and set the camera for 1600 speed film and make your shots. But when you get them developed,
you must go to a custom lab and tell them to "push the film to 1600" or "push the film two stops." Since
the film was designed to give proper exposures at 400 speed, and since you took them as if the film could
handle 1600 speed, you have underexposed the fi 1m by two stops. (A change of one "stop," up or down,
refers to doubling or halving, respectively, the amount of light the lens admits.)

The lab can compensate to a degree by overdeveloping the negatives two stops. This leads to shifts in color,
usually inconsequential in surveillance work, as well as noticeable degradation in detail. But that doesn't
hassle us as long as the image remains usable.

63
Custom photo labs know what you're talking about when you ask for push processing. It would be risky to
write "push two stops" on the photo envelope at the drugstore and ship off your roll. Mass processors tend to
perform well with common films, but may bungle special requests.

If a given roll of film contains both normal and pushed exposures, you must decide before processing which
ones to save. As a rule, the entire roll must be processed at once, meaning that alterations will affect all
exposures. Normal exposures will be overexposed two stops by push processing the same amount.

Film varies in the amount of pushing it will take. Inherently fast and grainy films may take little, while fine-
grain medium speed films, such as Kodak's recently introduced T-Max B&W film, 400 speed, tolerates
considerable pushing.

TELEPHOTO LENSES
You will take most surveillance photos with a telephoto lens. If you have used binoculars or a hand-held
telescope, you have seen that the greater the magnification, the harder it becomes to keep the image still. If
you hand-hold a camera, or with extreme magnification and a tripod-mounted camera, the movement caused
by the tripping shutter can blur the image hopelessly.

Subjects usually don't want to be photographed and the agent wants to escape detection, a combination
problematic for the use of conventional cameras, lenses, and film for surreptitious photography. This demands
use of telescope-like lenses. We must reconcile the power of long lenses with the laws of physics. These
lenses pay a price for the you-are-there perspective they offer. They admit substantially less light, typically
1/4 to 1/64th as much, than "standard" lenses used for taking pictures of the reunion. The less light, the
longer the shutter must remain open, the greater camera-shake, the more likely the image will blur into
surreal ity.

We saw in the example of film speed above that increasing speed up to a point will let us use a slow,
telescope-like lens. An alternative which only professionals or well heeled amateurs can afford calls for a
faster lens, i.e., one that admits more light. Cost of a telephoto lens rises exponentially with its light-
gathering power. Big-time lens makers market 400 mm telephoto lenses with speeds down to f2.8. Cost runs
$2000 to $4000+, depending on quality, even at a discount. They are so big they require a separate tripod,
and a sturdy one at that. Hand-holding is near impossible, and they mark the agent as badly as the bazooka
directional mic.

THE CURSE OF CATADIOPTRIC LENSES

For genuinely long-range viewing with a lens of manageable size and modest cost, it is hard to beat the
catadioptric ("cat"), or mirror lens, in essence a miniq.ture reflecting telescope. The photo shows a 500 mm
f8 cat with 2X teledaptor, which increases focal length to 1000 mm but drops speed to f16 (i.e., doubles
magnification, but lets in only a quarter as much light).

The cat forces a trade-off. These lenses possess no usable depth of field. Depth of field refers to distance in
front of and behind the focus point in which images remain focused. Depth of field of conventional lenses
increases with smaller apertures. Focused on a subject 20 feet away, we might a get depth of field of 1 foot
from a 50 mm lens with an aperture of f1.4 (wide open). An aperture of f16 on that same lens would put
everything from 8 feet to infinity in focus, a huge depth of field.

Not so with mirror lenses. Even at extreme range, depth of field is almost nonexistent. Focus must be dead-
on or sharpness will suffer. That and their notoriously small apertures make these lenses cruel and unforgiving
for hand-held work, particularly using a moving automobile as a platform. As a field experiment, we
attempted to capture scenes with a 500 mm cat whose nominal aperture was f8, this with 1600 speed fi 1m
and the shutter set on 1/1000. Conditions were bright sunl ight. We found it all but impossible to keep
targets in focus while the vehicle moved. Thus, despite a bright sunlit day, fast shutter, and extremely fast
film, proper photos were rare, none of them worth printing here. This changed when we stopped the car,
focused carefully, and braced the camera on the car door.

If you own one of these lenses, try this experiment: Place the camera on a steady tripod. With 2X multiplier

64
500 mm catadioptric lens w/2X multiplier attached, a deadly
combination of camera and lens for long-range work on a budget, but
with strict limitations. See text.

65
in place (1000 mm focal length, aperture f16), focus on a distant object, with no film in the camera. Set the
timer to trip the shutter, then keep your eye glued to the viewfinder. It will blank momentarily as the mirror
comes up before the shutter clicks, but when it drops back you will see a marked shake in the picture. It
may oscillate for more than a second, depending on how the camera is mounted. Also, have an assistant walk
normally past the setup, if the floor is made of wood, and note how the highly magnified image jiggles.

These lessons teach that despite use of a tripod, you still have to use shutter speeds fast enough to keep the
image from smearing out of camera-shake induced by the movement of the mechanism; and that vibration
imperceptible to the operator will smear the picture.

Many who buy the 500 mm f8 cat become disillusioned with it quickly because of its drawbacks. Yet nothing
comparable offers so much magnification in a small, Iightweight package, for less than $200. By observing
the rules of fast film, sturdy tripod, haze filters, and fastest possible shutter speed, these lenses can produce
images usable in field work, the only criterion of worth when considering what gear to buy.

A 2X multiplier is available for this lens, which brings its focal length up to 1000 mm but drops the aperture
to f16. We were able to take hand-held shots, but only with 1/1000 shutter speed, stationary targets, and
lots of time to focus. We obtained best results using a tripod.

The CCS catalog I ists a 4800 mm lens (f27.5; that's one dim image). Camera shake generated by the
shutter alone, even with the whole setup double-tripod-mounted, would leave us with unnaturally blurred
photos. At that tiny aperture it's doubtful you could get by with shutter speeds slower than 1/1000, needed
to obscure the effects of camera shake.

Kodak's recently introduced T-Max 3200 speed B&W print film has breathed new life into long/dim lenses.
Using special developer, a custom lab may push this film to 25,000 while maintaining "surveillance quality"
images. Realize that film this sensitive calls for special handling. Ideally, shoot and develop a test-roll prior
to any serious work. We were a bit conservative in our experiments, exposing a roll at 6400.

The high speed proved to be both a blessing and a curse. Our camera, an old but trusty Canon A-1, rates a
top shutter speed of 1/1000. With the 1000 mm f16 lens mounted, shooting in bright sunlight, we needed a
faster shutter often. Most current top-of-the-line cameras will go 1/4000, and one of Nikon's latest models
will hit 1/8000. Alternatively, we could have used a polarizer, which cuts light transmission by roughly 50
percent, or a neutral density filter of whatever strength needed; or we could have stuck a few fingers in
front of the lens to reduce incoming light; or we could have exposed the entire roll at 3200, but we wanted
to see what this film would do in the middle of its rated range. If only the cat could stop down (i.e., tighten
its aperture on command from the camera to get proper exposure; one vendor does sell a cat with this
feature; check the ads in the back pages of the photo magazines). At present, Kodak T -Max 3200 is the
odds-on choice for telephoto work where low light and/or a slow lens figure into the scenario.

An alternative to high-powered low-speed lenses calls for a shorter tele capable of a larger aperture, say,
f4, with slower, less grainy film. Your photos will lack that immediacy of the high-mag lens, but you are
dealing with film of finer grain. Four-hundred speed color print film performs well with an f4 lens, particularly
in bright sunlight. Even slower films, with correspondingly finer grains, become practical as the amount of
light admitted by the lens rises. Their images will tolerate far greater enlargement than those of super-high-
speed films. You will be able to get greater depth of field (almost any lens, even at maximum aperture, gives
greater depth than the cat), with the option use slower shutter speeds and smaller apertures as demanded by
the situation. These lenses also let you use a polarizer with greater ease than with a cat (see below).

Ordinarily, one would think night-scenes, which may call for exposures of several seconds, prohibitively dark,
even with the sturdiest of tripods. Assuming the subject to be inanimate and immobile, that ain't so. One
maneuver especially suited to night scenes involves mounting the lens on the sturdiest tripod you can get-
weight it with sandbags if needed-then meter the scene. Let's say it requires 4 seconds to give proper
exposure. Take it from those who have tried this that camera-shake produced by the shutter open ing and
closing wi II smear the image hopelessly. A plain black card provides the solution. Set the shutter to open for,
say, 6 seconds. Press the delay button, and watch your timer. Hold the black card directly in front of the

66
Q)
--J

Examples of photos taken with 1000 mm f16 cat and Kodak T-Max 3200
exposed at 6400 with proper push processing. Match frame
w/enlargement. Balcony shot taken from 1 mile, hand-held 1/1000;
enlargement showed it to be slightly out of focus. Other shots taken from
1/4 mile, hand-held, overcast, shutter 1/750. Note grain. You can
almost read the Iicense plate••••
lens. When the shutter opens, wait a breath, then remove the card. This lets the otherwise imperceptible
camera-shake subside before the exposure starts. Keep your eye on your watch. Replace the card a second
before the shutter closes to prevent the less violent but sti II potentially ruinous shake as the shutter begins
its path shut. The improvement in image quality will surprise you (and the marks, when you produce those
startling photos in court).

STEADYCAM AND THE NEW TECHNOLOGY

The camera tracks Rocky Balboa as he sprints up the stairs of Philadelphia's Independence Hall. Bill Conti's
soaring music swells in the background. It's as if we were running alongside Rocky-yet our vantage remains
rock-steady and level, never bouncing with each step as his must.

The then-new instrument that let director John Avildsen track Rocky so smoothly was known as the
Steadycam: a mechanically stabilized hand-held camera mount. Before its introduction, film-makers had to
erect tracks on which to dolly their cameras to allow smooth following. The balanced camera mount let
cinematographers hand-hold without marring the finished scene with that newsreel-like jarring we had come
to expect from hand-held shots.

What has this to do with spooklore? Ask any telescope owner how useful a genuinely powerful instrument
would be without a firm mount. It's impossible to steady it enough to make sense of what is seen. Or take
the 500 mm catadioptric camera lens, often souped up to 1000 mm with a 2X teledaptor. It, too, provides
almost prohibitive magnification for hand holding and usable images.

But what if our still, movie, or video camera were servo-stabilized? We could up magnification, hang visually
onto live targets at ranges beyond their ability to see us without field glasses.

Steadycam is a right expensive piece of hardware. But you don't have to buy. You can rent for a few
hundred dollars a day in limited section of the country, usually those whose denizens play the spook game and
can afford to travel, whatever the fare.

The military uses this principle in the nose cameras of aging B52s and the new B1-B to let them see threats
at near-radar range. Word is that we have the sensors and magnification to peer in on objects at spy-
satellite distances, but practical limits in aircraft arise in not being able to hold the viewer still enough to
attain a useful image at more than 50 miles.

The Japanese continue to show us the way. The latest generation of home video cameras-that term
becomes hazier the faster tech advances-incorporates tiny servo-actuated motors to move the image
sensor, a charge-coupled or MOS device, to compensate for jitters in the holder, just like Steadycam, only
the works lurk inside the camera. An image sensor the size and mass of a nickel made this possible, with
extremely low energy drain. Managing the same feat with older tube-type cameras wou Id have proven
economically impractical.

Resolution of video recorded images, at least short of high-definition TV, has not come up on par with that of
the finest films, which are usually too slow for surveillance work. The classic, Kodachrome slide film, rates
25 speed, this compared with 3200 speed in the latest color print film. Of course, Kodachrome and similar
slow slide films offer stunning color and detail. Print film of 1000 speed and above produces prints noticeably
grainy, even when drugstore-processed. These do not tolerate enlargement well.

Note that electronically recorded images, whether moving videotape or the latest electronic still cameras,
give us electronic signals which lend themselves to digital enhancement without the interstep of digitizing a
print or slide.

CONSUMER VIDEO GEAR

We have reached an age in which common consumer video gear wi II serve genuinely useful roles in
surveillance and other security related applications. The inside back cover of a recent issue of International
Combat Arms contains an ad from Panasonic for its model WV-D5000 video camera: CCD sensor, workable
down to 0.7 lux, 1/1000 shutter, auto white balance, etc. Newer cameras can drop shutter speed to

68
1/4000, enough to "freeze" extremely high-speed action. Others incorporate crude digital processing used
mainly for special effects, though some get to the heart of the matter and enable taping in semidarkness.

Sony's recently introduced cigarette-pack-sized black and white camera mounts on a peephole. We needn't
put our eye to the viewer. We can look at a hand-held LCD screen in some other part of the house to see
what breed of werewolf has come a-knockin'. The image could be fed through an 8-hour cassette recorder
for maintaining surveillance of areas over long periods. Digitally superimposed time and date are de rigueur.

Pinhole cameras-the ones that poke through tiny holes in walls to serve FBI sting operations-have been
outmoded by a camera whose pickup will fit inside a lipstick case. Trailing a sinister black cable, it uses
MOS sensors to provide resolution in the VCR class. It looks to be one tenth the volume of a unit shown in
CCS catalog, with potential for concealment in almost anything-including the ladies' lipstick case.

It will not be long before video sensors become so small that previously impossible visual invasions will
become commonplace. Dick Tracy's 2-way wrist TV will have become reality.

AUTOFOCUS
This feature has just begun to appear in lenses, some zooms, that approach useful tele focal lengths, 210
minimum. The various mechanisms have yet to prove themselves in surveillance work, since they might choose
the wrong moment to focus on the windshield of the car, rather than the target two blocks ahead. Manually
focused lenses may demand constant attention, but at least we know where they'll be locked when the
shutter clicks.

TAKING PICTURES FOR REAL

Questions: What, or whom, do you want to photograph? Under what conditions? With the subject doing what?
These and countless other variables dictate your camera, film, lens, and technique.

Practical tests on persons in public places quickly pointed up the major prerequisite for successful surveillance
photography, assuming adequate technical skill: patience, and lots of it.

You may have to sit, stand, crouch, or kneel for hours with your eye glued to the viewfinder just to catch
the subject in conditions that have worth to you or your client (for example, the pigeon and a female
companion, framed in the doorway of Motel Delicto, just down from the Slow Club on Route 7 .... ). Try to
snap that shot in hot, muggy weather. Note how quickly you break a sweat, and how abysmally it fogs the
viewfinder. Feel the muscles in your face and neck tighten to dull, aching knots. See how hopeless it
becomes to hold the focus of a genuinely long lens. This explains why PI's charge $100 an hour for photo
work ....

Though many gigs don't let us use a tripod, be aware of the existence of rifle-stock-like camera holders that
steady your aim considerably. Appropriately enough, they trip the shutter through a cable attached to a
trigger.

HANDLING FILM
Film has a limited shelf-life. Exposure to light triggers chemical reactions that are happening right now, but
so slowly that several seasons may pass before color-shifts and other tawdry changes render the film useless.

We will learn in a grim expose' of pyrotechnics that chemical reaction rates double for every 10 degrees C
rise in temperature. That means that storing film in the fridge prolongs its shelf-life. High-end photo shops
that serve professionals keep pro film in the fridge out of this very consideration. Since faster film, the type
most useful for surveillance work, is most subject to these changes, it benefits most from a cool environment.
Film targeted to the non-pro market is designed to "age" as it sits on the shelf at room temperature.
Refrigeration stops this aging, which explains some authorities' advice not to cool non-pro films.

Remember that moisture condenses on cold surfaces. When you remove caches of film from cold storage,
leave them in the unopened boxes at room temperature for at least an hour before loading the film.

69
It goes without saying that impounding film in your car's glove box on a hot day kills it as dead as Raid kills
bugs. And if you left the camera in there too, kiss its microelectronics goodbye.

Though you can safely load most films in ordinary room light, it pays to play safe by doing so under the
darkest conditions feasible. All film cartridges leak light to some extent. The briefer the exposure the less
Iikely you are to lose prints.

Once exposed, get the film developed as soon as possible. In addition to yielding best results, this practice
minimizes the odds of a loss or theft. For genuinely important film, bypass the drugstore for a custom photo
shop: Nobody assumes liability for loss except as to replace the film. Your pix may be gone forever. Some
mass photo labs have become notorious for losing customers' film. (And if the subject-matter is del icate,
either go to a reliable custom processor out of town, or front for your own darkroom.... )

AUTOWINDERS
The trend today leans toward built-in autowinders in most mid-to-upper-Ievel 35 mm cameras, with
continuous shooting modes that range from 1 to 5 frames a second. Outboard autowinders are available for
most older models, at modest prices.

For surveillance work they are worth their weight in Haagen-Dazs. That quick flip of the thumb to advance
the fi 1m and cock the shutter usually takes the subject out of the viewfinder and may wreck the focus if you
are using a cat.

EXTENDED FILM MAGAZINES

Those who have dabbled in surveillance photography find it axiomatic that the incriminating shot escaped
whi Ie they were reloading film. Thirty-five mm film cartridges sold in most camera shops hold 36 frames,
tops; yet pros know that there are available magazines that will hold 100 frames or more. Be aware of the
existence of these larger magazines for situations that call for a prolonged and unpredictable series of
sequential shots.

FIL TERS
Amateur-going-on-serious photographers discover that their photos bear a washed-out look compared with
profession pix, or that pictures taken with outdoor film under indoor lighting affect an unnatural orange cast.

The solution to these and a host of other problems lies with filters-transmissive plates screwed onto the
front of the lens. For long telephoto work, especially with the requisite high-speed film, the most needed
filter will be the UV/haze, which filters ultraviolet light. The human eye cannot see ultraviolet spectra, but
these rays tan/burn sunbathers. They happen also to expose film, even though we cannot sense the wreckage
as it happens. This leads to a fogged image. A UV filter remedies this and offers a plus in that "haze"-the
longer the distance the greater the atmospheric haze-magnified by telephoto lenses, contains much
ultraviolet, reduced through use of this filter. (When using B&W film and shooting from extremely long range,
the ultimate haze-killer is a red filter.)

The UV/haze filter is almost a must for several reasons. Some high-speed films show higher-than-average
sensitivity to ultraviolet light. Second, long distances bring atmospheric haze in as a problem to be reckoned
with. Finally, UV/haze filters protect expensive lenses from spatters and dirt that would otherwise shorten
the lenses' lives. Some hold that a UV filter should be bought with every lens and left in place more or less
permanently. Better that you should clean a cheap filter than a $600 multicoated lens.

As an instructive exercise, take your 35 mm camera and some 400 speed color print film, and get a
UV/haze filter (about $10 for a generic brand, unless you want to shell out more than $50 for a Nikon). Set
up a tripod and take pictures under a variety of outdoor settings, and indoors with flash, both with and
without filter. Use a long telephoto lens for outdoor work if you have one. Even with computerized
commercial processing which tends to compensate for some glare, you will notice a distinct heightened clarity
of the filtered product. As a freebie, these filters do not reduce the amount of visible light transmitted, as
most other filters do. That means no slowing of the shutter speed in fast-moving gigs.

70
--J

LEFT: Target all but obscured by reflections off glass of car window. RIGHT:
Polarizer reveals true intent of its helpless victim, now fully visible. Lens was Canon
70-210 f4 at full zoom; camera was Canon A-1 set on auto.
 WARNI~G: THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEE~
CLASSIfIED ~~OSSESSION
Of IT BY UNAUTHORIZED PERSONS IS A fELONY PUNISHhBLj~ BY UP TO
TWENTY (20) YEARS IN PRISON, AND/OR CO~fINEME~T UNTI u THE
MATERIAL IS NO LONGER CONSIDERED SE~SITIVE.
This is page 34 of 217. Report missi:"lg pa'Jes immediately to the
Office of the-oeputy Director. Make no copies. Reciplent's eyes
only. Destroy if unable to secure from hostile posses3ion.

[continued]
found that a pulse of 300 milliseconds duration at SO percent.
intensity penetrated a full quarter inch of armor plate with only
minimum spatter of molten metal; howp-ver, full-power pulses
vaporized metal explosively and presented an unacceptable hazard
to an unshielded operator standing less than five feet from the
target, as well as a local fire hazard.
ACCIDENTAL OVERPENETRATION
When using the hand-held laser, the operator must consider the
results of unintended full penetration. The beam of the weapon
vill melt common metal, such as car bodies sheet metal, at ranges
of up to 800 meters, and can cause blindness at rages in excess
of two miles. For that reason, it is recommended that the weapon
be used as a matter of last resort, only by personnel fam1liar
with its special properties, or under conditions in which an
unintentional burn-through will be absorbed by a suitable
backdrop, such as non-flammable wallboard at least 0.5 inches in
thickness.

FIRI~G MODES

The DeathRay, Inc. hand-held free-electron laser can be fired in

several modes to let it accomplish a variety of tasks.

I: MANUAL PULSE MODE

Pulse mode is adjustable in 100 millisecond increments from 100
milliseconds to 800 milliseconds by means of a circular C11Ck-
detent dial on the left hand side of the weapon (fig. 12). Only a
single pulse will be delivered with each pull of the tri~ger
(unlike the shoulder-fired version, with its ~reater energy
reserves, pulses will not be repeated unless the trlgger is
released fully, then pressed a second time: the shoulder fired
version automatically repeats pulses at a rate dependent on the
selected pulse duration and power l<!vel available, .. ad time to
recycle the capacitor bank).

In addition to duration of pulse, the Intensity Is also

independently adjust .. ble, in 10 percent lncrements from 1a to laO
percent.

II: AUTOMATIC PROC~~ MODE

Automatic Program Mode selects dispersion, intensity, dur~tlon,
pulse or continuous, and optimizes these vari .. bles to the nature

Average example of B&W document photography. Note that this is

enlargement of a half-frame. We shot two 8.5 x 11 sheets per frame.
Text is easily readable in this 5 x 7 enlargement.

72
On occasion a polarizer may be valuable. To explain it simply, light reflected from many but not all surfaces
becomes polarized as a result of the reflection. The glare off windshields, water, and many plastics,
particularly when viewed from certain angles, consists mainly of polarized light. Fi Iters exist which wi II
screen the polarized component. Thus, if glare on a window were keeping the suspects hidden from your
camera, use of a polarizer on the lens might let you peek in where glare had kept your probing eye out.

But at a price. Polarizers halve the amount of light reaching the lens. That means faster film, wider
apertures, or both, to allow for quick shutter speeds.

The polarizer rotates on the lens, since we must adjust it for maximum filtration of unwanted reflections.
Some lenses rotate the front of the barrel as they focus, meaning that re-setting the polarizer must follow
each change of focus.

Some types of reflections are not polarized, rendering this filter useless in killing them.

PRACTICAL DOCUMENT PHOTOGRAPHY

-yes, but do we need a Minox to get legible photos of documents? That question begged for an experiment.

We obtained apocryphal copies of the field manual for the hand-held laser weapon made by DeathRay,
Incorporated (their motto: "Death to your enemies!"). We laid out two sheets side by side and photographed
them with three different cameras and films. To no one's surprise, we got best results with the A-1 and T-
Max 400 speed, though prints from an ancient Yaschica GSN using 400 speed color print film, and from a
small autofocus Canon Shure Shot using 400 T -Max, were readable. We tried also the T -Max 3200 exposed
at 6400 in the A-1. Prints were grainy but readable. The photo (unscreened) shows an average shot from
the lot.

Naturally, a dry run is in order prior to any serious copy work. Make or get documents as similar in
appearance to those that need to be copied. Select your film and speed, set the camera, and go to work.

But make it realistic. Time yourself. As a rule, the quicker you get done, the less the chances of capture.
Make sure you have fresh batteries and film (look at the expiration date for both on the cartons; do not
skimp here.)

Make the spots, develop the pix. For photographing black type on white pages, you will probably get best
results with a 2-stop overexposure in available light. Flash pictures tend to overexpose anyway, such that no
compensation should be needed, but make a trial run to check it. Electronic cameras are made to give proper
exposure relative to "gray." If you photograph a white page with slide film, the camera chooses an exposure
that prints gray. Therefore, you must overexpose to get true white. But there is no need to guess. In your
trial run, do a normal exposure, a 1 stop over, 2 stops over, and so on. Set the camera to the one that
gives best results.

Now, don't expect to read one or two pages per frame in a 4 x 6 print (especially not black and white; most
labs do much better work, and get your prints back quicker, with color). You may have to go for 8 x 10s or
larger. Depending on the sensitivity of the documents, a special photo lab or-better-your own may be
needed.

If the material proves particularly sensitive, use Polaroid Polagraph HC (high-contrast black-and-white) slide
film. You develop it in an inexpensive processor and mount the slides yourself. (The manual processor is
inexpensive; the motorized processor is not.) Simply project the slides. With the right projector and lens, you
can make them as big as you need to read the fine print. This film is rated 400 but tests showed optimum
results in available light if the camera was set for film speed 100, which gives a 2-stop overexposure and
very nice results indeed. Set for 400 speed if using flash.

73
 4
LOCKS
Lemme in!
-the Big Bad Wolf

* * *

Spooklore will always save a spot in its heart for picking locks. There is something intriguing and visceral,
almost sexy, about penetrating the forbidden, which is what lock-picking is all about. Too bad that describing
locks, works, and the picking process, all while skirting the depths of boredom, proves no mean feat. Good
news lies in the fact that mastering 10 percent of picking technique lets us defeat 90 percent of locks in use
today.

Much published material on this tricky item assumes the student will make the commitments of a professional.
Top pros can in fact bypass extremely stalwart locks-but their approach mirrors their professionalism. For
rough cases, they learn the make and model of the lock in advance, buy a lock identical to the target,
disassemble the mechanism to check its pick-resistant features. They practice defeating the lock under bench
conditions to learn what will and won't work; and, critically, how much time it takes or noise it makes.
They procure any necessary tools, such as a vibrator pick, lock-aid gun, and spinner wrench. Then they
install the lock in a mockup of the actual objective and rehearse the operation under near-field conditions
and under time pressure. In some cases, where the situation permits, they practice defeating the target lock
as some sordid foreplay to the actual caper.

This professional approach keeps all options in mind. A genuinely superior lock and bolt mechanism will turn a
pro's attention to defeating the door-jamb, the door itself, or drilling the mechanism-or to another avenue.
An inside assist will supply the key on those truly high-priced jobs.

Common house-thieves enter through a door or window whose soft wooden jamb they have pried open with a
crowbar. Speed makes up for this dreadful lack of finesse. Picking the lock never comes up.

Much of lock-picking's horrid lure lies in the way we unconsciously reverse-read its lore: How can we use
what it tells to protect ourselves and our possessions? As a basic principle, make it so difficult, and therefore
risky, for the common th ief to get inside our home or business that he does not consider the target seriously.
Deadbolt locks with pick- and drill-resistance, installed in metal doors and frames, positioned such that
prolonged attack would draw attention, perhaps backed up by an alarm system-all would mean a full night's
work on something that was not a sure thing. Common burglars hit soft targets.

THE VERY BASICS

We have many different types of locks, but covering any but the most common pin-tumbler variety quickly
takes us to the point of diminishing return on effort. Before we can defeat a lock, we must understand its
principles. At the risk of oversimplifying or wasting space for those already familiar with locks, let's re-
invent the pin tumbler:

Consider a steel cylinder 1/2" diameter, about an inch long, with a flat handle attached to one end to let us

74
turn it, and some type of linkage at the other end, to connect to the actual "lock," since this describes only
the lock cylinder, the point we attack when picking.

Second, consider that this solid cylinder fits inside a hollow steel cylinder whose inside diameter measures
just over 1/2" so the smaller cylinder turns easily inside it. But since it turns, we have no lock. Now take a
1/8" bit and drill down through the outer cylinder into the inner, then insert a nail through the hole. With
this nail in place, the inner cylinder will no longer turn. It is "locked" in place.

Change things a bit. Instead of a nail, let's use a brass pin just under 1/8" diameter. Further, assume we
have cut a vertical opening that runs the length of the inner cylinder. We can access the brass pin through
this opening. We have, in essence, a 1-pin tumbler lock. Any key or tool that will lift the pin to the level
between the two cylinders-called the shear-paint-opens the lock.

Now, with this gizmo set up such that gravity (or a spring) keeps some part of the brass pin blocking the
shear-line, the plug will not turn. But if we insert a tool, or key, into the front opening and raise the pin,
we reach a point at which its lower end clears the way. The cyl inder turns, the lock opens.

Further complexity: Assume that we have used two brass pins, one on top of the other in the cylinder hole.
Now all we have to do is raise this pin-pair to their break-point, where it lines up with the gap between
cylinders, and the inner cylinder turns. In this we have a 1-pin tumbler lock.

Such a lock would be awfully easy to open with some slim tool, any tool, that let us reach in to raise the
only pin. Practical locks attain a measure of security by employing multiple pins, usually 4 or more, and
arranging for different heights for the shear-point. A key is a tool which raises each of several pins to its
preferably unique shear-point. The intent of the lock is not to open to anyone who does not use the correct
key; yet understanding the mechanism lets us formulate ways to make it open without use of a key. This
practice is commonly known as lock-picking.

A pick may be considered any instrument inserted into the lock to let the operator manipulate the pins. The
photo shows several standard pick outlines. Their names correspond to shape: diamond, circle, double circle,
lifter. The ones with squiggly ends are known as rakes, or, in some texts, snakes.

Note also an ancillary tool we must always use with the pick: the tension wrench. This tool applies torsion to
the plug while we manipulate the pins. The basic idea behind picking calls for raising all pins to their shear-
points, at which point the lock will open. Rotational tension applied by the wrench keeps "picked" pins from
dropping back into position.

Picking rests on the existence of tolerances. Space must exist between pins and their pin-holes, and between
plug and outer cylinder to have a useful lock, one not too tight. Dimensions never exactly match specs. Even
if off by only a thousandth of an inch, they let us pick the lock.

The pin that binds first will "pick" first, followed by the next thickest, and so on; or at least that's the
theory of picking by attacking pins one at a time.

Disassemble the picking process. First, insert the tension wrench into the keyway, then insert the pick.
Apply light tension (as used here, "tension" means torsion: a turning force), then begin lifting pins in turn. A
pin-pair lifted to shear-height at which there exists slight play in the mechanism will separate. It is then said
to be picked. The top pin won't fall because the cylinder has turned ever so slightly, but enough keep the
top pin above the shear-line. Then on to the next pin-it's impossible to predict which-until all are
picked, at which point the cylinder will turn and the lock will open.

BEGINNING
Educators agree that repeated failure at a task turns the student off. Playing a game of chess with a
computer that thinks for 2 seconds per move is usually much more enjoyable than one that thinks for 3
minutes a move, since the latter case makes it so powerful it can beat most players. And so it is with lock
work. Start out on an upscale Master[tm] padlock, and failure will turn you off the trade quickly.

75
 lOll
lUlU

TOP LEFT: Assembled cylinder. TOP RIGHT: Retaining cap removed to expose springs that lie on
top of pins. Note that this lock could hold 6 pins but came with only 5. BOTTOM LEFT: Fully
disassembled mechanism showing bottom & top pins, springs, retainer, cylinder, and key. BOTTOM
RIGHT: Pin 1 has been replaced. Put retainer back on and start practicing.

76
TOP LEFT: Middle-aged mother of two in grimly determined attack on helpless 5-pin tumbler lock.
TOP RIGHT: Picking technique: overhand grip.
BOTTOM LEFT: Picking technique: pencil grip.
BOTTOM RIGHT: Attacking lock on file cabinet. This particular lock proved far more resistant to
picking than did 5-pin tumbler.

77
The student should begin with these wretchedly simple 5-pin tumblers that fairly fall apart in one's hands.
But the best way, and a method that imparts important insights into the workings of pin-tumbler locks,
demands buying a simple 5-pin tumbler, removing the cylinder, disassembling it, reassembling it selectively,
and working on it alone.

Some texts suggest mounting the works in a doorway. That method certainly offers a degree of realism. But,
as the photo shows, a simple C-clamp will serve to hold the cylinder for this introductory phase.

Take the lock apart, always remembering which pins go in what holes, so the lock will work with the key
when you reassemble it. Refer to the photo set. (It may not be visible in the photos, but each pin has been
scribed with a line to indicate its sequence in case it is forgotten, as it always is.) Also, take care when you
remove the retainer strip over the line of pins and springs. Unless you cover it, the springs will pop out and
into permanent exile in the limbo of your carpet.

Once you have taken the lock apart, reassemble it with only one pin. The first pin (the one closest to the
keyway) is an appropriate place to start, since you can see it. You know intuitively that, if you apply a
twisting force with the tension wrench and lift the pin with a pick, the cylinder will turn when it reaches the
shear-point. Mount the setup and try it. You cannot fail. You will use only a simple "lifter" pick and a
tension wrench.

Picking a single pin proves so easy you may be tempted to move on before you have milked the exercise for
other lessons it can teach: feel, for example. What does lifting the pin feel like? How does it feel when it
picks? What effect does altering the tension from light to heavy have on feel? Does it make a difference
whether you apply torsion clockwise or counterclockwise? Slowly pick the single pin several times with your
eyes closed to help with feel. This simple lesson wi II return to aid you with difficult locks.

Remove the first pin and repeat the exercise with the second pin only, then the third only, and so on. Each
will offer different feel and will accustom you to working with pins deeper in the lock and having different
shear-points.

Now reassemble the mechanism with two pins. This time you'll have to lift one pin until it picks, then go
after the second, at which point the lock is yours. Notice that the order in which you pick the pins may well
make a difference. Pick in the wrong order, and you do not leave enough play to pick the second pin. This is
a valuable lesson: The order in which you pick the pins can make the difference between a rough and an easy
pick.

Picking two pins proves so easy that the beginner is tempted too soon to move on to more pins without
extracting valuable lessons from fewer. Remount the lock with all possible combinations of two pins: 1& 2,
2&3, 1&5, etc. With each, you will notice a distinctive feel. This is one of the quickest ways to learn
intuitively that the order of picking the pins can make a great difference. Do not skip this step.

Now move up to 3 pins, applying the same exercises. Mount 3 pins in all combinations, pay attention to feel
and the order of picking that opens the lock fastest. Pick both clockwise and counterclockwise. As you reach
three pins and up, be patient with yourself. One of the commonest beginner reactions, impatience usually
terminates the practice session. And you cannot learn to pick locks without practice.

Move up to 4 and finally to all 5 pins. Although these locks are so easily picked that the author taught a
middle-age mother of two to open the 5-pin tumbler in the photos in less than half an hour, the serious
student might well spread his practice over several sessions, several days, to work up to 5 pins. (The author
has lost touch with the middle-age mother of two who modeled for the photos, but it would not surprise him
that she now carries a small pick-set in her purse. Has Women's Lib gotten out of hand ... ?)

Stop here to reward yourself, if only mentally, with the notion that you have pretty well mastered basic
picking technique for the common 5-pin tumbler. Though you will find quirks among different brands,
understand that you can now pick 90 percent of the locks in the country. That includes wafer locks that
protect droors and filing cabinets and burglar alarm boxes, as well as most apartment and house locks.

78
 ~
I'll
~
USING YOUR THUMB. COMPRESS THIS
SPRING-LOADED PORTION, THEN RELEASE
INSERTION OF KEY HAS RAISED SUDDENLY, PRODUCING UPWARD ·SNAP"
A~~ PINS TO THEIR SHEAR-POINTS.
CY~INDER WI~~ NOW TURN. EITHER PUCHASE THIS
TOOL, OR MAKE ONE FROM
SPRING STEEL THE SAME
INSERT THIS END INTO KEYWAY THICKNESS AS YOUR PICK
-..J
<0

t
SNAPPER PICK. TO OPERATE. INSERT END INTO KEYWAY ALL THE WAY.
~E-PIN PRACTICE "COCK- THE MECHANISM BY PRESSING DOWN THE SPRING-LOADED UPPER
DER WI~~ HOW TURN. PORTION WITH YOUR THUMB. LET GO SUCH THAT THE CATCH 'SNAPS"
POINT HAS SEED REACHED. THE DISTAL END UPWARD SHARPLY. WHILE APPLYING TORSION WITH
THE WRENCH. EVEN MUSHROOM PINS MAY NOT RESIST THIS FORM OF ATTACk.

COCKED POSITION. SUDDEN RELEASE WILL

SNAP eOTTOM PART UPWARD.
TRY AGAIN USING A DIFFERENT PICK
Once you have worked up to 5 pins, using only the lifter, have gained proficiency and confidence, you may
experiment with other picks in your set. Try the diamond and compare its feel to that of the lifter. Try the
rake/snake or the circle. You may find that different picks work better with different locks. Ideally, repeat
the mounted-cylinder exercise pin by pin with each new pick. Try the two basic types of tension wrenches
(thin and thick, for different size keyways).

Try other methods of applying tension. Some authors recommend using a rubber band, one end attached to a
thumb-tack stuck in the door, the other hooked on the end of the wrench, to maintain fairly constant
tension. Others advocate attaching small weights to the end of the wrench. A closet lock-student since
1977, the author has never had to resort to these techniques, though some highly qual ified people commend
them.

COMMON MISTAKES BEGINNERS MAKE

First, different locks demand different technique, certainly. But for the bulk of non-resistant locks
encountered in condominiums, office buildings, and lock boxes, these rules work well:

Use proper grip. Hold the handle firmly, and move the entire pick up or down, as needed, rather than
attempting to pivot the pick. When working a single, rear pin with a lifter, pivoting may be the only way to
avoid upsetting the pins in front of it. But as a rule, the best technique keeps the long axis of the pick
parallel to the bore of the lock. This demands a firm grip that quickly cuts your flesh if the pick lacks a
rounded or padded handle.

Second, do not let the pick twist. This is easier with thicker picks than with thin ones, but you will probably
find the thin picks more effective because they fit into cramped keyways. Twisting side to side defeats the
lifting action, and, if you happen to be raking, galls the metal. So, not only must you tense the muscles to
hold the pick rigid in a horizontal plane, you must not let it rotate whi Ie you Iift the pins.

Third, early successes, especially with rakes on the 5-pin "beginner" locks in bench testing, will tend to
condition you to lifting the pins all the way. As long as it works, fine. But you will meet locks whose shear-
points hit with only slight lifting. That means that pushing them higher will only frustrate you. The lock used
on the filing cabinet shown in the photo, a simple 4-pin or wafer, was of that type. It finally yielded when
the lock student altered his approach to lifting just a little, rather than all the way.

Fourth, beginners become frustrated easily. Their reaction is A) to sweat, B) to tense up, and C) to bend
the tension wrench into a bow from which it never springs back. Getting tense, making jerky movements-
experience shows that these never succeed. Patience does. If things aren't working, change your approach
systematically: pick the center pins, then the rear, then the front, or some combination other than the
obvious back-to-front. Alter tension. If using a rake, note that it's likely to have different actions upside
down, so turn it over. Persistence pays off, as does adaptability. You lose nothing by altering your approach.

Fifth, change the tension wrench. Most small sets give you a thick wrench and a thin one. For some locks,
the thick wrench won't let the pick maneuver. For others, the thin will be too small to apply any force at
all. If one doesn I t seem to work, try the other.

The photos are posed, obviously, but the woman who belongs to the hands picked each lock she attacked. If
she can do it, so can you. The locks to the alarm box (4-pin), a desk drawer (ditto), the office back door (5
pins, but they practically pick themselves) and the mailbox (another 4-pin) are yours for the taking, even
with suboptimum tools, should you accidentally lock yourself out. (As a proper solution to that, secrete spare
keys where you can get them quickly in case of a lockout.)

BUT WHICH WAY DOES IT PICK?

Those who have taken on locks know that they prove impossible to pick in one direction, often the "unlock"
direction, yet open fairly smoothly in the other, or "lock" direction. That means that, unless you know which
way the brand picks to open, you should give both directions a good go before slipping the bumper-jack into
the doorway.

80
So what if you should successfully bypass the lock, but in the wrong direction? Bring in a rotary spinner. This
coiled spring-steel device has a blade-like tang on one end and a handle at right angles on the other. Insert
the blade into the keyway of the picked lock, then apply a hold so that the cylinder will not spin. Then turn
the handle to build up spring tension, like a watch mainspring (they used to make watches that ran
mechanically, on the power of a spring •••• ). When you let go the spring, it spins the cylinder rapidly in the
other direction, so fast that the pins do not have time to fall back into place as it passes the upright
position.

A spinner is not a bad tool to have. The author tried manually spinning a cylinder he had picked, in the
wrong direction, and found his hands too sluggish ••••

Mechanisms used by Master on its high-end padlocks Iike the one shown in the photo belong to a different
breed than the common 5 -pin tumbler. Though only 5 pins, these locks have earned their reputation for pick-
resistance. Of course, even a Master padlock proved no match for a pair of killer bolt-cutters, the preferred
method for defeating exposed metal of about 1/2" or less when time is tight and money (the cutters cost well
over $120) means nothing in relation to the worth of the objective••••

THE CYLINDER IS NOT THE WHOLE LOCK

So you've mastered a simple 5-pin cylinder. Congratulations. It is time to learn that picking the cyl inder
does not mean picking the lock. A rigidly mounted cylinder provides a distinctly different feel than that same
cylinder in a door-handle or deadbolt. The mechanical linkages offer so much resistance/play that you may
pick the lock in thirty seconds, but not know this because of the spring tension on the handle. That means it
is wise to pause every few minutes to apply significantly stronger tension to the wrench, or try to turn the
handle. It isn't uncommon for the cylinder to have turned only a few degrees, yet the handle will then turn
all the way and you're in.

Work out on some real targets: the lock on the drawer in your office desk should be the proverbial piece of
cake-but here you will learn that even simple locks have their idiosyncrasies, and that simplicity of design
or lack of pick-resistant features does not necessarily mean it will open more easily than a 5-pin tumbler.
Try the push-in lock on the filing cabinet. It looks easy, but picks hard, at least on the two the author has
tackled. How about the 4-pin wafer on your mailbox? Try them all.

Check out the photo of a steel door fit with two locks, one a deadbolt. Anyone who lives behind that
impenetrable barrier must feel pretty secure, eh?

It took the author exactly 70 seconds to pick both locks, first try. The locks happened to be keyed alike and
were master-keyed to boot. The author once dwelt behind that door. He has long since moved, but after the
pick-trick, had a locksmith install a high-security Medeco cylinder in the deadbolt.

The 5-pin tumbler you mastered is ubiquitous. Look around, start paying attention to the number of homes
and businesses protected by this now meaningless obstacle.

As an additional ego-booster, something that offers thrills and more practice, pick a 5-pin tumbler that is in
service; but here you must exercise caution. In some jurisdictions mere possession of lock-picks by the non-
locksmith or bonded locksmith student is illegal. Second, insertion of your pick into someone else's keyway
without their permission could constitute a crime. Third, laymen who see someone working a lock tend to
freak out and call the police. The poor cop who's done nothing but hand out traffic tickets the past three
weeks will tend to respond with unnatural verve if he spots you at outdoor practice.

So practice on your own locks, or, if you must use others', make certain they are present to back up your
story. If your jurisdiction restricts possession of picks, buy into one of those mai lorder locksmith courses and
have the proper credentials on you.

PICKS
Catalogs from companies selling locksmith supplies usually offer pick sets that range from about 8 items (2
tension wrenches and 6 picks), on up to sets of a hundred pieces, with picks, wrenches, tiny saws, key-

81
extractors, and other goodies. The question comes up, What use is there for this varied selection? Experience
with a small set showed that only two tension wrenches ever saw use, along with only three picks: the rake,
lifter, and diamond, thin ones at that. The remaining items served well as ballast in the pick case, and
served no purPOse other than impressing dates.

All books on lock work publish the standard pick outlines: lifter, diamond, rake, and so on. We have included
a photo of a handful of HPC[tm] picks. They could be used as guides for manufacture; but for all save
experienced metalworkers, it will prove easier to buy a pick-set.

The beginner's pick is the lifter, a simple curved end with a flat tip. It lifts pins one at a time. The shape
stems from the need to get up under other pins in front of the target-pin without disturbing them. Large
pick-sets come with lifters of variable reach and height.

The diamond takes its name from the triangular shape. Most designs lack the curve of the lifter that lets the
pick reach the back pins without disturbing those in front. Despite the nomenclature of picks, the diamond
may see better success with raking than the rake.

Ah yes, the rake pick. They call it a rake because it is, supposedly, suited to the raking technique discussed
shortly, yet it seems to see greater success in non-raking pick techniques. Some authoritative texts have
suggested the diamond for raking.

Others call rakes "snakes," out of their serpentine profile. That makes them almost like a segment of key-
and in fact and by chance alone, they will function that way with 2 to 4 pins, depending on the breaks.
Simply inserting the rake and lifting, at the right spot, may pick a handful of pins, something that might
otherwise consume tense minutes. With those out of the way, and they might have been bitches to get with a
lifter alone, the rest pick like the proverbial piece of cake.

This explains the presence in some of the larger pick-sets of rakes having distinctive contours: different
depths and angles of "cuts" on the rake, different distances between cuts, more or fewer cuts. A failed snake
in one lock may open another in seconds.

Note too that the character of the rake changes depending on which edge faces the pins. That gives one rake
an entirely different personality simply by using its opposite edge.

BAD TOP PINS

Known as mushrooms or spools, out of their diabolical shape, these pins provide false shear-points that, once
hit, force the student to start over. Refer to the diagram. Applying conventional picking technique, note how
the mushroom cut will let the cylinder turn past normal tolerances, yet stop it cold at that point.

Raking, the lock-aid gun, and vibrator picks have a rep, at least in spooklore, for defeating mushroom pins.
We dunno. We've raked several serious locks in the past 10 years, have tried every trick in the books, but
they have yet to pick ....

TWISTING PINS
Medeco's high-security locks incorporate bottom pins that do not terminate in a point. Rather, they end in a
bevel. The key has a matching slot at each cut, such that, once inserted, it both lifts and rotates the pin.
This action in turn allows a side-bar to slide out of the way (if it didn't, the cylinder would still refuse to
turn even if you had picked the pins). This adds to its pick-resistance. One locksmith the author questioned
stated that Medeco would cut keys only for the original purchaser of the lock, which adds some measure of
security that at least the bonded locksmith down the street wont duplicate the key from an impression (do
those bevels show up in the impression?) or even from the original, unless the customer can produce a special
ID card that says he owns the lock.

MULTIPLE ROWS OF PINS

Sargent's Keso cylinder has in essence three rows of pins, all of which must be picked simultaneously in order

82
for the lock to open. Instead of the "cuts" of common keys, it is pock-marked by what appear to be drilled
pits of a set depth. The pits line the top and two sides of each key. This design reputedly allows for multiple
levels of master-keying without sacrifice in security.

Note in addition that Sargent and some other makers of high-security cylinders will cut keys only at the
factory, and only for registered owners of the lock.

Couldn't we just insert a stick of metal on the end of an electric toothbrush, apply tension with a wrench
and hope for the best? Yes, and who knows what could be made to work?

RAKING
It's easier to describe raking than it is to visualize what it does. Raking refers to a picking technique
designed to defeat locks equipped with one or more spool or mushroom pins.

To rake is to insert the pick all the way, (and here authorities differ: some recommend the rake pick, others
go with the diamond) apply light tension, then rip the pick out of the lock snappily while pushing upward
fairly hard on the pins. That jerky extraction is raking.

But what does it do? Performed with verve, it flips all pins up past their shear-points in a split second. As
they begin to fall, some will catch at their true shear-points, since those will hit the shear space before the
mushroom or spool cut.

A single rake won't usually do it. Texts suggest 10 or 12 in a row, varying the tension a hair with each
series. If a dozen won't go, ease off, change the tension, and start again.

Another technique refers to holding the pick as if it were a pencil, and rubbing it back and forth very quickly
whi Ie varying tension on the wrench.

Metals rUbbing together exhibit a special type of friction commonly known as galling. Picking locks, especially
raking, tends to gall the works. In addition, the target lock may not have seen frequent use or lubrication,
and out of neglect alone have fallen into a state of helpless self-galling.

This calls for lubrication. Oil is messy. Often we cannot get it into the upward crevices that need its soothe
the most. Extremely fine graphite can be had in tiny tubes, equipped with matching needle-nozzles to spray
the works with this dry and comparatively neat lubricant.

The author hesitates to pass judgment on raking, since he has had no success with it. Non-pick-resistant
locks pick faster, in his hands, with conventional techniques than with raking, and he has never had to face a
genuinely pick-resistant lock. Some highly qualified people endorse raking, however.

We did not see a professional thief portrayed so well by James Caan in the film, Thief, pick a lock. He used
a dent-puller to rip out the whole damn mechanism in seconds. If time is tight and noise no problem, that
method certainly beats all brands of finesse.

In truth, the only pros who bother with lock-picking are locksmiths of a singular cult, and professional
criminals whose modus operandi demands quiet access to premises without evidence of forced entry. Low-end
crooks, the type of street-slime likely to bust into your house while you're cruising the mall with Mavis, will
use the typical means:

1) pry open a wooden door or window with a screwdriver

2) use and dent-puller to rip out the lock mechanism
3) put an automobile bumper jack in the door-jamb, pry it apart
4) break a window to unlatch it
5) kick in a bottom door-panel and crawl in
6) use big bolt-cutters to trash a padlock in less than 3 seconds
7) other brute-force methods

83
MAKE OR BUY?
Most texts on lock-picking depict the same set of pick templates, then tell the reader how to make them,
with different levels of sophistication. For the purist that surely must be the way to go.

But be practical. The beginner would be advised to purchase a small set to conduct the familiarization
exercises. (Can you pick more locks with that huge set that goes for $150? An expert might. But you? Save
your dough until you know you can use those fancy picks.) An adequate beginner set costs about $25 and is
not something to flash or brag about. It makes you too much of a suspect when your clandestine skills come
to mind in the wake of some dark, unsolved B&E. To avoid the privacy-invasion, give the invaders no reason
to target you. Spreading it about that you do lock-work waves a red flag in the face of the Enforcement
Community. Knowledge of lock-picking is considered strange in most circles. When the author questioned a
locksmith and made casual reference to spool pins, spinners, and the like, the proprietor squinted like Clint
Eastwood and came back with that blunt classic from Three Days Of The Condor: IIAre you in the trade?1I

PICKS: COMFORT MEANS EVERYTHING

Look at the double-ended picks in the photos. Marvel at their economy of space. Then try to use one for
longer than a minute. Your fingers will start to blister, then bleed, at the bearing points. You will not be
able to keep the pick from twisting, and the rake or diamond on the other end will bite into your flesh.

A better design has a handle, but it's of the same thickness as the pick. Clearly, easier to use than a
double-header, but still rough for locks with stiff springs. Those non-sharp edges sure begin to feel sharp
after about five minutes.

Now look at the model with stainless steel handles about an eighth of an inch thick. This type proves most
practical for the beginner. Bulkier, for sure, but infinitely easier on the hands. Using it compares to the
difference between hauling heavy concrete blocks using bare hands, or hands protected by tough leather
gloves.

Some picks can be had with plastic or wooden handles, and, of course, the second variety mentioned above
could be wrapped with tape for better control and feel.

MECHANICAL AIDS
Mechanical aids have evolved to make up for sloth on the part of many lock students. They are designed to
do what raking does, but with greater speed and efficiency. The oldest of these helpers is the snapper. This
simple piece of bent spring steel, or piano wire of suitable thickness, substitutes the raking movement with a
sharp upward rap that flips the pins upward more efficiently and consistently than manual raking.

Another example is the legendary lock-aid gun, often called the ~ lock-aid gun, though it has seen little
media exposure. One version pulls (rakes) the pick at a speed far greater than human hands can apply, whi Ie
another is no more than a glorified and rather expensive snapper.

The Iatest version attaches one of several picks to an electric j iggler of sorts. It provides a
vibration/agitation that jiggles the pins into place by chance alone.

The point is not to wise up the bad guys. They get graduate-level instruction on any inner-city street or in
the joint. Rather, it's to show the reader what illusory protection even 7 -pin, pick-resistant locks provide. If
all they would ever face were manual picking-fine, sleep soundly. But they're at the door with mechanized,
proven aids that fairly beg for something like a Fox Police Bar that means you have to force the door out of
the jamb.

PRACTICAL USES
The author bought his first and only set of picks in 1977, ran his first picking drills in 1978, but did not
have call for these dread ski lis unti I 1983. He accidentally locked a fi Iing cabinet simi lar to the one in the
photo. No one could find the key. He locked the door to his office (what would the company secretary have
thought had she seen him picking a lock?) and set to work, using· the thin tension wrench and a diamond

84
TOP LEFT: Cylinder set up for practice.
ABOVE: Part of standard pick set. From L to R:
double-ended pick w/lifter bottom, rake top;
double circle w/comfortable handle; another
double-ended pick -extremely uncomfortable to
use-diamond on bottom, different design of snake
on top; single-ended snake within handle; single-
ended lifter; tension wrench.
LEFT: Mementos of determination and a bit of
technique. These are the actual glasses frames
that the author used to pick a 5-pin tumbler. Far
left is tension wrench, next lifter pick. Standard
rake pick shown for comparison.

85
pick. He felt the pins picking, but the darned thing wouldn't open. Then the idea hit him to press inward on
the plunger while picking. That proved awkward: pressing the plunger with the left thumb, applying tension
with the little finger of the left hand, picking with the right hand. But in 15 minutes it worked, and the files
were his.

The second practical deal went down in the summer of '85. The author locked himself out of his house.
Fortunately, its door bore a cheap 5-pin tumbler, exactly the kind he had mastered in practice.
Unfortunately, the picks were in the house along with his keys.

First he tried paper clips as pick and wrench, but they bent too easily. Nothing else handy seemed adaptable
to picking, until the author removed his custom sunglasses. Their wire frames were practically pick-stock in
terms of shape; but using them would mean trashing the frames. To cut the story short, he did, they worked,
and he kept the frames/picks as mementos, true symbols of the power of persistence. (Incidentally, it took
almost 20 minutes. The lock picked in 5 minutes, but in the wrong direction. To open in the correct
direction, the center pin had to be picked first, then the others picked easily. When attacked later with
standard picks, the lock opened in less than 30 seconds.)

IMPRESSIONING
Impressioning is one method of getting a lock to cooperate that has found success in trained hands. This
refers to making a key for the lock, starting from a key-blank and some common tools.

We will need a blank (the beginner will need several; this is no mean trick to learn); a pair of "Vise-Grip" or
similar pliers, or a stout C-clamp; a soft-face hammer; and a selection of small files that bite like metallic
piranha. Pros or others who do this often may want to go in for a portable key-cutter.

Start by clamping the handle of the keyblank in your pliers, clamp, or other holder. Insert the blank into the
keyway. Apply hard turning force, though not enough to bend the keyshaft. The purpose is to bind the pins so
they won't move during the next step, which is to shake the whole mass up and down hard, or rap it sharply
with a hammer on the top and bottom of the handle.

If you have done this properly, the blank should show marks along its top edge, left by the (commonly) brass
pins. Since the marks may be difficult to see in any case, once you have unequivocal pin marks, it may be
helpful to scribe a line at the level of each pin, on the flat side of the blank, perpendicular to the long axis
of the key, so you will know after removing metal and repeating the rap where new marks should appear.

Next, take a file and cut away metal over the center of each mark. Don't take off too much; you may go too
far on one cut, then you would have to start over. Remember that, in most locks, the difference in length of
one pin from the others in the set varies by a set distance, a common example being 0.05 inches. Experience
and knowledge of a particular brand's idiosyncrasies may let you estimate closely the amount to cut that
approximates one increment in its pin-series.

Repeat the marking process. Whenever a cycle leaves pin-marks on your evolving key, take off more metal.
Also, it may be necessary to widen the sides of the cuts, just as with a conventionally cut key.

Stop filing at a given point when a trip through the lock leaves no mark. Assume that you have that cut at
proper depth, that it raises the pin there to its shear-point. It is always easy to take off metal if you are
wrong; taking off too much from any pin-point will mean starting over.

These marks can be blessed hard to see. Some advocate blacking the blank with lampblack or some other
dark powder, or holding it briefly in the flame of a lighter or candle, which will coat it with soot. If you use
an aluminum blank, it may be easier to see marks made by brass pins, but be aware that aluminum keys may
not hold up under full torsion, and break off. Then that key-extractor in your satchel will finally pay for
itself.

Impressioning has found use in the automobile repossession business. In many states it is legal to "steal" a car
back from an owner who is behind on his payments, so long as the theft causes no ruckus. As auto-makers

86
have hardened their locks (particularly ignition locks; car-stealing for real is big business), repo operatives
turned to impressioning as an alternative to a destructive attack on the ignition mechanism.

For cars whose door-keys match the ignition, an easy course may be to remove the door lock (getting the
door open is child's play), disassemble the lock and make a key by measuring the pins. Most manufacturers'
pins come in a sharply limited number of sizes of top and bottom pins, making this comparatively simple, and
surprisingly quick if your repo-van carries a key-cutter.

As part of its anti-theft measures, one American auto-maker began using bottom pins with a broad, flat
surface that faced the impressioner with misleading cues (see diagram).

Impressioning increases in difficulty with security measures, such as beveled bottom pins requiring beveled
keys. The impression will not tell you the proper angle for the bevel.

TUBULAR LOCKS
Once you grasp the common pin tumbler design, the tubular lock presents nothing new, merely rearranges
things so that the pins surround the plug and are oriented coaxial with it, rather than perpendicular as is the
case of a common pin tumbler.

But how often do we have occasion to defeat this type of lock? Yes, there's a pick for it ($129.95 from
Phoenix Systems), and it can be drilled, or, if enough of its mechanism is exposed, pulled or sawed. But
these locks have become standard features on vending machines, alarm switches, and so forth, targets only
criminals think to attack. And certainly, no would-be criminals read this book.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE LOCKS ON CARS?

This specialized field shares much with common pin-tumbler locksmithing, but departs in that it interests
mainly A) locksmiths, B) repo men, C) car thieves. In addition, many of its standard techniques involve
destruction of the mechanism or require use of tools so rarely needed by the amateur that it isn't worth it to
keep them on hand.

Detroit, the Europeans, and the Japanese have not ignored security in the plan of their machines; yet, in
something that is 20% glass by design, no determined thief will be held up more than a few seconds by
smashing a side window to gain entry to the vehicle (though, among repo specialists, this destructive attack
is considered amateurish, a last resort, since the cost of replacing the window cuts into the repo fee).

Locksmith supply companies sell sets of "try-out" keys for certain automobiles made during certain periods
and by specific manufacturers. Often one of these keys will open or start the car, or at the least serve as a
superior pick.

ATTACK THE LATCH

Since locks may be resistant, and the latching mechanism more accessible than the layman might think, much
of what falls under the rubric of automotive locksmithing has to do with attack on the latch itself, using a
tool usually known as a shim or slim-jim. Designs vary among their target-autos. As with other lock tools,
the amateur would do well to buy a professionally made sample before embarking on a costly and time-
consuming construction program.

Slim-jims work by letting the lock student manipulate the latch directly, bypassing the lock connected to it.
The path to the latch usually lies between the weather-stripping and doorframe and window. Finding the
latch is a matter of experience for pros, trial and error for the first-timer.

They call it a slim-jim because it's slim enough to slip into the allowable space between the window glass
and the weather-stripping. (Fords are notorious for having two layers of weather-stripping. The jim must go
between the correct two layers, or it will not reach the latch.) Slip it in and probe. A sign that you have
connected with the latch is movement of the locking button in cars whose buttons are visible from the
outside. Now all that has to be done is depress, raise, rotate that mechanism, or move it front-to-back. The
slim jim contains a variety of cuts and facets that allow multiple functions.

87
 co
co

LEFT: Steel door w/deadbolt lock and handle lock. Anyone behind
that stout barrier must feel totally secure •••• It took the author
exactly 70 seconds to pick both locks, first try. In addition to
being master-keyed, they were keyed alike, 5-pin tumblers, of
course. The author once dwelt behind that door. He has long since
vacated, but, after the pick trick, installed a Medeco cylinder in
the deadbolt and the landlord be damned. ABOVE: Top key is
"bad:" 4 of 5 cuts on same level. Bottom key, which fits a Master
padlock, shows wide variation in cuts, no two of which are the
same. Excellent key.
It may be necessary to bend the jim before using it, out of vagaries in designs of various autos; and it won't
work with all. The more seductive driving machines, such as Corvettes, have their locks protected by metal
enclosures, along with alarm systems, bars that lock steering wheel to brake pedal, infrared bumper beacons
of the type carried by potential kidnap victims••••

The old coat-hanger method still works, if the locking buttons have flanges that leave the loop on the end of
the coat-hanger enough purchase to pull up the button.

HANDCUFF LOCKS-AND KEYS

Although it is possible to fashion an expedient tool to open most handcuffs, the most efficient means is to buy
and secrete one or several handcuff keys on your person. Keep one where it is Iikely to come in handy, such
as the inner lining of the front and back of your belt (if you anticipate that a bounty hunter will cuff you).

MAS'TER-KEYED LOCKS
Conventional 5-pin tumblers have a limited number of possible combinations of key cuts that give unique
keys. Tolerances limit the subtlety of a cut that falls outside normal machine tolerances. For some 5-pin
tumblers, this can mean fewer than 10,000 unique keys.

Look at master-keyed locks. These locks will open with either the owner's key, or the masterkey. The
reason lies with additional top pins. The cylinder will open at the "regular" shear-point, or at another set of
shear-points created at junctures of additional top pins.

Now, because the number of workable shear-points may double with one level of master keying, these locks
pick easily, other things being equal.

Some locks include two, three, sometimes more additional top pins to allow for higher levels of master
keying. For example, an apartment complex owner may wish to give master keys to only one of four buildings
to the maintenance person in charge of each, while reserving the grandmaster key, the one that will open all
locks, for himself.

DRILLING
First, if you must drill, you have probably encountered a pick-resistant lock. That means it likely sports drill-
resistance as well.

The end of drilling is to create a new shear line that will let the internal cylinder turn. A proper drill point
cuts straight through the existing line of pins and is wide enough not to leave pin fragments large enough to
impede turning.

What kind of drill do you need? You'd think a damned powerful drill-at least 1/2", and the more horses
pulling the better-along with a set of carbide-tipped bits, since you will have to drill through one or more
layers of carbide to get to the pins (in fact, some of the pins may be carbide, judging from what the author
saw in a locksmith's Medeco box of replacement pins). Yet one lock authority endorses a rechargeable drill
and soft pressure, so as not to strain the drill or break the bit. He finds its slow speed easy on the bit.

Holding the drill yourself for the hour or so it takes will wear you out. Remember James Caan's trick in
Thief, that magnet-mounted drill press? Neat; but surely you will not be drilling a safe....

With drilling we encounter a recurrent theme in spookdom: There exist just so many sources of carbide bits,
big drills, magnets or clamps, and other engines of sin. The routine of tracking down the purchaser(s)
occupies most of detectives' time, but it pays off. The circumstantial evidence of proving that you bought a
combination of tools used to commit a certain burglary is enough to trigger a very detai led check as to your
whereabouts on the evening of the perp. Better fabricate a hermetic alibi or, better, hire a Miami lawyer ••••

89
PADLOCKS
As a rule, if you plan to defeat a padlock, and do it quickly, get a pair of bolt-cutters that will fit the size
of the hasp. Sure, picking, rapping, springing and so on may impress us with their finesse; but finesse is very
different from results. And bolt-cutters can do double-duty if you have to fade through a chain-link fence
after the caper ••••

CHOOSING AND USING LOCKS

Locks provide at best an illusion of security. They symbolize territorial barriers whose strength or flimsiness
is defined by the determination of those who keep them and those who would break them. Criminals'
determination, more likely recklessness, has risen, while locks have lagged.

Fi rst of aII, match the lock to the door, and vice versa; and match both to the security level of what's
behind the door. A seven-pin tumbler that would prove a bitch to drill and a nightmare to pick will remain
untouched when the felon jams a car bumper-jack in the doorway and pries the jamb away from the lock.

Next, make unobserved access difficult. The discount stores have been flooded with passive infrared devices
hooked up to a pair of sockets for floodlights that bathe a prowler in glory (the burglar will shoot out the
lights with a BB gun before the B&E ... ).

The critical elements of premises security provide for diffiCUlty of access, either through too much effort to
get in in relation to the worth of the booty, or too great a risk of capture.

MICROTRACES
Letting yourself into your own home, office, or mailbox via picking, because you lost the key, will not prompt
an all-out manhunt and mobilization of the FBI crime lab. But those who would break into genuinely secure
premises with picks should be aware that A) microscopic bits of pick-metal will be left in the lock, B)
microscopic bits of lock- and pin-metal will be left on the picks and the operative's fingers (and in his
nostrils and hair, and on his skin and under his fingernails; in the fabric of clothing worn during the crime).
The compositions of these alloys can be determined with utter certainty, and bits of lock metal under your
fingernails or on a set of picks found in your possession is awfully wicked evidence to tie you to a felony ....

The same principle applies to carpet-fibers adherent to the soles of your shoes, particles of dirt indigenous to
your driveway found on the floor of the target room, and a wealth of semi-invisible traces science can
gather, analyze, and tag to a person or place: pollen, hair, blood, saliva-even your kiester-print lifted off a
toilet seat.

90
 5
SECURITY

Now it's dark ••••

-Frank Booth, Blue Velvet

* * *

The rare reader indeed has not screened a recent film whose closing credits bore the distinctive double-D
logo of Dolby Laboratories, Incorporated, to signal that the film's soundtrack was recorded in Dolby
Stereo[tm] and that selected theaters will play it back with that proprietary effect. Note that those selected
theaters have hung speakers around the sides and rear of the hall, this for the so-called surround information.
In addition, they hide left, center, and right speakers behind the screen.

To deliver stereo surround sound, selected theaters must use a device known as a decoder, which lets them
extract four channels of sound from the two optically coded ones on the fi 1m print. For years, long before
stereo became widespread, all prints, including films recorded in mono, have borne two separate soundtracks.
Four channels blend into two in the final mix-excluding the discrete six-channel Dolby format-with the
addition of specific phase-shifts among them. A surround sound decoder detects phase-shift, then uses that
coded information to feed signals to the correct speakers.

And it's amazing what they've planted in the mix. Take the soundtrack from Star Wars, a seminal film in
surround sound out of the massive boost it gave the concept. Feed the two-channel signal into a Fosgate
Research Tate II 101-A decoder, a device that reigned briefly as the Cadillac of decoders in 1983, still with
a dedicated following among multichannel buffs. Balance the input, set the matrix for "surround," then roll a
stereo copy of Star Wars. During the attack sequence on the Deathstar, kill the power to the front channels.
Listen closely to the rear channels and you will hear the unmistakable whistle of a toy train twice tooting its
herald as Darth Vader's private ship, flanked by two Imperial fighters, zooms into the screen away from the
viewer. Dialog just prior to that shot says something like, " •• •Gold Leader. Move into position ••• " as the
rebels prepare another quick and deadly pass at the target. The sound man must've been in a pixie mood that
day, mixing these cutely anachronistic hoots with sounds of advanced technology warfare •••or maybe Vader
had a thing for trains••••

Information hides too in ordinary FM-band radio signals. It uses either a 67 KHz or a 92 KHz subcarrier. We
can extract it with a decoder that sells for less than $40 in kit form. As with cable TV, it may be illegal to
receive these signals without paying a fee. However, pirating of such signals, long a known practice, cuts
little into the intended market for them (background music in supermarkets, pharmacies, and doctors' offices)
and thus has not drawn heavy fi re from vendors.

Assembly of FM subcarrier decoders challenges only the true beginner, but finding the correct place in the
radio to hook the decoder demands some working knowledge of the unit, preferably a schematic.

91
OCTE Electronics (formerly ETCO?), Box 276, Alburg, VT, 05440 sells a subchannel audio kit for $39.95,
plus $9.95 for a power supply. They offer also a directory of hidden signals for $8.95, as well as an
assembled portable FM radio with SCA-decoding capability built in for $89.95. Panaxis (Box 130, Paradise,
CA, 95967) offers an SCA kit without mention of power supply for $29.95.

The examples illustrate coding. We don't know what's there until we dig it out. In these two cases, the
proper decoder brings forth hidden information whose presence we would not otherwise suspect. Coding of
other types keeps us from getting at information known to be present. Examples include encryption of radio
transmissions and computer files, as well as the most irksome form of coding, cable and satellite TV
scrambling.

PAY TV AND THE SPECTER OF SCRAMBLING

GENESIS OF SCRAMBLING AND DESCRAMBLING

Forgive the pun, but it's hard to lock on to this SUbject, fluctuate as it does from month to month in all
arenas: legal, technical, perhaps even spiritual. Encryption and scrambling safeguard information perceived as
valuable or secretive during storage or transmission. Human nature being what it is, it also poses an
irresistible stimulus to unscramble. Humans cannot resist a puzzle, a challenge. And it appeals to the dark
side of human nature, the side that wants something for nothing.

This explains a focus nothing short of frenzied on theory and hardware of descrambling cable and satellite TV
signals. In a recent issue of a nationally distributed electronics publication, 37 out of 105 classified ads
pertained in one respect or another to cable TV, satellite TV, descrambl ing coded signals of both, or
defeating the latest scheme to copyguard videotapes. That same periodical contained 8 large space ads for
similar products, including two whose construction the publication had detailed.

On top of which, the descrambler underground has surfaced with its own journals, videotapes that show
hands-on defeating of the dread VideoCipher unit, and a free phone line updated weekly (see transcripts of
selected Scramble Facts below).

SECURING PREMIUM SIGNALS

To delineate a structure known to all, cable TV franchises buy rights to sell programming from nationwide
distributors who use satellites to dish out the product. Distributors, in turn, pay producers for programming,
and in growing instances produce original programming. It all costs money, and nobody works for nothing. At
each step, from pre-production to home viewer, somebody has to get a cut of the action. If viewers had a
choice, most would prefer not to have to pay to get cable or satellite TV services.

Providers feel that free interception of their signals constitutes a theft of sorts. Many viewers hold that the
airwaves are free. The solution adopted by suppliers, at multiple tiers, involved altering signals such that,
though easily intercepted, they could not be viewed in digestible form.

It is worth noting that bitter ongoing controversy plagues scrambling at the several levels of distribution.
Providers at any tier offer the stock response: protection of revenue sources. Some claim total yearly losses
of $600 million from simple failure to terminate service to subscribers who've dropped it, never mind what's
lost to those who illegally access pay services.

The other side sees it differently. They allege that scrambling "killed" the satellite TV industry, citing a drop
of 90 percent in private satellite dish sales after scrambling began. They have hinted, too, that program-
providers constitute a monopoly and have violated anti-trust laws. They insinuate that local distributors who
refused to scramble premium services have been denied franchises. They accuse certain trade associations of
"blacklisting" those perceived as "video pirates."

Two major bodies of literature and hardware and jargon deal with two different sectors of scrambl ing: cable
and satellite. Before we can discuss either with any surety, we must get a simplified grip on the strange and
mystic nature of the TV signal.

92
UNDERSTANDING THE NTSC TELEVISION SIGNAL
-ain't easy, especially for the novice. Getting picture/brightness outlines (i.e., a simple black-and-white
picture), color information, sound information, and now stereo sound information coded into standardized
radio waves was no cinch. The National Television System Committee adopted what has come to be known,
surprisingly enough, as the NTSC format for use in the United States. Several other countries have
standardized it, while most European states use other systems, known as PAL and SECAM, that we won't
try to explore. Understanding the basics of the NTSC signal is essential to grasping even the simplest
scrambling/descrambling schemes.

First, as anyone who has looked closely at a TV screen can tell, the picture is composed of discrete
horizontal lines. An electron beam moving across a phosphor screen in a horizontal line causes the phosphor
to glow in proportion to the intensity of the beam, which is modulated by information in the video portion of
the NTSC signal.

The NTSC system uses 525 horizontal lines per frame, but for reasons explained momentarily, even the best
television sets display only 300-330 of them. The remainder of the lines carry information needed to
reconstruct a picture from the video information.

The moving electron beam crosses the screen left-to-right to write one line-but it must somehow get back
to the left of the screen without being seen before writing the next line, otherwise its return path would
streak the picture. This created the need for the horizontal blanking interval, a period during which the
electron gun shuts off as the now-invisible beam returns to the left of the screen to start its next sweep. The
diagram illustrates the horizontal blanking period.

Now, instead of writing a whole picture in one pass of 525 lines, the original engineers chose to use what is
known as an interlaced picture; that is to say, 265.5 lines write to the screen every 1/60th of a second.
Every other set of lines writes between the last set. That gives us 30 complete pictures each second.

The timing involved calls for microsecond-accuracy to display a stable picture. That demands precise
synchronization of all events: scanning of the beam, its brightness within a line, turning it off as it returns for
its next sweep, and so forth. Thus, the NTSC signal devotes considerable space to what are known as sync
pulses to keep timing on mark.

Sync pulses are significantly higher in ampl itude than the video detail information to let the receiver
distinguish the two easily. Refer to the diagram. The tall, narrow plateau is called the horizontal sync pulse.
Everything else keys to it. The broader plateau on which it sits, and whose amplitude lies above "black
level," is known as the horizontal blanking interval. During this period, the scan beam turns off to return to
the left side of the screen and begin a new scan line. Without horizontal sync, the picture "tears" side to
side. Screw up the horizontal hold control on your set to see what it does.

Actual video information lies between each horizontal blanking interval. Note that the signal between two
HBls represents only one line of video information. It takes 525 lines to build a single frame of video, thirty
frames displayed per second.

And that's just the B&W picture. What about color? Mixing variable degrees of the three primary colors-
red, green, and blue-can generate any color. For that reason, color television sets contain in effect three
electron guns, one targeted to a red, one to a green, and one to a blue set of phosphor dots on the screen.
All three beams scan as if they were one, save that the relative intensity of each beam varies during a scan
line so as to generate the desired color. The mechanism of cramming color into an already cramped signal is
just too complex to discuss in a text of this limited scope. All that's important now is to note that a color
TV signal differs from a B&W signal with the addition both of color information and what is known as the
color burst sync signal, which appears on the "back porch" of the horizontal blanking interval. This burst
tells the receiver where to pick up the color information relative to the timing of the burst.

One more point: In addition to horizontal sync, vertical sync must be present or the picture will roll. These
pulses appear during the vertical blanking interval, that black stripe seen between pictures that are rolling
(such as copyguard-encoded tapes played through cheap TV sets). The vertical blanking interval holds room
for much additional information, including captions for the hearing impaired, digital data, internal color
reference signals, and so forth.
93
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Where's the sound? It's encoded in an FM audio subcarrier centered 4.5 MHz above the theoretical (don't
ask) center of each NTSC channel. The audio subcarrier can hold additional information, and has proven a
handy place for scramblers to hide data removed from other parts of the TV signal.

The video part of each NTSC television channel, whether channel 2 in the VHF range or channel 79 in UHF,
occupies about 4.2 MHz of bandwidth, or radio-frequency space it uses to convey information. Each channel
is allotted 6 MHz, but the unused spectrum forms what's known as a "guard band" to prevent interference
between adjacent channels.

SCRAMBLING/DESCRAMBLING PART I: CABLE TV SIGNALS

We start with cable because, in general, it uses schemes simpler than those employed by satell ite TV.
Understanding cable methods smoothes the transition to highly sophisticated satellite machinery.

1. HASH SIGNALS
Early scrambling schemes injected one, sometimes two "hash signals" into the upper end of the scrambled
channel. Authorized subscribers were supplied with "notch filters"-extremely narrow-band filters that
removed the hash signals and left the TV signal alone. (Well, sort of. Hash signals impinged on both the upper
part of the video information, where sharpness and detail lay, and the lower portion of the audio subcarrier.
Notch filters removed a good bit of sharpness from the video, despite the fact that the cable company would
usually boost that part of the signal in anticipation of notch-filter effect.)

The hash signals bore a standardized relationship to the center frequency of the channel, lying 2.25 MHz, or
2.225 and 2.275 MHz above it in the case of dual hash signals.

Most notch filters supplied by cable companies came in sealed metal tubes. This made it tough for
experimenters to learn what was inside. Determined hackers, particularly those with proper test gear and a
knowledge of TV theory, were able to determine the hash frequencies and build notch filters to purge it.

Probably the least secure of all scrambling systems, it still finds use in small towns whose subscriber-base will
not support more complex systems.

Electronics magazines carry ads for tunable notch filters. Some vendors will let you try them before buying.
There is no way to know, without expensive test gear, what band(s) need to be notched out, so it reduces to
a process of trial and error.

As a matter of desperate importance, as well as a rude lesson in the peri Is of descrambl ing, note that
placement of hash at the upper end of the video signal let subscribers manually detune their sets such that
the hash cleared enough to catch clear, black-and-white video, but with loss of sound, since the audio
subcarrier lay above the hash. In 1981 the author fell prey to a helpless vice for women wearing unnatural
amounts of lipstick when detuning exposed him to the shocking video antics of Aerobicise....

2. PLAIN VIDEO INVERSION

Take the entire NTSC video signal and turn its ampl itude upside down and you have complete video
inversion. The resultant signal will paint nothing worth watching. Cable companies that used this scrambling
method supplied subscribers with converters that re-inverted all signals, thus restoring them to usable form.

Here again, we deal with a feat that, in electronic terms, qualified as tuna casserole. Hackers found little
trouble buying or building video inverters. The system has faded, the fate of all defeated methods.

3. SUPPRESSED SYNC
This gets into schemes that call for basic grasp of the TV signal. Suppressed sync cut the amplitude of the
horizontal sync pulse by 6 dB. That stuck it down in the muck occupied by the active video information, and
made it impossible for the TV set to get a grip on the horizontal hold. The result was a picture torn
sideways.

95
How did decoders work? The sync information remained, but had slithered into a hiding place where ordinary
television sets would never find it (the audio subcarrier in some systems; an "unused" portion of the FM radio
band in others). Different versions moved it different places; it serves no point to Iist them all. All the
decoder had to do in an electronic sense was "know" where the sync information lay hidden, retrieve it, re-
insert it, and its job was done.

Hackers dug out the locations of the buried sync pulses, built "black boxes" that restored sync. Many were
sold commercially, and Radio-Electronics magazine featured an article detailing construction of a suppressed
sync decoder in 1984. That unit is still available in kit form at this writing, though the single suppressed
sync system has begun to fade in the heat of defeat.

4. MORE SUPPRESSED SYNC

Known in some circles as tri-mode sync suppression, this version randomly suppressed horizontal sync by 6
dB, 10 dB, or 0 dB, even though the 0 dB suppression "looked" like it had no sync. The randomly shifting
level of sync suppression obsoleted the old suppressed sync decoders, limited as they were to handling only 6
dB of suppression.

The sync information was encoded into the audio portion of the signal. A tri-mode decoder featured in Radio-
Electronics in 1987 first filtered out the audio carrier, then extracted its buried sync information, then told
three separate boost circuits how and when to boost the sync 6 dB, 10 dB, or not at all.

The photo shows this descrambler. It did not work with the author's cable signals, even though they bore the
look of tri-mode sync suppression, perhaps because the sync had been moved outside the audio subcarrier •••or
maybe the author killed an MaS-chip or two during assembly ••••

5. SSAVI
Things got genuinely ugly when sync suppression mated with active video inversion, which is what the
acronym SSAVI means. Active video inversion infers that video inverts or not depending on any number of
control factors a scrambler may select. It may occur in relation to overall scene brightness; it may occur
every other line, leading to an extremely dim image; or it may occur in response to specific digital pulses,
stuck in the vertical blanking interval, that tell which lines to invert and which to leave alone.

For a long time, SSAVI remained one of the most secure systems. Not that it lay beyond the reach of
dedicated hackers, for black boxes to defeat it soon appeared. But it began to reach the point of diminishing
return in terms of effort needed to defeat the system compared with simply paying for services and a legal
decoder.

Lately, though, and in some units only, it's been found that astonishingly simple changes to a single chip and
removal of one resistor will defeat the SSAVI decoder. The secret lies in attacking the chip that tells the
SSAVI circuits which channels to descramble, rather than trying to duplicate the descrambler's functions.
This theme has come to the fore as scrambling methods have improved and the decoders have become
dependent on control instructions.

6. ADDRESSABLE DECODERS
The latest generation of cable TV boxes descramble or not depending on what digital codes the cable TV
company programs into them. The companies can now identify each box over the line by its unique digital
mark, and tell it periodically what to receive and what not, just in case it has forgotten, or somehow been
reprogrammed •

It's almost like having Big Brother in your living room. Cable TV companies can get information about you,
what your are watching, receive signals from you if requested, all from that innocent black box ••••

7. UGLINESS AND FOUL DEEDS

This business of buying a cable TV decoder and either modifying it to descramble, or using an outboard

96
descrambler, seemed to remove the user from the realm of theft-at least in a spiritual sense, and in his own
opinion -such that few saw themselves as thieves. It was simply a game of viewer versus greedy cable
interests. Some used the high and cl imbing price of premium services to justify wetting their beaks for free.

Others took affirmative action that pretty well marked them as slime. For example, they would identify the
massed cable input to their apartment building, trash its usually pathetic padlock, then either connect their
apartment line to a live feed, or cut an active feed going to another apartment, install a two-way splitter,
restoring service to the legitimate customer but giving the thief a free sample at about 4 dB down (splitters
halve the signal and involve insertion losses as well; 4 dB loss is usually tolerable).

Cable companies began to install electronically controlled switches out on the pole that would activate a
given customer's line, but some super-aggressive thieves climbed the pole and tapped directly into the main
feed.

The pay TV industry at all levels views theft of service as theft, period. It has gotten state and federal laws
erected on its side•••and enforcement of a federal violation falls upon the FBI ••••

Hazards have begun to plague illegal viewers. One cable TV repairman told the author that he carried gear
in his truck that would let him "spot illegals from the street," meaning that signals emanating from your
residence and detectable for some distance would provide hard evidence of getting services without payment.

As noted, the newer cable boxes can receive instructions from the cable office, and can give status
information as well. If you had substituted your own decoder, one not equipped to return the proper pulses,
and the company ran a spot check on your unit but failed to get the right return code, they would want to
know why. They might send a repairman out, accompanied by the police if need be, to "fix" your problem ••••

THE FUTURE
Some cable TV decoders can descramble satellite signals. The Oak series is one of them, meaning that the
cable company receives the signal at its dish, then pumps out the unmodified scrambled signal. Your box will
handle it if you're authorized. This saves money for vendors, but probably signifies that cable TV is headed
for the type of battle now being fought by General Instruments in the satellite arena.

SCRAMBLING PART II: SATELLITE TV

The hard stuff, intercepted by satellite dish owners (referred to generically as TVRO-television receive
only), takes a computer to decipher. The unit that houses it is known by the trade name, VideoCipher, the
most pervasive being VideoCipher II, or VC2. General Instruments makes the VC line of descrambling
products. Both VideoCipher and Gil have earned a place in infamy among descramblers, as well as those
whose satellite businesses allegedly died as a result of scrambling.

Note that several other schemes exist to encrypt satell ite TV signals, including Videoc ipher I, Satguard,
Orion, MAC, and Polaris. Some of these apply digital or "hard" scrambling to the video as well as the audio.
This text treats only VC2, since it has become the de facto standard, at least for the time being.

Here VC2 designates also the particulars of scrambl ing. The video signal is scrambled to a moderate degree
of security through cable-like means. The audio portion is hard-scrambled through analog-to-digital
conversion, then encryption through the DES algorithm. The true security of the system lies in the resistance
of its audio to any practical direct attack.

It was widely believed, or at least touted, that no one could defeat the VC2, based as its audio was on the
Digital Encryption Standard. Possession alone of a VC did not guarantee that it would descramble. The pay
TV service had to authorize each customer to receive its signals. It did so by providing code keys, entered
into the VC by the user and changed every 30 to 90 days, that told the processor whether to unscramble a
given signal. If proper codes were not entered on time, the changing data stream disabled scrambled services.
Identifying customers was easy because each VideoCipher contained a unique electronic signature that made
it addressable.

97
But the VC fell rather quickly to attack by determined experimenters driven by the hacker mentality. Had
they struck the DES side of it their efforts might have dashed against impenetrable defense. Instead, they
analyzed the pathways through which the VCrs internal computer told its other components to descramble.
These commands lay buried in chips containing computer programs of sorts, known as EPROMS (erasable
programmable read-only memory). Hackers extracted the programs built into the chips, disassembled them,
identified key attack points, re-wrote the programs such that all, most, or selected signals would decode,
then installed EPROMs bearing their own modified programs back into the VC. These circuits came to be
known generically as "magic chips."

Did they work? Yes.

Was G/I pissed off? Apparently so.

It triggered the predictable series of countermeasures and counter-countermeasures that mark the whole
scheme as a human undertaking. First, G/I made it hard to get at key chips by encasing them in epoxy resin
(see diagram of VC board). Hackers responded by removing the resin after melting it with heat guns or
dissolving it with methylene chloride, aka paint remover. Both processes were tricky and potentially
hazardous, both to other components of the VC and to the experimenter. "Professionals" would clean a board
for $25 to $50. The instructional videotape, The Pirate II, demonstrated hands-on methods for removing
epoxy.

Surely the most colorful word-grove now blooming in the American vocabulary has to come from satellite
piratedom. They referred to chips and processes as "the Three Musketeers," later "Four Musketeers;" "the
Wizard," "Doomsday," "Clone," "Chameleon," "Parasite," "Load Star," and "Zombie."

Companies dealing in hardware (chips) and software came and went almost like a different postman every
day. Bad merch got distributed along with the good. True, some firms endured, but are now facing the kind
of legal onslaught that only America's big and extremely well heeled corporations can mount. It seems that
the cost of "experimenting" with the VC exceeds the cost of paying for services. That leaves the hacker
mentality as the only motive, and tells us that these groups lack the resources to contest serious legal
sanctions. Would the ACLU bite on this one in favor of the defense? Ralph Nader's group, maybe? Don't bet
your VC on it ••••

Perhaps the most intriguing and ironic of all twists in this move/countermove scenario stems from allegations
that booming VideoCipher sales arose from pirates' handy tricks that defeated the VC. Once word got out
that the VC had been broken, sales took off so fast that G/I reportedly built up a nine-month backlog of
orders for VideoCiphers. G/I might dispute the hackers' reasoning here. In any case, it cannot complain
about a surge in sales of its product.

THE LITERATURE OF SATELLITE TV DESCRAMBLlNG-

-ranges in quality and utility from abysmal to superb. Books, newsletters, and videotapes, even a phone
service which mayor may not still be a going concern by the time this book makes it to market.

NEWSLETTERS
These run a gamut from mainly-satellite to mainly-cable, with one publication offering information on both
systems. We'll introduce you to three.

Scrambling News
Available from Shojiki Electronics, 1327 Niagara St., Niagara Falls, NY, 14303, at $24.95 per year. Back
issues (to October, 1987) available as of this writing, $3 to subscribers, $10 (!) to non-subscribers. Sample
copy $5.

We had a chance to look over the March and Apri I, 1988 issues, both deal ing at length with the SSAVI
(synchronization suppression and active video inversion) system of scrambling signals sent to cable customers,

98
along with the Zenith STV-1 descrambler. Material presented under an apparent pseudonym, "D. Scrambler,"
some printed on a low-resolution dot matrix printer, some on a higher-resolution printer, along with printed
material and diagrams that appear to have been photocopied from manufacturer's manuals. Schematics
abound, some quite clear, others so small and smeared as to be useless. With little to guide the novice, this
series of articles looks as if it might be of interest to the experienced electronics enthusiast or hacker looking
for that last bit of critical information to find out why his home-brew descrambler for SSAVI isn't working.
Prior issues dealt with phone phreaking, turn-on techniques for specific decoders, tapping into cable TV lines.

The Decoder [tm]

"The technical newsletter of the satellite and cable descrambling industry." April, 1988 issue. Features
screened photos of reasonable qual ity, typesetting is compressed-mode dot matrix printer using the
WordStar [tm] method of right justification.

News stories (e.g., U.S. Customs' seizure of several thousand VideoCipher units which were allegedly going
to be shipped to Mexico, something said to violate U.S. Law that forbids exporting DES technology; see
report of "Mr. Chips'" tour of Mexico, described later under Scramble Facts).

Product review in this issue: the Gil 2600 series IRD (integrated receiver-decoder, a satellite receiver that
has a VideoCipher built into it). Despite undertones of rancor against Gil felt in scanning much TVRO
material, the reviewer put aside whatever bias he might have had and gave this unit top marks, but admitted
it to be expensive.

Remainder of the issue contains large, detailed schematics of the Oak Orion PD 400C, though some
component values, such as diode part numbers, are missing.

Tells of an extremely simple means to defeat the SSAVI system, at least on some units, that obsoletes
outboard decoders. It involved shorting two pins on a readily identifiable IC chip, and removing a resistor if
one is present at a special location. Contains mainly VideoCipher-oriented ads.

Published by Telecode, Box 6426, Yuma, AZ, 85364, $18 per year, single issues $3.

The Blank Box Newsletter

"Your source for the latest in Black Box devices and de-scrambl ing news." Vol. 3, No.3.

Sporting the most professional look of the newsletters reviewed, hardly surprising since it appears to have
been typeset with a laser printer and one of the better desktop publishing programs, Blank Box Newsletter
comes from Resort Publishing, 100 Bridge St, #27, Hot Springs, AR, 71901. Yearly subscription $24.95,
single issues $5, though the publ isher seems eager to send single sample copies gratis upon written request or
a call to 1-501-321-1845. Our sample was copyrighted 1987, though we requested it in the spring of
1988, so it isn't as if they are giving away the latest in this rapidly shifting field.

At forty pages (more in later issues, at least per their ads), easily the longest of the bunch, but only nine
pages of news and technical articles. The remainder contained space ads, often full-page, from vendors of
VC-defeating and repair gear, from software to chips to mechanical aids•

....which happens to be exactly what many subscribers seek. It has been alleged several times in material
we reviewed that most of the VideoCiphers in use have been modified to receive scrambled services without
the user necessarily paying the required fees.

This issue contained a report on the STTI/SBCA trade show in Las Vegas, as well as the most trenchant
editorial material we have seen in descrambling letters. Technical articles range from beginner/explanatory-
quite welcome if you have not mastered the lingo of the VC-to extremely technical, though apparently not
beyond the grasp of the readership. Reviews products, offers notes from the "underground," and classified
advertising free to subscribers.

Overall, the most incisive, contemplative, and professionally produced of the letters reviewed. Both BBN and
The Decoder let the reader on to a free call-in information service known as....

99
Scramble Facts
Phone 1-718-343-0130. A new recorded message every Friday, except June, July, and August (every other
Friday; message at end of August, 1988 stated at that Scramble Facts needed more callers to keep going),
24 hours a day, free, with some commercial slant, as seen from this partial transcript recorded 5/31/88:

Get ready for another monthly code change on the first of june. The new 26-data is being transmitted
now. Those with self-sustaining units such as Testron's PROTEC test devices are advised to park your
VideoCipher on a non-pay-per-view service when not in use. Be sure to leave both the VideoCipher and
receiver turned on all the time. This is necessary to capture the new monthly code data.

Have you seen the new videotape from Blank Box Newsletter, A Pirate's View, Volume III? This 2-hour
production divulges the newest information and products related to VideoCipher descrambling. Watch as
they use the latest techniques and learn how easy it really is. See Testron' s PROTEC test devices, the
Wizard, Doomsday, and Parasite technology. You will probably come to the same conclusion we have
after watching this outstanding tape: The only totally self-sustaining device is the one designed and
manufactured by Testron. By the way, we noticed that the ribbon connector was damaged and repaired
on this device. Blank Box should have asked Testron for a replacement. It did make this otherwise
perfect device look sloppy. The tape selling (sic) for only $30. Mastercard, Visa, and COD orders are
accepted. Call Blank Box Newsletter to order. Mention Scramble Facts and they will deduct $5. Also
request a complimentary copy of Blank Box. They can be reached at: 501-321-1845. Call Testron at:
516-358-9414.

Technical tips: Here are two problems associated with the power supply inside the VideoCipher. First,
verify the VC board is working properly by testing it in a known working unit. A loud hum, and/or dark
bar on the screen, is a common indicator of a power supply failure. Check the 12-volt regulator, IC904.
It may be shortened (sic) or defective. Also suspect capacitor C931, a 25-volt 3300 microfarad cap. If
the VC light flashes once and then refuses to stay on, then suspect the minus 5-volt regulator, IC906,
or the minus 12-volt regulator, IC905. The capacitor C933 will most likely also be defective. C933 is
rated at 25 volts, 3300 microfarads. If your board was working prior to the installation of a socket at
U30, and is not working properly now, let's validate the reset line circuit associated with U29, an RCA
3406. Place a logic probe or scope on pin 13 of U30. A digital signal should be present. Now short pins
2 and 3 together on U29. This should stop the activity seen on pin 13 of U30. If this activity has not
stopped, then U29 is probably defective.

This message, taped in a grim interlude of sheer boredom at 4:52 AM, was recited by an energetic-sounding
woman who spoke fluent Brooklynese punctuated with bits of broken Engl ish.

Note that descrambling has its own jargon, much of it common to the electronics trade, that you must master
to understand what Scramble Facts is talking about. "U," "IC," "microfarad," "picofarad," "cap," "pin," and
so forth are common electronic terms. U20 is referred to most often when dealing with the VC, since that's
where the action is.

Excerpt of Scramble Facts 3 June 1988:

Scramble Facts, 3 june, 1988, updated every Friday at 5 PM eastern, updated every other week during
june and july, your free service covering the latest news on the TYRO industry, each program devoted
to: news and views, technical tips, and new product information. Please tell your friends about Scramble
Facts, and call in every week. Each call counts. Thanks.

The monthly code changes started on the first of june, and is 26A5 for 018 units; and 26C4 for 010
units. It is quite possible that a mid-month code-change will occur in june. This is part of G/I's ECM:
electronic countermeasures program to disable Keyboard Wizard-type devices. A new 27 code is being
transmitted now. Once again, we advise all VideoCipher owners to keep their VC and receiver on all the
time. When you are not watching TV, park your dish on a scrambled service, but not a pay-per-view
transponder. The same advice applies to IRD owners.

G/I is designing a new scrambling system to be known as "Newcipher." The new system is expected to
contain two scrambling systems. One would be compatible with existing VideoCiphers, and the other

100
 would contain additional features, such as new security software, hard scrambling of video, high-
definition TV capability, and anti-taping capability. The Newcipher is expected to supersede the existing
VideoCipher in the next two years. Additional (sic) Newcipher will supersede the unreleased VideoCipher
II Plus system. Gil is reassessing introduction of long-awaited Video II Plus, which has become known as
the VSLI [VLSI?-ed.] unit. Rumors are that the VSLI unit is not working properly. The introduction
date has been pushed back repeatedly for at least a year. If G/I's performance in introducing the
Newcipher is similar to the introduction of other new VideoCipher products, then we can expect delays
far beyond their target date of early 1990.

Technical tips: Does your VideoCipher lock up when inserting or removing the power cord? Then add a
10,000 ohrn resistor between R86 and ground. Also add a 10 picofarad cap in parallel with the new
resistor. This will allow a cleaner reset signal to be sent to U7. If you are experiencing flashing letters
and/or numbers intermittently in the upper-left comer of your TV screen when using your VC, examine
pins 11 and 12 on the U30. A bad connection or a cold solder joint will cause this problem.

In a number of letters we have received, we have been asked to explain the term, "trap." The VC II
microprocessor, U19, has preassigned programs in the U30 called "traps." This term does not mean
"ambush" or "pitfall." It does mean "snare" or "stratagem." Most microprocessors employ similar
computer vocabularies. However, this CPU, U19, a Texas Instruments 7001-4, is the only one we know
of using this term. A similar CPU, 8085, uses the term, "vector." The purpose of the command is to
save on software space, thus allowing a greater economic condensation of data. A single byte of code is
used to direct the CPU to the program. In the VC II, the op-code, F9, is trap 6, and is used in
obtaining data and commands from U7. Next time, we will explain offsets and indirect addressing.

Send new products, news, and comments to: Scramble Facts, 71-34 Austin St, Forest Hills, NY,
11375. Don't forget, call Scramble Facts in two weeks for more up-to-date information.

Interesting that Scramble Facts and the pirate subculture have adopted a military designation for the
struggle: ECM-electronic countermeasures-is an acronym bandied handily in the lingo of warfare•.•.

Excerpt of Scramble Facts taped 1 July 1988:

[extremely sarcastic/histrionic tone]

Well, I just left our laughing room with G/I's form-letter to over 9000 satellite dealers. This curious
document demands that the recipient cease and desist in the alteration, sale, or use of modified
VideoCipher descrambling equipment. Many of the letters Scramble Facts has received are from dealers
who do not engage in this illegal activity. Apparently, G/I has obtained the subscription mailing list of a
leading satellite publication. This shotgun approach is about to backfire. Some of the letters to Scramble
Facts stated that they will now start this illegal activity since Gil has already determined, without
facts, that they are guilty. A few dealers have taken this silly letter to their lawyers and have started
actions against G/I for harassment. The letter goes on to state that Gil's remedies include damages up
to $25,000 and up to five years in the gray-bar motel for each violation. Now, we do know that G/I
has sold approximately one million VCs, and we do know that only 350,000 are currently authorized.
Therefore, if each dealer altered ten units, G/I will have to prosecute over 65,000 parties. Of course,
the government will have to build a few new jails, as the total sentences will add up to 3,250,000
years. Of course, this action will help balance the national debt, as the fines will be as high as
$16,250,000,000. The real fact is, up to this date, Gil has not collected enough from fines to cover
the postage of this mass mailing. In a few cases the fine was only twenty-five bucks. Our jails are
overcrowded with hard-core professional criminals, so let's release a few murderers, rapists, and drug-
dealers to make room for those supreme enemies to society, the VideoCipher hackers. Carbon copies of
this letter are addressed to: The FBI Headquarters, Fraud and Copyright Division, Washington, DC; the
local office of the FBI; and to the Vice President and General Counsel of G/I. Informed sources have told
Scramble Facts that, should this letter fail to stop this illegal activity, G/I is prepared to send the letter
directly to your mommy, telling her what a baaaad boy you have been.

Excerpt of Scramble Facts taped 15 July 1988:

Informed sources have told Scramble Facts of visits by federal agents to the homes of satellite-dish

101
 owners in upstate New York. The alleged feds flashed badges and demanded to investigate the owners'
VideoCiphers. The feds confiscated the VideoCiphers, leaving only a handwritten receipt. Needless to
say, this is a new scam-or, is this a new branch of Big Brother law enforcement, the video police?
[theatrical sound effects: sharp rapping on door, followed by terse command: "Open up! Video Police!
Open Up!"]

If you've been calling V. C. Hacker in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and the phone keeps ringing-good luck.
He has been served a restraining order preventing him from conducting any and all business until a court
appearance on the 28th of July. Gil will probably either delay the action or win a permanent injunction.
In any event, it appears that V. C. Hacker is down for the count, and will not reopen.

The newest VC boards are numbered 0190, 0191, 0192. This is a normal continuation of the
hexadecimal ID numbers. Some of these boards have 3.1 software. Most invoke 3.0 software. Our
technical staff has also seen 018 and 0 18F boards with 3.1 software. There are no external differences
and the epoxy is still the same. Our staff is comparing both softwares and will report any significant
differences in the near future. Stay tuned.

Excerpt of Scramble Facts 29 July 1988:

Who will be the first person killed in the U. S. as a result of an alleged altered VC? With the FBI sending
SWAT teams with automatic weapons to investigate some complaints by Gil, someone is bound to get
hurt. Gil, this message is for you: We don't need Big Brother, the Video Police, in this country. [sound
effects: sharp rap on door followed by voice: "Video Police! Come out with your altered VideoCipher or
we'll shoot to kill!"]

Excerpt of Scramble Facts 5 August 1988:

A very reliable source of information recently told Scramble Facts about a business trip he had just
completed throughout Mexico. You see, our friend-let's call him "Mr. Chips"-thought he could sell a
ton of chips and VCs south of the border. Well, what a surprise Mr. Chips had. It seems that every TV
store, every TYRO dealer, and just about every taco stand had VCs in stock. No shortage of VCs down
there. Most of the dealers were offering chipped-out units. The others would modify the units while you
waited for 'em. Our friend returned with his tail between his legs, unable to make a single sale in the
whole country.

Scramble Facts has just celebrated its birthday.... In case you were wondering, we have received
158, 576 calls during the past 12 months. That averages out to 440 calls per day.

Summary of The Pirate Video, Volume III:

[Tense music from Mission: Impossible. Opening graphics: "Warning! This video is presented for
educational purposes only! Products shown may be illegal to use in the U.S." Cue ominous Dragnet
theme. "Some modifications to the VC II may be illegal in the U.S. Have a nice day!"]

[narrator's voice:]
"The sole purpose of this video is to document the activity within the satellite underground as a news
event. Certain products and activities shown on this video may be illegal in the United States. This
video documentary is not intended to encourage, promote, or entice viewers into becoming involved with
activities that may be illegal."

[Captain Kangaroo theme music; cut to shot of VideoCipher II]

[summary of narration:]
VC introduced 1986, supposedly unbreakable, broken quickly, approximately 750,000 VC2s, 80 percent
of them modified. When news that the VC2 was broken the demand exploded. "Literally overnight,"
existing stocks of VC2s sold out and it took about nine months for supply to catch up with demand. At
time of tape, VC2 selling "rapidly" at about $350. Points out that you would think that General
Instruments, maker of the VC2, would have taken steps to prevent the VC from being broken, but
apparently not (though Gil has begun electronic countermeasures not mentioned in this part of tape).

102
 : : : :

U7
I
:
ue0

:
¢
BATTERY
U20 SITE OF INSERTION
OF flMAGIC CHIPsn
: ;

o AREA ~ITHIN DARK BORDER COVERED

w
l.J ITH EPOXY.

REMAINDER OF BOARD POPULATED ~ITH COMPONENTS

FELT TO BE LESS CRITICAL TO DESCRAMBLING.

'---

CRUDE OUTLINE OF VIDEOCIPHER II BOARD SHO~ING EPOXY-PROTECTED REGION

Describes VC board. Blue-label board, the 018 series, supposedly unbreakable, covered key chips with
epoxy resin, narrator claims that epoxy puts heat load on VC and hastens battery failure, which results
in "brain death" of the board. U30 is location to plug in "magic chips" which tell other chips to do
things they were not intended to do. If you remove the VC board from socket while unit is plugged in to
AC outlet, you'll destroy it.

Looks at Testron's PROTEC test device, latest 018 model, plugs into U30 socket, allegedly used by
dealers/repair techs to see if the rest of the VideoCipher is capable of descrarnbling all services. Says
that Testron has incorporated circuits that prevent its own chip from being cloned (cloning was one
method used to defeat the VideoCipher early on; G/I transmitted data that turned off many cloned
units). Has socket that you can plug the original U30 into and a switch to toggle back and forth
between the original and the test device. Tested on 3/29/88. Its set-up menu: installation, unit
setting, rating ceiling, rating password. This device will work as long as the first two digits of the third
byte are "IT" [in hex notation]. Narrator took it through all channels on Galaxy One, even and odd, and
other satellites. It descrambled all but possibly one signal, sometimes took a second or two to "lock on"
and begin descrambling.

[next segment: music from The Addams Family precedes••. ]

Lee Hadlock discussing "The Wizard Technology." Also refers to it as "Load Star Technology," an
improved version of the original "Keys-R-Us." Load Star available in versions 2.4, 2.6, 3.0. Lee refers
to the product as a "diagnostic repair tool." Setup screen considerably more complex than that for the
Testron device. Displays inner workings of selected chips and registers, will show seed keys in 010 but
not 018 series, allows user to modify and view what is in RAM, view data as it comes in over the
signal, lets you look at "command data," Lee invites viewers to write him and he'll explain command
data. User can look at register areas in U19, which makes for "a great diagnostic tool." User can write
to U19, U20. Can clear U20 key area and reset U20. He says that G/I has installed a routine in U7
that zeros the working key if it detects any "slight enhancements." This makes a string of zeros a valid
working key. Would not have worked had they chosen a random number. More complex, provides more
information than the Testron device, more useful to hackers. At end, Hadlock advises viewers in the
U.S. not to buy his product. Says other vendors are claiming to have Wizard Technology but hints that
it's only a clone of the real thing. He sells a proprietary socket that solders via strip onto the back of
the board and gives you a socket to plug in the Loadstar chip. Suggests that the 010 series had no
epoxy, the 018 does. Offers repair services, will buy "dead" VC boards for parts for $150 each to repair
other boards. Lee Hadlock, Inc., 528 First Ave, Bellmawr, N], 08031; 609 931 0655. Was taped in
AR. He appears on Boresight News on satellite TV. Wizard requires that you enter codes every 60 days
or so.

[next segment, new narrator]

The Doomsday chip is called the "Secure One," By United VC Technologies, Inc., 1-205-262-0480,
again warning that it may be illegal in U. S. Refers to itself as the state of the art in a running key or
working key system. Was developed as a cloning device first, "••• and a running key or working key
system as a backup feature. You may wish to use it differently." "Cloning is the least bothersome of any
VC2-defeating system; however, recently G/I has defeated many clones with an ECM method whereby
when a clone is watching an unauthorized program, bad information bits are sent to the box, rendering
the box with no audio. The Secure One will not accept this bad information." Talks about the "Keyboard
Wizard." Says it's a very safe method of turning on a VC2. It must be updated every 30 to 90 days.
This means you must stay in contact with every VC [using this technology]. Uses some type of search.
Takes several seconds up to a minute to find the right data to lock on and descramble. This also
considerably more complex than the Testron device. $1250 complete. Needs a seed key. They will
"archive" a seed key for $250.

[music from The Wild, Wild West precedes segment showing tools of the trade, hardware, replacement
battery]

[brief segment discusses software/diskettes]

Average chip file 16K, use if you have an EPROM burner. Diskettes containing files for EPROMS sell
from $89-$2000 depending on what files they contain and how modern they are. Outdated technology
that once defeated the VC is often thrown in as a freebie (hardly surprising, since it is now obsolete).

104
 [next segment: "V. C. Hacker" demonstrates EPROM-burning, narrator finds this boring.]

[next segment: plug for the Blank Box Newsletter.]

Says they provide a monthly list of services not to buy from, not seen in our sample from 1987.
Describes Scramble facts as "quite controversial," apparently has panned some products, angered their
manufacturers. Boresight News, Thursday nights Westar 5, transponder 1, 8 o'clock central, Sunday
night 9 PM. Will give $5 off next videotape if you buy one now.

[next segment: Steve Kline]

His creation, the Parasite Box, a stand-alone VideoCipher competitor. Kline was raided by fBI, he
claims illegally so. Now in court battle, has given his technology to parties outside the US., trying to
market it legally in the US. Claims his box is more secure than Gil's, but admits that "where there's a
will there's a way" re: magic chips and his box. "Zombie," his firm's name, means that he is trying to
bring the satellite industry back to life. Parasite Box has US. and Canadian flags on it. Kline also makes
a "battery replacement tool" that can extract key from 0 18 units, archive the key, makes static dump
from U2 0, put everything back into U7, put the box back into "original" condition. Could it be used as a
cloning device? U7 upper left epoxy part of board. To extract key, put clip on U30; to put it back, put
clip on U7. Numerous other single clips, message on screen says it's a battery replacement tool not
intended for illegal use. Around $1200.

As this leaves for the printer, The Pirate Video IV has just been released, same price, same discount for
mentioning Scramble Facts.

* * *

JAMMING POLICE RADAR

- i s highly illegal. In fact, some states have outlawed receivers that detect police radar. Jamming the
blessed units might obstruct justice, and since jamming requires transmission on police radar frequencies,
something for which you probably lack an FCC license, you could pay a fine for broadcasting without said
license. We do not recommend that the reader do anything illegal.

That said, note that it is possible to jam police radar. One source refers to this having been done, at least as
far as anyone knows, in 1961. But in those fine days, on open highways with a sane legal speed Iimit and an
unofficially legal one about 10 mph faster, along with cars that sported the correct amount of horsepower,
who cared?

The 55 mph era changed that. We had just gotten used to cruising at 70, when the oil crisis forced us to
downshift to second and lug along at 55. Radar remained the primary tool of enforcement.

In comically plain terms, radar works by bouncing microwave signals off radioreflective objects, such as cars
or non-stealth aircraft, and processing the echo to read a speed relative to the radar unit. We can see
intuitively that this presents less of an engineering headache for fixed units rather than those on the move,
but even that feat has been done, as those who've been ticketed by roving state troopers will testify.

Radar-detector advertising has educated the public to the existence of formerly two, now three, distinct
radar frequencies. The so-called X-band, the first to see service with police units, operates on a frequency of
10.525 Gigahertz (GHz; billions of cycles per second; called microwaves out of the fact that wavelength
measures a few centimeters down to a few millimeters). Coincidentally, or maybe out of some sick, sadistic
del ight savored by nameless mutants deep within the FCC's RF-shielded underground bunkers, automatic
door-openers and microwave burglar alarms function on the X-band, too. This subjects your dashboard radar
detector to false alarms from those sources.

At 24.150 GHz we have the dread K-band, seen with "instant-on" radar, so-named since it emits no

105
electronic peep to betray itself until it has clocked you (at least if your reflexes weren't sharp enough to
react instantly).

The latest round of move/countermove in the highway speed wars involves a setup that has, thus far, seen
limited application but widespread publicity at the hands of least one radar-detector-maker looking to play on
a cold and ugly Fear engendered by the new band. They hint that driving without a detector sensitive to this
third Ka-band (around 34 GHz) is equal to driving blind. The new units don't clock your vehicle until it is so
close that a photo, clearly showing driver, front-seat passengers, and front license tag, are visible. No
pursuit-cops need pull you over. You receive a speeding ticket in the mail, with evidence irrefutable up to
now that your vehicle was traveling X number of miles per hour above the speed limit on Y date at Z
location, driven either by your own lovable puss shown in the photo, or ••• goddamnit, Wendy! What do you
mean speeding in my pickup truck! And who's that hairy creep in the front seat with you!!

Yes, this little revenue-maker has been good for a few laughs and possibly a number of family spats, as well
as an uneasy dread on the part of high-mileage drivers who depend on radar detectors. Those drivers
traversing some parts of the country rightly feel that they will have to upgrade to Ka-sensitive gear.

While we're on the subject of frequencies, note that police so inclined can detune their speed guns so they'll
still clock you, but won't trigger your radar detector. This is illegal, and if shown to be operating off-
frequency, would negate any evidence from that particular speed gun: "Yes, officer; but when was the last
time your supervisor documented that this unit was in fact transmitting dead-on-center of the K-band?"

SON OF SON OF FALSE ALARMS

If microwave sensors have proven themselves second only to ultrasonics as sources of false burglar alarms, it
comes by no surprise that police speed radar is subject to false readings out of a horde of vile scenarios.

First, as extremely high-tech gear, radar speed units get out of whack easily. Most patrol units require their
speed guns to be calibrated at the beginning and end of each tour, and on and ad-lib basis if the setup is in
any way unusual or likely to subject the unit to more false readings than normal. In this document-everything
era, a written record of valid calibration generally means you are guilty, while lack of same could let you
beat a bad rap. Ask, politely, to see these records when you are charged with speeding, and to have the
radar unit calibrated on the spot to see if it was within proper operating limits when it tagged you.

Second, radar speed guns work well only in trained hands. Those nationally publicized trees clocked at 85
mph in Florida had to pay the fine for speeding, not due to some evi I j inn in the unit, but out of uninformed
use of pol ice radar.

Third, any number of poorly shielded electrical devices inside or outside a patrol cruiser can bollix a radar
speed gun. Examples include rotating metal fan blades (e.g., the blower for the cruiser's air conditioner),
radio transmitters, plasma-discharge lighting (streetlamps) , and so on.

Fourth, accuracy of radar speed measurements falls off as the angle between unit and target vehicle departs
from 0 degrees. The most accurate measurements come from units placed directly behind or in front of the
target vehicle. A roving unit shooting you from across the median is likely to read a slower speed than your
vehicle is actually doing-but look deeper into the false-reading trap. Your econobox presents a fairly small
radar signature, nothing next to the semi half a mile behind you that's doing 85 mph. Some of the trooper's
radar signal will strike your car, but some will miss it and hit the metal guard rail at the edge of the road.
Under just the right conditions of angle and speed, the signal will ricochet off the guard rail, then bounce off
the huge metallic front of the speeding semi, come back up off the guard rail and into the speed gun. Given a
choice between signals, the speed gun will accept the stronger one bounced off the semi. Result: "you" were
clocked at 85 mph. Now, since the gun is likely to err in your favor at that angle, buddy, you must have
been doing 90. Time for a trip to the station ••••

Fifth, note a similar hazard when being clocked from behind by a moving unit, with a vehicle in the passing
lane and far ahead, whose radar signature is much larger than your car's. Patrol car doing 55, your car
doing 55, third big car doing 70. Result: "you" are clocked at 70. No trip to the station on this one, at
least if you can post bond in cash on the spot.

106
There are others, less frequent, but they still happen. For instance, moving radar uses the radar to clock
both the target vehicle and the trooper's car, so that an accurate reading of the target is obtained. Certain
conditions give the unit false information about the trooper's speed that make it seem that your car is moving
too fast.

JAMMING
Most laymen understand that military radar is subject to jamming. Many methods work, and new ones,
countermeasures, and counter-countermeasures appear yearly. Laymen understand also that military
hardware-costs begin at hundreds of thousands of tax dollars and ascend like a sou I that just bought a
Stairway to Heaven •••• But few laymen gave serious thought to jamming police radar until it became a fait
accompli, and one within the budgets of those who drive the kind of cars that feel at ease slashing the
blacktop at a hundred and ten.

The first step in the jamming process has to be detection: You must be aware that your vehicle is being
clocked before recklessly spraying microwaves into the atmosphere (and triggering every radar detector
within a vast radius). Radar detectors of high quality have been available for years, and, without endorsing
or panning any brand(s), Cincinnati Microwave's Escort[tm] and Passport[tm] led the pack in most
magazine-sponsored tests.

Understand that Escort's existence eliminated most of the R&D cost of a serious police radar jammer. It
handed jammers their front end on a plate.

Now, there existed also devices whose function was to calibrate police radar units by beaming signals that
simulated microwaves reflected from cars traveling at selectable speeds, in the range of, say, 35 to 70 mph.
Of necessity, these units transmitted on the X and K radar bands.

Question: What if a radar detector were wired to one of these test transmitters such that, when it sensed
itself under attack, it would immediately activate a calibration transmitter to beam signals that misled the
receiver by telling it that the vehicle was travel ing at some speed selected by the user? Or, as an
alternative, flood the area with microwaves so powerful as to blank out the police unit?

The answer, at least in sparsely reported tests, is that it would work, most of the time. The setup as
currently marketed by Remote Systems[tm] (Burnsville, MN, 55337; 1-612-894-1309) consists of a
Cincinnati Microwave Escort or Passport fitted with an output jack that interfaces with a control unit that
Remote Systems sells as plans, kit, or fully assembled. Note that this configuration will do nothing further
without X- and K-band transmitters (units known as Gunn oscillators) to beam out the false signals, but
Remote Systems tells you were to get them and how to wire them together into a working jammer. (Gunn
oscillators are available from: Advanced Receiver Research, Box 1242, Burlington, CT, 06013; phone 1-
203-584-0776.)

When using any radar detector, typical behavior by the driver calls for quick deceleration when the unit
signals police radar in the area. Depending on model and conditions, that can be miles from the source. Not
so, of course, with instant-on radar; yet few drivers seem to know that it takes anywhere from 0.5 to 3
seconds for a radar unit to give the trooper a "reading" on them, or that a car can slow out of the danger
zone in that time, due to the driver's cat-like reflexes and natural feel for the brake pedal; and that a
vehicle whose speed is changing may give an unreliable reading. (Of course, you do not hit the skids with a
semi thirty feet off your tail •••• )

Driving with a functional jammer should not change this response pattern, i.e., do not blast past the mountie
at a hundred mph with the unit set to tell him you were doing 35. He will impound you and your car, then
have the lab boys go over it and dig up that justice-obstructive jamming device••••

•••• which ain't likely to be hard to find. The X- and K-band transmitters often look like black fog lamps
mounted on the front bumper. To someone who knows what they're seeking, they are easily spotted.
Genuinely slick setups hide the Gunn oscillators in cutouts in the front bumper, covered with radar-
transparent black rubber.

107
Some drivers refrain from hitting the brakes even when that instant-on warning buzzer yelps, because they
know their brake-lights will tell the world that they are slowing. But what if, instead of a jammer, the
sensor unit connected to a relay that cut power to the brake-lights during a crisis? Wouldn't we all feel
easier about a quick, sharp stomp on the skids? Remote Systems sells that little goodie, too, along with a
circuit to mute your BlastMaster stereo system so you can hear the detector's meek beep over Lynyrd
Skynyrd's "Free Bird," a merciless song conducive to savage spirit and a leaden foot ••••

STEALTH?
One source on police radar reported that older Corvettes, those with fiberglas bodies and a radiator angled
back so as to deflect RF signals upward, are "invisible" to police radar at distances greater than about 450
feet. Hmmm. Strip off the chrome and clock it again ••••

Before leaving this rude topic let's be straight on one issue. Eclipsing the speed limit to the point of
endangering innocents is culpable on its face, what Gordon Liddy would call "malum in se," a thing bad of
itself. On the other hand, the American consensus has it that the 55 mph speed limit no longer serves a
purpose, and we have it on some authority that many a grubby solon, from city hall to the state legislature,
views police radar as a tool of revenue rather than the balm of public safety.

Not only does jamming spark us in a technological sense, but it appeals the bad boys in us all. A proper fix
would reinstate the nationwide 70 mph interstate speed limit, which means that 75 and 80 are OK most of
the time, seat belts and airbags a must. We could handle that.

* * *

FREE SOFTWARE?
In addition to securing your data from prying eyes, what a bummer that you must scan for software that
intentionally destroys it. Computer users who own modems usually tap into one or more electronic bulletin
boards where they can chat much like ham radio operators do, only via VDT. Bulletin boards let computer
programs be copied to themselves, or "uploaded," as well as copied from the board to individual systems, or
"downloaded." These programs are, by and large, the work of amateur but often talented programmers who
wish to share handy if minor-league utilities with other users.

Many users found that programs they downloaded didn't perform as expected. In fact, some programs trashed
hard disks or valuable floppies on a pure evil rampage. Since no one would knowingly use such programs,
their true nature had to be hidden in machine or assembly language, and called something like "Computer
Helper," a fictitious name used here only for illustration.

The unsuspecting victim would download the program, run it, see a screen-prompt that it was "installing"
itself-only to be greeted by a message such as "YOUR HARD DRIVE HAS JUST BEEN REFORMATIED,
DUMMY!" when the foul demon was done.

That dark breed of program came to be called Trojan Horse, since it hid mayhem in an appealing package.
Often, the text message could be seen by examining the contents of the program with a utility designed for
that purpose; or all but ASCII text characters could be stripped out, revealing the kicker before running the
program.

VIRUSES
A Trojan Horse would trash or vex only a single disk or system unless manually copied and passed on. But a
second form of destructo program took control of the computer to automatically create copies of itself on all
hard or floppy disks it found free of its own code. Since an infectious organism that replicates by taking
control of a cell is known as a virus, that tag seemed apropos of this new breed of electronic pestilence.

Viruses have emerged as the hot topic in computerdom as this goes to press. Though the concern contains

108
elements of hysteria and hype, the threat of viral programs has proven real. What can they do? For starters,
they can muti late or erase data.

Records that once lived only on paper have nearly completed their migration to electronic storage media.
Most of these belong to the government and large private concerns that must process mountainous chunks of
data. But with the spread of personal computers and minicomputers-bigger than a personal computer but
smaller than a mainframe-with their natural affinity for data storage, the impact of unanticipated and willful
destruction of all data accessible to the virus cannot be downplayed. The sloppy novelist who fails to back up
his files after each writing session could find more than a year's work banished to the Phantom Zone. Time
magazine told of one writer who had several months' worth of notes erased by the Pakistani virus, "Brain."
An insurance company or bank could see its financial records scrambled into useless characters. The ability to
destroy data is quite enough •••• (The lesson Time all but ignored teaches to keep multiple copies of important
data, updated each time the data changes.)--

A second uneasy property of viruses lies in their latency. They do not attack immediately; rather, they key
on input of a certain word, arrival of a certain date, a specific instruction, or some other condition set by
the viral programmer. (And here the analogy to infectious agents holds up. Cold sores are caused by
Herpesviruses. The infection usually takes place during childhood, but the virus remains in the individual's
cells for Iife, dormant unti I triggered by fever.)

The self-repl icating property of viruses has led to "infection" of hundreds of thousands of diskettes. Most
computer-users, from corporate research labs to video game buffs, exchange information by physical transfer
of diskettes and by electronic hookup via modem. An infected diskette will copy its virus to whatever media
the hidden program finds accessible in a new computer. Those who download software from bulletin boards
have no way to know whether it's infected. They may not know until their data is dust. Hackers who deal
with potentially infected code often use a separate, floppies-only computer to handle suspect software.

These bugs may prove to be the final solution to software piracy, out of dangers inherent in accepting or
buying diskettes from unsecured sources. You don't know where they've been, whether they might harbor a
virus along with the pirate copy of Paradox [tm], or whatever. It just isn't worth the risk anymore, getting
copies of expensive software on the sly. (And at least one major software vendor unkowingly sold copies of its
program infected with a benign virus that erased itself after flashing its stuff.)

Money is being made selling anti-viral programs, whose names match the metaphor: Viralarm, Virus RX, Disk
Defender, Vaccinate, Data Physician, etc. (All registered trademarks are hereby recognized.)

Who creates viruses, and why? Both professional and amateur programmers. Disgruntled employees of
computer firms are suspected in several cases of virus attacks; and the Pakistani "Brain" virus featured in
Time was the work of self-taught programmers driven, they said, by a desire to punish software pirates.
Their work drew praise for its elegance and curses for its plunder. Viruses smack of the hacker mentality, an
offshoot of human nature, a force that motivates us to do what hasn't been done, or is claimed to be
impossible.

Some viruses have been directed at specific targets: IRS, FBI, and CIA computers reportedly came under
attack, as did those of the large computer consulting firm, EDS. Many university computers have suffered
viral assaults, hardly surprising, given the campus nerd population.

John Williams' firm, Consumertronics, is now selling what they advertise as the unaltered Pakistani "Brain"
virus, along with programming analysis and an "antidote," for $50. Literature insists that buyers give
Consumertronics a signed statement that they will not use the virus destructively, will make no copies other
than backups, will not transfer the virus to another system, and will not modify the program so as to make it
more virulent.

Big-leaguers have taken steps to safeguard their computers and products, but the average user must now be
alert. Sound advice says not to uSe software obtained from iffy sources, particularly pirated copies of
programs, and never let anyone have access to your computer (that keyboard-locking switch which everyone
leaves "on" may have found a use). As always, keep multiple backups of all data and repeat the backups
regularly-like after every filing session.

109
 * * *

BE CAREFUL WHOM YOU CALL

-because date, time, duration, and both numbers become immortal data that remains on-line forever. The
phone company had the ability to record this information as early as the fifties. It installed the equipment in
the sixties, according to one source, but denied its existence to the government, which wanted to tap into
the resource to gather evidence on organized-crime bosses. Any company that says No to Uncle has got to
have the flush to back it up against Uncle's favorite means of harassment, a permanent state of IRS auditure.

Look over your telephone bill, the one that lists all numbers with dates and times. Machines make child's
play out of matching names with those numbers. Is one company a purveyor of information about jamming
police radar detectors? Is one an, ah, escort service? What will the opposing counsel insinuate from your
having called them? (The opposing counsel keeps on a leash a private investigator who has "contacts" in the
phone company. If the opposing counsel is the DA, his investigators are the police, and the likelihood of a
mole in the phone company quadruples.)

Dialing some numbers may trigger automatic monitoring, place your name on a mail-intercept list, say, if you
accidentally dial the NORAD mainframe, or if your computer committed the same blunder.

If James Bamford's estimate of the design and prowess of the NSA is to be believed, they have the ability to
monitor all telephone communications in this country. Furthermore, they can detect a certain voiceprint and
have it taped automatically, even screened for words and phrases, and very soon, automatically transcribed
and edited, and translated into English or some other tongue.

Remember that the phone company, in whatever now-disbanded guise, has the power to monitor all calls,
even local ones, as to time, number calling, number called, time spent on the line. They do not have to list
this on your monthly statement, but in a civil or criminal action they can pull it and show that somebody
called these numbers. It goes for pay phones, too. The old axiom that you cannot be too careful was never
more apropos now that universal surveillance has become interwoven with the cloth of our society.

A NON-DIGITAL VOICE-SCRAMBLER
Both completed commercial units and schematics for do-it-yourselfers exist. This details a device featured in
the January, 1988 issue of Radio-Electronics magazine, which kindly granted permission to reprint the
schematic and PC board template. The advanced hobbyist can decipher component layout from the schematic.
Others would do well to order the quoted issue from Gernsback Publications (see Chapter 9). The photo
shows the author's nearly completed model. He bought the board from WaveLink Laboratories (Box 199,
Trumbull, CT, 06611; $11), highly recommended, but better write to see whether it's still available.

The 555 timer chip here is the new MOS version which drinks far less power than its bipolar predecessor.
The other chips are standard logic devices and a dual op amp, along with the common LM386 audio amp IC,
all available at Radio Shack. Use proper care in handling static-sensitive chips.

This device chops, splits, and folds the audio input; reverses those functions when descrambling. You must
build a pair for simultaneous operations. The 50K pot is a 20-turn device that tunes it, and allows variation
in signal over a wide range.

Determined foes will descramble this breed of signal with ease. If you plan to face no determined foes, the
device offers acceptable security.

MAILING LISTS
What are these mailing lists everyone talks about? Who keeps them, sells them, uses them?

Many companies. Consult Literary Marketplace to find them. Most public libraries keep a copy in the
reference room. Get names and addresses, write for their listing. Some companies special ize in subpop-
ulations, such as lawyers, doctors, or accountants. Others boast that all the customer need do is supply the

110
 LEFT: life-size PC board template for voice scrambler;
Copyright (c) 1988 Gernsback Publications, Inc.
Reprinted with permission. RIGHT: underexposed photo
w of author's nearly completed project.
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INC. REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION. ALL CAPS IN uF EXCEPT l~e PICO CAP AT 3~8.
criteria and they will compile the list: age, magazine subscriptions, income, zip code, credit cards, and so
forth.

Lists derive from pooled, organized information known as databases. Many contain tens of millions of names
and addresses. As a key point, people can be selected or sorted according to age, type of credit card, type
of hobby gear they have purchased, whether they have bought smut by mai I; marital status, rei igious
affiliation, political registration, criminal history, and so on. (The government's database includes also the
subject's IRS files, fingerprints, voiceprint, retinal scan, and very soon, personal DNA code•••• )

It takes no imagination to see that a party serious about tracking down a missing person could easily give
your name, along with specified variations or aliases, income, occupation, magazine subscriptions, hobbies,
political bent, and so on to a mailing-list vendor, and have a fair chance of coming up with your new
address. More, the programmer could specify near-meeting the standards within a set range, to catch you if
you were to modify only some of your traits.

How to combat this? You must alter EVERYTHING about yourself. Stop all prior magazine subscriptions,
drop credit cards, give up uncommon hobbies, and so on. You might even throw in red herrings, such as
subscriptions to Good Housekeeping mailed to a female name at your address. This way you avoid creating a
telltale profi Ie.

SECURING PERSONAL COMPUTER DATA

That same paper-to-electronic storage migration that took place within government and business is picking up
steam in the private sector. A 60 megabyte hard disk impresses no one these days-and there is no point to
having all that storage if you don't use it. Go ahead and use it-but anticipate: What could the authorities
or a private enemy learn by confiscating your computer with the megabytes of data it hides?

Plenty. GrOWing numbers of Americans keep bank, tax, business and other sensitive records on these disks,
along with dandy programs for handling it. The IRS, for instance, loves to pore over these files.

What about poison pen letters you used your word processor to create? Erasure makes no difference. The files
still exist. Only the file allocation table, or FAT, changes with an erasure. The sectors of data remain until
other data overwrites them. At least a dozen commercial and public domain programs will examine disks
sector by sector. Some will automatically recover erased files. Great for you in the case of an accidental
erasure, bad if your hard disk gets impounded.

Reasonable level of security can be had by encoding your files, then copying them onto a diskette that you
first bulk-erased then formatted anew (formatting does not destroy data in the sectors, only rewrites the
FAT). A trick beyond that would go into the touchy file with DEBUG.COM or one of the countless utilities
having similar powers, then modify the first three or four bytes so that the decode program does not
recognize them (encryption programs often tag the files with part of the manufacturer's name, so the decode
program can recognize it; remove this information). Of course, you must remember what changes you made,
or the fi Ie becomes useless.

One method of added security for files subject to casual attack by duffers converts them to "hidden" files.
Several utilities on the market, some of them public domain, let you make this simple change. DOS will not
display hidden files to a DIR command, though CHKDSK will list the number of hidden files. The computer-
savvy snooper would pick up instantly on the fact there are too many hidden files-the operating system
usually creates two; copy-protected software may add others-and go after them first.

The agencies who would get at your files are aware of most encryption software. That software usually alters
the output file in a way that makes it recognizable to the decoding program. All the codebreaker has to do is
look into the file for the proper tipoff as to what program was used, then set up his Cray to try all possible
combinations of keys to decode. To take one example, a utility called LOCK. EXE , included by Softlogic
Solutions with its excellent Disk Optimizer program, has a keyspace of 8 characters. Knowing what program
it was dealing with, it would take the Cray a few minutes to go through all possible combinations of 8 ASCII
characters and open your fi les.

112
Patterns lead to uneasy inferences of the lore of encryption. Taken back to the 1960s, we read authoritative
material boasting that the current algorithm is uncrackable in any "practical" sense. Trouble is, the
exponential rise in computer power and intelligence redefines "practical" every three years. One
merchandiser of encryption equipment for business boasts that the output of its program withstood attack by a
Cray supercomputer for 22 days. And the private sector does not have access to whatever goodies the NSA
has cooked up in its avowed intent to stay at least 5 years ahead of the state of the art.

As this goes to press at least three private-sector encryption programs hold themselves out as secure. Their
vendors feel strongly enough about it that they have posted dollar rewards ($1000 is the largest sum we have
seen) for those who crack their codes. This may convey a false sense of security. First, rewards offered to
date would not of themselves provoke a serious attack by our top cryptographers, or even by the third string,
nor would they satisfy the cost of using genuinely powerful computers for the attack. Second, as
commercially available software, anyone looking to crack the ciphertext would use the huge lever of seeing
how the program encrypted it. We must assume that the cryptographer would get his hands on coded text
also, as well as a sample of plaintext. Those three elements simplify decoding enormously. Finally, we, the
potential users, will never know what degree of security we have entrusted potentially vital secrets to. NSA
isn't apt to advertise those encryption schemes it has defeated.

DES AND THE NSA

The National Security Agency might or might not exist, depending upon whom you ask. The Presidential
memorandum that created it cannot be accessed, even under the Freedom of Information Act, to this day.

The NSA has so far insisted upon maintaining the ability to reach any information about anyone, anywhere. In
fact, one of many problems that face those who make decisions at the NSA has been what to do with seren-
dipitously detained data that proves criminal conduct on the part of elected officials and enforcement agents.
NSA's information-gathering power has grown so fearsome that they literally do not know what to do with
much of the news. They do not discard it. It sleeps entombed on magnetic tape hidden deep inc Ii mate-
controlled caverns, patiently awaiting an opportune time to rise like the Phoenix. Census data is supposedly
secure for something like 72 years; but don't let that claim fool you. The NSA knows a few tricks about
accessing verboten data.

Our National Bureau of Standards promulgated a now-widely-used encryption system known as the Digital
Encryption Standard, or DES. Tacit in the fact that this supposedly sophisticated system was disgorged is
that NSA had satisfied itself that it could crack codes based on DES. In fact, sources indicate that DES
encryption is considered secure only for unclassified data. The NSA takes executive action whenever it
senses that genuinely secure technology is about to be marketed.

Let's admit to a bit of ambivalence about this all-powerful (second only to the IRS) agency. We do not mind
seeing its incredible power turned against our enemies. Case in point: the fatal odyssey of Flight 007. We
played back transmissions of Russian fighter pilots with chilling clarity for the United Nations and the world.
The NSA had done the listening. It has pretty good ears, out there north of Japan.

CRYPT
One example of privately written and distributed encryption algorithms is called Crypt, by M. J. Maniscalco
(PO Box 11235, Cleveland, OH, 44111). As this goes to press, one version of Crypt is available on public
computer bulletin boards, while a more sophisticated version will soon be available on diskette from Mr.
Maniscalco for $20. Write him for current information. The story of Crypt illustrates important aspects of the
encryption/decryption game.

First, a few terms:

plaintext-message prior to encryption

ciphertext -message after encryption
algorithm-mathematical process that accomplishes encryption and decryption
key -character string used by algorithm to encrypt plaintext and decrypt ciphertext
keyspace -the number of characters the algorithm actually uses; generally, the larger the keyspace, the
more secure the algorithm
113
apparent & functional keyspace-the algorithm may modify a key of, say, 32 characters prior to use such
that it becomes effectively a key of only 8 spaces; 32 is the apparent keyspace, 8 is the functional
keyspace; smaller keyspace detracts from security of the algorithm
substitution cipher-algorithm that substitutes one character for another as determined by the key
transposition cipher -algorithm that changes the sequence of the characters in the plaintext, again,
according to the key
product cipher -algorithm that invokes both transposition and substitution; many times more secure than
either transposition or substitution alone

Substitution ciphers are notoriously weak, since the serious foe will eventually get his hands on plaintext, as
well as a wealth of intercepted ciphertext. Plaintext allows working backward in a mathematical sense to get
the key and the algorithm. Pathetically insecure.

Transposition ciphers jumble the message, but since all characters remain, piecing them together through
ultrafast computer trial and error poses no hitch.

Seriously secure codes begin to arise when we use the product cipher, a combination of transposition and
substitution. But even the product cipher falls to mechanized attack due to weaknesses inherent in some
schemes. For instance, a small effective keyspace lets the old Cray try all possible keys in a brief time.
Demands on computer time rise exponentially with increasing effective keyspace, though statistical methods
reduce the number of avenues to pursue, simply because both easily remembered keys and decrypted messages
tend to consist of limited numbers of words arranged to make sense. The DES keyspace gives 10 to the 17th
power possible combinations. This doesn't faze the NSA, one reason it let the algorithm become "standard."

An algorithm that repeatedly uses even a large key tends to betray itself in a mathematical sense, and for
that reason offers less security.

Taking these factors into account, note how Crypt works. First, it employs a product cipher, one of the
hardest to crack. Second, it uses a large functional key: up to 64 ASCII characters in any combination.
Alteration of even one character will change the ciphertext completely, i.e., the algorithm takes no
shortcuts to speed calculations. Sixty-four characters translates into an effective keyspace of 10 to the
127th power, 110 orders of magnitude greater than DES. This would give the NSA computers a headache,
even with shortcuts allowed by artificial intelligence programs and statistical analysis. Furthermore, the
margin of safety appears so great that even a 10,000-fold gain in computer speed would not materially affect
the security of the algorithm to a brute-force attack.

Crypt uses its 64-character key only once, but even then, does not use the key in native form. It first alters
it by combination with two independent pseudorandom numbers, each of which repeats only once in
30,000,000 runs. The program uses each new incarnation of its key to process only 32 characters of
plaintext, then shifts the key again -but the shift does not depend upon pseudorandom number generators.
That would weaken it, since pseUdorandom patterns eventually betray themselves. Rather, Crypt bases the
new key for the next 32 characters, known as "autokey," on the content of the plaintext. Thus, it uses a
key constantly changed by variables which the codebreaker cannot divine through backtracking to a
pseudorandom number generator.

Plaintext helps in cracking the code, but even taking that into account, a conservative estimate based upon
all assumed advantages to the codebreaker, including computers so fast they do not, as far as anyone knows,
yet exist, it would take approximately 10 to the 25th power years to run an exhaustive search of keys.

Crypt as supplied on diskette comes as an executable file, as well as source code written in C language.
Those with a serious grasp of programming can shorten or lengthen the keyspace and alter the random number
generators, leading to a unique algorithm. Calculation time rises exponentially with growing keyspace.
Execution times for Crypt on the author's "clone" running an 8088 at 8 MHz were barely tolerable.
Doubtless, these times would shrink on 80286- or 80386-based machines, especially if Crypt could invoke a
math coprocessor.

The version of Crypt current as this goes to press wi II handle only ASCII text files. Utilities and
improvements in version 3.0 to be released soon may remedy this.

114
Shortly before press time, Mr. Maniscalco informed us that U.S. Law forbade shipment of data encryption
software to countries outside the U.S. except Canada, and that he could not fill orders received from any
other country. Presumably, this restriction holds for all encryption software unless Uncle has approved it for
export.

Safe rules to live by hold that ordinary data-material in which no one has a particular interest-can be
secured using off-the-shelf encryption software, transmitted via coded phones, and so forth. Do not assume
anything to be safe from big-leaguers, private or governmental. If they cannot break your algorithm and its
128-bit key, they have the resources to bug your apartment, learn the distinctive audio/RF signature of
every key on your board, and get the key that way; steal the program; have you "accidentally" meet the
love of your life, who will gain your confidence and feed them information, and so on.

PREDICTIVES ... AND OTHER ORDERS

Is the NSA, or some sinister private corporation, running a predictive on you? And what in God's name is a
predictive?

To explain it, use chess computers, the dedicated board games, as a point of comparison. These feisty
machines have evolved to a state of prowess that commercial units selling for less than $200 can beat 98
percent of the world's chessplayers at tournament level, i.e., both computer and player have 2.5 hours to
make their first 40 moves-and, like a human player, the computer "thinks" on its opponent's time.

The machine chooses moves by analyzing the position, an ability now crude but improving, and by evaluating
all possible moves, something known as a full-width search. In that way it first examines all moves open to
itself, then assigns a desirability rating to the position reached by each move. Then it proceeds to analyze all
replies to its best move, followed by all possible counter-replies, and so forth. Each full-width move-search is
known as a ply, and two plys constitute one move (i .e., move and reply).

Special positions may send the program branching into algorithms that examine selected moves to a greater
depth, or achieve specifically defined goals, such as mate in three, or doubled pawns on a file.

Machines based on the 6502 chip-as most are, out of economics and efficiency, though the 68000 series
looks to be taking over-running at 4 MHz perform the first ply search in a second or less. The second ply
takes a bit longer, the third may require 5 to 15 seconds, depending on complexity of the position. Fourth
ply can take a minute or more, and the fifth may take several minutes. Tests on two of the author's machines
-by no means state of the art-show that a 7 -ply search takes well over an hour in the average midgame
position. Eight plys generally take overnight in all but the simplest positions, or in cases where forced mate
becomes evident.

Time-demands rise exponentially the deeper the search looks, since the number of potential variations rises
sharply the deeper we peer into the game. Solid units running under tournament time rules typically search
at least 5 and up to 7 ply per move. Mainframes, such as the Cray series and Bell Labs' computers, look
even deeper. An 8-ply search is generally regarded as endowing the computer with candidate-master-Ievel
skill. The human chessplayer would have to look at four possible moves, in all variations, to achieve the
same, though human grandmasters usually beat even the best chess computers handily because they can "see"
far more than 4 moves ahead. Analysis of Bobby Fischer's games, for example, showed that he typically made
moves that indicated an appreciation of the position 10 moves hence, sometimes far deeper than that. This
shows the gift of genius and the ability to recall outcomes of similar positions from past games, as well as the
capacity to perceive the gestalt of the position, something computers yet lack.

Board machines in the $200-$400 price range were used in the Kasparov-Karpov World Chess Championship
match completed late in 1987. In seconds to minutes, the computer found moves regarded as minor tactical
brilliances, actually played by the grandmasters. This does not mean the computer possesses anything near
grandmaster-level skill, but that there is much to say for the full-width search, a process that overlooks no
legal moves, even ones that first appear lifeless or suicidal, but which on deeper inspection prove decisive
winning strokes.

115
Chess pieces are limited in what they can do: Knights make L-shaped moves, bishops move and capture
diagonally, and so forth; and it all follows a simple set of rules.

What a shock that human behavior, though indubitably more complex than a chess game, lends itself to
exactly this mode of analysis, one demanding greater sophistication, consideration of more variables, yet still
one that has been reduced to a program.

This explains Big Brother's insatiable appetite for information about you. The more it knows, the more it can
predict and control your behavior. And control is the ultimate goal.

The only computers capable of handling this software at more than a slug's pace belong to the National
Security Agency, hidden in its secret underground si los, a curious name for computer storage sites, but one
with a certain ironic aptness, since the ability to predict human behavior carries power on par with that of
nuclear warheads.

This process of analyzing an individual's behavior, with an eye on foretelling his future moves, is known as
running a predictive on him.

Predictives are further designated by their orders, corresponding to the chess computer's plys. A first-order
predictive might eat up 12 hours on a Cray XMP, with a 70 percent likelihood that the subject will take the
predicted path. After two days of thinking, the computer will give us its second-order predictive, one that
ups the surety to 78 percent. Note the pattern: exponentially rising computer time, exponentially decaying
incremental accuracy. That extra 8 percent cost 300 percent more time than the first 70 percent surety.

If valuable computer time rises with increasing order of predictives, so does accuracy. A fifth-order
predictive, corresponding to an analysis involving uncountable variables and calculations, is rumored to show
90 percent accuracy. In human terms, that's enough to gamble for big stakes, such as the fate of the world.
If the Soviets had had this capability during the Carter administration, it is likely that they would have
started and won WW III. Why? Because Carter's milquetoast profile suggested that he would have "ridden
out" the first strike by the Reds, then negotiated. Back then the Walker spy case had not broken, so we
were at bliss thinking our nuclear subs invulnerable.

The Afghanistan affair was a simple exercise based on shrewd estimation to show that the U.S. response
would amount to nothing (Reagan, not Carter, sent in the Stinger missiles that ultimately drove the Reds
out). The Soviets probably considered Afghanistan an drill to sharpen up the troops for ••• what? Western
Europe? With a fifth order predictive available to it, the Soviets could have known, rather than surmised.

To help it even more to tell what a person will do, the Agency may interview him, with or without his
knowledge, and subject his physiognomy, physiologic variables, and microtremors in his voice to what is in
essence a digital polygraph probe. It helps eliminate avenues of computer concern, thereby cutting down on
the time spent analyzing them.

Few if any people have learned that they were the subject of predictives. The topic remains under wraps, and
what sparse information has leaked has filtered through private consultants who previously worked on the
project. That means the information is at least five years old ••••

The persons are classified, but must include top-level policy-makers, unruly members of the private sector,
terrorists, and so on.

Predictives' accuracy is enhanced immeasurably by knowledge of an individual's resources, education, 10,

modus operandi, all ies, fami Iy, and so forth. All this el iminates so many variables.

FUTILITY
With encryption software of Crypt's caliber available to us, we must feel that encrypted data is secure.
Naturally, we will decrypt it before displaying it on our VDTs••••

••• •at which time determined parties may intercept it and view it on their own monitors and store it for
future review.
116
Television sets and computer monitors emit small amounts of RF. Confirm this with a bug sniffer. Calibrate
your unit and move the probe slowly toward the screen. It will register as if you were closing on a low-
power bug.

It is possible to use this low-power RF energy to reconstruct the screen image. The name which has come to
be tied most closely with the practice is that of Wim van Eck, a Dutch computer expert. In keeping with the
hacker vernacular, this feat is known as "Van Eck Phreaking."

If this stunt lies within reach of hackers (we tend to doubt on intuitive grounds that it lies beyond the power
of the NSA), what good serves your uncrackable codes? They'll protect a stolen disk, but you must decode
to deal with sensitive data on-screen.

Potential solutions involve shielding the entire computer setup, including monitor, cables, and processor, as
our government has done in its secure "TEMPEST" installations; encrypting the video signal; making
passwords and other sensitive data not display on screen at all; and use of monitors that emit no RF.

ABOVE: Tri-mode sync suppression descrambler, detailed in Radio-

Electronics and built from kit of parts. Unit did not work on
scrambled signals in author's tests, but he cannot verify that they
used tri-mode sync suppression. This unit no longer exists.

117
 6
WEAPONS

Are you talking to me?

-Travis Bickle, Taxi Driver

* * *

What use have you for slingshots, blowguns, spears, bows, boomerangs, and so forth? Well, they can be fun
to play with, and with determined practice can develop into formidable weapons, at least in a relative sense.
In a showdown between foes armed respectively with a slingshot and a .45 one must give the edge to the
firearm: rate of fire, accuracy, raw power and general ugliness••••

In this age that demands greatest economy of resources, it makes sense to analyze these questions:

1) What goals will keeping weapons meet?

2) Within reason, what weapons meet those goals most efficiently?

The law-abiding citizen finds self-defense his main objective. Hunting, target-shooting, and plinking all have
legitimate places; but these have become luxuries for many. One horribly brain-damaged journalist has
bragged about the rush he gets from sitting naked on his porch, blasting the countryside with hot lead from
his pet .44 Magnum. As for you, best keep those stray rounds at least into the backstop at the target
range ••••

The times force us to give urgent matters top priority. Physical security for oneself and one's family grows
more imperative by the day, and thus commands more attention and resources.

Limiting it to physical means, analysis concludes that small arms give greatest return on dollars spent on
hardware and effort spent in training. The guns and ammunition available to most Americans have proven the
decisive if undistinguished answer to a host of problems not solved by tear gas, hand-held shockers, high-
powered ultrasonic devices and all manner of exotic weapons. Those unusual tools find a place in proper
context, and we will review them in turn. But let's start at the top with life and death, and work our way
down into that lively but sublethal realm.

That said, we cannot escape a need few consider: study available arms and ammunition, and learn to apply
them. If the opportunity presents, obtain bonded permission to carry concealed arms.

118
GUNS
What is there to say about guns and shooting them not already apparent from the once-trendy Miami Vice, or
perhaps All My Chi Idren?

Plenty. For all the high-tech emphasis on these shows, consider this: Compared with exotic, si lenced, or
automatic weapons, common firearms serve equally well as to effectiveness, speed, lethality, and destructive
power, when properly applied. Yet few genuinely understand their workings, the correct way to employ them,
or know the laws that govern use of deadly force. Most lay assumptions about arms arise from folklore.
Spooks learn the basics before they resort to spook stuff.

Small arms fall into two main categories: handguns and rifles.

HANDGUNS
Handguns may be the best known but least understood of all firearms. Their invention and evolution contain
elements of utility, even dignity, as a replacement for the cavalry sword, according to some; as well as
overtones of perversion, as the late-favored tool of felons.

Experts consider the pistol a defensive piece. Those anticipating trouble have time to arm themselves with
whatever they choose. Most choose rifles, out of their superior power, accuracy, and range. The pistol's
small size and-yes-concealability in special cases make it practical to carry an effective defense, though
not a weapon that will replace the rifle.

No one can deny the pistol its repugnant if earned role as close-in assassination tool or weapon of crime.
Here we speak of arms on the assumption that their use carries legitimate urgency at the time. Use of
firearms does not belong to the realm of the casual.

REVOLVERS VERSUS AUTOLOADING PISTOLS

As difficult as it is to review arms without involving controversy, let's stick to functional basics before
sinking into quagmires of dispute. Two types of handguns predominate: revolvers and autoloading pistols.

The revolver is a pistol whose cartridges rest in a cylinder containing usually six chambers. All who have
seen a "Dirty Harry" movie know a revolver by sight. (Interestingly, until the debut of "Dirty Harry," which
instantly popularized the Smith and Wesson M29 .44 Magnum, those pistols sold at no premium. After the
movie series began, every macho man within hollering distance had to have one. Smith and Wesson built up a
backlog of orders while gun dealers raked in cash by upping the markup on these otherwise reasonably priced
arms. )

With each pull of the trigger, a revolver rotates the cylinder to center a new round behind the barrel,
simultaneously cocks the hammer, and lets it fall at the end of the cycle. This is known as double-action
shooting. It is possible also to cock the hammer manually, which does everything just described but fire the
round, and is known as single-action shooting. It is far easier to shoot accurately using single-action than
double-action shooting, though single-action is far too slow for combat in the hands of all but a rare breed
that has devoted years to perfect the technique.

If one shot were all we needed, and if we had time to set ourselves before firing, the revolver might suit our
use admirably. But situations often demand that we fire and reload rapidly. Here the revolver cedes many
advantages to the autoloading pistol, known simply as an "automatic."

Automatics store their cartridges in a vertical column, single or double, inside the grip. A spring keeps them
under upward pressure. Though diverse mechanisms or "actions" exist for autos, the basics call for the recoil
produced by each shot to spit out the spent casing and load a fresh round into the chamber from the
magazine. All this takes a fraction of the time to fire a revolver double-action. Assuming we can control an
auto in rapid fire, it beats the revolver there.

Autos enjoy superiority in capacity, too: six rounds for service revolvers, eight and up for service autos. It
takes less than a second for an expert to release the empty magazine and insert a fresh one into an

119
automatic. The wheelgunner must open the cylinder, eject cases, fit new rounds in, held in an ungainly
contraption known as a speed-loader, then close the cylinder (loading one-at-a-time from ammo spilled from
a pouch went out shortly before Jim Morrison died in a Paris bathtub). Here a revolver loses precious
seconds in a complex maneuver whose mastery eats up practice time with less return than we get from an
automatic.

RELIABILITY
It can be extremely dangerous to trust your life to an autoloading pistol as it comes out of the box. Many,
and the .45 auto tops the list, jam frequently when new and need to be broken in by firing a few hundred
rounds. Revolvers enjoy a better reputation in that regard, but lose to the big auto in other spheres.

Those who elect to use the auto should satisfy themselves that it will not jam in the crunch. Generally, if it
will shoot two hundred rounds in a row without a jam, it is considered reliable enough to carry. There is also
something to be said for learning to clear various types of jams••••

STOPPING POWER
What is it that we ask of the service pistol? In two words, stopping power. The ability of a pistol bullet to
incapacitate a determined aggressor with a single, centrally placed hit defines its stopping power. It is almost
painful to broach this topic, beaten to death as it was in the 1970s, for fear of boring the reader or stirring
controversy on a SUbject long closed by silent assent. The point still surfaces in gun magazines, like a
weighted corpse all would rather see hug the bottom. Those who read gun mags for more than a year
understand that it bats stale ai r, fi lis space on the page.

Two equally ardent schools vie for primacy. The first believe in the superior stopping power of large-caliber
bullets (.40 or greater). Their advocates use heavy-caliber weapons. Those who believe the .36 caliber
series adequate (9 mm, .38 Special, .357 Magnum, and even the meek .380 auto) carry those weapons.
Mute testament, perhaps, that some Latin American countries have outlawed civilian possession of the
.45 ....

Handguns ill ustrate the laws of physics. One law says that for every action there must be an equal and
opposite reaction. This explains the phenomenon of recoil: Guns "kick" when fired. The heavier the bullet
and the faster it travels-the product of speed and mass is known as momentum-the heavier the recoil.
This demands consideration, since the degree to which we can control a pistol depends upon the amount of
recoi I it generates. Without control, "the most powerful handgun in the world" becomes a noisy, dangerous,
useless piece of machinery.

It turns out that the power-window where recoil is manageable, yet the bullet's momentum meets its task, is
a small one. This puts power at a premium in pistolS, compared with the surplus of it the rifle disposes.

To summarize-and this paraphrases Jeff Cooper's party line, Cooper being widely regarded as the father of
modern pistolcraft-sidearms are deemed defensive units. Their purpose is to halt an aggressor with one
center torso hit. Observation from actual shootouts suggests that the standard military .45 caliber load will
do this close to 90 percent of the time. Numbers for the .38s make it to the 50-percent mark. (Newer, less
imposing data argues against such a decisive advantage for the .45 and, coincidentally, keeps the
controversy alive. It will be interesting to see if this heresy withstands the test of time.)

Despite evidence favoring the .45, which, at the moment, is the only duty-ready heavy-caliber sidearm
available, it does not enjoy universal acceptance. (Colt's new 10 mm auto shoots .40 caliber ammo. It yet
lacks a track record to define its role among sidearms.) Thirty-eight special and 9 mm weapons each rule
droves of advocates. Part of this devotion in the face of compelling evidence lies with tradition. Cops have
always carried .38s of one sort or another; tradition is reluctant to cede its center to reason. Our military
has begun a sulking surrender to the notion that we should drop the .45 in favor of the 9 mm as our standard
pistol cartridge simply because the rest of the world and our NATO allies use it.

Another factor, a rather fanciful idea, has it that use of "expanding bullets," i.e., bullets intended to deform
or upset or blow up on impact, will compensate for smaller caliber. That logic has proven faulty because

120
these bullets recovered from felons often show no upset at all, unlike their behavior when fired into inert
targets. (Gun-nuts get an orgasm of sorts from shooting hollow-point bullets into gallon milk jugs filled with
water, basking in the explosive spray that erupts. Shoot the same container with a .45 jacketed bullet and it
leaks water like tears of woe. The intuitive favor for the small-caliber hollow-point that results from this
non-demonstration is understandable, but sways only those who cannot reason from real-world events.)

If the big .45 leaves 10 percent standing, and the .38s don't faze half our foes, we have to consider the
shock del ivered by pistol bullets to be marginal at best. This led naturally to attempts to improve their
efficacy by alteration of design and materials. Those who would use pistols, and presumably purchase
ammunition for them, should grasp the fundamentals of pistol bullets.

BULLET BASICS
Stop the average citizen in the street and ask him, or her, about bullets. Typical quips include, "They're
made out of lead." "I wouldn't want to get hit with a dum-dum. II And so on. This gut-level ignorance of the
purpose, design, and function of pistol bullets led to perverted ideas and distorted notions that make for racy
viewing, lurid reading; but they mislead us, sometimes with deadly results, in choosing our own personal
arms. In truth, we understand bullets and their function straightforwardly, if incompletely and empirically.

All bullets possess three attributes: material, shape, and, once fired, velocity. Interaction among them
determines their effect on a target, live or inanimate.

TYPE AND FUNCTION OF PISTOL BULLETS

Pistol bullets suffer in comparison with rifle ammunition in that they must get by with less punch. Alterations
in shape, material, weight and speed of pistol bullets compensate partially for their marginal power. We will
ignore the true Magna, such as the fabled .44, which offer an abundance of power, since that and similar
loads defy control in the hands of all but a few master pistoleros, who choose tamer pieces for defense work
in any case.

The average handgunner can narrow his or her choices, both of weapon and breed of bullet, through basic
grasp of design and function of bullets.

WADCUTTER (WC)
As its name suggests, the wadcutter punches a circle in a target, hardly a surprise, since it is a bore-
diameter cyl inder of soft or hard-cast lead. The full circle proves important when the judges brood over
whether a given shot actually cut the X-ring. Most commercial loads are mild, since their intended use is
target-shooting, rather than people- or material-shooting. Not that the design cannot be effective for
defense, loaded to proper velocity; but we find few police or combat-oriented handgunners toting pieces
chambered with wadcutters.

The bottom of many wadcutters holds a gaping, hemispherical hollow. It is supposed to flare under pressure
and thereby seal the rear of the bullet upon firing. This prevents blow-by of propellant gasses. A few devilish
handloaders (people who load their own ammunition, discussed below) seat the bullet base-forward,
converting it into some gross, fearsome hollow-point. Shoot a plastic milk carton full of water with a
frontward wadcutter and it sneers at you with a new eye. Shoot the same jug with a backwards wadcutter
and it explodes in a spray of water and plastic that is flat impressive. Trouble is, there is no correlation
between this eternally popular pastime of splashing milk jugs and stopping felons. The full metal jacket .45
slug, for example, has proven notoriously unimpressive against milk jugs, yet an exemplary stopper in
gunfights.

Avoid the wadcutter unless you are punching holes in paper and prefer light recoil. These bullets have been
known to tumble in flight ("keyhole"), such that they strike the target sideways, with too little momentum
spread over too great a front to let them penetrate articles of clothing, such as a leather belt.

121
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SEMIWADCUTTER (SWC)
Glance at the two designs to note a family resemblance that gives rise to the name, yet only hints at the
vast difference in roles of the two shapes. The semiwadcutter is known also as the "Keith-type," after the
late and eminent Elmer Keith, whose colorful career as marksman, cowpoke, and hunter has the stuff of
legend. Keith is given credit for this basic design.

The SWC features a cylindrical base on top of which sits a truncated cone, with the specific feature of a
sharp, bore-diameter shoulder at their junction. Consider the benefits of this design compared both to the
wadcutter and to the common round-nose bullet. First, the SWC has proven extremely accurate. Properly
executed designs do not keyhole. Second, it has shown itself to be a more effective bullet than most. We
measure a hunting or defense bullet-and let us not avoid the grisly point-by its ability to wreck tissue.
Passage of a round-nose bullet through tissue at pistol-bullet velocities must cleave a path; but we could not
choose a more gentle probe than the round nose. It pushes structures aside to let itself through a path of
least resistance.

But look at the semiwadcutter. Its broad, flat tip cuts whatever tries to slip around; the sharp, bore-
diameter edge at the junction of base and cone is far more Iikely to cut whatever it grazes: arteries, nerves,
other vital structures. Some have opined that the SWC, other factors being equal, gains 25 percent
effectiveness over a round nose bullet.

SWCs are available as dead-soft lead (which is more likely to deform on impact, perhaps gaining as a result
of that, but losing its SWC shape) and also as hard-cast lead, the choice of most who shoot this design.

The SWC shown in the photo is a 185-grain full metal jacket design atypical of the breed, since it is
intended to feed in automatic pistols. The diagram shows the most common SWC shape. The slug in the photo
lacks the mean cutting shoulder of designs found on bullets used in revolvers. This one is fit to the .45
automatic. Sacrifices had to be made to faci Iitate feeding. When found in commercially loaded cartridges, its
velocity is usually mild, since many consider it to be a light target load. In guns modified to feed it reliably,
and loaded such that its momentum matches that of the standard round, it can be effective. (The standard
.45 load we have referred to, the one with such a splendid record in defense situations, is known as military
ball-type ammo, or "hardball." It is a 230-grain round-nose, full metal jacketed bullet traveling about 830
feet per second. For the 185 grain bullet to match hardball's momentum, we must load it to a velocity of
1030 fps, though experienced hand loaders [the reader is warned not to attempt this] push the round up to far
higher speeds, at their risk •••• )

Given a choice between a "hollow point" and a hard-cast SWC, take the SWC if anything important rests on
the shot.

JACKETED HOLLOW-POINT (JHP)

Prior to 1960, mere mention of dum-dum bullets sent cold chi lis shuddering through a simple-hearted
populace. Tale was told that drilling a hole in the tip of a lead bullet, or carving an "X" on it, guaranteed
that, when it struck its pathetic victim, it would mushroom into a horrible glob of death, ripping a wound
that killed all hope of survival. Gangland types were reputed to give their ammo this type of treatment before
a rub-out. (They were whispered, also, to smear the noses of copper-jacket bullets with garlic, since this
would induce gangrene.)

Even Mad magazine swallowed this malarkey. In a hysterical parody of gun-ownership it ran in the early
sixties - a better time, and one of Mad's cuter pieces, by the way-it promoted the sale of an X-ray
machine to let kill-crazed hunters watch their dum-dums expand inside the game. We had a fine chuckle at
that. Gun-nuts would have less of an attitude if they could laugh more at themselves.

But back to the point. The dum-dum concept served as forerunner of the modern JHP, or jacketed hollow
point, now offered in an array of catchy designs. The prototype shares a core of soft lead wrapped in a
copper jacket, with a tip that mayor may not expose some of the lead, and which holds a hollow cavity
whose placement and design are specifically made to cause the bullet to upset (mushroom; blow up) on
impact with semi -soft material.

123
But what does that, in turn, accomplish? The larger the diameter of a projectile traversing flesh, the greater
damage it leaves. But the diameters of bullets we would prefer to shoot-say, three quarters of an inch-
are not practically attained in hand-held firearms. Many refuse to carry even the .45, whose bullets need no
further expansion. The JHP is supposed to let us shoot skinny bullets that act like a fat ones once they strike
home.

And tests of these deadly missiles with inert, supposedly flesh-like material would lead us to expect the best
(or worst) of them. A .45 caliber 185 grain Sierra JHP whizzing along at 1200 feet per second (fps) hitting
duxseal, or a string of gallon milk jugs filled with water, or soft sand, produces a beautifully pancaked slug, a
shape reminiscent of the first 300 milliseconds of a nuclear groundburst-and does it quite consistently. (The
same can be said of most other brands and designs. We use Sierra here out of personal experience.) The
withering thought of this explosion taking place inside one's flesh is enough to make it feel as if it were
already jelly.

But JHPs have had problems, chief among them an uneasy reluctance to expand, even change shape at all,
when fired into felons. Some bullets collapse, actually shrinking their frontal diameter. Autopsies are a
routine part of processing felons terminated in the course of gun battles with cops. They tell us what
happened to the bullets. Evidently, flesh and bone lack something found in inanimate media.

Some of the projectiles fragment, as soft lead bullets are wont to do. Flesh is not a homogeneous medium,
and that may explain it in part.

Consider velocity. This seems critical to proper performance of the JHP. The likelihood that the JHP will
live up to its hype grows in proportion to its velocity at the target. Bullet makers and gun writers test these
products under conditions most conducive to expansion: We do not shoot milk jugs at 80 yards with JHP
pistol bullets. We shoot them at close range, before they shed velocity. Expansion, after all, is the name of
the game. There would be no photos, no ad, no article, without it.

Test-bullets get fired from long-barreled guns to maximize their speed. But in the real world, police often
shoot these bullets from snubby revolvers with two-inch barrels-bullets that had been tested in guns with
eight-inch barrels. (The longer the barrel, the higher the velocity, especially with pistol ammunition. When
fired from l8-inch rifle barrels, otherwise marginal bullets move up into the magnificent class. Shot from a
rifle, they actually do what we expect of them fired from the pistol. Perhaps Wyatt Earp's Buntline Special
would have proved a proper match for the JHP had they been contemporaries.)

Cartridge designers have not been blind to this need for speed to get the product to perform; but the only
practical means of pushing a bullet faster out of a given sidearm is to lighten it. (Load a heavy bullet to
higher velocities and its recoil renders the weapon uncontrollable, useless in hitting the target. And these
hotter loads mean higher chamber pressures. At some point, the gun will explode. For these and other
reasons, bullet makers have gone to lighter bullets to reach needed higher speeds.)

But with a light, high-speed bullet fit with a soft, hollow tip, we run into the same penetration difficulty that
plagues heavy wadcutters moving at low speed: The light JHP can pancake on a wallet or belt and fail to
penetrate.

The diagram illustrates a generic JHP design; the photo shows two examples, one a .45, the other a 100-
grain .355 caliber designed for the .380 auto. The .45 bullet weighs 200 grains; but we have already noted
that likelihood of expansion depends largely on velocity. Twelve hundred fps is a comfortable minimum when
talking JHPs. The 200 grain JHP will match hardball recoil at 954 fps, hardly enough to promote confidence
in its expansion. Moving up in speed to 1200 fps would take recoil out of the controllable range for many
shooters. Fortunately, the round is quite acceptable at 954 fps because it is big-bore: it leaves the barrel
already "expanded."

JHPs offer a theoretical advantage that their properties reduce the chances of passing through a felon and
injuring bystanders. (The lawsuit would name the officer, his Department, the gun-maker, and most of all the
bullet- and cartridge-maker, along with every known insured party within a twelve block radius of the
shooting .... )

124
ROUND NOSE LEAD; ROUND NOSE FULL METAL JACKET (RNL; RN FMJ)
Round nose bullets probably appeared shortly after the musket ball. The evolution was natural: The shape
retained the frontal curvature of the original, but added a cylinder to the tail, which gave it greater
sectional density and stability. This made it carry further and penetrate deeper, and improved accuracy.
There are too many documented instances of pinpoint-accuracy at thousand-yard ranges, with simple round
nose bullets fired from the Sharps carbine back in the buffalo-slaughter days of the old west, to deny the
accuracy of which this plain design is capable.

The form comes in dead-soft lead, hard-cast lead, and lead fully covered with a metal jacket, usually copper
or copper alloy. Aside from general popularity-this shape appears in the lay mind's eye at mention of the
word "bullet"-the breed finds greatest application in automatics. The rounded nose slides easily up the feed
ramp, making for fewer jams. Now, even SWCs wi II feed rei iably in carefully modified autos. But it is wise to
regard the automatic as a finicky eater. It was designed to feed round-nose, full metal jacket bullets. That
design remains the odds-on choice for reliability.

The photograph shows two 230 grain .45 RN FMJs; but note subtle differences in shaping. The leftmost two
bullets are different brands, one slightly less pointed than the other. Both are 230 grain RN FMJs.
(Incidentally, a 230-grain pistol bullet is considered heavy. The .357 Magnum commonly handles 158 grains
as its heaviest load.)

As to effectiveness, the RN FMJ is considered least efficient. Where other shapes offer several means to
disrupt tissue by their passage, the round-nose slug, particularly jacketed designs and hard-cast lead, present
the least. One authority feels that we should deduct 10 percent from a bullet's expected performance if
burdened by this shape, with the exception of dead soft lead, which will probably deform or fragment on
impact.

FLAT -POINT FULL METAL JACKET (FP FMJ)

This design has done well in the 1980s. It offers theoretically better performance (i.e., carnage) over the
RN FMJ by virtue of its flat tip, yet has shown itself to feed reliably in automatics. And those who have
owned automatics will testify that feeding can be iffy, particularly in new, unmodified weapons. Third, the
bullet has shown itself accurate. Author's choice for the .45 auto.

HYBRIDS
What if we took a base of dead-soft lead, wrapped it in a copper jacket, then mounted a truncated lead cone
atop it, giving us the bore-diameter cutting shoulder of the SWC-and then threw in a hollow tip just for
good measure and a bit of spite? That would designate the SWC/SJHP (semiwadcutter/semijacketed hollow
point).

This isn't so much of a Rube Goldberg design as it seems. It offers, or tries to, the most desirable features of
all bullets-and it has succeeded. Some highly qualified people have investigated the performance of this
design in gunfights, and have come up with figures supporting its efficacy.

SPECIAL-PURPOSE AMMUNITION

GLASER SAFETY SLUG

Take a thin, hollow copper jacket, round-nose shape, closed on the bottom and open at the tip. Fill it with
as much tiny lead shot (# 12 or so) as it will hold, along with a buffer to keep the shot suspended, then close
the tip with a plastic sphere. On impact, the jacket peals away, leaving loose lead shot to do its grisly work.

The notion of " safety " in this slug comes from the fact that A) it is unlikely to exit anyone it strikes, and B)
it is unlikely to ricochet as an intact mass, preferring rather to fragment into semi-harmless micropellets.

How does it stack up in stopping power compared with ammo that stays in one piece? Ads tout it as 3.5
times as effective as hollow-point bullets of equal caliber. Frankly, it has racked up too little gunfight data to
judge it at this point. It has drawn "Ooohs" and "Aaahs" from some sectors, but the combat mainstream has

125
not jumped on the wagon. In theory, there is something to say for the design, available in both pistol and
major rifle calibers. Cost runs several dollars a round. It's on the shelf at your local gunshop, or you may
order it from Phoenix Systems (Box 3339, Evergreen, CO, 80439; 303-674-2653).

PRE-FRAGMENTED BULLETS
Remember the Duncan Top craze of the early 1960s? One model split into two separate spinning tops upon
release. The two mated snugly in a way similar to certain pistol ammunition that splits into two to four
separate slugs once it leaves the barrel. Some have dubbed it, like the Glaser, a " safety " slug, since its
chances of coming out the other side of a felon are just about nil. An interesting if unproven concept.

ARMOR-PIERCING PISTOL BULLETS

An army needs to punch through inches, sometimes foot-thicknesses, of alloy plate specifically designed to
resist attack. This notion is second nature to the military. Fortifications and armored vehicles instantly call
up the need to defeat their protection.

Armed forces can tap a vast set of projecti les and explosive weapons to penetrate armor. At the infantry
level, armor-piercing ammunition is nothing more than the standard rifle round that substitutes a steel core
for the lead one. It will penetrate light armor, as in the metal flanks of jeeps and such.

But when talking serious armor, as found on tanks, with a foot or more of solid or composite armor to tackle,
a host of devious weapons are at the infantryman's disposal.

Probably the best known is the shaped charge. Refer to the diagram of a generic antitank rocket. Note the
warhead. The charge consists of acyl inder of plastic explosive, flat on its rear, where detonation triggers.
The forward end is hollowed into a cone lined with copper about 3 mm thick. The cavity subtends an angle of
42 to 44 degrees. Further, note the distance between the charge and the projectile's tip, necessary to
achieve " stand-off, II a space that attains optimum penetration.

When the projecti Ie strikes its target, it initiates detonation at the base of the charge. The shock wave
moves forward in a millisecond or so, where something known as the Munroe effect focuses the energy of the
blast to a point. The copper forms a jet moving at incredible speed, under incalculable pressure. Some refer
to it as a high-density vapor, while one authoritative-sounding source indicated that the copper does not
melt in this process. In any case, the warhead carries enough punch to breach armor plate five times the
diameter of the charge. For a 3" warhead, that's well over a foot thickness of armor.

The charge must detonate about 1.5 times its own diameter off the armor for maximum effect, and this
explains the stand-off space at the front of the projecti Ie. Indeed, recent designs sport a long snout
protruding from the tip of the charge, which serves to initiate detonation so as to maintain optimum stand-
off.

For decades, the power of a big enough shaped-charge warhead to defeat tank armor remained unquestioned.
Heavier warheads countered thicker armor. The Chobham composite armor used on our latest M1 main battle
tank contains layers of ceramic sandwiched between metal and plastic, its exact makeup and configuration
still classified, but since the design originated with the British, whose intelligence system has more moles
than your garden, the Soviets are assumed to be well up on its particulars, and to have incorporated it into
their own tanks.

On impact, the ceramic fragments, distributing force over such a wide area that penetration fails. Our best
armor is said to be able to survive several hits from various types of armor piercing rounds without
compromising the tank.

The latest on our passive armor tells of a composite of steel and spent uranium that achieves twice the
density of steel, yet retains its toughness. One source maintained that it would take the Reds " a decade II to
develop weapons that would defeat this armor. Uh-huh. (And there is some irony to using spent uranium in
armor, since it has long found a use in armor-piercing bullets, discussed below.)

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There are other ways to " get" a tank. One requires no penetration of the thickly armored hull, but wreaks
havoc inside. The weapon is a cylinder of soft plastic explosive arranged such that the front half of it flattens
into a pancake on impact. Known as the squash head, this mushroom shape detonates to render a shock to
the hull like a blow from God's own hammer. This throws off material lining the inside of the turret with
devastating force, a phenomenon known as spall ing.

Finally, we have pure kinetic energy weapons-devices that punch through on momentum alone. Students of
armor-piercing have found that power of a missile to penetrate correlates with its velocity, hardness,
absolute density and sectional density. That means a hard, high-velocity projectile that concentrates its
momentum on a point. Successful designs look like mean, slim, ten-pound tungsten darts, which is what they
happen to be. Tanks fire them at muzzle velocities in excess of 5000 fps. The projectile, which measures
only a fraction of the diameter of the tank's main gun, traverses the barrel held centered by plastic material,
known as a sabot, that sheds once the projectile exits the barrel. The idea is to get this comparatively
lightweight piece of ordnance moving at extremely high speed. The concept has found application all the way
down to .22 caliber weapons that fire saboted projectiles the diameter of BBs (.177 caliber).

There are defenses, at least against the shaped charge. In addition to composite armor, one late development
(1982 to 1985, depending upon which source you believe) is known as active armor. It consists of flat slabs
of high explosive sandwiched between metal plates, mounted on standoffs from the main armor and
surrounding the most vulnerable yet toughly protected part of the tank. When struck by a shaped charge
warhead, it triggers detonation of the plastic slab. The outward force of its detonation counters the incoming
jet of copper to prevent penetration. (Predictably, counter-weapons placed a miniature shaped charge on a
stalk several warhead-diameters in front of the main anti-tank round. It triggers the active armor
prematurely, paving the way for the big jet.) There is talk of of even more aggressive armor: It senses the
incoming projectile and explodes like a mine, spraying shrapnel to deflect or disable the warhead.

This lewd digression into military armor and its solutions will serve as points of comparison as we confront the
similar if small-scale problems of personal body armor and its devils, and also lays a base from which to
discuss armor-piercing pistol bullets. The need to defeat armor arises with less clarity in the civi Iian sector,
even among law-enforcement, though that grim scene has changed with the ugly spread of terrorism.

Until 1968, the answer to reaching felons barricaded or protected by armor of sorts-automobile bodies or
other thin metal-was to move up to rifles. Standard military FMJ bullets penetrated easily. Either that, or
lob in a canister of gas.

But in '68 a company which called itself KTW, an acronym based on the company principals' names, began
to market handgun ammunition possessed of genuinely startling ability to penetrate. No longer was there a
wait for the squad to bring up its riflemen. The officer at the scene could spill a few KTW rounds out of his
ammo pouch and have his bullets penetrate car-bodies-several thicknesses of metal sheet-with enough
punch left to dispatch the felon. There was even talk of stopping getaway cars by shooting the engine block
with these unique rounds.

KTW ammunition remained an obscure if dramatically effective piece of merchandise, a very special product
with extremely limited application. In recognition of hazards the ammo would pose in casual hands, the
company refused to sell to any but police, military, or State Department agencies, or to foreign governments
approved by Uncle. In fact, sources report the bulk of the company's product earmarked for overseas
shipment.

KTW ammunition evolved. Early on, the bullets were made of tungsten alloy of a type in military use for some
time. But tungsten is both expensive and difficult to work. Producing uniform projecti les, a must for
accuracy, could be simplified if a cheaper, easily worked metal were used; but that would rob the bullet of
its terrible penetrating power.

The sixties happened to be the era of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), discovered, incredibly, thirty years
prior, about the same time as Nylon, and sold by DuPont under the trade name "Teflon," which became as
much a household word as "Alpo" or "Maidenform." PTFE gained renown for its non-stick qualities and its
ability to cut friction between sliding surfaces. One source states that PTFE holds a place in The Guinness

127
Book of World Records as the slipperiest man-made substance. PTFE might have found earlier commercial
application had it not proved vital to one phase of the Manhattan Project, a quirk that kept it under wraps.

What, asked the inventors of KTW, would happen to a hard, solid bullet coated with PTFE? Would its
penetration power change?

A determined series of experiments produced the answer. It would multiply the piercing power of the bullet
enough to let the company discard expensive tungsten in favor of a more workable alloy coated with PTFE-
and there it rested, quietly and efficiently filling needs, often covert and involving terrorists, met by no other
product. And there it would have remained, were it not for the slaver of our own savage media and its
insatiable lust for cheap thrills.

KTW AND THE "KILLER BULLET" FIASCO

The years follOWing debut of KTW saw in addition the arrival of another miracle from the DuPont
laboratories. Its trade name: "Kevlar." This aramid fiber proved incredibly strong for its weight. What's
more, it could be woven into fabric as easily as orion or rayon.

Kevlar possessed a property besides tensile strength. When ruptured, it split on a microscopic level into many
smaller fibers, thus distributing the force over a great surface area (compare this with the behavior of
ceramic composite tank armor). This endowed it with amazing resistance to penetration, and gave birth to
the first generation of genuinely effective body armor: truly bulletproof vests.

Flak jackets made of so-called ballistic nylon had existed prior to this time, as had a ceramic armor used to
shield helicopter pilots in Vietnam. But in Kevlar we had a product that let us fabricate a "vest"-front and
back panels-weighing about 2.5 pounds, capable of stopping a 12 ga shotgun slug and most common pistol
ammunition at point blank range.

Availability came first to those at greatest risk: law-enforcement and security personnel. It filtered quickly
down to righteous citizens, then further down to the sinister underworld of criminal types and terrorists.

The question which had not pressed itself up to that point was, Would any pistol bullets defeat the
unreinforced Kevlar vest? When trials got around to testing KTW, the answer was yes, and rather handily.
This proved the proverbial double-edge sword. KTW put in the hands of police and proper authority the
ability to dispatch armored gunsels. But tacit in this ability was the notion that, should gunsels get their
hands on KTW, nobody was safe, even behind Kevlar.

This prompted some few but vocal members of the law enforcement community to call for a ban on KTWand
other bullets capable of penetrating their soft body armor. If the debate had taken place behind closed doors,
as well it should have, no problem might have arisen. Instead, the television media decided to deal with the
issue on its own inimitable terms.

America's vile customs dictate that the way to get one's way is either to buy it or have the media promote
it as good for the common weal. In 1982, a major television network aired a piece that showed just how
effective KTW ammunition could be against soft body armor. The demo placed three vests in a stack, and set
the bundle against a backstop. A henchman fired one KTW round at the armor. It whizzed through all armor
panels, coming to rest finally in a thick backstop. Impressive performance, to say the least. But what lacked
class, in the opinion of some, was the way the show handled it. It went along with those who had dubbed
KTW "killer" or "cop-killer" bullets because they could defeat the armor worn by many police. While this
made for lively viewing, some called it irresponsible.

A reporter involved in bringing us this fated story did not try to hide his glee as he announced that DuPont
would, reportedly, refuse further sales of Teflon to make "killer bullets." Literature published some years
after the TV event showed that PTFE-coated bullets were still available. The publisher wrote DuPont's
public relations department to ask for a statement of policy in this regard. We have printed a photocopy of
their courteous and informative reply.

Tacit in the notion of the "cop-killer" bullet has to be the knowledge that police wear body armor. Since

128
KTW had gone to some trouble to keep its product out of the wrong hands, most criminals would have a hard
time procuring it. The solution is obvious to any sixth-grader contemplating a shootout with the law: Shoot
for the head or, just as bad, south of the border.

Some have charged that several deaths, both of peace officers and diplomats shot in the head in the wake of
the program, traced to their assassins' having been wise to the fact that the targets were probably wearing
soft body armor-and the assassins did not use KTW bullets.

The TV program maintained that its subject was armor-piercing bullets, not body armor. But no one can deny
that the program effectively educated thousands, perhaps millions, of potential criminals as to how to handle
a shootout with the cops without armor-piercing ammunition.

That observation calls up such grim irony because, in the wake of the broadcast, AP pistol bullets have been
restricted or banned at the state level in many areas. According to ATF P 5300.5 (12-86) State Laws and
Published Ordinances - Firearms, 17th Edition, the following states have nixed armor-piercing, metal-
piercing, plastic-coated, or PTFE-coated pistol bullets: AL, CA, DC, FL, IL, IN, lA, KS, LA, ME, MN,
MO, NV, NH, NJ, NY, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, and VA. Wording of some laws infers an element of
raw hysteria. For example, one law bans KTW bullets by name, despite the fact that at least one other firm
produces PTFE-coated bullets, and another makes non-coated armor-piercing bullets. Presumably, one could
buy identical bullets by any other name and stay within the folly of that law. Other states ban only PTFE-
coated bullets, or specify the composition of pistol bullets as to percentage of lead and so forth. Many states
exempt police and the military from these bans.

BATF's publication offers a wealth of additional information concerning weaponry laws, neatly summarized,
though necessarily not up to date. Some states have banned electrical weapons, firearm sound suppressors, or
destructive devices, such as the reactivated hand grenade discussed below, including the components needed
to construct them. There seems to be little doubt that millions of Americans break these laws every year,
perhaps every month, simply because they don't know what's on the books. Indiana, for instance, prohibits
civilian use of bullet-resistant materials to harden private vehicles. This booklet is available at nominal cost
(BATF sent our copy gratis, since they believed our query had invoked the Freedom of Information Act) and
should be considered a starting point in screening sites for engaging legally in some activities discussed
herein. What you cannot do legally, do not do ••••

Before so many states outlawed PTFE-coated bullets, how many cops died after being shot with KTW bullets
that defeated their body armor, as compared to the number killed by felons hip to the fact that the cop was
armored, and shot for the head? The media has yet to force the answers on a dumb populace the way it
shoved the idea of "killer bullets" down their throats. In fact, the author's research has failed to uncover a
single instance of a police officer shot through his body armor by a felon using KTW ammunition. Readers
with proof to the contrary, please write the publisher.

So laws have been passed banning a product which, from the outset, its makers kept out of the wrong hands.

The possibilities inherent in armor-piercing bullets have not been lost on terrorists. The Eastern Bloc has
responded by producing a round with simi lar abi Iity to defeat body armor, and it has seen use in terrorist
attacks. Some terrorists have eschewed the suicide credo, and for that reason wear body armor themselves.
Depriving our own operatives of KTW would make splendid sense in that context ••••

FRENCH ARMOR-PIERCING
KTW is hardly the last word in ways to defeat body armor. Unreinforced Kevlar doesn't stand a chance
against common military ordnance such as the 5.56 mm or 7.62 mm FMJ bullets, the smaller caliber now
standard of our army's own M16-A1 and the latest NATO family of assault rifles. These projectiles have
sharp points by pistol-bullet standards, and carry far greater velocity. They whiz through soft body armor.
That observation and the presumption that velocity is a key factor in penetration led one group to design a
pistol slug that would defeat a Kevlar vest at short range, and yet not present nearly so much danger as a
stray KTW round or rifle round at longer ranges.

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The design is a solid metal with a semi-pointed tip, weighing only a fraction of the 158 grains or so for the
typical .357 magnum round. The slug reaches velocities in the vicinity of 2000 fps from a handgun barrel.
At that speed, it burns through the front thickness of armor.

But lightweight projectiles shed their speed quickly. This design clearly presents less of a threat than
ordinary rounds at longer ranges.

The round, like others specifically designed to defeat armor, is highly specialized, with restricted access.

SPENT-URANIUM HANDGUN AMMO?

We have found uses for uranium which has sacrificed its radioactivity on the alter of nuclear power. Known as
spent or depleted uranium, it loses none of its incredible density, greater than lead, and adds the property of
pyrophoria. This refers to the fact that, like plutonium, it will burst into flame on exposure to air. The heat
released lends spark to its penetration power.

This material found a home in saboted 30 mm and 20 mm cannon rounds used as antitank/antimissile
weapons. The 30 mm projectile, traveling at several thousand feet per second, could defeat all known tank
armor, at least until recently. (And when it makes it to the boiler room, it sprays burning, highly toxic
molten metal around the interior with explosive and incendiary effect. Amazing how insecure one can feel
behind a foot-thickness of armor •••• ) An otherwise identical projectile of lead would splatter on the armor
like high-velocity Haagen-Dazs.

The Phalanx antimissile defense system fires 20 mm rounds. This same fearsome setup was not activated in
the USS Stark tragedy in the Persian Gulf. The weapon tracks sea-skimming missiles inbound to ships and
sprays its 20 mm spent uranium bullets at an incredibly fast rate. A single strike from such a round could
destroy the missi Ie, render it inexplosive through damage to the detonator, or splash it in the ocean.

This makes for compelling speculation as to what kind of performance we might expect from a .45 or .357
Magnum bullet made of spent uranium. Sadly, speculate is all we can do. The determined experimenter may
get his hands on tungsten or less exotic alloys nearly as hard, but will not come by spent uranium or the
inert-atmosphere chamber necessary to keep it from igniting out of spite.

EXPLOSIVE BULLETS
Ads appeared in Soldier of Fortune in 1978 for Velet exploding bullets. Those ads have faded, and so,
presumably, has the product. Some states have banned explosive bullets along with AP rounds. The diagram
follows one that appeared in a Velet ad.

Its purpose is obscure, since the whole rationale of exploding projectiles is to deliver the explosive to the
target and let the explosion, more than the kinetic energy of the projectile, do the damage; or, with anti-
aircraft rounds, let the explosive blast the projectile into shards of flak, to be sucked into a jet intake and
devastate the turbine. We do not reach the point at which the power of the explosive exceeds that of the the
bullet's kinetic energy until projectile diameter passes an inch.

The design is reminiscent of exploding pellets 13-year-olds used to make back in '65. Scrape the coating off
match-heads-the strike-anywhere variety gave best results-and pack it into a pellet for a Benjamin pellet
rifle (or any brand that will fire hollow-based pellets). Load the pellet open-end forward and fire at a hard
surface, such as brick. It lets go with a satisfying report, like a loud cap pistol. The thrill wears off after
about three shots. Hard to believe that deranged experimenter would go on to get his bachelor's degree with
honors. Our world has shown little use for star students but will pay to read about mindless trivia, such as
exploding pellets••••

RUSSIAN AFGHANISTAN-TYPE
Now, what manner of bullet might we expect the Soviet Army, the same force fond of leaving explosive dolls
and other crippling toys around to maim Afghan children, to shoot from its rifles? Strictly Geneva Convention
ammo, right?

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Soldier of Fortune reported on rounds it obtained on a field trip to Afghanistan. One examined by X-ray
showed what appeared to be FMJ-standard military ball type ammo-but the tip was hollow without an
exposed hole. According to reports, the round produces wounds which are difficult to treat and heal poorly.
For lack of a better name, why not call them "Detente" rounds, since they see so little mainstream
press•••• ?

STRANGE BULLETS: JAWS II

Credit the cinematographer for Jaws II. He shot a splendid close-up sequence in which beleaguered
peacekeeper Roy Scheider drips a deadly blue solution of "cyanide" into the hollow points of his pistol
bullets, then seals the tips with melted wax, grimly awaiting the next attack of a mechanical-looking shark.

Do poison bullets exist in life? They have, though not on a wide scale. We have darts which inject
immobilizing drugs into animals, and one supposes that a fatal potion could be substituted easily. But as for
use in firearms, on a one-off basis only.

JACKAL- TYPE
-so-named for lack of a better designation, since the design seems to have seen life only in the pages of
Frederick Forsythe's first-rate thriller, The Day Of The Jackal. He had his assassin use special "explosive"
bullets in the attempt to dust DeGaulle. His clandestine armorer cut the tips off a brace of rifle bullets,
drilled holes down the center of their lead cores, put a drop of mercury in each hole, then re-sealed the tips
with molten lead, restoring their pointed shape. The added destruction was fancied to arise from some
demented no-seat-belt mechanism: When the bullet struck, the body of the bullet would slow, whi Ie the
extremely dense mercury (13.6 times as dense as water) would keep going, splatter out the end of the bullet
and do untold ruination.

If it served some purpose, all the fuss might be worth it. But the fact is, it's tough to improve on the
destructive performance of readily available projectiles. Worse, to keep accuracy from falling off into the
unusable range, the hole would have to be drilled exactly on center, a tough feat, as those who have tried
will attest. (And what of the mercury as the projectile spun in flight? Would it be thrown outward onto the
walls of the hole, altering center of gravity constantly?)

Applaud Forsythe for a superb imagination on this one, but do not bother to worry about foes using this round
on you, or of ways to make your own. As a bullet it's a belly-flop.

HANDLOADING
There is much to say for factory-loaded ammo. American-made product almost invariably rates high quality,
passes numerous inspections, has proven rei iable, and, due to sealants appl ied to bullet and primer, lives
longer on the shelf than handloaded ammo. And in most cases it is reloadable, i.e., we save the spent case
and a great deal of money.

Its cost can be reasonable, particularly for those willing to go in for a thousand rounds at a time, or those
willing to settle for aluminum-case ammo, specifically designed not to be reloaded but to be inexpensive
(about $.26 a round for .45 ACP).

On the other hand, the occasional shooter will find factory ammo extremely expensive: up to fifty cents a
round for large pistol ammo. Now, it is possible to reload cartridges spent cases, sometimes more than
twenty times, before the case gives out. Reloading requires removal of the primer and replacement with a
new one. Cost: roughly one cent per round. Second, the powder charge must be replenished, again, at a cost
near a penny a round, though this varies widely among propellants. Third, a new bullet must be seated in the
case. New, factory-made, FMJ or HP bullets go for 6 to 8 cents a round in quantities of 500; less in larger
quantities, more for boxes of a hundred. A cheap alternative involves use of cast lead bullets. An artificer
can make these for less than a penny apiece, exclusive of cost of machinery needed to melt scrap lead and
cast it.

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It boils down to about $.25 a round for the least expensive factory ammo, versus less than ten cents a round
for hand loaded ammo.

In addition, handloading offers incredible flexibility. The loader may choose reduced powder charges for light
loads pleasant to shoot and easy on the gun; or may push his luck by gradually upping the charge until signs
of excessive pressure appear, or the gun explodes. Not recommended.

We mention handloading primarily as it relates to cost, since the one factor essential to maintenance of
proficiency with the pistol is practice, and we have seen over and again that the urge to practice rises as
the cost of practice falls. Only handloading offers such a huge price break over factory ammunition.

The handloader will have to layout about $150 initially for a basic setup: reloading press, a set of dies (one
for each caliber), a scale with which to weigh powder charges accurately; and, most important, a good
reloading manual, to be memorized before ever attempting a reload.

Pistol cartridges are extremely easy to reload; rifle cartridges a hassle. Best start with pistol ammunition and
work outward into this fascinating hobby. Those who find it necessary to fabricate truly effective armor-
piercing rounds discussed below must master the basics of handloading before attempting that grim feat.

Recent relaxation of the firearms laws made it possible to purchase bullets and cases by mail. No records of
your name, address, and so forth, if you use an alias and have the merch shipped to a secure drop. Powders,
primers must be purchased at your local gunshop, but, again, there is usually no longer a need to flash your
driver's license and fill out a form (though some states and municipalities have been more tight-assed about
this). The last time the author purchased pistol ammunition, he walked in, pointed out what he wanted, had
it rung up to "cash," and walked out of the shop, a total stranger, the way it should be••••

* * *

FABRICATE GENUINELY EFFECTIVE ARMOR-PIERCING PISTOL BULLETS

The author sleeps more correctly knowing that laws in his current state of residence restrict KTW -type
ammunition. In theory, the wrong crowd can't get their feverish hands on it.

Having said that, let's take a serious look at fabrication of armor-piercing pistol ammunition by the non-
professional sporting a legitimate need for it.

Ugly scenes around us hint at such a proper need. Urban and suburban residents today face constant peri I
from drug dealers in previously crime-free neighborhoods. Crack houses have sprung up in what were once
model suburbs. It takes no frisk to tell that these hoods are wearing standard body armor. Either take them
with head shots, something best left to skilled shooters, or defeat their armor, taking advantage of the false
sense of security it offers, and giving the advantage of surprise.

Do not spray a PTFE-containing lubricant on the tips of common FMJ RN bullets and expect them to
penetrate armor. Much of this sad lack of zap has to do with the fact that the bullet itself is too soft, and
the spray coating is mostly oil that doesn't stick. (In fact, if the lubricant wets the chamber of the gun, it
could lead to an extremely dangerous malfunction.) So, as a first step, fabricate bullets as close to KTW in
shape, weight, and material as possible.

Principles of piercing armor, both formal and intuitive, provide for the following:

Fi rst, the bullet must be hard relative to the target. We cannot expect lead bullets to defeat steel; they
splatter like rotten fruit when they impact a hard surface. (Recent experiments with magnetically propelled
projectiles showed that this hardness factor fades as velocities reach several miles per second.)

Second, the faster the bullet travels, the better. When talking pistol bullets of reasonable weight, a practical
range spans 1000 to 1500 fps.
132
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C")

TOP LEFT: From L to R: 230 gr RN FMJ; another of the same type, different maker; 230 gr FP FMJ;
200 gr JHP; 185 gr SWC; 100 gr JHP. All .45 except far right, .355 for .380 auto.
TOP RIGHT: From L to R: Handloaded 230 FP FMJ; commercial 230 RN FMJ; handloaded 230 gr RN
hard-cast lead; handloaded 170 gr steel armor-piercing; finally, same type of bullet that has
been ... "coated" ...with a certain substance. That round no longer exists....
BOTTOM LEFT: Raw steel bullets, fresh from the machine shop, caught in a pose of quiet deadly menace.
BOTTOM RIGHT: Left bullet has been acid-etched w/ferric chloride, producing just the right finish for
PTFE coating. Adjacent bullet identical but for etching.
Third, a sharp point helps, up to a•••er •••point. It need not be needle-like, or commercial products would
have points. Instead, they sport elongated cones more sharply angulated than those tipping SWCs. We will
use that shape, arbitrarily selecting a tip one-third the diameter of the body of the bullet.

Finally, there must be something to this business of coating the bullet with PTFE, or KTW would not have
done it. As we shall see momentarily, the process is complex and demands great attention to detail to turn
out consistent product. It may be overkill for civilian needs.

The goal does not embrace piercing the toughest armor possible. A practical endpoint is the ability to
penetrate reliably at least one and preferably two thicknesses of "level II" soft body armor. We assume that
the felon's body will offer enough resistance after the first pad has been pierced to let the rear pad stop the
projectile. We wish to avoid overpenetration. Too effective a unit could prohibit its use. If one's armed and
armored assailant were standing in front of, say, a day-care center, and we had ammunition equal to KTW in
efficacy, the round would probably penetrate armor and felon, then continue into the center, through most
types of walls except brick, injuring or killing innocents. That must be avoided at all costs, even our own
safety.

In 1982, before PTFE-coated bullets were nixed where the author lived, he split the project into two steps:
Fabricate armor-piercing bullets, but don't coat them, at least until he tested uncoated rounds against soft
body armor. Only if the coating proved essential would he proceed to that grim, costly, complex process and
coat an entire batch of bullets.

As bullet material we used what is known in the machine trade as drill rod, a hard, tough, tool steel that
comes in a variety of uniform diameters, in lengths commonly 12 and 36 inches. It is cheap; tough, yet easily
worked with carbide-tipped tools. Machine shops often stock it in several sizes.

Scanning a table of drill rod sizes, we chose the diameter closest to, but skinnier than, the bore of our
weapon. We experimented with the venerable .45 auto, whose bullets measure to a true .45 caliber. The
range typical of commercially sold FMJ bullets is .450 to .452 inches.

We wanted the fattest stock we could use, but still leave room to put a soft driving band on it. Drill rod is
as hard as, if not harder than, the barrel of the gun. To fabricate and load bullets as if they were as soft as
copper jacket or lead invites disaster. The breech might explode, since the hard bullet wi II not deform to
traverse the lands and grooves. Here 7/16" drill rod was just about perfect at .4375". This meant we did
not have to turn the stock to a smaller diameter, and we had plenty of room for the copper jacket which fit
the base only, ieaving the steel tip exposed. Photos of the resultant bullets date from 1982.

Here digress a moment to learn about bullet swaging (pronounced SWAY-jing). The process is a proper hobby
only of advanced handloaders. It forms bullets by combining lead cores with copper or alloy jackets in
unformed states and passing them repetitively through a press that squeezes their diameter and molds their
shape into what can be a highly professional bullet. In this case, we sought only to swage a copper cup onto
the base and lower half of a steel core. This copper, rather than the steel, would behave properly when it
met lands and grooves in the barrel.

It would be dandy if the cup we sought came out of the box in the exact dimensions for our needs. No such
luck. We had to trim the length of the cup, or do with a slightly shorter cup than we would prefer. We want
the cup to end at the notch on the bullet (see photos & diagrams).

Assume we have cup stock of suitable length and thickness. Insert the steel core into the cup, then pass it
through the press with a die that just begins squeezing it against the core. Copper is malleable and ductile,
but do not expect to swage it down to .450" in one pass. The press may not take it, or the die may crack.
Use progressively smaller dies.

Note that this bullet is too long; that is to say, it protrudes so far from the mouth of the case that it would
not load in the magazine nor would it feed. In this experimental work we loaded each round individually.
Since the tip of the bullet does not contact the bore, its length was of no concern.

135
We could, conceivably, have seated the bullet deeply enough to let it fit the magazine, but that would cramp
the powder charge, something that might lead to dangerous pressure within the cartridge.

Our finished bullets weighed an average of 170 grains, with jacket. Extrapolating from data available for 185
grain bullets, we found velocities in the 1200-1400 fps range practical; but matching type and weight of
powder to bullet and gun through trial and error, a process known as "working up a load," always begins
with the lightest practical load. Here we traveled new and potentially dangerous ground, with no comparable
bullets to guide us. In many but not all cases, we can apply the same powder charges to commercially
produced bullets of the same weight and diameter with little fear of overpressure, assuming we are not
working with maximum loads at the start. But this was certainly not a commercially produced bullet.

We were limited in that we had only nine bullets. (At $11 apiece from the machine shop, not to mention the
cost of swaging equipment, and that godawful PTFE, realize that the experimenter with greater ambition
would invest in a small metal lathe. It would save money in the long run.) Without getting into brands of
powder and so forth-it makes all this read too much like an article you'd catch in one of the gun mags-
we started with a powder we had used many times with the big .45, with both heavy and light bullets, with
consistent performance and no problems with overpressure. We underestimated the charge and loaded each
successive bullet 0.5 grains more than the last. During testing, we insisted that we would not fire the next
hotter load if the last showed any sign of overpressure. Stone-sober and a bit paranoid, we left for the
range.

We had to be careful about this from many angles. First, we would be shooting two Kevlar pads extracted
from a Second Chance[tm] "Y" vest purchased in 1978, not exactly a common practice. An off-duty cop
would probably freak out at the sight. We chose not to fire if others were present. Second, there was always
the chance that the gun could explode, damaging the author. We wore gloves, a polycarbonate face-shield,
and hearing protectors. In addition, we kept most of the body behind a barricade. Finally, recall that these
were uncoated bullets, perfectly legal in the state where the experiment took place. We did not yet know
whether a coating would be needed, and, in 1982, no law banning coated bullets had been passed in the
state where this terrible experiment took place.

GRIM RESULTS
With the first shot, approximating grossly from recoil since we had no chronograph, the bullet came out at
about 900 fps. It cut most of the first Kevlar pad, but did not penetrate. Predictably, succeeding shots
powered by heavier charges penetrated deeper. The experiment proved beyond doubt that these uncoated
steel bullets, propelled by a charge of "more than" 8.5 grains of Unique[tm] smokeless powder, would defeat
two thicknesses of Kevlar armor. Recoil noticeably exceeded that of hardball. We estimate from recoil that
the final bullet made it to 1200 fps at the least.

Do not attempt to duplicate this frightful experiment. Tell an experienced handloader that you fired a .45
round loaded with 8.5 grains of Unique. He might ask whether the gun exploded.

A most instructive assay, perfectly legal, though we would have to have tested coated bullets had
penetration failed. And what a relief that we did not. But some might••••

PTFE: THE DUPONT METHOD FOR APPLICATION TO STEEL OR ALUMINUM

So what if it seems you do need PTFE coating? You will have to get hold of a fresh batch of genuine PTFE
and coat the bullets. This is no simple feat. The author coated bullets prior to passage of a law banning such
bullets in his state of residence in 1982. Note the bullet on the end of a line of .45s. This old photo shows
one coated bullet at the far right. We disassembled the round and discarded the bullet long ago before state
law banned it. We did learn a bit about coating PTFE in the course of the experiment. We pass along these
observations purely for informational purposes.

Teflon comes in a variety of drab colors. The maker supplies it as a resin which the user may spray onto the
surface, or dip the bullet tip in it. Then you must bake it at a controlled temperature of at least 600
degrees F. Our resin came with details for coating aluminum and steel. You may have to experiment if you
have chosen other materials.

136
 Copy of License (18 U.S.C. Chapter 40, Explosives)
I certify that this is a true copy of a permit issued to me to
engage in the business specified in item 5.

(Signature of licensee)

D PURCHASING COpy
Manufacturer D High Explosives
The licensee named herein may use this form. a reproduction
D Importer (J: low Explosives
thereof, or a reproduction of his license. to assist a distributor
D Dealer D Blasting Agents of explosive materials to verify the identity and the licensed
III Manufacturer-Limited status of the licensee as provided in 26 eFR Part 181.
6. Issued by Assistant Regional Commissioner, ATF, at

AtlaDta, Qa.

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Department of the Treasury-Internal Revenue Service
L Form 4706 (2-17) Part 2

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137
This gig gets into some right specialized doin's that fairly beg for a graduate degree in chemistry and an
isolated workplace where a boo-boo will splash no one but you. Act responsibly. Place your own safety
second to others'.

We face multiple unknowns here: What thickness gives optimum penetration? What application method is most
uniform? What prep method is best? The answers to these questions are probably proprietary and closely held
by makers of coated bullets. (A pause to remind the reader that all this is pure speculation. In addition to
being illegal in many venues, be aware that coating bullets with PTFE might infringe on patents. Don't do
it.) The KTW people have doubtless studied all that, but, aside from the information unavoidably revealed in
patents, have no interest in sharing their stock-in-trade with irresponsible amateurs.

The following data comes from technical sheets supplied with Teflon resin obtained from DuPont in 1982, on
application procedures for the 958-200 Teflon-S [tm] and 959-200 Teflon One-Coat [tm] finishes.

First, these instructions apply to aluminum or steel. They may work quite well with other materialS, such as
bronze or brass, but require changes in procedures. The manufacturer would probably be only too glad to
offer help to what it perceived as legitimate research.

Prep the surface of the metal by "grit blasting" in what DuPont calls a "40-50 micro inch profile." An
alternative is a phosphate coating.

Note the importance of this step. Coated to a smooth surface, PTFE would peal away under mild friction like
paint. The forces generated by impact of a bullet would surely strip the coating and thereby neutral ize its
value. The coating must adhere viciously to the bullet if it is to cut friction and enhance penetration. To
accompl ish that, we must give the resin a vast surface of microscopic holes into which it can flow and take
hold before curing.

There are several means to produce tiny pits in the metal surface. Grit blasting (sandblasting) is readily
avai lable, but care must be taken to ensure uniformity of the process. After seeing what ferric chloride
etchant did to a "stainless" steel sink, we decided to try it on one of our eleven-dollar bullets. We soaked
one in warm ferric chloride for about 30 minutes. It produced excellent results: a dull, evenly etched surface
that, at least to unmagnified inspection and feel, was rough on a fine level, just right to soak up the resin
and give it a good bite. The photo shows an etched bullet on the left, an untreated one on the right. DuPont
refers to "phosphate coating," which may be the same as "Parkerizing," the name of the process that
produces a flat, dull coat on the .45s issued to our armed forces; or another term for acid etching with
phosphoric acid. Many gunshops are equipped to perform Parkerizing, though you might get an odd reaction if
you asked to have your bullets treated ....

If you must coat bullets with PTFE, do not skip this crucial prep. That would probably nullify the benefits of
coating.

The machining process leaves oil on the work. Remove it and other foreign material adherent to the surface.
Usually, a pre-bake of the material to be coated at 650 degrees F for about 15 minutes wi II do this, but
ensure that the projectiles are physically clean first by washing them with a degreasing agent.

Next, shake the resin mixture thoroughly (the shaker at the local paint store will do), and filter through a
cheesecloth or 150-200 mesh wire filter to remove lumps. To apply, the material may be sprayed or coated
with and electrostatic applicator (quite expensive just to whip up a few rounds for testing.... ). Dipping the
tip of each round individually may be more practical. DuPont states that the maximum thickness that should
be applied per coat is 1.0 mil. The 958-200 series may be applied up to a total thickness of 3.0 mils, in 3
successive coats. To recoat a PTFE surface, it first has to be grit-blasted with 350 grit material to give
microscopic holes into which the resin can flow and take hold. You might try manual sanding with
carborundum paper if you do not own a grit-blaster.

Once the bullets are coated, let them air-dry 1-5 minutes, something DuPont calls "flashing." Then pop then
into an oven preheated to 300 degrees F, for 15 minutes, then transfer them immediately to a second oven
preheated to 650 degrees F, for 15 minutes. Literature indicates that you can get by with less time at a
higher temp, up to 700 degrees F.
138
This can be dangerous business from many perspectives. The solvent is highly flammable. That brings up the
ugly specter of a fire or explosion. No one has to repeat that the fumes are toxic. Properly ventilate the
work area.

The experimenter on a budget might try to get by with a conventional oven and hope for the best. Some
kitchen ovens can hit temperatures of 600 degrees F, though that might strain their design limits; or use a
lower temperature, say, 500 degrees F, for a longer period.

How can you tell whether your coating process succeeded? Coat a flat piece of steel, preferably of exactly
the same composition and preparation you gave the bullets, along with the batch. When the job is done, drip
water onto it. If it beads easily and will not wet the surface, you have probably achieved a successful coat.

The proof, of course, lies in performance. You would have to return to the range and tryout the deadly fruit
of your labor against genuinely formidable armor, say, four pads of Kevlar, minimum, with an appropriate
backstop (a foot thickness of tightly packed magazines will do). Only in areas where the practice is legal ....

DEALING WITH DUPONT

Fashionable as it is to bash big business, particularly high-profile concerns whose products and inventive
genius we enjoy-indeed, cannot do without-nothing said here should be taken as a swipe at the DuPont
company ••••

••• •but we do have to recognize the idiosyncrasies of large corporations. They have a publ ic image, pay a
great deal to maintain a sunny one. And they have all become increasingly conscious of product liability. For
example, the February 22, 1982 issue of Chemical Engineering News reported that the company that
marketed Tufoil [tm], an engine oil additive, had some problems initially with PTFE micropowder contained in
early versions of its product-powder it bought from DuPont. The powder tended to clump. That rendered it
less effective than desired for reducing engine wear. DuPont cut them off when it found that what was in
essence a DuPont derivative product did not live up to expectations. It did an about-face with the emergence
of PTFE surfactants and dispersants, chemicals that kept the PTFE micropowder suspended and prevented
clumping. These let the product perform "as advertised" and thereby avoided any tarnish of the fine DuPont
name.

We saw the same reaction with "cop-ki Iler" bullets. Apparently wary of bad press, or of product Iiabi Iity,
should a cop shoot a felon with KTW ammo, only to have the round overpenetrate and zip through a few
bystanders in its deadly path. DuPont cut KTW off its buyer list.

Thus, if you wish to purchase Teflon resin for experimentation with armor-piercing ammo, it will be necessary
to appear in your letters or over the phone to be an entity, preferably a firm rather than an individual, with
legitimate reason to handle the stuff. Now, the number of legitimate and profitable and patentable uses for
Teflon would fill this book. The number of uses for which it has been tried would fill an encyclopedia. Yet
DuPont understands that there are still inventors out there seeking new uses for it that will earn them-and
Du Pont -sti II another fortune, and for that reason remains accustomed to requests to supply it in small,
"experimental" quantities.

In 1982, prior to passage of that grisly spate of laws banning PTFE coated bullets, the author obtained a
gallon of Teflon resin and a quart of thinner (use no substitute!) for less than $90, including postage. He
represented himself as a medical researcher loath to discuss exactly what type of devices he intended to coat
out of concern over patentable ideas, a legitimate and probably recurrent theme. It helped that he had the
resin shipped to a large medical research facility, one unquestionably equipped with the fiery ovens necessary
to apply the coating, and heavily staffed with chemistry types. He had the presence of mind to use an alias,
and had the stuff mailed to this alter ego in care of a secretary employed at the facility.

All told, it was no sweat. Note however that Teflon resin, at least in 1982, had a shelf-I ife of only 6
months. Heed the manufacturer's expiration warnings.

DuPont's letter to us notes other potential sources of PTFE resin ....

139
 ES,. .... IH.ISHEO 1802

E. I. DU PONT DE NEMOURS AND COMPANY

INCORPORA.TED

WILMINGTON, DELAWARE 19898

EXTERNAL AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT

October 21, 1988

Suzanne ........~
Research Assistant
Trentland Press

&~::::=-
Dear Suzanne:

I am sorry it has taken us so long to respond to your inquiry

on PTFE coated bullets: your letter was sent to several
departments before it reached me. In a place of this size,
it's sometimes difficult to know who is the appropriate person
to handle a given situation.

In response to your question, our pOlicy is still the same: we

do not knowingly sell "Teflon" PTFE to makers of armor-
piercing bullets. We have made it a practice to strongly
reject orders for our product that will be used in such
bullets.

Your letter indicated that there are still PTFE-coated bullets

around, and I can suggest a few reasons for that. Du Pont
discovered PTFE and markets it under the trade name "Teflon".
Hoechst, leI, Daikin and Ausimont also make the material, and
while I don't believe they supply the makers of armor-piercing
bullets, I can't answer for them on the issue. At any rate,
there's often no way for any of us to control where our
products go. Our customers don't always tell us what they use
the product for, and information they give us may not always
be true.

We believe our products contribute significantly to our

society's quality of life, and we are highly opposed to our
product being used in a way that detracts from that
contribution. I'd be happy to answer any more questions you
have, and would appreciate knowing about what you publish.
Please keep my card for future reference.

Best Wishes,

Janet E. Smith

140
We do not wish to disseminate information dangerous in the wrong hands. We weighed many factors before
deciding upon this discourse, presented as no more than a sordid if intriguing fantasy, and came up with a
number of reasons to justify it.

First, it is undeniably exciting. Even those who lambaste television for airing the tape of a KTW round
penetrating several Kevlar pads could not help but be fascinated with the pure technology involved. (The
same brand of intrigue underlies production and sale, with some success, of a videotape that plays out every
gun-nut's most lurid fantasies: machine-gunning a car, shooting a gas tank to see if it will ignite; and, yes,
shooting an engine block with KTW ammunition.) To say it bluntly, this species of discussion sells books.

Second, in these changing times, it is wise to be informed of threats to your own security, along with
possible countermeasures. (Metal and ceramic inserts for Kevlar vests that wi II defeat KTW, along with at
least one hit from military assault rifle AP ammo, are available to guard limited areas, such as the chest.)

Third, relativity, and not the Einsteinian sort, steps in to justify what was unthinkable 20 years ago, because
the world and the people in it have changed. Lt. Colonel North testified that Americans need to wake up to
the fact that we live on an extremely dangerous planet. The land of Love Boat has seen and felt less
immediate threat than any nation in history. That has led to a softness exploited by a tougher breed of foe.
Drug lords from South America and subversives grown at home and abroad play rough. It makes sense to
respond to escalating threats with appropriate measures.

* * *

COMBAT PISTOLCRAFT
Owning a pistol and handling it effectively-even competently-are different things. Jeff Cooper's doctrine
led to a proliferation of academies to teach the new ways. If you are willing to travel, buy/rent the guns and
pay the fees, and do not sport a corrupt background, you can learn to handle the pistol, rifle, or shotgun to
whatever level of expertise your desire and pocketbook will stand. Even so staid a figure as Cooper has not
been above salting his ads with panache, telling prospective students that they could "join the ranks of the
adept." Quite a draw for the snob in us all. Then again, Mr. Cooper is not known to exaggerate....

In addition to pure mechanics of gunhandling learned over a generation of Darwinian selection, one truth to
emerge from study was the singular edge only competition gives. Students compete against one another. It
just isn't the same, racing the clock. Ego comes into play to motivate us where the clock fails, especially
when the other shooter is someone of the opposite sex.

With the rise of skill and personnel to teach it, what a drag that you may not be able legally to carry the
heat that will become an extension of your hand, as it were. With cops gunning down kids carrying eerily
realistic submachine gun/water pistols, the fat bulge of a heavy service pistol at your side is likely to spook
an already nervous herd.

Which is not to say you will travel unarmed, only that getting caught without the right papers could mean a
vacation in dreamland. If papers can be had, get them. If they cannot, be damned prudent about when and
how you carry heat, and what you use it to accomplish. It is not for wowing dates or settling "Oh yeahs?" in
the parking lot. Shooters trained at a proper academy understand that the time between drawing the weapon
and firing it reduces to a fraction of a second. There is no point to brandishing the thing unless you have
already decided to pull the trigger, and to live with the ominous consequences.

These points make themselves evident to casual students of the scene. We cannot go further with technique
of the draw, aiming, firing, reloading, and so on, since only hands-on practice conveys useful expertise.

141
 * * *

RIFLES AND RIFLE AMMO

BIG BULLETS AND LITTLE BULLETS

From sometime in the 1950s until the Vietnam era the standard battle rifle of our armed forces was the M14,
firing the 7.62 mm NATO round, known to the civilian sector as the .308. Ballistically the functional
equivalent of its predecessor, the .30-'06, but packaged more compactly, it fired a 150 grain FMJ bullet at
about 2700 fps.

No one disputes the intrinsic accuracy or power of the round, or the reliability and accuracy of the weapon.
Both cartridge and weapon were and remain top-notch. Problems had to do mainly with inability of flocks of
recruits to master the heavy recoil, and with the size and weight of weapon and ammo.

Those factors, coupled with a growing sentiment in some quarters that it was unnecessary to devastate a
human foe with one hit in order for the assault rifle to accomplish its mission, led to adoption of the present
standard 5.56 mm round.

The 5.56 is in essence a .22. In its first 20 years of service, the bullet weighed a mere 55 grains, this
compared with 40 grains for the .22 rimfire ammunition you buy at the local hardware store. But it left
Colt's 20-inch M16 barrel at a nominal 3200 fps (3000 fps is perhaps more realistic), which gave it
adequate stopping power within those ranges where it retained high speed ••• which weren't too far. The light
bullet shed speed quickly, making it less impressive at 150 yards than at 25 yards.

But stories circulated about terrible devastation this round produced on human flesh. While hydrostatic shock
probably had much to do with its ballistic effect, the short, slowly spinning bullet proved unstable, prone to
tumble once it struck flesh.

Then there was the weapon that fired it: Colt's M16 in military trim, known as the AR-15 in semiautomatic
versions sold in the civilian market. To avoid a stink it is perhaps best to say that the weapon drew mixed
reviews; yet no one denies that it remedied several drawbacks of the M14. It weighed about 7 pounds,
kicked only a third as much as the 7.62 mm, and its smaller ammo meant that each soldier could carry twice
as many rounds, disposing of greater firepower and/or cutting resupply problems. Troops forced to carry and
shoot the weapon appreciated those qualities, particularly those who came through in the transition, and had
genuine problems with the big and powerful M14.

Standard military small arms ammo almost exclusively carries the moniker, "ball." For this we have no
explanation other than tradition. Ball ammo for rifles usually means a lead core covered with a copper or
brass jacket, with rifle bullets configured to end in a fairly sharp point.

As noted, 55 grains is light for the .22 caliber. Fast out of the gate, the round lagged in the stretch. In
plain talk it wasn't worth much, either in accuracy or penetrating power, at long range. ("Long range" is a
nebulous concept dependent on many variables. Here we mean longer than 250 yards.)

Though some quarters called for the adoption of a round intermediate between the unwieldy 7.62 and the
unsatisfactory 5.56, that latter round has become the United States and NATO standard, so attention turned
to fixing its perceived flaws.

The new standard 5.56 mm bullet weighs 62 grains (at least the U.S. version; NATO has adopted the
Belgian-designed SS109 at 63 grains; both embody the same basic design changes); is longer than its
predecessor and sports a tapered "boat tail," a feature that improves stability in flight; and incorporates a
steel insert tip as standard to help ensure penetration. It sacrifices muzzle velocity in the trade, but this has
not been cause for concern of military planners. A cutaway diagram, modeled after one printed in Advanced
Technology Warfare, shows the internal design. If you plan to use this ammo, note that it requires a barrel
with a 1-in-7 twist, this compared to the slower 1-in-12 twist of older 5.56 mm weapons.

142
Believe it or not, there is a trend toward smaller bullets still. The Soviets have used a 5.45 mm round in
Afghanistan, and a 5.56 mm sabot round fires a bullet only 4.5 mm in diameter.

HYDROSTATIC SHOCK AND PRECESSION

FMJ rifle bullets fired from military weapons produce fearsome tissue damage through what has come to be
known as hydrostatic shock. A bullet traversing flesh at speeds in excess of, say, 2200 feet per second sets
up an extremely violent fluid wave, sufficient to disrupt structure and function in tissue far distant from the
path of the projecti Ie. We see Iittle need in mil itary rifle ammunition for the varied shapes and materials
found in pistol bullets simply because a pointed, FMJ design has proven optimum to the task.

But there may be more to this than velocity alone would explain. Students of this phenomenon (would you
believe that the Government report that discussed this back in the early fifties bore the name of future
cardiac surgeon Michael DeBakey?) have commented that such a bullet may leave tiny entry and exit holes,
yet puree' the tissue between them.

In addition to hydrostatic shock, precession has been proposed as one mechanism to explain this. Rifle bullets
spin with the axis at right angles to the direction of travel. This stabilizes them, like tiny gyroscopes, but
subjects them to a second type of spin, known as precession. The bullet "wobbles" about some point, usually
its center of gravity. As a point of comparison, note that the Earth turns one revolution every 24 hours. This
corresponds to passage of day and night and to spin of a bullet induced by the lands in the barrel. But our
planet also undergoes change of seasons due to the fact that it precesses, or wobbles.

If the rifle bullet wobbled much its accuracy would drop quickly; but it spends most of its flight in the low-
density medium of air. Flesh possesses far greater density than air, a key fact, since precession is propor-
tional to the density of the medium the projectile traverses. Thus, a bullet with no visible precession in air
may gyrate wi Idly in transit through the body, rending and tearing what it would otherwise spare if it held
true. Pistol bullets rarely reach velocities required to bring hydrostatic shock and precessive effects into
play.

As a rule, modifying factory loaded ammunition creates some risk of malfunction that could harm the
experimenter. Off-the-shelf stuff is mean enough. Those who would experiment with altered ammunition or
design their own should go in heavily with professional machinery. And run a patent search. It's probably
been done.

AUTOMATIC WEAPONS?
Sound arguments have been made for eliminating the automatic firing mode from the M16 because, in the
heat of battle, troops have shown a tendency to spray areas thought to harbor enemy, rather than waiting
until they have spotted targets and taken aim.

If the mi Iitary has considered taking machine guns out of the hands of most ground troops-a need will
remain for automatic weapons in the hands of those specifically trained to apply them effectively-what
earthly use have you for a machine gun? Apply a practicality analysis to the breed in light of your objectives:

First, these weapons are verboten in some states. BATF will let you buy them, but if you reside in The
Wrong State, you're out of luck.

Second, add a fat tax to the cost of the weapon.

Third, what tactical situations do you plan to engage that controlled fire would not better serve, as opposed
to hosing areas-which is about all that untrained persons can do with automatic weapons?

Let IS admit that machine guns are good for a fine rush and plenty of envious looks down at the range when
you cut loose with a 30-round magazine in one long burst that shreds the target and throws up a cloud of
dirt and debris. Whooeee! Load up and do it again!

But how many thugs have assaulted you at the range? Where is your automatic weapon likely to be when an

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attack comes? (As a "safety" measure, many owners keep the bolt or sear, the parts that make the weapon
automatic, in a safe deposit box until they plan actually to take out the weapon and fire it.)

Finally, with all the files that B.B. has on you already, do you need another, one with a red flag on it, that
says you own a NFA weapon?

So, OK. You must have one. How do you get one legally?

First, check state and local laws. If you doubt your ability to do so competently, hire a lawyer to find out
and report to you in writing (this makes him liable for the consequences of his advice; you might tape
pertinent conversations with him). Do not ask the cops. The author phoned police departments in three large
cities in his state of residence, asking about permits to carry concealed firearms. All told him there was no
such thing. State law says different. If the police do not know about concealed weapons, chances are they
don't know about machine guns, or would try to jerk you around by flatly denying your right to own one.

Assuming you clear local hurdles, review the questions on the BATF form. You cannot buy automatic weapons
if you're an ex-con, use dope and drugs, suffer psychosis, abuse chocolate, etc.

Third, choose your weapon and your dealer. If he is not in your state of residence, you will have to have him
ship the NFA weapon to a local dealer in conventional firearms.

Fourth, file the necessary forms with BATF, and wait. Assuming approval comes through, send your papers to
the dealer and collect your weapon. And may God have mercy on your soul ••••

* * *

SILENCERS
A catchy term, silencer, but one reserved for amateurs. The operative word is "suppresser" or "moderator,"
since these engines mute and alter the blast of a gun, but do not silence it.

Firearms generate noise containing multiple elements: mechanical noise of hammerfall and primer ignition,
"pre-blast"-the sound made by air pushed ahead of the projectile before it leaves the barrel; the blast of
propellant gas as it discharges from the muzzle; and, in the case of supersonic projectiles, a sonic crack. In
semi-automatic and automatic weapons we must contend also with sound of the mechanism cycling.

In any practical sense, sound suppressors help mute only the blast of expanding propellant gas as it is
discharged into the air around the muzzle. Fortunately, this is the loudest and most objectionable noise.

How loud? Military assault rifles can generate speak sound levels of 168 dB at the muzzle. Anyone who has
fired an M14 or sporting rifle of comparable caliber understands the frightful intensity of the report. Recall
that a decibel is a unit of measuring sound and electrical power. It is an exponential function in which power
doubles or halves with slight steps in dB.

Good suppressors typically achieve sound reductions on the order of 20-30 dB, which means that they reduce
the peak acoustic power by a factor of roughly 10 to 30. Now, that still leaves us with a peak of well over
100 decibels. Music that loud would break your lease, easy. But a report lasts a fraction of a second, and
there is a difference between the way the brain processes impulse noise compared to its handling of
continuous sound. As a vital point about suppressors, realize that they muffle sound enough to alter the
tactical role of the weapon by making it extremely difficult to locate or even detect by its sound.

A BIT OF THEORY
Humans perceive brief or impulse noise in a different mode from continuous noise. Take the sound of rainfall.
We hear it, yet we don't, not due to some change in hearing sensitivity, but by the way our auditory
processors operate. And those same processors, through some devious subterfuge yet unraveled, let us
slumber through the most violent thunderstorm, a symphony of heavy impulse noise. Yet they awaken us from

144
sound sleep to the barest creak of the stairs, instantly alert, certain that Jason has returned for his hockey
mask.

So there appears to be some threshold at which any type of noise, impulse or continuous, prompts us to
attend it. In firearm reports we deal with an impulse that overwhelms all but the loudest background noise,
and by its identifiable nature, with the danger impl icit, turns us to seek the source immediately.

To illustrate the point, let us sayan unsilenced firearm generates a peak muzzle blast that measures 135 dB
15 feet from the muzzle. It lasts only milliseconds, yet overwhelms ambient sound. Its intensity and signature
tell us: gun report.

Now attach a suppressor that mutes the report to about 110 dB-and alters its signature. That, as much as
the reduced intensity, may explain the sonic camouflage effect of silencers. Even on television, the sound of
machine gun fire at, say, 80 decibels instantly identifies the source.

Mental exercise: Record the sound of a pistol blast. Assuming extremely sophisticated and unbel ievably
powerful equipment, we could play back the sound at the same intensity it was recorded. Now turn down the
volume 30 decibels. You will still hear a seemingly loud gunShot, instantly recognized and calling forth that
automatic alerting response gunfire evokes. The same does not happen when a suppressed firearm shoots
because suppressed firearms do not sound like firearms with the volume cranked down.

Fourth factor: Eardrums are equipped with muscles to soften the sounds of low and high frequencies. Many
people can activate them voluntarily (in anticipation of a loud sound; it makes a rumbl ing sound in your
ears). Loud noise activates them automatically through pathways still obscure, but it's a safe bet that sounds
that do not activate them stand less chance of drawing attention than those that do. The multiple actions of
suppression probably prevent that complex but obscure combination of events.

Intensity aside, the sound configuration or signature of suppressed weapons is foreign to the hearing
experience of all save experienced spooks (and cagey ones at that, to have survived silenced assassination
attempts). For that reason, it fails to alert us to danger, despite a peak impulse of well over 100 dB. That
same awful sound level of raucous music would prompt a hassle for disturbing the peace.

Silencers, genuinely effective ones, date back to Hiram Maxim (the machine gun family). In the 1960s, the
Frankford Arsenal tested the Maxim silencer marketed in the early 1900s and found it to be among the more
effective of all devices studied, despite its ancient vintage. As seen from a diagram of its internal
construction, it not only places a series of baffles in the path of the expanding propellant gas, but the baffles
are angled back so as to cause an outward vortex that draws the gas to the edge of the suppressor (i.e.,
lowers pressure in the center of the tube; pressure determines loudness of the exit sound). The principle was
not proven, only theoretical.

Since pressure determines loudness of the blast, lowering pressure should soften the report. The universal gas
law (PV=nRT) tells us that pressure varies directly with temperature: lower the temp, and the pressure falls.
Reasoning from that equation, suppressor-designers packed the spaces between the baffles with metal screens
having high heat conductivity, designed to soak up heat from the propellant gas. This cools the gas and
lowers its pressure.

Many designs use both principles, i.e., contain a series of baffles, and pack the spaced between them with
metal screens (a copper scrubbing pad in some cases, or steel wool).

Older designs used rubber diaphragms that closed or nearly closed the silencer to gas but passed the bullet.
Tests indicate that these dams are not needed and cause more problems than they solve.

DESIGN
Sound suppressors vary in their design, but all share the property of forcing the muzzle blast to undergo a
relatively slow and confined expansion within the suppressor, as opposed to an instantaneous release. Most
successful suppressors present an expansion chamber on the end of the muzzle. The inside of the chamber

145
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contains three types of filling: 1) A series of baffles through which the hot propellant gas passes before
exiting the silencer. 2) A wire mesh screen. 3) Some combination of the two, i.e., baffles and screen.

Proponents of each design have carved niches for themselves in the suppressor market, and tests have shown
their handiwork to be effective. This suggests that punctilious execution of any basically sound design will
succeed. The patent literature is filled with designs that claim to achieve swirling and counter-swirling of
gasses; use complex venting stratagems; and shape expansion chambers into futuristic outlines that look like
they must be effective. Yet, when we buy suppressors from the pros, men whose livelihoods and reputations
depend on performance, we find the simple baffle, screen, or combo ••••

•••• which means that those with a mind to roll their own should not be surprised that dramatically effective
units await at the local hardware store, in unfinished form, as PVC pipe, screen or copper scrubbing pads,
metal washers, along with an expanding array of miracle adhesives. Scanning a few proven suppressor designs
shows that it would be ridiculously simple to duplicate them without resorting to a machine shop. The
diagram shows the 3 basic designs. Common sense and knowledge of physics fills in the details for a particular
accessory.

KITS
Those who peruse Soldier of Fortune and its clones noticed that kits of replacement parts for suppressors
were offered for sale. Reports have it that some were scams and customers lost their money, while others
were the real thing: suppressors that were fully effective when assembled and attached to a firearm. Usually,
the only part missing was a threaded tube, or the suppressor for which the parts were designed. This
subterfuge brought the ruthless attention of BATF, and kits were not long on the market.

Who made them? Several small companies, some of which began with lone, dedicated craftsmen.

The silencer is nothing more than a barometer of the times. When humans lived in a more violent but
paradoxically more civilized climate, the silencerls legitimate use put it on the end of sporting arms and
target pistols to be shot in semi-populated areas without disturbing everyone within miles or having to wear
earplugs. Today, the idea of inner-city mutants wielding lethal weapons with less noise to them than cap
pistols is unnerving. It says much about what we have come to expect of human nature, rather than some
innate evi I of the device.

Can a private citizen make or buy silencers legally?

Yes, in some states, but there is a catch. A silencer is subject to the same restrictions applied to machine
guns and destructive devices (hand grenades; yes, you can own those, too, but it costs $200 apiece since
each must be registered; and, of course, you cannot keep the device in the dresser drawer •••• ). Violation
brings a fine of ten grand and up to ten years in the joint. BATF has prosecuted a man for taking an inert
hand grenade, and rigging it to make a report with about 5 grams of black powder-in effect, a practice
grenade. The grenade did not fragment; BATF won. The guy became a felon for that. The bravura of the IRS
seems to have rubbed off on its sinister sister service, BATF.

The literature of amateur spookdom is filled with advice on how to make suppressors. Frankly, these devices
can be damned effective, but the risk of making a suppressor is prohibitive, unless you notify BATF of your
intent in advance, submit to their background check, pay a tax of $200 per unit, and fit every silencer with
a serial number, keep records, and subject yourself to the risk of a 3 AM surprise visit from the jackboots.
Remember that you have the right to remain silent, cold comfort in a jail cell which is probably bugged
anyway ••••

Lo those many years ago, better days it now seems, one experimenter found himself with time on his hands
during a holiday visit home. The rest of the family had taken off for the weekend, and the young and naive
hobbyist noticed that he had a 12" length of 5/8" inside diameter cardboard tubing (in fact, it was a Class B
roman candle casing). He had a selection of paper endcaps left over from manufacture of aerial report
devices, and couldn It help wondering whether this combination might fit together as a makeshift suppressor.

147
He removed the front blade sight from the barrel of a .22 rifle and slipped the tube over the muzzle. It
friction-fit snug and tight. Next, he took 7 endcaps and punched quarter-inch holes in them centered as well
as he could, then positioned them at roughly even intervals through the length of the tube.

After remounting this jiffy-popped paper silencer, there wasn't much left but to test it. Instead of going with
full power ammunition, which would have meant a trip to the range, with the likelihood of shocked stares and
furtive calls to the Authorities, he chose the wiser course of "caps"-partial power .22 loads made by CCI.

Well, the loudest sound was the hammerfall and the sound of the bullet penetrating a stack of old paperback
books set up as a backstop in the garage. The report was literally inaudible amidst the other sounds which,
alone, would have drawn no more notice across the room than thumbing an old Zippo lighter. Accuracy was
as good as he could hold. It was eeri Iy effective, just the sort of thing for serious control work on barking
dogs in the wee hours of the morning ••••

After firing about twenty rounds the thrill wore off, and the tube and its internal baffles found a safe and final
haven in the fireplace.

If one found oneself in need of an effective suppressor that could be put together in a flash, less than five
minutes, that paper-tube model would take the prize, and it could be made into a non-silencer in the time it
takes to run a wooden dowel through the tube and trash the paper baffles (which could be chewed and
swallowed in a pinch, when that awful knock came at 3 AM .... ). Needless to say, we recommend that no
one actually attempt to duplicate this youthful and irresponsible experiment that, according to the publisher's
attorney, took place so long ago that the statute of limitations has expired and the individual involved
needn't fear legal reprisal ••••

Who uses silencers-and why? Professionals in and out of the government: assassins, police counter-sniper
squads, counter-terrorist squads, criminals, and dilettantes. Government personnel are presumed to use
silencers to help avoid detection when carrying out assassinations-and let us be frank in saying that assas-
sination serves as much a tool of foreign pol icy as the sham-negotiations that occupy page one of the Times.
Due to layers of hypocrisy in which information has become wrapped in this country, it is necessary to insist
that we do not kill people covertly in the national interest, while our enemies ki II them openly, invade
neutral countries, spread terror, etc.

CBS television figure Dan Rather opined that the Afghanistan atrocity had not caught the minds and hearts
of Americans the way Vietnam had. On the other hand, Danno, it saw maybe 0.000001 percent the TV
coverage I Nam got. •••

Army and Marine sniper teams achieved spooky results in Vietnam using silenced M14 rifles modified for
extreme accuracy. Kills at ranges of 600 meters or more were recorded, with a rounds-per-kill ratio
reported around 1.3 (i.e., it took 4 shots to kill 3 enemy soldiers, compared to about 50,000 rounds, some
said, for regular ground soldiers to wax one enemy soldier). Enemy personnel would march in a line, and one
after another they would fall dead without apparent reason. At 200 meters or more, no sound was heard.
This unnerved the enemy and made it difficult to spot the sniper. It came to be called "whispering death."

Feats of trained riflemen using finely tuned and suppressed weapons cannot help but astound us, but silenced
pistols are strictly close-range weapons, usually arm's length, primarily assassination devices meant for point
blank head shots. This is needed because the most common (and quietest) round is the .22 rimfire, a round
with poor ability to stop a target unless it strikes the brain.

A sonic crack follows bullets traveling faster than 1100 fps-a miniature sonic boom. Those who grew up
after about 1965, except people who live near fighter jet staging areas, may never have heard a sonic boom.
This single "boom" or thunder-like sound follows aircraft traveling faster than 1100 fps, the approximate
speed of sound at sea level. Any object that breaks the sound barrier in air makes this sound. The very
quietest combination of suppressed firearm and projectile are made with .22 ammunition traveling at subsonic
velocities. Upscale gunshops stock subsonic .22 ammo for use in target rifles, since it proves just a hair more
accurate than supersonic ammo. Beware that it leads barrels of some pistols, though.

148
What do those who own suppressors legally use them for? And why do they pay a tax per item that may
double the price of ownership?

Those who understand the gun-nut mental ity, and a bit of that must curse us all, see that the lure of a
gadget rises in proportion to its rarity. Some men simply must have them, even though they never use the
device. Perhaps some do shoot targets in large basements, and some poach game with suppressed weapons.

Then there are those who make or buy suppressors illegally: organized crime, street gangs, motorcycle packs,
and other colorful strata.

Does the average law-abiding citizen have need of a suppressor? In most cases, no. But situations have come
and will arise again when a suppressor provides essential advantage for self-defense or just vengeance the law
will not offer.

Take the example of a dog that mauled you daughter. You sued the owner and won, but a paltry token sum.
And the bum got to keep his pit bull. Fine. A 3 AM trip by his house with a suppressed .22 should settle the
question decisively (as to the dog, not the owner).

Occasionally, targets further up the evolutionary scale-yet more savage than any animal-come in for
special regard. But those are rare: grave matters of honor, principle, or personal safety. A grasp of
suppressors gives comfort that extremes can be resorted to in competent fashion, responsibly, if that grim
need arises.

We've seen countless instances of spoiled justice-obvious convictions thrown out on technicalities. Fiction
gave us the undertaker whose daughter suffered at the hands of vicious youths. The court suspended their
sentences. So the undertaker went to the local mafia Don for justice.

But those with no, ah, Family connections have no Don, and the police have more important things to do.
Plaintiff's attorney's yawn over won cases for which there will be no payoff. Wronged parties with no
recourse at law find the rage unbearable and take justice into their own hands, sometimes melodramatically
in the latest fashion, mass-murder followed by suicide.

One cannot help but speculate that a more prudent approach would be to bide one's time until the stink dies
and the perp's guard drops. Then dispatch the felon in a quieter mode.

Societies that tolerate too great a divergence from conformity do not survive as societies very long, and most
would deem that rapist who chopped off his victim's arms a bit too deviant; yet he has been released from
prison, though no community thus far will take him in. If someone were to use a suppressed weapon to put
that rapist out of his remorse, you can bet the police would mobilize all resources to track down the
killer ••••

ARMOR CARS AND WALLS

The material that forms the basis of most bullet-resistant windows is known as polycarbonate plastic,
marketed by General Electric under the trade name, Lexan[tm], and by other firms under their own
trademarks. This material can be had commonly in sheets of four by six, or larger if you want to custom
order, and in thicknesses of a half-inch, more than adequate for stopping most handgun ammunition.

For vandal-prone windows it is the material of choice, and can be had in a version that is about as scratch-
resistant as glass (we now have plastic-polishing kits to take away those unsightly scratches). It may
deteriorate through prolonged exposure to ultraviolet rays in the sun, even now rising ominously as the ozone
layer wilts.

Despite its amazing impact resistance, polycarbonate shares the drawbacks of other plastics. It burns,
meaning that a torch will make quick work of it. It can be drilled quite easily, and one hole big enough to
admit the blade of a saber saw means that a man-size opening is about five minutes away. Polycarbonate has
been put forward as a means to harden house walls to bullet impact.

149
One of the better places would be the front door, if you anticipate shots fired through it.

It can be plastered over, drilled, painted, and wallpapered. Dealers for the stuff in large sheets are usually
found in cities of more than 200,000 population, and you may have to order custom sizes or thicknesses.

What about sheets of Kevlar? They will serve; but make a cost comparison, and ask, if a vest of about two sq
ft costs $200, what will a 32 sq ft panel cost? And what about handling? Limp Kevlar would have to be
supported at key points, unlike a sheet of polycarbonate, which could simply be propped up, or secreted in
slots prudently made during construction of the house or mobile home.

* * *

TEAR GAS
Any decade ushered in by Klute cannot help but consider itself chic. The seventies were a trendy time for
personal tear-gas weapons. The rise of feminism brought with it the need for a portable weapon women could
use to thwart muggers and rapists; or, just on a whim, teach cheeky and self-satisfied chauvinists a lesson.
Due to the leftist pull of feminism, guns and other fascist (i.e., effective) weapons did not qualify. So hand-
held gassers filled the need by fashion and default. What an irony that the police types who gave Mace[tm]
its first surge saw it go on to become the darling of liberals. Political extremes oppose possession of all
weapons by anyone but Big Brother •••and themselves, of course, since they aim to step up to the top spot ....

Two compounds are commonly available as "tear gas." The first is called CN, which stands for
chloracetophenone. One brand of spray dissolves it in the propellant that squirts it out of the canister. Its
maker maintains that the propellant dissolves fat on the skin of the assailant, and through that means exposes
nerve endings to the CN, which makes it more likely to hurt.

The second type, the varsity of tear gasses, is known as CS (or orthochlorobenzal-malononitrile). When riot-
control cops get serious they turn to CS.

Both types cause intense burning of exposed skin, ten times worse on mucous membranes and a thousand
times worse in the eyes. If inhaled they induce coughing and a sense of constricted breathing. The literature
indicates CS to be more pitiless than CN.

One gun mag reported a test of CN tear gas. An experienced combat handgunner let himself be maced
straight in the face, then drew his weapon and fired controlled burst, hitting a standard combat target. A
surprise splash of CN might give you time to flee a casual mauler in an open space, but this non-lethal
defense will not stop the determined adversary. And think if he had tried to duck the burst, wore glasses.

Streetwise punks can duck or cover their eyes in a flash. Most of them laugh when the imminent victim
brandishes a gas canister, since they recognize it as a non-threat that gives the user a deadly false sense of
security.

Other types of gasses are available to highly placed powers. One is known as sternutator gas. It induces such
severe nausea and vomiting that victims feel as if they want to die. Mean stuff. Better stock up now to gas
your brokerage after the next crash. One rumor making the rounds in Frisco in the wake of Watergate had it
that the security team at Democratic National Headquarters planned to plant sternutator gas in quick-release
canisters to catch, and presumably punish on the spot, the second wave of buggers that would take Liddy's
place. We put no stock in rumor ••••

* * *

PERSONAL LASER WEAPONS?

You can buy kits to make lasers in the shape of ray-pistols right off the set of Forbidden Planet. What end
they serve is not clear. Their laser light might conceivably cause momentary blurred vision if it accidentally
shown straight in the eye of a felon, but not much else.
150
For the present, genuinely effective laser weapons remain experimental and bazooka-size, exclusive of their
power packs. One-shot chemical lasers might do without the power pack, but one shot is not much ••••

And yet, there can be little doubt that this will change. Science fiction writers saw the laser light long
before it shown in Charles Townes' lab. The rise in laser efficiency and strides in density of energy-storage
devices claimed for magnetic projectile weapons will lead to ever smaller laser weapons.

Visible lasers have found greater application as add-on aiming devices for conventional firearms. With a
properly aligned laser-the bullet drops in flight but the light does not-it's a matter of putting the light on
the target and pulling the trigger. That ruby-red glow is something of a giveaway, though, and those who
know its significance would probably seek to neutralize it without further provocation ••••

* * *

ELECTRICAL WEAPONS
High voltage has seen its share of press lately. First the hand-held shockers, followed by the cry for their
banishment. Then, in France of all places, where cabbies wired their back seats with 50,000-volt jolters
designed to thwart robbery or murder (several cabbies had been killed by passengers prior to the shocker
move). Some vehicle anti -theft systems make the driver's seat a true hot seat unless the right code is
entered quickly.

How do these devices work, mechanically and physiologically?

Physiologically, note that the human nervous system is composed of two main parts, the central nervous
system consisting of brain and spinal cord; and the peripheral nervous system, consisting of nerve after it
leaves the spinal cord. It all runs on minute amounts of electricity.

Ever see someone have a seizure (epileptic fit)? What you witnessed resulted from most of the neurons (nerve
cells) in the brain firing their electrical impulses at once, in disorganized fashion. Electricity can indeed
induce one of these seizures if applied to the brain. This is done intentionally in electroconvulsive therapy
given for severe depression. (TV People shudder and call it "shock treatment," but it remains the treatment
of choice for severe depression unresponsive to drugs.)

The human heart is mostly muscle, but it, too, has a nerve system that runs electrically. Executions carried
out with the Chair do two things: 1) Immediately render the victim unconscious with a huge jolt through the
brain, just as if he were having a seizure. 2) The charge gets to the electrical system of the heart and leads
to fibrillation, which amounts to stoppage. The condemned man dies of cardiac arrest.

The peripheral nervous system carries impulses to muscles and tells them what to do. Also, it carries impulses
back to the brain, to keep it informed of temperature, position, vibration, touch, and pain.

Electricity whose direct effects do not reach the brain generally lead only to disrupted feeling at the point
where the juice is applied. This can be beneficial: witness the Tonic Electrical Nerve Stimulator, or TENS,
which fools the brain by drowning out pain impulses the way the sound of rain on the roof masks that party
next door. Or it can be damned irritating, like that sudden jolt on a cold, dry day after scuffing your feet on
the carpet then grabbing the doorknob.

Deadly electricity, the kind that electrocutes, delivers substantial power. The juice out of the wall socket is
plenty to stop your heart. But that's only about 110 volts. They key lies in the amperage, or current. The
wall socket will pull 15-20 amps before the circuit breaker kicks in.

Compare that to the spark you get from the doorknob. Though harmless, it can measure tens of thousands of
volts. The current measures bare millionths of an amp. It's enough to jangle your peripheral nervous system,
and thereby cause r-ain, but its high voltage/low current properties keep it out of the boiler room.

Electrical weapons, at least those designed to incapacitate and not kill, employ high voltage, infinitesimal

151
average current; peak current is quite high for some weapons, but it lasts only microseconds. Fifty thousand
volts pulsed 20 times a second overrides the normal sensory input and motor output of the peripheral nervous
system. The victim, if standing, will usually flop instantly to the ground because his brain can no longer tell
his legs to hold him up, and his sense organs no longer tell the brain what it needs to know to give the right
signals. It is an unpleasant experience, but permanent damage never occurs from the shock itself. Bones can
break in the fall, and a man with a weak heart could have a heart attack from the sudden, ugly adrenalin
rush the jolt triggers.

We've had cattle prods for decades. They got the doggies to move along but didn't hurt them, all with about
7000 volts. The riot years of the sixties saw cattle prod circuitry incorporated into police batons in several
modes, some designed to keep the baton from being taken away from the officer. Sti II, cattle-league voltage.

TASER
The early seventies gave us Taser [tml. This weapon is still around, and seems to have been the spawn of the
early skyjack era as one potential solution to stopping 'jackers without shooting innocents or blowing out a
window of the jet a la Goldfinger.

Taser looks like a flashlight designed by Salvador Dali. It indeed contains a flashlight, but beneath that it
holds two replaceable cartridges that shoot a pair of wires, each with a tiny barb on the end to make it stick
to clothing. It does not need to penetrate flesh, since its 50,000-volt charge will easily leap to the victim's
skin. And when that happens, the victim flops helplessly to the pavement. Descriptions of tests stated that
this put a martial arts expert instantly on the floor, and did the same to a baby bull (did the ASPCA approve
that test?).

Taser is right conspicuous, a known sight to street slime who would casually step out of its 15-foot range at
the sight of someone brandishing it, call in reinforcements before taking you down. Taser makes the typical
liberal assumptions that things happen honorably and predictably, as if you were obliged to give an attacker
the option to depart. Maybe Bernard Goetz was right.

Literature BATF sent us detailed past controversy over whether early versions of Taser were firearms. Some
were deemed so, and some states restrict the sale of Taser as if it were a gun.

HAND-HELD SHOCKERS
The latest wave is the 50,000-volt hand-held pulsed shocker. Information Unlimited sells plans and kits for
100,000 volt models, as well as devices that discharge considerably more current that ordinary shockers.
These units are touted as anti-animal weapons.

These use the same principle as Taser, but eliminate the two-shot limit and uncertainty of a miss at the
expense of distance: you must place this weapon in contact with the attacker's body for it to work. Its arc
easi Iy penetrates clothing. The maker of the Nova XR-5000 [tml stun gun recommends that the most
effective means to apply the unit is to hold it at upper shoulder/neck, under the ribcage, or on the upper
hip, preferably over muscle rather than fat. They warn that the attacker will begin to fall as soon as the unit
is switched on, and further caution that too brief a jolt will let the assailant rise immediately and continue
the attack if he's still of a mind to do so. They indicate that a prolonged application of 5 to 7 seconds
usually leaves the assai lant dazed enough that the user can escape.

The Nova birthed a number of clones, whose voltages range from 35,000 to 50,000. Nova is designed to
work only with a 7.2-7.4 volt nicad battery, not a full 9 volt battery or an 8.6 volt nicad. They market a
similar product called "Spirit" that uses only a lithium battery.

There was talk of "special" shockers for police that pulsed the voltage at a higher rate. The lure for police
use lay in its power to incapacitate rowdy drunks and dope-fiends, who had shown resistance to tear gas and
saps. Literature supplied by Nova states that the unit leaves only mosquito-bite-like marks on the victim's
flesh ••••

It seems nowadays that concepts and products follow a cycle: introduction with the intent to let legitimate

152
LEFT: Nova XR-5000 Stun Gun, 50,000 volts arcing at the touch of your thumb.
Author applied prongs to his thigh, triggered unit. Definitely not a toy; exercise never to
be repeated. RIGHT: Innards of Information Unlimited's "Invisible Pain Field Generator."

153
users defend themselves against mutants. Use of product by police and then civilians with good effect. Use of
product by criminals. Misuse of products by laymen and police.

The portable shocker proved effective, if a bit prone to abuse. Pol ice work demands a degree of self-control
that is unrealistic to expect from human beings. With no witnesses around, and with a violent subject who
just bloodied his nose in the arrest-brawl, what human, even a sworn peace officer, could resist letting the
01' shocker run for a few minutes, now that the bastard is in cuffs? It has been reported that some police
used their hand-held shockers to torture suspects. Shades of South America ••••

Each new menace spawns a countermeasure. Goons with guns led to body armor. Now we have clothing with
built-in wire mesh or impregnation with carbon, like ignition cables, to short-circuit the 50,000-volt
shocker •••or have your old lady sew some aluminum screen in your jacket for nighttime streetwear ....

You can get these devices through the mail for $35-$80, depending on model, features, and the nicad
battery that seems always to be part of the package. Some states and municipalities have outlawed them, as
with tear gas.

ELECTRIFIED CARS AND OBJECTS

One feature of modern-day armored limousines electrifies the hull with about 6000 volts so as to discourage
kidnapers and terrorists. Yes, electricity has many uses in the spook business.

The genuinely determined homeowner can have his alarm trigger a relay that will electrify selected objects,
making them theft-resistant and administering instant punishment to the thief. Information Unlimited sells
detailed material about this. Careful, though. Remember that lawsuit (the report may have been apocryphal)
of the burglar who sued a family whose house he'd just burgled, after he fell out of a tree in their yard and
broke a leg. He is said to have won.

The same logic, or lack of it, would apply to electrified doors. Courts might regard this as a trap, although
you would never set a lethal trap like the one that got national media attention. That poor fellow was justly
acquitted, but might have avoided all the bad publicity if he had used, say, a fence charger he could have
bought at the local hardware store for less than $20, instead of rigging the grill up to house current.

* * *

BB SUBMACHINE GUN
Believe it or don't, but a graduate student felt so bored with his studies in 1976 that he ordered the now-
famous Larc International BB submachine gun. Guns & Ammo magazine had given it a splendid review as that
rare something to bring back the kid in us all.

Well, that early model leaked a bit, and the gizmo that held the freon can (destroys ozone, right?) looked
like a Rube Goldberg reject. But when it was working, it was something. The BBs spewed out so fast they
hissed. You could aim at a stop sign thirty yards away, let fly with a half-second burst, then cower from the
clang as a solid stream of copper-clad death slammed the target.

In general, shooting glass targets is a no-no; but at the dump, where there is no chance of anyone getting
cut, this fiendish Iittle gem comes into its own as a time-ki lIer/bottle-smasher.

Time and dollar-cans of freon seem to pass instantly when you're having fun. Rests are a must to let the
freon reheat to bring up the pressure, since each burst cools it rapidly. Aficionados of the unit spray-paint
their freon cans black so as to absorb heat quickly in the sun. Eye protection is a must, and the weapon
should be given the same respect as all firearms. Get the long-barrel model for higher velocity.

What practical use has this, other than fun? When dogs need punishment short of death for digging up your
petulia bulbs or whatever, the Larc "Korrector" should do nicely, and leave the animal alive to suffer its
welts overnight. At least ~ sleep soundly ••••

154
 * * *

BODY ARMOR
It's been said that body armor was made to defeat the pistol bullet. Against ammunition available off the
shelf at your local gun shop it has succeeded. What made it all possible was a chemist working for DuPont
who came up with a synthetic fiber now known under the name Kevlar[tm). Kevlar armor is effective to the
point that most police officers on the street are likely to be wearing a 2.5-pound vest woven of this unique
fiber. It displays the property of distributing applied force among its molecules as it ruptures, and that
apparently accounts for its incredible strength and impact resistance. Scan virgin Kevlar through a
microscope and it looks like any other synthetic fiber. But view fibers from a vest struck by a bullet, and we
see that what were few have split into thousands. This redistribution of force provides resistance to
penetration.

Naturally enough, Kevlar vests found first application in police ranks. Few other occupations expose the
employee to gunfire as a daily hazard. But cops weren't the only ones who got shot, and soon assassination
targets, or those who saw themselves as such, could buy the vests. Finally, ordinary citizens along with the
criminal element masquerading as good guys added body armor to their repertoires.

The utility of a genuinely effective bulletproof vest could not escape the notice and fiendish ingenuity of the
criminal subculture. We found holdup artists, bank robbers, assassins, and-most spectacularly-drug gangs
operating in southern Florida using it to advantage.

In response to the non-threat, in any practical sense, posed to domestic law-enforcement by KTW
ammunition, the Kevlar vest was beefed up first with a metal and later a variety of ceramic inserts that
would stop it. A sad testament that the protection is needed in some locales, since the Eastern Bloc supplies
terrorists with armor-piercing 9 mm rounds for its airport massacres••••

An interesting and sometimes ignored benefit of body armor has been the chest-protection it affords officers
involved in automobile accidents that would otherwise have led to serious thoracic injury.

* * *

ROCKET WEAPONS: THE BIG AND THE SMALL OF IT

Many years ago-we can't shake the sixties mentality-Life magazine ran a piece on Gyrojet: a pistol that
fired sharp, deadly, finned rockets smaller than a cigarette. In fact, rumor told that the missiles could be
concealed in cigarettes and fired from those carcinogenic launchers. The rounds reached speeds of thousands
of feet per second, given sufficient length of travel, and were thus capable of wounding seriously by
hydrostatic shock. They proved ineffective close-in weapons, fired as they were from pistols. At 3 feet they
had not achieved speed enough to do serious harm. Thus, they failed in the pistol's role of close-in defensive
arm. The piece in Life ran a photo of a Gyrojet missile fired underwater. Some parents of soldiers stationed
in Vietnam bought them for their sons, thinking they were giving them a super-weapon of sorts.

THIOKOL LILLI PUT

But Gyrojet, though extinct, saw and sti II sees so much press that it has taken on the air of myth. Few
outside the rocket establishment know of another spawn of the same era, dubbed "Lilliput" by its maker,
Morton Thiokol Corporation.

The 1964 Lilliput was probably the smallest professionally engineered rocket ever, even though it never saw
full production. The missile, shown in a diagram drawn after reprints of the original production drawings,
measured about 2.3" long by 0.305" (body) diameter. It bore an aluminum tip, weighed a few grams, and
reached top speed of 2000 fps in its burn-time of 0.219 seconds. The maker pegged its effective range at
100 yards.

Designers saw it as a salvo-fired device, all rockets ignited in a bunch and directed to cover a kill-zone,
much like a Claymore mine.
155
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TOP LEFT: 20 years of model rocket engines. Large F-class engine manufactured
5/88. Middle engine, a B6-4, from 5/68. Smallest engine is one of Estes' T -series,
suitable for flinging small warheads away from a mother-munition. TOP RIGHT:
Semi-scale diagram of Thiokol Lilliput. BOTTOM LEFT: Business-end view of A-,
B- and F-class engines. BOTTOM RIGHT: Rubber bands hold deadly F-class cluster
in place while epoxy hardens to form propulsion unit for serious rocket weapon. See
text.

156
For whatever reason it never reached production, and one of few remaining prototypes, perhaps the only one,
lies yellowing with age in a desk drawer at Thiokol.

That reminiscence of Gyrojet and Lilliput cannot help but resurrect studies of model rocketry in those who
grew up in a decade that swung to the note of "Purple Haze," as if seeking some fresh and desperate fluid to
flush the Sputnik syndrome from the blood.

HOMEMADE ROCKET WEAPONS

So many texts omit purpose and suitability from the equation when figuring design and deployment of
homebuilt rocket weapons. There is little doubt that, with proper design and a great deal of testing, effective
rocket weapons lie both within the realm of possibility and within our grasp. Yet it seems that the only
nonmilitary literature dealing with rocket design is that of model rockets, flimsy units intended to fly straight
up, forbidden ever from carrying destructive payloads. Rockets could be used to loft charges over a distance,
just like a mortar, which would probably be the better choice.

But what comes to mind when we think of rocket weapons are bazookas, Iight antitank weapons,
Panzerfausts, and the Eastern Bloc's ubiquitous and rightly feared RPG- 7, recently upgraded by the
Egyptians to defeat a mind-boggling 500 mm-19.6 inches-of homogeneous steel, this compared with 260
previously. These weapons loft an explosive warhead at slow pistol bullet velocities, with essentially no
recoil, and with fair accuracy in trained hands.

Two questions: 1) Can we fabricate rocket weapons effective enough to justify investment in this complex
delivery system? 2) Will we meet situations that call for rocket-propelled weapons?

The answer to the first question is yes. The answer to the second question cannot escape Iimbo. It is hard to
dream up scenarios in modern America wherein Mr. or Ms. Doe must resort to a homemade RPG. But the
same applies to much of spooklore. Situations that call for expertise in it seldom announce themselves in time
to let us prepare as we might wish (witness the author's two demure encounters with real-world lock-
picking). For discussion purposes, assume that conditions exist, out of whatever unlikely scene, that justify
the risk to maker, user, and bystander of rocket weapons.

Model Rocketry touted its enviable safety record, safety being important when kids get to monkey with
missiles traveling at more than half the speed of sound (and that was 20 years ago, with the old breed of
class B engines; class G and beyond have pushed model rockets through the sound barrier). That fine record
surprised few, since the missi Ie spent its time and velocity travel ing straight up, every mi II isecond taking it
further from potential collision, then floated back to earth on the wings of a parachute or streamer.

The model rocketeer's pledge, or safety code, or whatever it was, provided that the practitioner would never
aim the rocket at any target, anything on land, nor attach any sort of "pyrotechnic warhead" to it.

The fact that the pledge embraced those taboos may have meant that somebody, somewhere, sometime had
done those things with harmless model rockets. In fact, the author could not resist the temptation to shoot a
rocket at a ground target. The pledge had given him the idea. In 1966 he set the launch rail about ten
degrees from horizontal, slid an Estes Industries Astron Streak that was ready for the trash anyway down the
rail, loaded an engine, an A8-3 as it now seems, and fired it at a long-abandoned caretaker's shack in a
vacant lot. Wellsir, the missile flew about ten feet before it zoomed straight into the ground, the rocket
disintegrated, and there endeth the lesson. Further testing seemed pointless.

Which brings us to the issue: Can we convert model sport rockets with any success to genuinely effective
weapons?

The first answer is, not without breaking the law. Model rockets designed to travel straight up can carry a
maximum fuel load of four ounces, more than enough to make an effective weapon. Trouble is, according to
law, once you aim an otherwise guileless model rocket at a ground target, or once its fuel allocation exceeds
four ounces, it enters the forbidden zone of Destructive Devices. You will endure the same rigmarole that
haunts si lencers and machine guns to fool with rockets as weapons. Of course, as long as you maintain the
appearance of sticking strictly to vertical travel you can pass yourself off as a model rocketeer.

157
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Second, not without endangering yourself or bystanders. The rocket weapons discussed shortly could strike
targets over a mi Ie distant under some conditions. That mandates fireproof testing grounds so far from
innocents that there will be no chance of harming anyone save the rocketeer, whose actions silently condemn
him to travel at his risk.

Third, about the only components usable off-the-shelf for serious weapons work are the engines. These offer
reliability, consistency, and a great deal of safety, compared with making one's own engines from scratch.
(Not that there isn't something to say for making one's own engines. The level of extra-pyrotechnic interest
in this aspect of rocketry has burgeoned of late due to R&D and marketing of tools and instructions from
Impulse Reactions and Teleflite). Still, rocket weapons fairly demand quality control which may lie beyond
the reach of all but the most dedicated and well heeled researcher.

Paper body tubes, balsa fins and nose-cones might serve well for scale testing in research, but any terrorist
or paramilitary unit that came under fire from such flimsy weapons would laugh them off, then turn the
infrared scanner to discover your launch site and dispatch you with a single bullet fired from a night-scope-
equipped sniper rifle. No, it would not do to tease a serious foe with kiddie weapons.

What do we see in serious, unguided military rockets, exemplified by the U.S. Army's LAW (light antitank
weapon) and the USSR's RPG- 7? A very special time-thrust curve: These rockets have burned out by the
time they exit the launch tube, about a foot of travel in the case of the RPG- 7, whose warhead sticks out
the front of the launcher. Only its engine nestles in the firing tube. Their burn-times measure a fraction of a
second. The military learned early that rockets which continued to ride a tail of flame after they quit the
launcher had a grisly way of cooking the unprotected firer's face. Our Stinger shoulder-fired guided missile
sports a two-stage motor. The first burns a fraction of a second, enough to clear the rocket from the
launcher, then a sustainer engine ignites. In essence, rocket-propelled grenades accelerate to the speed of a
slow bullet without generating recoil.

Britain's Starstreak missile exemplifies the third generation of portable antiaircraft weapons, this two-stage
device tipped with three independent, maneuverable, explosive darts.

Return to this matter of time-thrust curves. No ex-model rocketeer can forget those wonderful illustrations
provided in Estes Industries catalogs, back in the sixties, of two basic curves. The first type gave a medium
initial surge of thrust followed by sustained thrust at lower level. That type would not suit the portable
rocket weapon due to backblast and the laws of physics. The physics involved in predicting the behavior of a
projectile that continues to accelerate after being fired horizontally rather than vertically is extremely
complex. An unguided rocket fired essentially parallel to the ground begins to drop as soon as it leaves the
launcher, no matter that it may be accelerating. Effective unguided rocket weapons toss their loads upward
slightly, such that aiming is much akin to aiming a very slow, heavy bullet.

Thus, as we shop the pre-fab engine stock for raw material, we seek a short, sharp thrust, Iike that shown in
the diagram. Eventually, we will resort to the most powerful engine of this type available, but we could well
use smaller engines with similar burn-time for feasibility testing before working up to engines that cost five
bucks apiece. At this writing, you can get 3 A-class T -series engines for less than a buck apiece by
mailorder. They're dandy for scale testing. Black-powder-based F-100-class engines will loft serious
warheads, particularly in clusters of 3, but go for five bucks each.

This type of engine bears a bigger nozzle coupled with a center burning grain. The propellant, most always
simple black powder compressed into a hard grain in a hydraulic press, burns in a split second along its large
surface area. Before Estes Industries changed to the metric system to designate its engines, the fabled B3
series reigned as king of the thrust peaks: about 9 pounds in a total burn time of 0.35 seconds. Launching a
small rocket loaded with a B3-5 (5 seconds of smoke before the parachute deployed) felt like a 110-decibel
sneeze, during which the rocket somehow vanished from the launch pad and its smoke trail materialized at
2000 feet ....

If memory serves, Centuri Engineering, a now-defunct company formerly based in the desert southwest, sold
engines with a 25-lb peak thrust, center burning grain type, circa 1968, an engine in the F-class. Total
impulse delivered by an engine doubles with each successive letter. For example, a C engine delivers four
times the impulse (thrust times time) than an A engine. An F engine is 16 times as powerful as a B engine.
This is adequate to the needs of weaponry.
160
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Engines currently in the Flight Systems, Inc. inventory include a few that could serve in serious rocket
weapons. These are F-class engines. The major contender is the F100-X, with a peak thrust near 30 pounds.
The unit measures 158 x 27 mm, the largest engine in the photo set. It could be clustered three or four in a
launch tube three inches in diameter (cardboard or PVC pipe appear most readily available and least costly).

Ignition of clusters would have to depart somewhat from customary model rocket practice, which places an
electrical igniter in the nozzle of each engine. Naturally, some igniters fail or simply lag behind the others.
One failed ignition loses a third of the total thrust. Two failed means the warhead may land close enough to
the firer to endanger him.

These engines sport capacious nozzles. The most reliable means to ignite a cluster at once is to neck the
nozzle end with kraft paper, then insert a packet of two grams of FFFFg black powder configured as an
electrical squib. A length of black match extends all the way up into the central core of each engine, and is
secured at the base with tape or more permanent adhesive. In one POOF, all three engines will get enough
high-pressure flame to ignite.

These engines burn for just over 0.5 seconds, about twice as long as we would like, but acceptable if the
firer wears suitable protection or the launch tube measures longer than four feet. The main feature is the
sharp initial thrust. Except in guided missiles, long burn-times waste propellant that could have given the
missile greater initial boost that, coincidentally, gets it up to stable velocity fast.

The military has available to it rockets hardly larger than G-class model engines that will deliver thousands
of pounds of thrust for about a quarter of a second. Ejection seats of fighter aircraft use them to boost the
pilot free of the plane. These use exotic solid propellants and sophisticated manufacturing techniques utterly
impractical for the amateur.

You could not make useful weapons without extensive testing for performance, accuracy, reliability, and
consistency, and study against multiple types of targets. That would demand a BIG open space free of
observers, along with proper licenses from Big Brother.

Better return on effort would come from learning to apply small arms genuinely well. Of course, the devilish
experimenter in us all brings back that thought of sticking a warhead on the end of a model rocket. What kid
in a fit of mischief has not glUed a firecracker on the end of a bottle rocket, just for the intense yet
indefinable thrill of it?

Fusing would pose problems. The major options are time fuses ignited by the rocket motor at burnout, and
impact fuses. Amateur impact fuses have an uneasy way of detonating as we drop the product on the carpet.
They may find use in serious insurgency cases, where the need for detonation on impact justifies the risk, but
should be considered taboo otherwise. (As a rule, serious insurgents can find a willing supplier of military
weapons, depending on which way they lean politically.)

Let's be straight in admitting that here we must cop out. We own neither the facilities nor the proper
licenses to make and test completely configured rocket weapons. We can, however, pass along knowledge
that appears fit in a truly practical sense to rocket weapons. Experimenters with no experience in model
rocketry would do well to start with simple, vertically fired rockets armed with nothing more than a
parachute. Start with small models propelled by engines in the A or sub-A category. It saves money and
makes the rockets easier to recover. After building a few proven kits to get a feel for rockets, start working
on your own designs, slanting them toward that rocket-propelled-grenade look ••••

First, select the engines, warhead, desired effect, and launch mechanism. Create a design on paper that
intuitively looks stable. Make an inert mockup and test it for stability, using those ancient teachings: Tie a
stout cord about 8 feet long around the rocket at its balance point, which corresponds to its center of
gravity. Careful not to bean bystanders, hurl the rocket around you in a circle with its nose cone forward. A
stable design should remain forward-oriented and stable. If it wobbles, it needs either more fin-effect (not
necessarily fins; the fins could be changed in shape to protrude behind the rocket; or it needs more mass at
its forward end: a heavier warhead, perhaps; or the length of the rocket needs to be increased). Remember

162
that the rocket wi II travel minus propellant weight; thus, for this test, a spent engine (or engines, if a
cluster design is to be used) is appropriate.

Once you have a small scale design that looks theoretically sound, the only thing to do is try it out. Select a
launch tube of appropriate diameter, mount it on a sturdy holder (you are not yet ready to hand-fi re the
device, even a scale model), and fire it. Note its stability, how far it falls before hitting/missing the target.
If too low, adjust the sights so it aims above the target in order to strike it.

With all factors that have to be adjusted, count on trashing a hundred models before arriving at a practical
design. And that's just for the rocket and launcher. Warheads, warhead ignition, prefabrication and storage
would probably take many months, perhaps years, to master. Rocket weapons demand more R&D, patience,
and money than any other weapons system. Discounting the amortized R&D cost, count on each full-scale
weapon using a cluster of three F-class engines for propulsion to cost $30 to $50.

Pause here to consider the utility of one of the latest generation of video cameras in the R&D stage of
designing rocket weapons. One would prefer to confirm that engine burnout has indeed taken place by the
time the rocket leaves its launch tube. Mount the tube on a suitable horizontal test bed out at your isolated
and desolate range, frame the picture such that it sees the entire tube and most of the left of the screen is
blank. Fire the weapon by remote control at twilight, when there is still enough light to tape the tube and
target, yet show any exhaust plume clearly. Play it back with its 1/1000 second shutter to freeze motion.
Military arms suppliers employ exactly this type of setup in their design work. With an extra thousand or
two, there is no reason the amateur cannot follow this same instructive procedure.

Again, only for those licensed to make destructive devices•..•

SERIOUS WARHEADS
What could we, realistically, expect from homemade rocket weapons? Short of arming them with shaped-
charge warheads, necessarily based on high explosives, quite a bit.

First, we can mount what counter-terror squads have come to label "stun grenades." These produce a dandy
local concussion and flash, hardly surprising since they are modified aerial flash salutes, optimized for lack of
shrapnel. In the enclosed space of a room or airplane, they generate a significant concussion, enough to stun
without producing injury, save for those within inches of the device. They are the rough equivalent of three-
inch aerial salutes. That means several ounces of flash powder in a paper case that converts to confetti on
detonation. Since the case will be flimsy, a rocket warhead could not be expected to penetrate doors or even
tough windows without self-destruction. Stun grenades protect their charge with a re-usable casing that
ejects the flash bomb an instant before detonation. A reliable mechanism could conceivably be fabricated for
a rocket warhead, but if it failed, you would have to deal with unwanted shrapnel.

Second, for close-in antipersonnel effects, as well as a measure of incendiary power, the titanium flash bomb
is hands-down the most effective warhead on a weight basis. Even M-80-size devices yield spectacular
bursts. A hard paper unit an inch in diameter detonating in a room, car, or within ten feet of an enemy
would produce shrapnel and incendiary effect, not to mention scaring bloody hell out of savages who've never
seen combat.

Third, and a variation on one big titanium bomb, would be the cluster warhead: a solid-based tube with a
nose cone to aid penetration of windows and such, with an expelling charge of black powder in the base to
scatter, say, twenty M-80-sized units about the target. Though more irritating than devastating, such a
device could find use in close quarters or against fire-prone targets. It is extremely difficult to convey the
sense of awe and dread the titanium burst calls forth in those who have not seen it. Equipping the individual
salutes with fuses ranging in length from 1/8" to one inch would prolong the time the enemy had to take
cover until the effect of the warhead had spent. This would give an assault force precious seconds free of
aimed return fire in which to advance.

What about rockets within rockets? Our military is now seeking to perfect the terminally guided submunition,

163
a large missi Ie that ferries a dozen or so independently guided antitank rockets high over a cluster of
vehicles, whereupon the released submunitions flash under their own power to individual targets.

Forget about making tiny guided missiles, but do note the potential for small prefab rocket engines to carry 8
to 12 M-80-size warheads hundreds of feet from the burnout point of a bazooka-size rocket. The Estes T-
series fit the end of an M-80 case perfectly. Anyone who has fashioned a crude "bottle rocket" from one of
these babies will testify that they move briskly, probably about 400 fps tops. Properly configured units could
spread salute-size warheads over quite a distance from the impact point. The A8-0T, with a burn time of
only 0.26 seconds, is the engine of choice.

Fourth, consider a canister of tear gas. It need not burn to be effective, as the "Clear Out" aerosol units
have shown. One could use the rocket to launch the canister further, or with greater force to smash through
a window, with some type of mechanical trigger to release its CS contents, which takes about 28 seconds,
according to promotional literature for the device. An alternative would affix an M-80-sized salute firmly to
the side or base of the unit. On detonation, it would rupture the metal, releasing the contents in one big
puff. In fact, one could improvise easily here by surrounding the M-80 with four to six pocket-size containers
of tear gas, depending on the size of the warhead. Naturally, testing would have to confirm that the small
explosive would in fact rupture the containers reliably.

Here we must turn grim, always bearing in mind that this assumes a legitimate need for such fearsome
weapons, and ponder the terrible consequences of substituting say, three large butane canisters for the tear-
gas cans. These would fit easily in a warhead less than 3" diameter, with a long flash powder bursting charge
placed in the center, perhaps with a few granules of titanium thrown in to ensure ignition of explosively
vented butane. This would give us a warhead of serious incendiary power, at least against easily ignited
materials, hardly something one would toy with out of idle curiosity ••••

It may have occurred to the reader to use gasoline in the warhead. Gasoline ill-suits rocket weapons for
several reasons. It is cursed with a fierce vapor pressure. It will force itself out of the smallest cracks or
openings in a glass or plastic container, which is subject to rupturing prematurely under the pressure.
Gasoline dispersed and ignited by an explosive goes up in an impressive fireball that spends most of its heat in
the air, rather than clinging doggedly to the target. Napalm might do if you care to make it. It is saponified
gasoline, a jelly that burns slowly and resists many types of firefighting efforts.

Naturally, those who can get their hands on high explosives and detonators, and who make frequent trips to
Afghanistan or other land under siege, should feel no compunction about raising the yield of rocket warheads
as the situation dictates.

SMALLER ••••
Estes Industries makes a handful of engines 0.5" in diameter, but disposing of fair thrust for their size. These
are the "T" series, the smallest engine shown in the photos. Taking the Lilliput as our model, note that
burn-times of the two engines are similar, thrust for the larger engine heavier, but not increased in
proportion to its weight. (Lilliput used so-called composite propellant. Most small model rocket engines use
compressed black powder, which offers less thrust per unit weight than composite propellants.) Yet, the A8-
OT, judging from its performance fired as an extremely crude and relatively heavy stick-rocket, easily
approaches pistol-bullet speed, and would undoubtedly do better in a properly designed unit.

One design could wound through sharp, hard point and kinetic energy, just like a bullet, but be thrown out in
salvos, much like the Lilliput. Another effective concept could be a variant of the "terminally guided
submunition," with each T-series engine throwing an M-80-sized titanium warhead several hundred feet
laterally from some mother-munition, either a mine or the tip of a larger rocket. Pure speculation, but not
without grim potential, as anyone who has seen even a tiny titanium warhead explode will agree....

-YES, BUT HOW DOES THE WARHEAD TRIGGER?

A good question, one whose answers demand ingenuity and extreme caution. Ignition while the rocket is still
in the launch tube usually means an abrupt and ugly end to your career as weapons wizard.

164
Ignition systems for the warhead will depend upon the nature of the warhead and the target. Detonation on
impact is extremely difficult for the amateur to achieve safely. For example, one could conceive of a
percussion cap or pistol primer mounted inside the explosive, at the end of a metal tube that houses a spike.
The point of the spike rests on the cap, the blunt end rests flush with the tip of the warhead. When the
projectile strikes the target, it's like a firing pin falling on the primer. Of course, should you drop the
warhead on its nose accidentally, it would detonate.

One publication suggested an electrical ignition system using a doorbell button on the tip of the warhead.
This in turn connected to a power source and an electrical squib. Question is, how do you keep tinkers from
pressing that button out of curiosity? Buttons are meant to be pushed ••••

A more attractive option is delayed ignition depending on fire-transfer from the spent engines. This, after all,
is the means through which they ignite upper-stage engines in multistage model rockets. A safety fuse
exposed to the forward chamber of a booster engine has an extremely high likelihood of taking fire when the
booster burns out. The delay would have to be short, two seconds or so, enough to allow for flight time and
penetration of the target. Too long a fuse would let the felons throw the device back at the assault force.

* * *

MODIFIED SHOTGUN SHELLS

For those who care to master its terrible recoi I, the standard 12 ga riot gun can be an effective weapon
against soft targets. That scenario needs no further discussion because its particulars make themselves plain.

But the shotgun holds shells that fairly beg to be loaded with something other than bird shot. Be warned,
though, that modification of commercial shotguns or shells, especially with explosives or incendiary loads,
would contain strong elements of personal jeopardy, along with overtones of extreme irresponsibility and
serious lawbreaking. For those and other reasons we recommend that no one actually carry out these horrible
specu lations.

That said, it is interesting to consider how much more a defender could get out of his 12 gauge shotgun with
something other than lead shot in the tube.

Casual experiments back in the late sixties showed that any number of stout paper casings designed for
pyrotechnic purposes fit snugly inside an empty 12 gauge shotgun shell. Could a tube salute be fashioned? A
titanium flash bomb? An incendiary of sorts? What would be the effect on the firer if it detonated on the
breech or barrel? (The smart experimenter would sacrifice a cheap weapon to test it. The cost of the weapon
is less than the use of your eyes. Would it ignite the remaining rounds?) What charge of black powder would
be used to propel it?

Working up this type of round would have to proceed along the Iines of working up other types of handloaded
ammunition: start at the ground.

We can consider only one type of propelling charge: black powder, or its equivalent, a product called
"Pyrodex." Black powder comes in various grain sizes. Of what is sold in gun stores, Fg is the coarsest, FFg
the next finer, and so on down to FFFFg. It is theoretically possible to get what is known as meal powder-
gunpowder dust-but the author has yet to see it on the shelf, or to have a gunshop owner say he could
order it.

Grain size makes a difference because, the larger the grain, the less burning area exposed per unit weight of
charge. In crude terms, that means Fg will generate a prolonged, almost gentle shove, while FFFFg would
spend its energy quickly, giving us pressures so high that they might burst through the end of the casing,
setting off whatever goodie you had loaded in the tube.

Why not use smokeless powder, normally used to propel bullets or shot? Here breech pressures rise into the
thousands of pounds per square inch-50,OOO or more for centerfire rifle cartridges. A miscalculation might
not only set off the modified goodie, but could burst the breech in your face and detonate the other rounds in

165
 FILLER: DEPENDS ON DESIRED EFFECT.
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the magazine. No, smokeless powder should be used only with bullets, and then only by experienced
hand loaders who've fathomed its mystic ways.

For what we describe here, begin with dummy devices: physical mockups identical in size and weight to the
contemplated finished projectile, yet utterly inert. You may fuse them, but load no thermite or whatever
sinister flammable you cooked up. We must first establish that the casing has enough integrity to withstand
being shot from a gun.

Assuming a 12 gauge shell, with a hard paper cylinder that fills its space as the payload, start with 0.5 gm
of Fg black powder as your propelling charge. Use a cylinder-bore weapon. Fire for range, velocity. You must
recover the test shell to see if its base (say, a 1/2" thickness of hardwood dowel glued in place) remained
intact. It may be necessary to get fancy and turn aT-shaped end closure on a lathe so that blowthrough is
almost impossible.

Now, half a gram of black powder will probably toss the projectile a ways, but we seek maximum range while
maintaining complete safety. Begin incrementing the charge by 0.1 grain of powder each trial until you reach
the point that you can almost use a set of sights to aim it. Max velocity wi II help it penetrate, say, windows
in houses and cars; but it must be tough to avoid breaking up.

As for the other end, well, you could turn a hardwood nose cone of sorts, if penetration is important. You
have no way to know whether this type of thing would tumble in flight. It may be best to view the modified
shotgun shell as a mechanism for tossing things further and faster than you could with a slingshot. (Who can
forget Russ Meyer's Supervixens? Remember Chuck Napier lofting dynamite sticks with that nifty little sling-
shot/launcher? There's something for everybody in a Russ Meyer movie•••• )

Though scarce, commercial products that incorporate some of these features are available. For instance, one
12 ga shell fires a flash salute larger than an M-80 a distance of about 275 feet. Its purported duty is to
scare birds away from crops. Phoenix Systems sells those shells. And one firm markets a hollow plastic slug
filled with liquid tear gas that will penetrate light barriers, such as glass or thin plywood. Police only.

* * *

ULTRASONICS: EARPLUGS DON'T HELP ••••

It is by now common knowledge that high-powered sound above the range of human hearing can rid houses of
pests, from bugs to rats. Their vulnerability to this attack lies in the fact that they "hear" what is for us
inaudible. Some species use these frequencies in their reproductive cycle. Jamming them means death by
attrition for the local vermin contingent.

Despite the fact that humans are not bel ieved to hear ultrasonic sounds, it has nevertheless been observed
that those exposed to extremely loud high-frequency (not necessarily ultrasonic) sound (10 KHz to 20 KHz)
at levels well above 100 dB, display physical symptoms, such as nausea, headache, panic, fainting,
irritability, and an urge to defecate. The reason for this response has not been delineated; all we can do is
speculate. The symptoms are most compatible with activation of parts of the autonomic nervous system, itself
an unconscious mechanism, perhaps equipped with ability to sense harmful energy that escapes consciousness.

And ultrasonic energy can be harmful. Small metal probes vibrating at ultrasonic frequencies can cut
materials. An ultrasonic probe has found use cleaning teeth. It's not supposed to hurt ••••

If the role of ultrasonic energy as an antipersonnel weapon lies in limbo, there is no doubt that has use
against dogs. Imagine the 120 dB siren of an ambulance right in your living room. The normal reaction is to
get the hell out of there, pronto. Since dogs hear what is inaudible to us, we can devise fiendish devices to
crank out ultrasonics at inhumane levels to keep the cursed animals at bay.

All that's needed is an ultrasonic oscillator feeding a high-powered audio amplifier, in turn driving one or
more ultrasonic transducers. Back in the discussion of microphones, we met the crystal mic and its basis, the
piezoelectric effect. The most practicable ultrasonic drivers happen to be horn-loaded piezoelectric

167
transducers. (A horn is the acoustic equivalent of an impedance-matching transformer. It ensures maximum
conversion of diaphragmatic vibration into acoustic energy. The higher the frequency, the smaller the mouth
of the horn can be without losing efficiency. Efficiencies for this type of transducer easily exceed 100 dB for
an input of 1 watt at 1 meter, this compared to about 90 dB for typical hi-fi tweeters that will reach into
the ultrasonic region. The piezo horn enjoys another advantage in that it will absorb genuinely huge amounts
of power without self-destructing.)

To investigate this phenomenon first-hand, we built Information Unlimited's "Invisible Pain Field Generator,"
a kit selling for about $40 plus $5 shipping (innards in photo). The unit generates either a continuous tone at
a rated intensity of 105 dB, or a tone-sweep at a rate of 1 to 10Hz, sweeping an adjustable range, from 15
KHz to 25 KHz.

The unit performed as advertised in the sense of producing sonic and ultrasonic energy in the ranges noted.
As to its moniker, "Invisible Pain Field Generator," well, it definitely triggered a headache in the author, not
the typical migraine or tension headache; rather, an odd pain in the back of the head and neck that is hard
to characterize. Exposure at a distance of less than two feet for ten seconds would do it reproducibly-but
the effect was delayed. The sound does not instantly hit one with pain, but consistently produced a
disagreeable sensation of delayed onset. Interestingly, silicone rubber earplugs did nothing to blunt the
response, suggesting that the pathways involved do not require an open ear canal. (Earplugs attenuate high
frequencies much better than they cut low frequencies•••• ) In fact, holding the hand over the transducer had
Iittle effect.

The transducer supplied with this unit was in essence a piezoelectric cone tweeter, far less efficient than
horn-loaded piezo tweeters. One could replace the existing tweeter with Motorola's horn-loaded unit,
available from McGee Radio for $7.95, perhaps from Parts Express at $4.95, and gain 7 dB or so at the
expense greater bulk. The piezo horn functions up to 27 KHz, while the less efficient cone goes up to 40
KHz.

I.U. sells far more powerful units based on this same principle. They generate greater power and feed an
array of four highly efficient horn-loaded piezo tweeters that crank out this same fearful sonic energy at
genuinely frightening power levels, more than 120 dB according to their literature. Theory would support the
accuracy of that claim. That should be enough to drive an intruder out if the unit were configured to activate
as part of an alarm.

This kit, and from the look of its Iiterature, most of what Information Unl imited carries, is not for beginners.
It demands considerable skill with a small-tipped soldering iron, and the instructions assume the builder has
access to, and understands the use of, a VOM and oscilloscope. Fitting the finished board, transducer, and
battery into the plastic case supplied would tax the ingenuity of the tyro.

Be aware of the legal concept of an "infernal device." Generally, this refers to what lawmakers anticipate
wanting to have the right to strip you of or stop you from using if in the opinion of police or a judge it
qualifies as an infernal device. Ultrasonic sound generators may fall in this category in some jurisdictions.

* * *

EXPLOSIVE DEVICES

REACTIVATION OF PRACTICE GRENADES

Most who have scanned the pages of military-oriented publications have seen ads for inert practice grenades,
complete with moving parts. If indeed the item comes complete, including its springs, we might restore it to
serviceable impact through simple means.

First we must understand the mechanism by which hand grenades function. Refer to the photo set of a dummy
MK II grenade that saw use in WW II but has been replaced by newer models. Made of cast iron, the
serrations on the surface mean nothing in a functional sense, since experiments showed that, to produce

168
fragmentation along furrows in metal, the indentations must line the interior of the grenade, rather than the
exterior. Still, cast iron has proven brittle enough that it will serve, though this design generates a far less
uniform spray of shrapnel than the latest generation of grenades, and weighs more.

Yet this outdated design is most suited to reactivation, since it does not require high explosives to achieve
its effect. Perchlorate-based flash powder, specifically with sulfur, as reviewed in detail in the chapter on
pyrotechnics, will suffice. (In genuinely urgent situations, say, when Ivan has just parked a T-62 in the front
yard, one may resort to the chlorate, but ever so cautiously .... )

To operate a live, conventional, time-delay grenade, first be certain that the safety retaining clip has been
removed. This safety retainer serves as a backup during transport and rough handl ing. Remove it before
setting out on a mission.

Grasp the unit such that the safety lever is held against the palm. Pull the pin. At this point, nothing further
happens until the device is released, at which point the striker spring sweeps the safety lever around in an
arc, releasing the striker. The striker snaps down hard on a percussion-sensitive primer, igniting a delay train
of five seconds or so, which ends in a detonator, which in turn sets off the main charge.

Note that the time from release of the grenade to ignition of the percussion primer takes a fraction of a
second. If any path exists allowing direct communication of fire from the primer to the main charge,
detonation occurs within mere feet of the user, even if he has thrown it hard. Reactivation demands careful
attention to this point.

The ideal restorable grenade contains all non-explosive and non-combustible components, including safety pin,
safety lever, striker, and body with screw-in plug in the bottom. Such units lacking only the bottom plug are
available as of this writing from Phoenix Systems at about $20 for single units, down to $17 per unit in
quantities of 10. Greater quantity discounts may be available, though purchase in bulk might raise uneasy
questions in some quarters. Contact the suppl ier.

Many other firms sell "practice grenades" whose complement of parts may range from complete to worthless.
The advantage is lower price, about a third of what Phoenix Systems charges for single units. It might pay to
check out samples from several suppl iers.

The main disadvantage in the unit we obtained from Phoenix Systems was its 7/16" unthreaded hole in the
base. Firm closure is essential to maximum performance, and we may accomplish it in any number of ways. A
tight-fitting section of hardwood dowel epoxied in place should serve. So might a plug of auto body dent-
filler. We leave this aspect to the ingenuity of the licensed manufacturer.

To get the inert grenade to function as God intended, we must restore 1) the percussion-sensitive primer, 2)
the delay train, 3) the igniter/detonator, and 4) the main explosive charge. This assumes we do not have
access to high explosives used in military issue units.

Start with the percussion-sensitive primer, since one main plus of this type of unit is that we need not pause
to strike a match to light it. Any gunshop that caters to the black-powder trade will stock percussion caps.
These differ from primers used on pistol and rifle cartridges in design and properties of composition. Do not
try to use a pistol primer (the photo shows a cap and a primer side-by-side). Not only will it not fit well into
the desired space, but requires too much force to initiate. And the cursed things give off a terrible report
that one would never guess from their size. A large pistol primer fired alone equals the report of a .22
pistol.

Percussion caps are mi Ider, designed merely to transfer fire in black powder weapons, rather than the tamer
smokeless powder. Since the delay Iine for the reactivated grenade wi II consist of safety fuse, whose core is
black powder, percussion caps are ideal.

Note from the photo of the open top of the ignition section that we must fashion some mount for the
percussion cap. Suggested details appear in the diagram. We wish the cap to seat firmly around its rim, and
for the end of a piece of safety fuse to touch the priming material. A section of hardwood dowel of proper

169
 o
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PERCUSSION PERCUSSION-SENSITIVE
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DOIolEL

PERCUSSION IGNITION ASSEnlLV

GLUE INTO WELL AT TOP OF GRENADE

REACTIVATION OF PRACTICE GRENADE. TOP LEFT: Disassembled unit. TOP CENTER: Note absence of provision for sealing
hole in bottom. Licensed experimenter must use his own ingenuity here. TOP RIGHT: Empty well for percussion primer. BOn'OM
LEFT: One possible configuration for mounting percussion cap and fuse. Fixture made from hardwood dowel. BOTTOM CENTER:
Left is percussion cap, right is large pistol primer. Only the cap is suited for this task out of its size and lack of deafening report
as it triggers. BOTTOM RIGHT: Close-up of striker pin. (continued next page)
-J

(continued from previous page)

TOP LEFT: Striker and its spring installed. TOP CENTER: Striker must be cocked all the way back into the hollow behind it.
Spring is extremely strong. Exercise great care when dealing with live primer. TOP RIGHT: Striker has been fully cocked, and
safety retaining lever put in place. Nail is in hole where pull-ring will ultimately go; note safety clip, a safeguard that must be
removed prior to using unit. BOnOM LEFT: Thin-walled aluminum tube that will be filled with primer/detonator. BOnOM
CENTER: Another view of safety retaining clip. BOTTOM RIGHT: Hole whose apparent purpose is to allow insertion of metal pin
during process of cocking striker such that, if striker were accidentally released, it could not hit primer.
diameter and bored inside to accept the fuse, and of proper outer diameter to fit the cap should work well,
though other materials could serve. A space will probably remain around this mount. Pack or shim the dowel
to keep the cap centered. If you plan to make several tests of ignition, count on the dowel burning away a
little with each, such that the shim should be temporary, to make way for more lasting stuff once you have
the dimensions down pat.

It is vital that, in the final design, there be no direct path of fire from the percussion cap to the main
charge. That would result in instantaneous detonation as soon as the cap was struck. Epoxy resin to fill all
gaps should serve.

If used as-is, the minimum length of fuse is just over 1.5 inches. If tests show your fuse burns that up in 5
seconds or less, fine. If it burns considerably slower, you may have to cut off part of the tubing that extends
beneath the threads.

Seal the edges of the fuse at both upper and lower portions to minimize the chance of fire getting to the
booster charge prematurely.

Have the fuse protrude at least 1/2" from the end of the metal tube that extends into the body of the
grenade. Fill the thin-walled aluminum tube about two thirds full of FFFFg black powder, or Pyrodex,
whichever is available. Next, friction-fit the tube back onto the delay-train tube as it came from the
manufacturer. If you had to cut off any part, a single wrapping of tape or a daub of epoxy will secure it. The
tUbing wi II blow off when the black powder ignites, providing a fine boost to the main charge.

Our main charge will consist of as much perchlorate-based flash powder as we can comfortably and safely
pack into the grenade. Flash powder is discussed at length in the fireworks chapter. Since we deal here with
serious weapons, we will assume otherwise unacceptable risks and note that chlorate-based compositions,
with appropriate precautions against acidity, give hardier performance. However, the prudent artificer would
use a mix of potassium perchlorate, dark pyro aluminum, and sulfur in a weight ratio of 2: 1: 1 or 3: 1: 1. Sulfur
offers greater gaseous reaction products, which, at least in theory, gives improved performance over per-
chlorate/aluminum mixes. Follow the instructions for mixing given in the section on pyrotechnics.

Loading will be tricky. The case is metal. If an electrical potential exists between the powder and the case,
static electricity could detonate it during loading. Best to place the powder out on a sheet of aluminum foil,
then place grenade and foil at ground potential by touching the case to the foil before attempting to pour it.
The same goes if you use a funnel.

Fill the case completely, but make no attempt to compress the powder. Sealing the end is a matter of
screwing in the detonator, but note the hazard of detonating the powder from friction between metal threads.
Coat the threads on the inside of the neck with a thin layer of petrolatum (Vaseline[tm]) before screwing it
in. No one could fault the artificer who wished to leave insertion of the detonator until just prior to field
operations.

One part missing from the unit but which may be valuable is a rubber seal/washer at the neck. In humid
climates or exposure to water, it could keep the unit in working condition.

Depending upon circumstances, a potentially useful mod would add 25 percent by weight granular titanium to
the main charge (see the chapter on pyrotechnics).

Although inert grenades of later generations are available, they will do you little good unless you can get
hold of high explosives. Flash powder will fragment cast iron, but will not do much to the notched, coiled
steel spring that forms the shrapnel of our army's "baseball" grenade. Not only that, you will have to get
hold of a blasting cap to detonate the high explosive.

Be aware of the legalities involved. BATF spells them out clearly: You are creating a destructive device and
manufacturing explosives. Several permits and/or licenses may apply. You will have to meet appropriate
storage requirements. If state or local laws get in the way, either move to a properly enlightened locale, or
don't do it. -

172
In the course of preparing this discussion we did not mix any explosive nor create an explosive device. Our
inert practice grenade/photo dummy was and remains only that, a lifeless piece of iron awaiting resurrection
in some nameless future that sanctifies violence in the name of freedom, unlike the dreary present, where
oppression has the upper hand and free access to powerful explosives••••

SHAPED CHARGES: THE MUNROE EFFECT

If you took an inch-thick slab of plastic explosive and gouged your initials in it to a depth of one quarter
inch, then set the piece initials-down on a sturdy slab of lead and detonated it, the blast would punch your
initials, mirror-image, into the lead. The effect results from convergence of high-pressure shock waves
traveling thousands of meters per second, creating local boosts in force above the terrible power of unmolded
plastique. This phenomenon has come to be called the Munroe Effect after Charles Edward Munroe, credited
with its discovery.

Through experimentation, it was learned that lining the cavity with metal-copper and tin proved most
efficient-enhanced the effect, probably out of interaction among several variables: mass of the metal, the
fact that the shock wave drove it to velocities measurable only in theory, and the fact that the metal
vaporized, yet retained its density due to the equivalence of temperature and pressure in this esoteric brand
of physics. (Focusing the energy of high explosives, rather than nuclear physics, proved the most difficult of
problems in fabricating early nuclear weapons.)

The best known practical application has been with antitank weapons, since optimum designs can penetrate
five times their own diameter of armor plate, incredible though that claim seems. But a look at standard
antitank rockets with their seemingly puny warheads tells us that it must be true.

Cone-shaped charges focus their power to a point, but linear charges that look like angle-iron when viewed
in cross-section have found application in cutting steel and even cutting man-size holes through brick walls.
We see that construction invokes the same principle of focusing the energy of the blast and use of a metal
liner.

What amateur weapons designers do not know is, how powerful an explosive do we need to summon the
Munroe Effect? Can flash powder do it, assuming we achieve detonation? Must the powder be packed or
loose? Must we resort to chlorate oxidizers, or will the perchlorate suffice?

Unanswered questions it would take much experimentation to answer. Some inferences we can draw with a
fair degree of accuracy. First, forget homemade shaped charges, even those made with C4, that will defeat
the full thickness of a main battle tank. Unless you live in Europe, Central America, or Afghanistan, you will
not face tanks.

What about the platter charge, described in countless military manuals? In light of recent revelations about
fire-formed charges, it is naive to believe that the metal slab remains flat as the explosive hurls it through a
fence and into the enemy power station. If not bent exactly into optimum armor-piercing shape by the blast,
it must at least be reduced to a glob, thus focusing it momentum better to aid penetration of hard targets.

Given that we will have only flash powder to work with, consider the speculative design in the diagram.
Flash powder burns slowly enough that we must do something to help keep it from dissipating its force to the
sides. The tube serves that end. Second, note the space between the metal circle and the business end of the
charge. This is analogous the standoff required of shaped charged. It gives the explosive room to accelerate
and/or deform the metal projectile before it strikes home.

Clearly, ignition should take place from the rear, with moderate packing of the charge, and we should use
whatever means possible to see that it shifts into detonation as quickly as possible. Here the principles
learned in fabrication of recreational salutes will serve, unless we have access to genuine blasting caps.

What about a stout paper cylinder filled with perchlorate flash powder with 25 percent by weight granular
titanium, arranged as if it were a shaped charge? Would the explosion be swift enough to summon the Munroe
Effect, and if so, would those tough, burning particles of titanium add punch to an otherwise breathtaking if
unproven warhead? Move to the desert, get licensed, and experiment to your heart's content and at your
sole risk.
173
Why speak this blasphemy at all? Times change, and who knows where time and fortune may take you. There
are places in the world right now where this knowledge could prove valuable, if not decisive. Stinger missiles
delivered clandestinely to the Afghans proved decisive. These grim ruminations qualify as last-ditch defensive
or harassment weapons for use against hostile occupying forces, and then only when the plastique runs out....

The author once spent an interesting evening in a coffee shop swapping tales with a professional blaster. As
many of that breed, he had been a basement bomber in his childhood-only this guy had taken it to the
limit. Having gotten hold of Davis' text on explosives, he proceeded to synthesize a batch of lead azide, a
detonator more powerfu I than mercu ry fu Iminate, the main ingredient in blasting caps. As the matter
precipitated, it detonated, seriously damaging his hand and ripping a hole in his abdomen. Since we had both
read Davis, we exclaimed at the same time, "But not in the presence of dextrin!" Lead azide precipitated
without dextrin forms particles whose internal crystalline stresses detonate it. Had he added dextrin to the
SOlution, it would have saved him that grim stay in the hospital.

We cannot overemphasize this point: Avoid trouble by obeying all laws decisively. Document everything. The
hunch that you might have made a "live" hand grenade Whips police-types into a state of enforcement
hysteria. Mentally, they see you serving 10 years even before they get you to the station. You become an
Extremely Dangerous Pervo whose felony-bust fattens their promotion file. Have the proper papers, permits,
and storage documentation to back up your legal acts. It would not hurt to review the whole matter with a
criminal defense lawyer before embarking on the project. Memorize his phone number and that of a bail
bondsman.

MINI-INCENDIARIES
What would happen to a large, disposable butane lighter taped to a tube salute? The explosion would rupture
the plastic, and in all likelihood, ignite the pressurized butane: mean orange tongues of flame licking out to
get you ....

Or, for the more determined artificer, why not one of the bulk butane containers used to refill non-disposable
butane lighters? Their casings are thin aluminum, easily ruptured by a tightly taped salute. (An ancient photo
illustrates the ease with which we can penetrate metal. It shows the remains of an empty but otherwise
intact paint-can lid after an experiment out of the dim past: In a deserted part of the woods, an
experimenter laid an M-80 holding 1.4 grams of flash powder on the lid, lit the fuse and retreated. The
detonation punctured the steel lid, venting enough pressure into·the can to blow off the Iid and send it
spinning into the woods. A nickel weighs about 5 grams.... )

Think of these as energetic Molotov cocktails. What they lack in stickiness of gasoline, they make up in
vigor.

THERMITE
Thermite is a mix of iron oxide and powdered aluminum in a weight ratio of 75/25. The iron is usually
granular, since finely powdered ingredients can lead to an instantaneous/explosive reaction. Though so hard
to ignite that special pre-ignition formulas are needed, once begun, the aluminum "burns" by stripping oxygen
away from the iron oxide. This yields aluminum oxide and iron, but releases so much heat that it leaves the
iron white and molten, flowing like fresh lava out for vengeance.

Thermite bombs form part of the military incendiary arsenal. Their major application is destruction of metal
targets, and in field-expedient welding. The fact that they start fires is only a secondary, uh, benefit.

If you do manage to get thermite lit, the reaction will be over in a flash, and you will instantly find yourself
with a puddle of molten slag iron burning down through everything: through the carpet, the floor, into the
condo below, setting all of it on fire. What a Iively surprise for the couple in the bedroom below to have
their session interrupted by half a pound of molten iron tunneling down through the ceiling like the molecular
acid in Alien ....

174
The position of a thermite bomb makes a difference. As literature points out , this is a damned hard mix to
light. It sustains its reaction best when lit from the tOP, such that the only way the molten slag can travel is
down. This provides the needed heat to keep the reaction going.

Thermite bombs are usually placed upright, directly over the metal object to be destroyed , then Iit. This
results in a pound or so of white-hot iron at about 2500 degrees centigrade gushing down on the target. It
can cut through an inch of steel.

In order to overcome thermite's notorious ignition resistance , scientists devised a variant called thermate,
which adds barium nitrate and sulfur to the mix. It generates less raw iron per unit weight but burns more
energetically.

* * *

ELECTRICAL IGNITERS
Situations that call for serious explosive or incendiary weapons usually do not give you time to light a match.
That and the burning fuse betrays your position , if not your intent. No , the only satisfactory igniters for
serious scenarios must be electrical , immediate, and rei iable.

If you have access to professionally made electrical igniters and know how to use them , fine. If not, you must
make them.

Conversion of electricity to heat forms the basis of most igniters, the most common version passes current
through special high-resistance wire known as nichrome , out of its nickel/chromium alloy makeup.

The igniter l or squib , must possess properties not required of the simple igniters used in model rocket
engines. They should be sturdy, reliable, generate a healthy flame , not be subject to melting of the nichrome
at any point outside the powder contact.

Refer to the diagram of one possible electrical squib design that has proven reliable and effective. Note that
all the nichrome wire lies inside the powder tube. Were it to protrude, local heat could melt it at that point
before it Iit the powder charge.

Second , note that the lead wire is low-resistance copper , significantly heavier gauge than the nichrome (we
want thin nichrome, thick lead wire). It is embedded in a lump of tough material: hot-melt glue, epoxy resin ,
wax , and so on. The idea is to take all strain off the copper/nichrome junction.

Third , note that the nichrome wire is soldered tn the copper lead. Now , do not depend on solder alone.
Fashion a mechanically secure contact before soldering. That way, should the solder melt when current is
applied , the wiring will remain intact.

Fourth , there must be enough powder packed in the squib such that the powder never loses touch with the
wire. In fact , one could make a slurry the consistency of mud with black powder , water , and common starch ,
then press a lump of it onto the nichrome wire. It would dry into a hard grain that never left contact with
the wire, no matter what position the unit was in. FFFFg black powder is probably the best filler from the
aspects of low ignition temperature , vigorous burning , consistency, and availability.

Finally l if the completed device will be stored any length of time , waterproof it by coating with shellac or
wax (do not dip the completed device in melted wax; it may ignite).

Where to get nichrome wire? Model rocket engines sold at local toy and hobby stores come with nichrome
igniters, including a flammable coating that helps ignition. This type of purchase is so common as to be nearly
untraceable. On the other hand , purchase of a hundred-foot spool of 30-gauge nichrome wire will generate a
record. Fragments of the device will be checked for just such an alloy, easily matched by analysis to the
manufacturer l and from there to supplier l and then to the careless artificer ••••

175
Before using an igniter of this type in a serious weapon, make and test at least ten. Determine delay
between application of current and ignition. Determine what voltage and current will suffice. If the battery is
to be placed within the device, resistance of cable can be ignored, except perhaps with typical 9-volt
battery cables. These are thin and more resistive.

Some igniters and detonators in commercial use are sensitive to static electricity and even radio waves from
nearby transmitters. The igniter we have just described is immune to such devils in any practical sense.

Electrical igniters of this type fairly drip guilt. If the Authorities discover them in your home or auto, or on
your person, you will find them most interested to know more. They will probably visit your home with a
search warrant while your bond hearing has been postponed •••and what else are they likely to find?

* * *

THE MOST POWERFUL WEAPON

After all this scary drivel about lasers, armor-piercing ammo, shockers, along with foul hints at chocolate
poisoning, not one individual in a hundred knows that he carries the most devastating weapon on earth in his
back pocket or her purse: Money.

The spending of money occurs in patterns. Those patterns, in turn, determine the distribution of power in the
world. And those who govern the flow of money rule the world.

But how do these patterns arise? Haphazardly? Laissez Faire? Hardly. Rest easy that you needn't brace for
some off-the-wall global conspiracy theory. Yet, it's impossible to answer certain questions without
concluding that men who wield power use human nature to shape spending patterns; or to believe that they
themselves are ignorant of human nature's power; or that they have not used this knowledge to boost
themselves and those ideas they favor.

Radical groups at both extremes draw press coverage when they decide to misbehave in nonviolent protest or
-preferably, from the standpoint of television ratings-ultra-violent eruption. Yet these groups are destined
never to rise above the sub-basement of televised notoriety. They have failed to learn from the true power-
brokers of the world. One gets one's way quietly, slowly, over generations, behind the scenes, through
organized campaigns that avoid the spotlight. This approach lacks the immediacy of a Marxist revolution or
the sad pageantry of National Socialism. But those sorry fringe elements struggle to survive on a diet of
sporadic violence, while powers with a genuinely long-range outlook continue to prosper and consolidate.

The average man in the street doesn't sense manipulation and thus does not resist it, cannot shape his own
destiny. The slow, low-key approach has prevailed because it harnesses human nature. It makes people act
like puppets because they believe they raise their own stations by doing so. This short-sighted tack never
factors in the secondary and tertiary consequences of spending money.

It explains a number of domestic institutions. Take the IRS, for example. IRS did not come by its limitless
power or bully-boy personality by chance. It has been groomed from the start as the enforcement arm of
Congress. Though Congress has no executive power in the strict sense, it effectively has it through
legislation. First, it passed laws that made an irresistible force of the IRS. Then it wrote tax laws to help its
friends and destroy its enemies.

Big organizations-and Congress is the biggest-do not voluntarily cap their power. Human nature makes
them expand it. Pathetic tales of taxpayers "accidentally" destroyed by the IRS fallon deaf ears. It makes a
good show for TV, just like bloody disaster victims and their weeping families. We have yet to see meaningful
change, hardly unexpected from a bureaucracy loosed upon us with the power to write its own regulations,
which have the effect of law. (As this goes to press some manner of reform legislation is "pending." So is a
cure for cancer .... )

Glib philosophy feels uneasy in a hard-core tech book. Let's drop it before the reader nods off.

176
 7
EXTREMELY
DANGEROUS
FIREWORKS
It's a boy.
-Edward Teller, coded message to signify success of early H-bomb test.

* * *

Batavia, Ohio, plays home to a well known mailorder establishment called Sporty's Tool Shop. One of their
big items-literally-is a mailbox that weighs 50 pounds. Sporty's catalog touts it as immune to the blast of
two M-80s exploding inside it simultaneously. Their promo prints a splendid picture of the big box a split-
second after detonation.

Now, Sporty, if you would care to let our readers in on where the photo crew obtained these federally
banned explosives, then have all involved turn themselves in to the nearest offices of BATF for arrest,
confession, and sentencing •..•

What better testament to the popularity of tube salutes, banned though they may be, than their use in a
catalog that sees nationwide distribution? Even the voice of Scramble Facts, detai led in the chapter on
Security, invoked an M-80 to make a point. Cherry bombs and their cousins in the big-firecracker field
fascinate people. They have defied a federal ban enacted in 1966 out of demand for them and continue to
move at heavy prices on the black market. But why this enchantment with evil units acknowledged as A)
dangerous, B) abuse-prone (who didn't vaporize a mailbox or two in younger days?), and C) federally
banned?

First, the mere fact of being forbidden boosts worth. Prices of porn videotapes, for example, remained among
the most resistant to cuts until porn achieved a degree of wretched acceptability the nation had to grant, if
only by assent. After all, there couldn't be that many millions of degenerates out there buying all that
recorded smut. Most of it had to be going to honest, clean-living folk •••• Tube salutes retain their value and
lure because they are forbidden and scarce.

Ground boomers, exemplified by cherry bombs and M-80s, hold two, maybe three grams of powder at most.
Their internal volume comes up far short of a cubic inch. Compare those banned units with aerial salutes.
Pieces a full foot in diameter, weighing 50 pounds and more, have been fired. Size aside, the two types dif-
fer only in that one explodes on the ground, the other high in the air. Every year firework-makers build units
3" to 6" in diameter by the thousands, both in this country and abroad. The Italians in particular show a
special fondness for aerial salutes.

Devices we discuss here generate trivial reports beside such gigantic aerial bombs; but there is no quicker
way to draw heat than to make or sell these banned tools of corruption. One reason lies with the ignorance

177
of the Authorities. They know a cherry bomb when they see one, but haven't the foggiest about a six-inch
aerial salute that could flatten your garage.

Enough moral izing. We admit grudgingly that heavy ground salutes should be banned, not out of some
inherent moral squalor that taints American Youth, but from a general decline of values in the grim wake of
the Age of Aquarius, something that has twisted our views of many goods in these uneasy times.

This chapter explores ground salutes in depth. It provides so much detail that few readers who can read-
and the Republic sees fewer literati every year-would have trouble building them. That happens to be the
author's last intent in unraveling this arcane lore. Indeed. A recurrent obsession with safety and responsible
behavior surfaces in this terrible tract. Furthermore, readers are advised not to make any of the devices
discussed, nor to violate any laws. Read this as a vicarious experience, in lieu of, say, actually buying a bag
of M-80s and terrorizing mailboxes....

Before getting into the varied and occasionally elegant methods used to crank these units into operation, it is
extremely important to understand phenomena involved, as well as the properties of materials, both alone and
in combination.

EXPLOSIONS, TYPES I & II

A stick of dynamite explodes if triggered properly. So, in a sense, does a balloon when it pops. The
phenomena are the same: fast outward expansion, a sudden release of pressure. The difference lies in
mechanism and degree.

Some types of explosive pyrotechnics produce the equivalent of a balloon-popping report, what we'll refer to
as a Type I Explosion. It results solely from sudden release of pent-up pressure, as from rupturing of a stout
paper enclosure. The maroon serves as case in point. No longer made or sold, at least not in the United
States, these units were golf-ball-size cardboard boxes charged with black powder, then wrapped tightly
with strong twine, three layers, at gO-degree angles, followed by a dip in glue and a final wrap of paper.
This made for an exceptionally uniform case of great strength. It took a hellish mesh of pressure to burst, and
this offered a decent report. The key lies with mechanism of the report. It resulted from rupture or popping
of the case, with sudden venting of pressure produced by black powder burning in confinement. Strength of
the casing determines size of report, in any practical sense. Most agree that black powder cannot detonate.

But tube-type casings used to make M-80s offer flimsy confinement compared to maroon cases. They suffer
weak points at their end closures. Fi lied with black powder, they merely blowout the end caps, producing no
report. Maroons give a clean if unspectacular bang when the pressure inside them suddenly pops the hard
casing like a balloon.

Yet, experience proves that we can achieve loud, sharp, genuinely fearsome reports from the fl imsiest of
casings by filling them with compositions capable of detonation, the Type II Explosion. In this sense,
detonation refers to propagation of the chemical reaction by a shock wave, rather than by rapid burning. The
point at which rapid burning shifts into detonation is not always easily determined or clearly defined. Note
the difference in the fundamental means of producing pyrotechnic reports. Type II Explosions depend upon the
ability of the powder to detonate, as we have used the term here. Once detonation is underway, strength of
the case contributes little to the size of the report.

The diagram shows in highly expanded time frame that ignition of confined powder causes it to burn initially,
but that burn-rate accelerates rapidly, until it becomes instantaneous. This, rather than rupture of the
casing, generates a report.

On the other hand, note how sluggishly a Type I composition burns in comparison. At some point, determined
by the strength of the casing, it will burst, venting pent-up pressure. That mechanism generates the report.
Thus, strength of the casing means most in Type I, while ability of the powder to detonate means most in
Type II.

Black powder and weak flash powders, and this includes potassium/barium nitrate-based compositions, do not
detonate. Those based on potassium chlorate or potassium perchlorate detonate. This makes for differences in

178
 ONCE REACTION RATE REACHES
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their handling and loading properties we must observe carefully. To no one's surprise, powders capable of
detonation are considered more IXlwerful, and for that reason command greater respect.

Some compositions require no confinement to detonate in the truest sense. Silver fulminate painted on tiny
toothpicks stuck in the ends of "exploding cigars," once sold as practical jokes, produces an extremely crisp,
surprisingly loud relXlrt. Or take cracker balls, no longer sold, perhaps with good reason, since they looked
so much like candy that the kids would sometimes gobble them, oblivious to their phosphorous or arsenic
content. These too produced quite a sharp relXlrt for their size, and represented true detonation. (For
readers too young to recall them, cracker balls were colored pellets about 3/8" diameter, made from tissue
paper enclosing gravel and a friction-sensitive explosive mix that detonated when thrown against a hard
object or stepped on. They're still sold, if you don't mind a trip to the Orient to get them.)

A badly made skyrocket, one with cracks in its propellant grain for example, will sometimes let fly with an
impressive boom about ten feet off the launch pad. (Ex-model rocketeers: Didn't you once bore a hole into
the center of the black powder propellant to achieve a sharper thrust curve? The engine blew up shortly
after launch, destroying your rocket, yet you recovered the strong engine casing intact. Most agree that
black powder cannot detonate under practical conditions. Another example of the Type I Explosion.)

EXPLOSIVES: THE WORD ACCORDING TO BATF

The author's first run-in with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, aka BATF, and the then-new
explosives laws spawned by the infamous Gun Control Act of 1968, amended in later years, occurred in
1971. He had become involved in the pyro hobby scene, and had latched onto a source of special fireworks,
the kind shot at public displays. It was near Christmas, so he decided to order a small ($125) selection of 3"
aerial shells to liven up the New Year's Holiday for his family and friends, and fired off an order to a vendor.

Instead of shipping the fireworks, they sent him a IXllite letter asking to see his Federal Explosives Permit.

Explosives? What in the Devil's name had these innocent fireworks to do with explosives?

It took a visit to the nearest BATF office, but he found out quickly that the new law had placed display
fireworks in the same league with low explosives, of which black powder is the prototype. At the time, the
BATF agents (who, in truth and fairness, proved to be OK guys who went out of their way to help that
bumbling 19-year-old comply with the law) allowed that anything that held more than 5 pounds of black
IXlwder was considered a low explosive, subject to laws governing purchase, transport, storage, and usage of
same. That 5-lXlund limit later climbed to 50 pounds under pressure from the gun lobby, but special fireworks
of whatever size or weight remained low explosives, or "Explosives - B." (Dynamite and C4, for example,
are high explosives or "Explosives - A," while common fireworks sold to the pUblic in some states qualify as
"Explosives - C." These A-B-C categories originate with the Department of TranslXlrtation.)

Up until the time special fireworks became explosives by decree of law, BATF agents had had a pretty clear
notion of explosives and their classification. Explosives were homogeneous materials used in blasting and
munitions. High explosives were any materials that a No.8 blasting cap would detonate when unconfined
(that's a Q!9. blasting cap), while low explosives were materials, such as black powder, that could be caused
to "deflagrate" when confined. Exemptions included matches, comlXlnents of small arms, and small fuse.

But where in this formerly simple scheme did fireworks fit? BATF finally acknowledged their singular niche in
its publication ATF P 5400.7 (11/82) by noting (that) "Their manufacture and distribution require the
manipulation of explosive materials in a manner that is utterly unique in the explosives industry."

That innocent admission automatically tied fireworks to the explosives industry, a point many would
challenge. Nobody gives up turf voluntarily, and BATF is as big-brotherish as they come.

So what does it all mean for those who wish to pursue pyrotechnics as a hobby? You must attempt to comply
with a nebulous law as interpreted by BATF. Careful reading of its booklets shows that gray zones exist still;
that apparent internal inconsistencies are symptomatic of BATF's essential ignorance of the many and varied
aspects of recreational pyrotechnics. A Democratically controlled Congress made the law discretionary to a
lXlint that passeth all understanding.
180
Can you get into the fireworks trade? You can try. A few families and large companies who do not like
competition have locked up the bulk of the commercial display business. (An acquaintance of the author's
related an anecdote about the patriarch of one family. He alleged that the guy gave "carloads" of Class C
fireworks to bidders' families and friends out of "consideration" for awarding him display contracts. This does
not surprise those who know men and politics•••• )

A FLASH HISTORY OF AMATEUR PYROTECHNICS

Until the late 1960s there was no history worth telling not already told in grim, sporadic accounts of
basement bombing, always with loss of sight or a few fingers when things went wrong.

The term "basement bomber" rises from obscure origins. Some believe it coined by the anti -homemade
fireworks crowd. It described those who dabbled in explosive alchemy in the privacy of their homes and back
yards. It was the late fifties, model rocketry's nascent time, and manufacturers damned well didn't want to
lose sales to amateur engine-builders.

That early era thrust technology on us without preparation needed to handle some aspects of it safely. In the
course of pursuing a government- and popularly-approved technological path-the "Sputnik Syndrome"-
some young, would-be, poorly supervised propellant chemists injured themselves or started fires. They became
known as basement bombers, and that foolish misnomer stuck.

True basement bombers are terrorists, criminals, and other vermin who fabricate explosives for the express
purpose of causing harm, usually to innocents. The term has no business being applied to teenagers whose
curiosity about and fascination with combustibles will not be denied. The author has known persons whose
mastery of pyrotechnics could produce vast destruction if turned to that wicked end, something that has not
happened. (And why should terrorists fool with the weak, low explosives used in pyrotechnics, when the
Eastern Bloc supplies them with the latest in military plastique? The Reds will probably throw in a case or
two of their famous Afghanistan grenades, which come disguised as toys and dolls, just the trick for maiming
children, which surely rates high on any list of human priorities•••• )

Then in 1968 a place called Pyro Hobby Shop set up in Virginia. It sold raw chemicals and paper casings by
mail. In addition to the traditional staples of salute chemicals, fuse, and casings, it offered tools of high
quality and casings for roman candles, fountains, cones, and whistles. More, it offered literature-
information, knOWledge. At last pyrotechnics would be discussed like model airplanes or golf.

This opened the door to a renaissance in an art long kept secret. Pyrotechnic wisdom up to that point had
been closely held by the few families who controlled exhibition fireworks, esoteric lore never shared with
outsiders. The pyro cult grew to the point that, around 1969, it coalesced into an organization known as the
Pyrotechnics Gui Id International.

It published its own newsletter of admirable but uneven quality-admirable given the resources and
ci rcumstances of it -and it grew. Two factions hooked up in the early seventies to publish American
Pyrotechnist Fireworks News, a considerable jump in quality of publication over either of the two periodicals
that melded to make it.

The PGI held meetings and staged displays, members exchanged correspondence. Pyro flourished. We saw new
ideas, new material, innovation unlike anything seen in the previous 50 years in the space of a decade. Pyro
Hobby Shop moved to utah and resurrected itself as the now-defunct WesTech Corporation, the brainchild of
Ralph Degn, lately of the display fireworks firm, "Fireworks West!" Years ago, Degn was cursed in some
circles, praised in others. We suspect that history will recognize him as a major contributor to the
advancement of both amateur and professional pyrotechnics-but that's another tale.

There were casualties. One particularly active pyro with whom the author exchanged letters and ideas circa
1971 was reported to have seen his lab go up in flame. He ceased (was ordered by the court?) all contact
with former cronies in the pyro cult.

But sources began to dry up. BATF attacked, charging that vendors were selling "kits" for tube salutes and
so forth. Some companies were in fact doing this. Late in 1969, one firm sold casings of excellent quality,

181
along with what it called "banger powder," which turned out to be a potassium nitrate/aluminum/sulfur flash
composition that fluffed the end caps off when lit. The stuff proved about as mean as Jetex pellets (does
anyone recall Jetex engines?).

The late 70s-early 80s were amateur pyrotechnics' salad days. Meetings, displays, shows of ski II and
craftsmanship that outdid the professionals in finesse, if not scale.

The future of amateur pyro does not exactly dazzle those who have analyzed large trends in human behavior,
both here and abroad. That sour scene comes under review at the end of this chapter.

MATERIALS
Of dozens of materials used in pyrotechnics to produce those wonderful effects of color, glitter, whistle and
bang, only a handful concern us here: oxidizers, fuels, fuses, cases, and "other agents."

Every fourth-grade graduate or Mr. Wizard watcher understands that burning involves combination of fuel and
oxygen, usually with production of flame, or at least heat. Pyrotechnic effects call for this oxidation to speed
up considerably. Salutes demand that it happen instantaneously.

We have powders, known as oxidizers, that yield oxygen to speed our fiendish reactions along. As the first
block in building up to salutes and their mysterious manufacture, understand oxidizers and their properties.

OXIDIZERS

POTASSIUM NITRATE
The mainstay of all pyrotechnic oxidizers is potassium nitrate, chemical symbol KN03. Gunpowder consists of
potassium nitrate, charcoal, and sulfur in a weight ratio of 75:15:10, though the mix has to be moistened,
ground in large mills, granulated, and otherwise processed before it becomes true gunpowder. A simple blend
of these three ingredients without that special processing yields a composition that just barely qualifies as
flammable, much less explosive.

Potassium nitrate is the most benign of our oxygen sources. We can mix it with most fuels without fear of
ignition, much less detonation, until we light it.

Known also as saltpeter, it used to be that you could buy potassium nitrate at the corner drugstore. In some
cases you had to sign for it, just like codeine-containing cough syrup today. (And as sources of social woe,
what lessons come from the exponential rise in drug-abuse, compared with abuse of iii' 01' saltpeter .... ?)

Potassium nitrate suffers one major physical property that leads all who handle it to curse it. Left undisturbed
for a few days, the powder hardens into a rock-like mass which, depending on poundage, may literally require
blows from a sledge to break. From there, the chunks have to be re-powdered in a mortar, or, better, a
motorized ball mill (a rock polisher loaded with 1/2" hard lead balls will do nicely).

Anti-caking agents help but do not eliminate the problem. Those who use potassium nitrate should perfect a
system for powdering it that does not monopolize their time.

BARIUM NITRATE
This heavy-metal relative of potassium nitrate surrenders its oxygen less Willingly. "Gunpowder" made with it
is good for absolutely nothing. But when used in flash formulas listed in the table, for some reason it
outperforms the potassium compound, though it too will give us only an explosion, not a detonation.

A mix of barium nitrate with sulfur and aluminum makes a flash powder hard to ignite, but which burns
surprisingly fast when unconfined, and with a blinding light; yet confinement leaves us with that sorry limp
report of the other nitrate-based camps. Indeed, in most cases, a nitrate tube salute will simply blowout its
end-caps and fail to rupture the case at all.
182
Sources praise nitrate-based powders for their safety (though we find disagreement over the sensitivity of a
mix of sulfur, pyro aluminum, and barium nitrate), but acknowledge that they lack power. In fact, to get a
boom at all requires an extremely strong case of uniform strength that leaves no weak path through which
pressure can vent. This gives a Type I or "balloon popping" explosion.

Barium nitrate plus aluminum and sulfur indeed makes flash powder, but one whose use remains obscure,
primarily because it does not go BOOM under real-life conditions. Its own particle size and that of the
aluminum affects its unconfined rate of burn, but even microfine powder will not get the composition up off its
knees. For that we must turn to a serious oxidizer, potassium perchlorate.

POTASSIUM PERCHLORATE
Potassium perchlorate reigns as the premier pyrotechnic oxidizer for non-charcoal-based formulas. Most
compositions that use charcoal as a fuel burn well enough with potassium nitrate, while those that do not use
charcoal must step up to the perchlorate, chemical symbol KCI04. Today it has established a place as the
foremost oxidizer in salute powder, at least in the semi-civilized world.

This salt dissolves poorly in water and for that reason, once powdered, tends to remain so and resists that
awful caking of potassium nitrate.

This compound contains plenty of oxygen and offers it more eagerly than potassium nitrate, yet not to a point
deemed hazardous, at least by pyrotechnists' bent notion of danger. Nor does it call forth that grim specter
of spontaneous combustion so common in obsolete formulas. Certainly, mixes of it with various fuels will
ignite by friction, spark, and pressure; but spontaneous ignition is distinctly uncommon with sane
compositions. We do not dread the perchlorate as we do its ferocious cousin, the chlorate.

POTASSIUM CHLORATE
Veteran pyros get tense when you mention chlorates. Although this compound (KCI03) holds less oxygen per
molecular unit than the perchlorate, it releases it far more eagerly. In fact, barium chlorate-don't even
have a nightmare about playing with it-yields so much energy as it decomposes that the right impetus can
detonate it. The barium compound has proven so unstable that it does not appear in the literature of salute
compositions, even though it might give the greatest report per unit weight of all formulas, at least if you
could get it miXed and loaded before it decided to blow off.

Potassium chlorate has shown a bit more stability, and has served for many years as an oxidizer that gets
things to light and stay lit under extreme conditions. For example, a starshell bursting hundreds of feet above
the appreciative crowd hurls burning stars outward at well over a hundred mi les an hour. The wind at that
speed will extinguish a match, as well as many star compositions not tenacious enough to resist it. Those
made with perchlorate may lack the vigor to keep burning. Thus, we may have to resort to a stronger agent,
the chlorate, to avoid "black shells," ones that burst but leave the sky empty of fire.

Some hold that chlorates give deeper color in stars. Barium chlorate makes the point. Its emerald green
flame literally takes the breath away. (Useless fact: These stars give off a characteristic hiss as they burn.)
Others acknowledge this edge, but shy away from barium chlorate out of sober fear. One of several tragic
anecdotes George Plimpton recounted in his book, Fireworks, tells of a fatal blast that may have been
triggered by spontaneous detonation of barium chlorate-based stars. How ironic that this type of mix is
intended only to burn with a stunning deep green, not to explode.

As for potassium chlorate's use in salutes, we find it mentioned in countless older texts; but do not let that
fact lull you into giving it serious thought. A portion of an Oriental fireworks text translated some years ago
speaks of a chlorate-based composition -with the naturally acidic element, sulfur, yet-as if it were
standard (at the time, it was); but chlorate-based salute powders pose unacceptable hazards. Here are the
reasons:

In the presence of moisture and a trace of acid, potassium chlorate forms chloric acid, which will ignite
spontaneously, and that usually means a big and highly destructive boom when we least expect it.

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How do chlorate-based flash-powders come by moisture and acid? Atmospheric humidity is enough, especially
in the presence of acid (the kind found in cardboard tubes that form salute casings, and in the glue used to
affix paper end caps). Sulfur and sulfides use that same moisture to form variations on sulfuric acid, which
will ignite chlorate-based powders on contact.

As if spontaneous surprises weren't enough, the mixing of powders subjects them to shock and friction, and
often to static electricity. Chlorate particles seem to vie with one another to see which will be the first to
ignite out of gentle rubbing.

The ideal means to combat the chlorate menace would be never to use the rotten stuff at all; but pyro
evolved in that let's-take-a-chance era of the fifties and sixties, and it was considered quite routine to mix
the old chloro with aluminum. Even further back, in the twenties, thirties, and forties, it was mixed with
sulfur or antimony sulfide, practically guaranteed to detonate as you pour it into a casing....

Smart pyros saw the danger inherent in chlorates and undertook to minimize it while retaining the compounds
as options for special comps. If acid formed in the presence of moisture was the culprit, might it not help to
add a small amount of base to neutralize any acid?

The answer was yes, and the chemicals most commonly employed were magnesium carbonate and barium
carbonate, known as "phlegmatizers" out of this taming effect. The recommended amounts were about 1/2
percent by weight of the oxidizer, mixed thoroughly with the chlorate before blending it with anything else.
Magnesium carbonate gave us a freebie in that it retarded caking when added in proportions up to 3 percent.

Some compositions were by their nature so benign that we could use potassium chlorate with Iittle fear.
Analyze this formula for red stars, quoted in Ron Lancaster's book:

Potassium chlorate 70
Strontium carbonate 15
Red Gum (or equivalent) 10
Dextrin 4
Charcoal, 150 mesh or finer 1

That 15 percent strontium as the carbonate, which makes the comp burn red, is more than enough to
neutralize any acid, though, given a choice, no one could fault those who would substitute potassium
perchlorate ••••

On some points it pays to be repetitive. Cautions to avoid potassium chlorate, and especially barium
chlorate, cannot be repeated too often. According to Weingart's outdated classic, Pyrotechnics, about 90
percent of industrial accidents of his era-the hubba-hubba forties-traced to combinations of potassium
chlorate and sulfur-containing chemicals.

Regard chlorates as you would a foe: Do not underestimate them.

OTHER OXIDIZERS
Now and again we see mention of purple potassium permanganate, ammonium perchlorate (makes the best
blues in all of pyro), ammonium nitrate, and a smattering of others. But as far as salutes are concerned,
special drawbacks of these obscure chemicals take them out of serious contention as components in salute
powder.

FUELS

Since even professional pyrotechnists aren't allowed to use report-makers that incorporate their own oxygen,
i.e., high explosives such as nitroglycerin and the military plastic, C4, we must mix the oxidizer with
184
OJ
U1

TOP LEFT: Fuse. From L to R: "small" red fuse; "large" red fuse; single-stranded- •
core green fuse; uncoated fuse; 1/4" time fuse used in aerial shells.
TOP RIGHT: Metal powders. Clockwise, starting from upper left: Mg/AI 50/50
alloy, approx. 150 mesh; dark pyro aluminum; true Black German pyro aluminum;
granular titanium, 20-40 mesh; finally, aluminum purchased as "Black German"
about three months after the true Black German, but this batch clearly lighter in
tone, il1dicating larger particle size.
suitable fuel to have a workable blend. Of all combustible materials, a mere few have earned slots as staples
in salute formulas.

ALUMINUM
Firecrackers, in the strictest sense, do not produce a flash of light when they explode. Flashcrackers do. Not
only that, but to obtain equal reports from firecracker and flashcracker powder, we must use more of the
firecracker comp, or a more virulent blend, almost always a mix of potassium chlorate and sulfur or one of
the sulfides. As salutes evolved, economics came into play, and through some twisted Darwinian selection
process virtually all salute compositions today are in fact flash powders, not firecracker powders. That means
a mix of powdered aluminum, oxidizer, and sometimes other ingredients, such as sulfur or antimony sulfide.

Feeling the powder we rolled out of flashcrackers or that dribbled out of tube salutes, we saw clearly that it
silvered the fingertips. Therefore, it must contain powdered metal. Aluminum proved the correct guess.
Investigation showed that the particle size of aluminum that matched the appearance of salute powder to be
300-400 mesh.

A few words about "mesh." The most commonly used means to designate particle size in pyro is mesh. Thus,
a 24-mesh screen has 24 wires per inch running at right angles with 24 other wires per inch. Particles that
will pass this screen, but are not appreciably smaller, are said to be 24 mesh. Now, the diameter of the wire
comes into play with much finer mesh, yet we still use the system to approximate particle size. Lancaster's
and Ellern's texts provide tables of particle size in more conventional units that correspond to various
readings of mesh.

We appreciate on an intuitive basis that, the greater the surface area participating in a reaction, the faster
it proceeds. A log may take hours to burn, while several ~uare yards of paper made from one log can burn in
less than a minute, if spread out and given plenty of oxygen. Pyros knew from experimentation that bright
silver aluminum powder-say, 150-250 mesh-burned more slowly, at least in the open, than did this dusky
silver, nearly gray powder of 300-400 mesh, referred to as "pyro" or "dark pyro" aluminum. It was
reasonable to suppose that more finely divided aluminum would offer even livelier performance in salute
powder, so the call went out for the tiniest aluminum particles in the land.

The answer came as a dark, almost black powder that earned its distinctive tag, Black German Pyro
aluminum; black from its appearance and German by pedigree. Hang around chemistry types long enough and
you learn that all metals turn black if powdered finely enough. When first offered for sale in 1970, Black
German's largest particles were pegged at 425 mesh. The latest catalog from Square Lake Enterprises claims
600 mesh.

Refer to the photo of several metal powders. Both samples labeled as Black German Pyro aluminum came
from WesTech Corporation in 1970, yet one powder is clearly darker. The other lay between true Black
German and conventional dark pyro in its shade, indicating a particle size somewhat finer than dark pyro but
not up to the real thing, Black German.

Eerie things happen when we work with fuel this finely divided. For example, flash powder made with bright
or regular pyro aluminum burns aggressively in the open, but not enough to intimidate us. A tiny pinch of the
black mix goes up in a startling WHUPPP! when lit, without the slightest confinement.

In a fit of madness in the summer of 1970, one young pyro mixed 16 grams of potassium perchlorate and 8
grams of Black German Pyro aluminum, because he had tired of mixing 2-gram batches for individual salutes.
He handled the stuff at arms' length, and protected his face, eyes, ears, and hands. He blended the deadly
matter openly on a sheet of paper, with precautions against static electricity. When the concoction was
ready, he poured it into a paper cup.

A little devil lives in us all. This experimenter had seen how fast, almost explosively, the new black mix
burned, unconfined. So late one fated July afternoon he decided, purely for the sake of scientific research, to
see what would happen to 24 grams of this strange and deadly mix ignited in a paper cup. He stuck one end
of a 2-foot length of green fuse in the open container, placed it on a lonely mound of dirt, lit the fuse, then
sped to a safe distance.
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Special contexts activate intuition. This decadent experiment was one of them. By the time that grimly
spitting fuse had crept to the edge of the paper cup, our young pyro had sensed what would happen ....

KA-BOOOOMMMM!

Burn? Unfettered and open in a paper cup, the powder detonated. Particle size is but one factor that
determines rate of a chemical reaction. As a rule, speed doubles with every ten degrees centigrade rise in
temperature. This makes for an exponentially accelerating curve that quickly becomes asymptotic to the Y-
axis, i.e., happens so fast it constitutes an explosion. Temperature is directly proportional to pressure.
Increased pressure, as from a confinement in a paper case, can detonate an otherwise sluggish powder.

But flash powder made with this impalpable black aluminum burned so quickly that it generated a pressure
wave. This confined it as surely as a paper casing would have. It behaved accordingly and exploded. It could
have done so while being mixed.

After this seriously depraved exercise, those 2 -gram batches seemed plenty big ••••

A stark and sordid tale with important lessons for those who contemplate working with Black German Pyro
aluminum. The smart would-be pyro would think four or five times about fooling with it. A smarter one would
conclude that there are safer ways to make a bang.

(One further observation points up the quizzical and sometimes paradoxical conduct of explosives. The paper
cup had its bottom ruptured, but otherwise survived intact, this despite a blast that shook the neighborhood.
Destructive effects of pyrotechnic explosives, in contrast to high explosives that generate far more gaseous
reaction products, seem sharply localized, to mere inches in the case of tube salutes. Thus, use of thick
gloves and fairly unpretentious tongs can save your hands in the event of premature ignition. A word to the
wise.... )

MAGNESIUM AND MAGNESIUM/ALUMINUM ALLOYS

Initiative is another fiend that possesses the soul. It might make the ambitious craftsman want to get his
hands on magnesium, which, last time we checked, came in powders as fine as 325 mesh. Now, 100 mesh
magnesium mixed with bland potassium nitrate burns so fast it's scary. The thought of mixing 325 mesh mag
with ~ oxidizer probably inspired Hieronymous Bosch for a few brush-strokes of "The Garden of Earthly
Delights."

Anachronisms aside, this metal fires the pyrotechnic imagination, at least before considering its minuses, out
of remembrance of that high-school chemistry experiment in which the instructor gravely donned safety gear,
then held a two-inch strip of pure magnesium to the mean blue flame of a Bunsen burner. We had to shield
our eyes from the blinding light when it took fire. Wow! A metal, of all things, that burned! You couldn't do
that trick with aluminum. And once it got out that powdered magnesium was available....

But magnesium offers no advantages and too many headaches. Cost ranks first. It ranges from outrageous to
lethal, depending on season and source. Second is reactivity. Mixed with an oxidizer, magnesium will ignite
from friction, static electricity, and shock more easily than the same blend with aluminum. Third, it does not
wait for ignition to begin OXidizing. Even chunks of the stuff grow a coat of dark gray magnesium oxide
merely from exposure to air. If mixed today, the stuff may be unusable next week. (And if you added sulfur,
do plan to store the stuff out of doors. Atmospheric humidity and chemical reactions tiresome to recount
generate hydrogen sulfide. Imagine the stench of fifty rotten eggs and you get the point.)

We are concerned mainly with communicating the way to make effective bangs, but will note in passing that
magnesium powder was once used to produce colored flash reports. Skipping the electron orbitals of it, note
that "burning" barium gives green light, strontium gives red, sodium gives yellow, copper gives blue, and
certain mixtures give purple. Look over the magnesium/nitrate flash formulas quoted in the table.
Supposedly, the report-flashes were colored (polyvinylchloride and hexachlorobenzene furnished chlorine to
the reaction to intensify the color). But with nitrates alone, the bangs weren't worth much, and addition of
potassium perchlorate killed the color. Besides, the powder quickly oxidized in the case. If you mix it today,
better torch it tonight.

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We also have magnesium/aluminum alloys in various ratios, 40/60 to 60/40 being a common range. The
photo shows a 50/50 alloy powder of near to 200 mesh. These are more expensive than plain aluminum but
less so than magnesium. Though more stable than magnesium, they show greater reactivity than aluminum.
They offer no advantage of worth in salute powder but have found use in special star compositions.

The safest, simplest flash formulas contain various mixes of oxidizer and aluminum, reported ratios ranging
from 2:1 to 4:1. Flour-like potassium perchlorate mixed with dark pyro aluminum serves quite well, thank
you. The well-heeled pyro might step up to Black German aluminum, at least if he is willing to travel at his
own risk ••••

Other formulas call for sulfur or antimony sulfide, usually in the same weight proportion as the aluminum.
Authorities state also that this heightens the sensitivity to friction, pressure, and flame. Get by with the
safest mix possible.

We have quoted those fearsome chlorate-containing formulas purely out of indecent historical interest, just as
some medical texts mention the ancient customs of leeching and bloodletting. None have a place in modern
practice.

TITANIUM
Pyrotechnics has a way of flawing beauty with danger, a perverse irony that plagues many of its best effects.
The titanium flash bomb is one of the simplest yet most beautiful and spectacular of all pyrotechnic effects-
and one of the most devastating should it ignite prematurely.

All metals burn if powdered finely enough. Titanium lies above magnesium but below aluminum in the size of
particles that will burn easily. Small gravel-sized, known in the trade as 20-40 mesh, with a spongy
texture, is used with good effect. The source of this otherwise expensive metal is said to be the leavings of
the aircraft industry, which uses titanium for its high strength/weight ratio.

And all that need be done is dump in a helping, say, 30 percent of the weight of the flash powder, in the
casing, and-presto: titanium flash bomb. An M-80 so made will throw out a gorgeous, brilliant sphere of
burning titanium in a 20-foot radius. Absolutely breathtaking.

Of course, if it went off while you were holding it, or maybe inside your car ••• well, wouldn't we want
pictures of the carnage for the Enquirer? If you were looking at the damned thing when it went off you could
be blinded. Your car could go up in a fireball; the house could burn down. If you shot one on dry grass, you
have a fire the size of a tennis court on your hands (and take it from those who have been there, the flames
will defy all attempts to stomp them out).

So, though you see titanium mentioned in other texts, bel ieve it that it belongs only in the repertoi re of
seasoned pros. Remember that those who would work with pyrotechnics must take precautions against the
absolute worst that could happen. Assume as much risk as you want with your own hide. But be damned
careful of the lives, health, and property of others.

Titanium has enjoyed huge popularity, and has found use in fountains, stars, and so forth, beyond this limited
scope.

OTHER AGENTS

CAB-O-SIL
This concern with prevention of caking led to introduction of anti-caking agents, of which Cab-O-Sil was the
main one, sold under the proprietary name "Salutex" by WesTech corporation and lately "Chemite" from
Square Lake Enterprises. It is composed of silicon dioxide (sand) in particles on the order of a micron in
diameter. The name "Salutex" apparently derived from the theory that it made for a bigger bang by keeping
the particles of a flash mix separated on a microscopic level, thus exposing greater surface area for burning.

188
Cab-O-Sil did indeed prevent caking, especially of potassium perchlorate. As to whether it gave more bang
in the bargain, the author cannot verify. Prior to 1973 he made salutes both with and without Cab-O-Sil,
and could discern no change in performance.

MAGNESIUM CARBONATE
Already mentioned in connection with chlorates. In addition to neutralizing acids, it helped keep powders
free-flowing in a 1/2 to 3 percent mix.

BARIUM CARBONATE
A base, but lacks the anti-caking properties of the magnesium compound.

POWDERING AND MIXING

Pause here to admit that blending these deadly ingredients requires a bit of different technique than that of
your last failed brownie mix. In addition, we seek a property few brownies possess: elegance. We achieve
elegance, like Nirvana, by thoroughly mixing ingredients which themselves have been prepared by grimly
determined powder ing.

Start with the oxidizer. Powder it as finely as practical. Rarely, it will come out of the shipping container in
a fine-mesh state, preferably finer than 200 mesh, but even then is likely to be caked badly. These clumps
must be broken. For small quantities a porcelain mortar and pestle and enough effort to blister your pestle-
hand and make your wrists ache for a week can grind it into something that approaches flour or
confectioner's sugar in consistency: an impalpable, white powder.

The first of many cautions: NEVER GRIND MORE THAN ONE CHEMICAL IN A MORTAR. Grinding
produces conditions conducive to detonation. Potassium perchlorate and sulfur, ordinarily "sensitive," yet not
in the same ticklish league with chlorates and sulfur, can detonate if ground together in a mortar.

Second, if you have occasion to grind fuels or oxidizers, procure separate mortars and pestles for the two and
don It get them confused. Use one only for oxidizers, the other only for fuels. (The powdering of chlorates
should never come up, but we might as well mention a third lesson while we're about it: if you intend, out of
whatever demented motive, to grind chlorates, use a third mortar and pestle set exclusively for them. Never
confuse them. The error could cost you your sight or hands. Mark them with indelible ink so as not to mix
them up.)

To the end that the oxidizer remain free-flowing, add an anti-caking agent prior to powdering. Magnesium
carbonate or Cab-O-Si I in 1/2 percent by weight of the oxidizer should suffice; but do not expect mi racles
from these agents. Mix the oxidizer and fuel(s) as soon after the powdering as practical.

You will not be using a mortar and pestle to further reduce the particle size of aluminum. You may, however,
have to break up hard clumps that form in Black German Pyro aluminum and extremely fine magnesium
powder as it sits on the shelf, years, unused. But you cannot, or at least should not, use porcelain. Porous,
unglazed porcelain takes up particles of the metal. Once you have used a mortar for aluminum you can never
use it for anything else. Ideally, you should used a glass mortar and pestle. It has smooth, nonporous surfaces,
and the forces involved are simply those required to break up chunks, not further powder the material.

How can you tell when all the lumps are gone? Pass the powder through a 40-mesh brass sieve, though 24-
mesh-about the size of common window screen-will do in a pinch. Take the globules that accumulate and
run them through the mortar again until all material passes the mesh freely.

Use separate screens for fuel and oxidizer, and a third one solely for chlorates (in fact, the fireworks trade
commonly keeps entire buildings separate from the rest of the compound if chlorates are used in them).

A poor man's method for re-powdering fuels is to place the caked material in a 1-gallon plastic freezer bag,
then roll the lumps out with a rolling pin. This suffices in most cases, but be aware that it punches tiny holes

189
in the bag, such that your work surface and work room should be prepared to handle stray fuel; and, as
always, you should wear a respirator when working with finely divided matter. Adding 1/2 percent by weight
of Cab-O-Sil to the fuel at this stage will not hurt.

Flash compositions that use more than oxidizer and aluminum demand another stage in mixing: blend the
aluminum with other fuel elements before mixing it with oxidizer. This can be done by passing the ingredients
repeatedly through a 24 or 40 mesh sieve, with exemplary results, but inevitably produces clouds of finely
divided aluminum that could explode from a static spark. An alternative method is to mix aluminum and sulfur
by placing them in a gallon plastic freezer bag and rolling them between the fingers until a homogeneous mix
results.

At this point, we have oxidizer and fuel or fuel-mixture. We must combine the two. Here things get nervous,
because the combination produces an explosive that we must handle and store.

Older texts casually recommend passing the whole works through a sieve. The Japanese used screens made of
hair, with the caution not to "force" the mixture. The Americans merely warned the operator not to scratch
a metal screen with the fingernails, since this could detonate the mix. As far as this text is concerned, do
not blend flash powder by passing it through a sieve of any kind, even though that method produces genuinely
thorough mixing.

One technique the author used years ago without accident was to place oxidizer and fuel on a large sheet of
paper and roll the two poWders back and forth using a smooth metal or rubber spatula, carefully avoiding
friction with the paper, until a uniformly dark appearance is achieved. Another technique calls for pouring
oxidizer and fuel in one of those gallon plastic freezer bags, then gently rolling the mix to uniformity with
gloved hands (right •••• ). Seriously, that second method could be used for bright aluminum/perchlorate
compositions with little relative risk. It would not suit dark or Black German aluminum.

As we have mentioned previously, and illustrated in a grim incident, the particle size of the aluminum
determines what mass of powder constitutes an explosive when unconfined. Wi th a mix of sulfur, bright
aluminum, and potassium perchlorate, this mass probably rates 200-300 grams, extrapolating from what
other sources have quoted. With ordinary dark pyro aluminum, a hundred grams of this formula should be
considered tops. Black German Pyro comp occupies its own ruinous class. Consider it explosive, unconfined,
in any quantity. Consider potassium chlorate mixed with any fuel explosive whether confined or not.

FUSE
Unless you intend to fire them using electrical squibs, you will need fuse in order to construct tube salutes.
Of the several types that could be had, only that known as plastic-coated safety fuse will suit, in addition to
being about the only thing you can get nowadays••••

This refers broadly to "green" and "red" fuses, used for decades in the manufacture of domestic fireworks,
and, to a lesser extent, in the blasting industry. One sees this same green fuse poking out the center of silver
salutes, or out of cherry bombs like some evil stem. The author has never seen true 1/8" fuse offered for sale
to amateurs, though it can still be found on "M-80 Smoke" and such, limp remnants of finer days. Purists
sometimes buy those sorry smoke pots to salvage the fuse, just to maintain a sense of spiritual righteousness
in salutes they use it to concoct.

The fuse you are most likely to find sold via mail measures 3/32" diameter, carries a green plastic coat, and
a single-fiber stranded core. Other than lacking the charm of the larger fuse, it serves well for its purpose,
the delay and sure transfer of fire.

Green fuse-all coated fuse the author has tested, in fact-burns underwater, a point of dubious benefit to
hobbyists except when that little demon inside makes us tape a rock to a salute and toss it in the creek, a
depraved act good for a startling WHOOMPH!, with appropriate distress on the water surface, strangely
reminiscent of a midget depth charge.

Examine a length of coated fuse. It resists breaking except to a full pull. It burns reliably underwater. In

190
fact, you can tie it in knots, twist it round and round, then crush it in a vice-and it will still burn reliably
end to end while still clamped in the jaws of the vice. Green safety fuse has proven a surprisingly durable and
dependable staple in pyrotechnics.

Other incarnations used to be sold. There were two varieties of red plastic coated fuse, one thinner than
3/32" the other just under 1/8" diameter, both with single-stranded cores. (Strands refer to lengths of
thread-like fiber, not the powder core. In general, the heavier the powder core of the fuse, the more strands
of fiber required to help it maintain its integrity.) Some sources held that the red fuse designated lack of side
spit. To demonstrate the point, take a length of your green fuse (and samples of red fuse, if you have any left
over from the Woodstock era•••• ) and arrange them to burn whi Ie you observe.

As you light the green fuse, it will spit yellow flame and sparks two to three inches out the end. This is
known, appropriately enough, as end spit. But watch the fuse as it burns. It throws out sparks and flame from
the sides as it consumes itself. This is known as side spit. The more end spit and side spit a fuse has, the
better we expect its fire-transfer properties to be. Remember side spit. The concept will resurface as we
dissect the terrible past of tube salutes.

Red fuse has plenty of end-spit, but is said, or at least rumored, to lack the good side spit of green fuse.
That functional difference, more than cosmetic appeal, explains the coloration.

Firecracker fuse is suitable for little save lighting firecrackers. Though simple in construction, it proves
surprisingly hard to make. You must start with material rarely found in the West, a paper known as Gampi
tissue, far stronger yet more pi iant than our own wrapping tissue. The fuse comes into being by
rolling/twisting lengths of tissue formed into troughS, into which a gunpowder-like composition has been
poured, but this oversimplifies the operation considerably, as those who have tried to make it will attest.
Unless you get seriously into pyro, forget about making or using firecracker fuse.

At the thick end of the spectrum we have time fuse. This ranges from about 1/4" to more than 1/2" in
diameter, and finds use as the fire-transfer delay in professional aerial shells used at public fireworks displays.
Sti II available, though usually imported, you have no use for its special properties, nor its high cost. The
photo shows a length of 1/4" time fuse.

In a practical sense, any coated fuse the experimenter can get his hands on is likely to suffice as reliable
ignition for a ground salute.

SALUTES: TYPE AND MANUFACTURE

At this point we have oxidizers and fuels whose mixtures form combustible blends that, in most cases, simply
burn brilliantly out in the open. We have a reliable means of delayed ignition in the form of plastic coated
fuse. All that remains is to confine the powder in some sort of casing, since confinement ordinarily proves
necessary for a report.

The cases used to confine flash powder introduces us to a world of variety and creativity, tradition and
economics, safety and hazard. This final phase is the how-to-do-it of producing explosive sound for
pyrotechnics.

TUBE SALUTES
"M-80" is a military designation, just as "M16" designates an assault rifle and "F16" designates a fighter
aircraft. M-80 refers to a "ground report simulator," something to go BANG in lieu of live ammunition, just
the ticket to give the troops a bit of a rush out on maneuvers. Used in military training, reports lend the
action a fine, real istic flavor.

The M-80 is the prototype of the tube salute. It enjoys popularity on the black market equal to that of the
silver salute (aka TNT). They are identical but for 1/16" greater outside diameter for the M-80, and for the
distinctive outer wrap of each. Both are cardboard tubes 1-1/2" long fi lied with flash powder, somet imes
with other materials. Refer to the photo for examples of salute casings.
191
 C\J
(J)

TOP LEFT: The real thing, ancient photo of silver salute purchased November, 1969 at open-air market somewhere in the deep
South, for ten cents. Note the two key safety hazards: 1) end sealed with rock-like adhesive that fragments into deadly missiles
upon detonation, and 2) dark clump of material at base of fuse: priming, exposed to an accidental spark, which leads to
detonation milliseconds later. TOP CENTER: Dummy of modern "safety1' salute. Note paper end cap and absence of exposed
priming. Fuse held securely by glue not visible in photo. TOP RIGHT: Ancient photo of paint-can lid punctured explosively as
described in text. BOTTOM LEFT: Parade of salute casings purchased circa 1970. From L to R: 5/16" inside diameter casing
w/end cap; mated pair af cherry bomb cups; M-80 Smoke casing; true M-80 casing (the only difference between the two is
color and labeling); silver salute casing; thick-walled casing wlo end cap; 5/8" inside diameter aerial salute casing; 1-1/8"
inside diameter aerial salute casing.
In the classical design, the fuse enters the casing through a hole in the center. Some sources maintain that
lighting the powder in the center of its mass makes a louder report by starting a flame-front that advances in
two directions at once, rather than from one end to the other, as expected with an end-placed fuse. We
might agree with this intuitively, but one commercial manufacturing technique precludes end-placement, as
we will see shortly.

The ends in this traditional and charming design are closed with a rock-like adhesive based on calcium
carbonate and a syrupy solution of sodium silicate. Here we meet a clear safety hazard. The explosion
reduces the casing to fine particles of paper that lose destructive power within inches of travel. Not so the
rock-like end-closure. Depending on thickness, which varies greatly among different, ah, brands, the
adhesive may split into chunks big enough and flung fast enough by the explosion to do serious harm, such as
cause blindness.

Probably the worst safety hazard arises from the practice of priming the fuse. Priming is black powder
(gunpowder; not smokeless poWder, the propellant used to make small arms ammunition) mixed into a slurry
with water and dextrin, a crude sort of glue. One end of the fuse is dipped in priming, then plunged into the
casing's center hole. As it dries it acts as an adhesive to hold the fuse in place.

Priming helps assure ignition of the flash powder (fire from the fuse alone will not light some flash mixes
reliably), and to ignite as much powder as possible in as short a period as possible, since priming burns
briskly. Ignition of more flash mix in a shorter period is felt to enhance the report.

The problem, at least from a safety standpoint, lies with the grim fact that priming presents an exposed
combustible that takes fire more readily than the fuse. A spark that falls on priming will light it, and a split
second later the bomb will vaporize, along with your fingers if you happen to be holding it. (Return to the
comments about side spit of green fuse. The fuse could be your undoing. It could pop a spark onto the
priming, which would light the bomb in your hand. If you have occasion to discharge ground salutes, never do
so without safety equipment that will protect you completely in the event of premature ignition. Assume the
worst, because it will happen. More grisly detail under Cherry Bombs, below.)

MASS MANUFACTURE OF TUBE SALUTES

Amateur pyros most always begin with tube salutes, before becoming bored with them and graduating to the
true craft and art of pyrotechnics. But tube salutes are damned time-consuming to make. First, you have to
glue in one paper end cap, then punch a hole for the fuse and glue it in place. Next, mix the flash powder (in
SMALL quantities, often no more than two or three grams at a time, enough for one salute) and load it.
Then glue in the second end cap. That last cap takes much longer than the first, since you must wear a great
deal of protective gear to handle the unit safely, because it has become a finished explosive device as the
second end cap is glued. Clearly, this "safe" method takes too much time to turn out products intended for
the black market. Let's look in on the mass method, one way the pros did it, and, for all we know, may still
be doing it. •••

It began with a piece of quarter-inch or 3/8" plywood drilled with holes whose inside diameter just equaled
the outside diameter of the salute casing. Boards had to hold at least 49 to be economical, so rows of at
least seven by seven became common. Some were much larger, holding well over a hundred.

Empty casings were inserted into this upright holder, which, itself, rested on some non-stick surface, usually
waxed paper or a floured formica counter-top.

Next, the operator poured a small portion of what came to be known as "professional pyrotechnic adhesive"
into each casing. The amount had to be enough to seal the bottom completely to a thickness of at least
1/16", often 1/4" when things got sloppy.

Now, with wet adhesive sitting there, nothing further could be done until it dried-you couldn't pour flash
powder onto wet glue-unless some inert, dry buffer were placed between the adhesive and the powder.
Rice hulls and coarse sawdust saw duty here. Just enough was poured in to cover the adhesive to keep the
powder off it; then the flash powder was added.

193
 TABLE OF SALUTE COMPOSITIONS (PARTS BY WEIGHT)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Potassium Perchlorate 50 70 50 75 60 50 80 1 60 60
Potassium Nitrate 5 12 6 6 50
Potassium Chlorate 50 60
Barium Nitrate 4 1 50
Strontium Nitrate 50
Aluminum, bright
Aluminum, dark pyro 25 25 25 2 1
Aluminum, Black German 30 2
Sulfur, flour 25 40 20 1 3 1 23 3 2
Antimony Sulfide, black 25 30 5
Arsenic Sulfide, red 50
Charcoal, dust 20 1
Antimony, metal powder 1
Magnesium, 100 mesh or finer 50 50 40 50
Magnesium/Aluminum alloy, 150 mesh 40
or finer
Polyvinylchloride/Hexachlorobenzene 1 1
By no means a comprehensive listing, this matrix sketches the violent nucleus of powders commonly used to """
O'l

make salutes. First rule: ALL FORMULAE THAT CONTAIN POTASSIUM CHLORATE SHOULD BE
CONSIDERED SUICIDAL. DO NOT MIX THEM. Simplest, safest mix for small salutes contains
potassium perchlorate and dark or Black German aluminum. Oddly, this mix loses some of its punch in bulk,
say, that needed for a 3" aerial bomb. In that case, addition of sulfur or antimony sulfide-gas formers-
restores body to the blast, and allows use of the safer bright aluminum. Formulas that contain only nitrate
oxidizers suit only extremely strong cases, since they lack the kick to detonate. Formulas 16 and 18 are
examples of powders fancied to give colored flash reports. Most of these mixes have been quoted in other
texts; a few represent minor variations on otherwise standard formulas. Clearly, many of these chemicals
are poisonous, and demand precautions in addition to those applied to flammable mixtures. Related only for
informational purposes. Get an explosives license and proper training if you would mingle in this forbidden
realm ....
Sealing the upward end worked in reverse. The operator poured rice hulls in on top of the flash powder,
followed by more liquid adhesive on the hulls.

It takes less than 15 minutes for this type of cement to solidify to the point that the tubes can be plucked
from the mold and put aside to dry fully while the next batch comes through.

Some felt the rice chaff served a dual purpose in that, as the salute was handled, it dispersed through the
powder and prevented caking. Since the loudest reports were believed to result from loose powder, this was
desirable.

At this point in manufacture we had closed paper tubes filled with flash powder. It was time for fusing. We
can see now, working backward into the process, why fuses came to be placed in the center of the casing
instead of the ends, as was the case with firecrackers. Putting a fuse through the end closures of granite-like
adhesive would have proven impossible without a carbide-tipped drill, and would have wasted time.

The most practical route lay through the soft paper of the casing. An awl, or just a nail (a dull one, from the
look of samples the author bought late in 1969) was used to punch a hole into the casing, and the fuse was
inserted.

The cheapest way turned out also to be best from a theoretical/intuitive standpoint. Center placement of the
fuse started the powder burning outward in two directions at once, rather than from end to end, as would
have happened with an end-placed fuse.

Left in that state, with nothing but friction to hold the fuse, flash powder would leak, and the fuse would fall
out with minimal handling. This led to the practice of priming, which, again, served dual ends. The end of a
1-1/2" length of 1/8" green fuse was dipped in priming, then stuffed into the hole in the case, and the
assembly set aside to dry. Look at the old photo of a silver salute purchased at the fabled open-air market in
November, 1969, for the then-outrageous price of ten cents. The black ring at the base of the fuse is
priming.

They called it priming because it took fire far more easily than flash powder, and made for fewer duds. But
here again, the pluses of priming proved flawed in a way that, perhaps more than any other aspect of tube
salutes themselves, led to the real notion that these engines held danger.

To serve its dual purpose of securing the fuse and promoting ignition of the flash powder, the priming came to
be exposed on the surface of the casing, which meant that a stray spark from any source-sparks thrown off
by the fuse as it was lit, for example-could set the device off instantly, and sometimes did. Priming was
used on both cherry bombs and tube salutes. We see it sti lion Oriental "cherry smoke balls."

From time to time we come across entrepreneurs who step up to the old cannon-cracker class of salutes,
with inside diameters exceeding 3/4" and lengths of three to five inches, with fuses poking out about four
inches, a good safety measure for a naturally unstable unit. These bombs surface in country-store type
places, and the right code words may put you onto a source from a class C stand in some venues. The old-
boy network helps, just Iike the street drug gig, such a sad testament, since the last thing these
entrepreneurs want is to cause personal or property damage.

TUBE SALUTES IN THE MODERN ERA

Thus it was in the old days, and modern pyros, despite the fact that they dealt with banned devices, were
quick to spot the hazards. The initial remedy took the form of all-paper construction. Instead of silicate-
based adhesive, they sealed the ends with paper caps. That eliminated the showers of granite-like shrapnel.
Second, though some purists sti II primed the fuses, they dipped one tip of the fuse in priming, let it dry, then
inserted the fuse ~ through the interior of the casing, leaving all of the primed part inside, and secured the
fuse in place with standard white glue. This left the outside tip of the fuse as the only exposed, flammable
surface, and made the device Iiterally immune to ignition from stray sparks, except one hitting the end of the
fuse.

195
If the purpose of tube salutes in the first place was to make a bigger bang than firecrackers, at least the new
wave of pyro wanted to have complete control of when the device would detonate. Formulas based on
potassium chlorate certainly gave more bang per unit weight, but left us with that uneasy feeling that the
stash in the garage might not wait until the Fourth to kick off. Chlorate-based blends, especially volatile
ones like flash powders, had a way of detonating spontaneously. To some stalwart souls that meant simply
adding magnesium carbonate or barium carbonate to the mix and hoping for the best. But to the genuinely
safety-conscious it meant turning to another source of oxygen, potassium perchlorate.

-which, truth told, was not bad. The perchlorate proved itself plenty potent as long as we paid attention
to details: particle size and mixing. We understand already that reaction rates increase with surface area.
Potassium perchlorate supplied was usually powdered finely enough, about 200 mesh. But many pyros took to
grinding it into flour-like dust using a mortar and pestle. Some upmarket hobbyists resorted to ball mills made
from rock polishers and loaded with special hard/dense lead alloy spheres that yielded incredibly fine powder.

While this helped, it reached the point of diminishing return rapidly. POWdering for five minutes in a mortar
gave no better performance than letting the stuff go for days in a motorized mill. The limiting factor turned
out to be the particle size of the fuel. For flash mixes, that meant aluminum. The fearsome tale of Black
German Pyro aluminum has been told.

SYMPATHETIC DETONATION
From time to time we heard tell of explosions of entire boxes of cherry bombs or M-80s, often in the back
seat of souped-up cars driven at top speed by callow youths who terrorized neighborhoods by tossing the
deadly units out the window. (What a better time it was, too, when that lewd delinquency was all the
terrorism we knew •••• )

The point at issue is, Why and how could a box of overgrown firecrackers explode all at once? Didn't you
have to light the fuse to set one off? After all, it wasn't as if the boys were carrying dynamite or plastique.

Analyze the physics of it in Iight of what you already know of salutes. Caching tens of them in even a fl imsy
box produces confinement. The explosion of one adds much more by its pressure wave. That wave is strong
enough to rupture one or more other casings, letting the wave impinge unblunted on the next powder charge,
and the next, all of it in a split second. One modest boomer blossoms into the equivalent of a 3" aerial salute
popping in the car. That's enough to blowout the bottom chassis, the windows, and the youths' eardrums, a
fitting punishment for young reprobates.

The lesson of it is, never stock completed devices in quantity. Their proximity and the laws of physics create
an extreme hazard. The laws against possession (that number would probably qualify you for the added charge
of "with intent to distribute") prohibit it altogether. Just for information.

CHERRY BOMBS
The manufacture of cherry bombs, M-80s, and silver salutes grew up as a cottage industry in back rooms and
basements in parts of Ohio and Pennsylvania, lately of Cal ifornia, simply because these devices are so easy
and relatively safe to make, and always because as banned items, they bring a sagging bag of cash.

First, they are federally verboten, meaning that it's illegal to make, possess, use, sell, transport, or think
about them. They probably should be banned because of what mutants, cretins, and other low-Iifes found in
large cities do with them. Country folk use cherry bombs for harmless pranks, such as blowing up mailboxes.
But in cities, they get dipped in glue, then rolled in BBs to make tiny grenades for gang fights between
fourth-graders. In one city, a "fan" threw a cherry bomb at a professional baseball player. It detonated close
to his head. The blast knocked him cold. Had he been looking the wrong way it could have blinded him.
Harmless fun.

But what irresponsible, depraved, and sinister urge would prompt a surveillance writer to reveal the secrets
of these dread devices? Paradoxically, a concern with safety. The author lived his basement-bomber days in
the 1960s, when you could order cherry bombs by mail, along with the chemicals and casings to make them.
(In fact, you could order them as late as 1968 from at least one company that advertised in Popular Science,

196
on the strength of a signature from an unspecified local official •••• ) The author went on to a degree in
chemistry-none of the knowledge ever applied to explosives and propellants-perhaps reflecting his concern
with safety. Knowledge of how accidents involving these fascinating devices happened provoked him to write
this, both to explain how they work and to warn those who buy them of their hazards.

Companies catering to the pyro hobby used to sell pairs of what were called cherry bomb cups. These
manila-colored paper hemispheres consisted of a smaller and a larger cup, one to fit inside the other. The
method of manufacture suggested by one vendor was to pierce the center of the larger cup, glue a good
length of green fuse in it, prime the interior segment of fuse if desired. Next, fill the smaller cup with flash
powder, then place the larger cup over it. Secure the two with a dab of glue or paste.

Next, dipping: To get that red, rock-like outer shell, the hallmark of a cherry salute, the completed devices
had to be immersed in a mix of fine sawdust, red coloring (powdered tempera paint served), syrupy sodium
Silicate, and calcium carbonate. The consistency of the dip had to be adjusted such that a solid, even shell of
3/32" to 1/8" thickness would adhere to the cups, and not sag to the bottom as the finished product was
held by clothespins on its fuse while it dried.

Some early literature commended chlorate-based compositions, but with all the moisture likely to seep into
the case that course seems insane.

This amateur method never produced quite the same product one found sold at roadside stands. It lacked that
professionally made look and feel of the real thing. One gets the impression that commercially sold cherry
bombs were made by the barrel technique described in Davis' The Chemistry of Powder and Explosives, in
the same manner outlined for manufacture of torpedoes, and which is used also to make spherical stars for
Oriental fireworks (the pharmaceutical industry uses it, too, to make pills, even the good kind •••• ).

In this case, the two cups would be assembled, sans fuse; dumped in masses of hundreds into a rotating bin,
into which a dilute solution of sodium silicate would be poured or sprayed, along with dashes of calcium
carbonate, red dye, and fine sawdust. The rolling action accreted an extremely even, smooth layer distinct
from that of the dip method. As to how the fuse holes were made, we can only speculate. One cannot
imagine a sane person drilling into the device, since that is practically an invitation for detonation from
friction. Yet commercially sold cherry bombs the author saw in the early sixties always wore priming around
the fuse, on the outside, meaning that insertion of the primed fuse had to be the final step in manufacture.

Cherry bombs: What an irresistible blend of charm and danger. Sold in boxes of half a gross, the last one the
author saw be ing about 1962, and bearing a price tag of something like $4. But what a premium they
command today, so much so that organized crime is rumored to have a hand in distribution.

CHERRY BOMBS & SAFETY

Cherry bombs suffer a safety record, or the lack of one, worse than that of tube salutes. The reason lies with
their construction. It makes them tiny fragmentation grenades, along with the risk of unpredictable ignition
due to exposed priming.

Upon detonation, their tough outer shell fragments into an expanding sphere of eye-piercing shrapnel, just
like a grenade. Some years back, the papers reported a genuinely tragic tale of a man who lost sight in both
eyes when the cherry bomb he was lighting exploded. The story told that he believed that he was being
careful. He was not holding the device, thank goodness, and sought to light it at arms' length with a
sparkler.

Needless to say, the shower of burning iron from the sparkler hit the exposed priming before it lit the fuse,
and the unit exploded mi IIi seconds later.

Exposed priming, fragments produced by explosion, and a fair degree of power. These three factors explain
why cherry bombs and tube salutes are, and probably should be, banned.

A corollary holds that those who wish to take risks and survive a mishap with 20/20 vision and all their
fingers MUST assume that premature detonation will happen, and don safety gear to eliminate risk of injury
when it does.
197
Never handle salutes except with tongs, or if you must use your hands, wear thick leather work gloves and
grip the fuse, not the body of the unit. Second, do not approach finished salutes unless you are wearing
goggles, preferably polycarbonate, the kind that resist the impact of bird-shot fired at point-blank range.
Full-face protection of similar stoutness couldn't hurt. Third, your ears can do without a 150-decibel blast
two feet away. Wear hearing protectors. Fourth, never let multiple small explosive devices accumulate. If
one goes, they all go, instantly.

THE LEGEND OF THE PLASTIC CHERRY BOMB

Some years back, the sixties it now seems, there were said to have been sold cherry bombs-black market
of course, and of limited distribution-that differed from the standard type in having a red plastic case,
probably cheap polystyrene. In addition, they were so much more powerful than common cherry bombs as to
question whether they contained high explosive, such as the military staples, C3 and C4, perhaps more freely
obtained back during the Vietnam era. One source reported that, where the ordinary cherry bomb did nothing
to his concrete driveway, a plastic cherry took a fist-sized divot out of the rock and sent shock waves
booming across suburbia like a flight of F4s scorching the treetops with their afterburners.

Careful reading of texts that deal with the effects of explosives tells us that detonation of several ounces of,
say, mercury fulminate, a high explosive used in blasting caps (blasting caps initiate detonation of other high
explosives, such as the now-outmoded dynamite, as well as military plastic explosives) fails to do more than
minor local damage, despite a fearsome report. That calls up a speculative reconstruction of the plastic
cherry bomb as shown in the diagram, one that would explain its ability to dent concrete. C4 has become
harder to come by, what with cessation of the Vietnam conflict, and plastic explosive coming over from the
other side of the iron curtain has been earmarked for more politically specialized use. Perhaps that explains
the disappearance of the fabled plastic cherry bomb••••

"PROFESSIONAL PYROTECHNIC ADHESIVE"

Pyros paid a dollar each to learn the formula back in the early seventies. Two versions have been reported.
The least expensive and easiest to make-the choice of pros for those reasons-was nothing more than finely
powdered calcium carbonate (chalk) mixed with a syrupy solution of sodium si Iicate. Those who owned
chemistry sets purchased prior to 1964 will recall sodium silicate solution as "water glass," used to paint
eggs in one fondly recalled exercise. But that solution was far too dilute for use in an adhesive/end-plug. No,
it must be of a concentration to give it the consistency of Kayro syrup. (The figure that comes to mind is
42.2 Baume', but that may be the author's memory playing sinister tricks .... ) Mixed with calcium
carbonate, it forms a thick, sticky mass that dries rapidly to concrete-like hardness. (Do not stir it with any
tool you plan to re-use. Once hardened, and submersion in water does not prevent hardening, the stuff is all
but impossible to chisel off.)

The second formula, one that, at least in the author's hands, always left unsightly lumps when it hardened,
called for the addition of finely powdered zinc oxide in a ratio of 1: 1 by weight to the calcium carbonate.
This gave the finished product more of a gloss-white look. Its effect on hardness or tack was not apparent.

The important qualities of PPA were its thick consistency, which let it serve as an effective seal and not run
as would conventional white glue; the fact that it maintained its bulk as it dried; and dry quickly it did. It
was by its composition alkaline, a balm to chlorate-based powders despite its moisture. Finally, it was
strong, literally rock-like in hardness.

This adhesive was a true hero of the tube-salute business. But, like all heroes, it suffered a fatal flaw: its
great strength and hardness, which made for so sturdy an end closure, broke into a spray of eye-penetrating
shrapnel when the device was set off.

OTHER GROUND SALUTES

First off, to be intentionally repetitive, it is illegal to make these devices; it can be extremely dangerous to
do so; and you have no business messing with it. Read this purely for informational purposes. The fact that so
many people seek these units, and the fact that a few will brave criminal conviction to make and sell them,
means that public interest in them remains at fever pitch. It is human nature to wonder about what is
forbidden.
198
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So why say anything at all? Well, the author has been involved with their manufacture, in small quantities
and NEVER for sale, and for that reason knows a bit about them. (And all that took place well over fifteen
years ago. There is no longer any physical evidence from those easy days, and the statute of limitations has
long since expired. That means the author can speak frankly.)

Second, the author still has all his fingers and unimpaired sight and hearing because he practiced safety
obsessively. He wishes to convey this safety-minded approach to those who may have gathered crude details
for making cherry bombs from other texts, or to those who purchase contraband and are at risk because of
safety defects already detailed.

Again, read this the way you read a tale of mayhem in some action novel, purely for vicarious gratification.
DO NOT MAKE ANY OF THE DEVICES DISCUSSED HERE.

There is much more to pyrotechnics than ground-boomers. Explosive sound occupies a legitimate place in
fireworks. Indeed, it is hard to imagine a professional fireworks display without the flash-KaBOOOM M! of
aerial salutes. But explosive sound is like punctuation in a paragraph: indispensable, yet meaningless without
words to pace.

What about whistles, fountains, roman candles, rockets, star-shells, set-pieces, and wheels? We could tell all
this and more, but it would be a repetition of what's in Weingart and Lancaster. Much of what we have
offered here is not found in the major fireworks texts, has interest and positive safety value for pyro
dilettantes and casual readers.

BRAZILIAN SALUTES AND THE CULT OF MACHISMO

-because one look at them, one audition of their fierce, chlorate-based detonation, and you bloody well
know it takes balls to make them. Here is the method, but don't do it:

Take a stout paper tube about 3/4" outside diameter, 1/2" inside diameter, 2" to 3" long. The interior of
one end paint with a 1/8"-thick train of priming about 3/4" long. Make sure the priming comes fully to the
end. Let it dry. Believe it or not, that's the fuse. Plug the fuse end with a crude, sticky mix of glue and
sawdust about 1/2" thick. Use a dowel to pack it tightly. The priming must remain exposed for the salute to
take fi re. Then fi II the casi ng thus prepared with flash powder and seal the other end with the same
sawdust/glue mix. This blend of simpl icity and economy is reminiscent of Oriental devices; yet the
unquestionably violent chlorate-based composition would give even the Japanese pause.

Brazilian salutes usually fire from mortars or roman-candle-like units. Two or three of them are stacked
vertically in relatively spacious launch tubes. This lets the flame of the lifting charge reach the priming and
ignite it. A second later, tubes high in the air, it fires the flash mix, which tests in 1973 showed to be a
pure evil blend of aluminum, sulfur, and potassium chlorate. Few pyrotechnic comps are deadlier.

THE ORIENTAL METHOD

The good news is that these salutes use a comparatively insensitive mix of potassium perchlorate, sulfur, and
bright aluminum, in a weight ratio of about 2:1:1, respectively, this data from samples analyzed in 1972.
The bad news is that making them requires prolonged handling of the device well into the stage at which,
should it accidentally detonate, loss of fingers or hands would probably result.

The only pre-manufactured part of the Oriental salute is the fuse, and here the thick time fuse is used in
aerial reports, while conventional green fuse can be substituted with good results for ground salutes as long
as care is taken to protect it until it reaches the center ignition point, lest its side spit Iight the flash
powder prematurely.

Refer to the photo set. These devices look like small pears. Construction shows us why. It begins with a
length of fuse, the length determining the time for ignition. For ground-based devices, it should protrude at
least two inches outside the salute to allow time to get away safely.

A pinch of black powder of FFFg grain is placed in the center of a 3/4" square of tissue paper (use the fabled

200
MANLFACTURE OF ORIENTAL SALUTES. TOP LEFT: The components: kraft paper, newspaper,
fuse, primer in tissue paper, flash powder in tissue paper (all powder in photo sets is non-flammable).
TOP RIGHT: Form primer at base of fuse, secure with paste. MIDDLE LEFT: Insert primer into mass
of flash powder. MIDDLE RIGHT: form sphere of flash powder around primer, secure with paste.
BOTTOM LEFT: Wrap resultant sphere evenly with layers of newspaper folded double along its
length. BOTTOM RIGHT: Resultant unit, ready for outer wrap of kraft paper. (continued next page)
201
TOP LEFT: Continuation of Oriental salute manufacture. Begin wrapping paste-soaked kraft
paper in even layers to give finished device (TOP RIGHT). Dried unit clacks like wood when
struck on hard surface-incredibly stout casing.
BOTTOM LEFT: Start of manufacture of field-expedient salutes. Roll paper on whatever form
you have chosen. BOTTOM RIGHT: Fold and seal bottom with tape to give hollow, closed tube.
(continued next page)

202
r\J
o
tv

(continued from last page) TOP LEFT: Insert fuse along edge of casing,
fill w/buffer, flash powder, and more buffer as described in text. Fold
paper around fuse. TOP MIDDLE: Rub paste into paper forming neck
around fuse, fold it in as tightly as possible. TOP RIGHT: Fold fuse at
gO-degree angle. SODOM LEFT: Fold fuse again at gO-degree angle.
SODOM RIGHT: Secure fuse to side of case with tape. Check case for
leakage. Unit is finished. As with triangle crackers, choice of paper and
dimensions not critical.
Gampi if you can get it). One end of the fuse is then placed in this powder and the tissue folded around it to
form a loll ipop-shaped igniter. It is vital that the fuse ignite only the black powder.

The next step is a repetition of the first l only here we use a larger square of tissue paper (the size of the
paper determines the size of the salute) on which the flash compo has been centered. Let's assume a cherry-
bomb-sized device and go with about 4 grams of composition (this powder will be compressed l and for that
reason more of it can occupy less space; see the discussion below of theoretical differences between
American and Oriental salutes). Place the pouch of black powder in the center of the flash mix l then pull up
the corners of the second layer of tissue and twist it around the fuse. We now have what looks like a bundle
of flash mix held to the end of a length of fuse by a single sheet of tissue paper.

Ignited as iS l it would go up with a brilliant and smoky but unimpressive WHOOSH. To get a BANG l we must
subject it to confinement. In typical Oriental waste-nothing/make-something-out-of-nothing style l we create
an extremely strong casi ng from two types of paper. In bulk manufacture l there are l of course l ideal
thicknesses that allow for minimum wrapping with optimum strength. But here we can go with just about
anything avai lable l including newsprint.

Start by cutting long but thin strips of two types of paper. The width of the strip should be proportional to
the contemplated size of the device. For this small one l about 1/2" will do. Begin by wrapping Q!Y paper (we
used strips of the Village Voice in the photos; we did not use real flash poWder) around the core of flash
powder in a non-overlapping pattern while applying moderately firm pressure to keep the unit in the shape of
a sphere with the black powder at its center. Two to three layers should do it. Now l some experimentation
will be needed to find the method that eliminates lumps of paper accumulating at spots on the case. A good
trick is to cut the strips of paper 1" wide l them fold them lengthwise so that fewer layers of the doubled
paper are required. After you get these dry layers on tack the tail of the strip with a dab of paste.

This first layer provides strength and l just as importantlYl prevents the composition from getting too moist
when the next layer of paper is wrapped. This layer differs from the first in that we use kraft paper soaked
with paste. Cut the stripsl lay them out on a formica surface l and rub them thickly with paste. It is almost
impossible to use too much. Saturate them with it. Here again l wrap on two or three layers (or more: the
final strength of the casing will have a bearing on the report l and it depends on the number of layers of
paper). Press and smooth each layer to keep the pear-shape symmetrical and free of paper blobs. Experience
with these has shown that practice with several will be needed before cosmetically passable devices turn out.

Once the last layer of paper is on l set it aside to dry. The best place is shade on a sunnYl dry day. NEVER
PLACE A PYROTECHNIC DEVICE IN AN OVEN IN AN ATIEMPT TO DRY IT QUICKLY. Not only is that
practice insanely dangerous l but results in a less professional unit.

It goes without saying that absolutely no combustible surface should be left exposed except the end of the
fuse. Remember the lessons from the old and devilish American ground-based salutes. If you have used regular
green or red fuse l it will be necessary to wrap the inside portion with two or three turns of masking tape
before beginning the salute l since its side spit could get to the flash powder before it gets to the primer of
black powder. If that happened l it would weaken the report.

Now look at what you have: a hollow sphere-more or less-of strong paper l enclosing a hollow sphere of
comparatively safe flash compol in turn enclosing a sphere of black powder. Proper ignition sequence will
light the black powder first. This will burn through the tissue paper instantlYl igniting the flash compo along
the maximum possible surface area (the entire surface of the innermost sphere). The flash mix will begin
burning outward in all directions at once l but in the confinement provided by the strong paper case will
detonate quickly.

Given that we are dealing with perchlorate oxidizer l with its limits on power but advantage in safetYl
Oriental salutes produce the best reports per weight of composition of all designs. They also demand the
greatest effort to make l but do not suffer any limitations on materials. Paper can be had literally in the
nearest trash bin. (Shopping bags are one of the best sources of cheapl thick l tough kraft paper l though
many stores have supplanted these with plastic bags.)

Some reinforce the casing with a layer or two of twine. Frankly l the less you have to handle an explosive

204
device, the better. Oriental salutes are intriguing, efficient, and admirable in their makeup. But you would
not catch the author making them. He likes his fingers and hands intact ••••

Commercial Oriental salutes find use in aerial reports, usually timed ones (time fuse with a length difference
of, say, 1/4" produces a regularly spaced string of aerial reports that form part of the standard repertoire of
pyrotechnic displays). The fact that they have gained such acceptance with relative safety is probably a
testament to their tame composition. Amateurs inevitably try to go the pros one better and use pyro or even
Black German pyro aluminum, or-god forbid-chlorate oxidizers. This accomplishes nothing, since such
vicious formulae do not need design advantages to give a huge report. You could wrap them in a single turn
of newspaper and they would detonate.

Note another important difference between the American and Oriental methods. American salute theorists, if
such exist, hold that powder should fill 1/3 to 2/3 the case-volume, or a softer report results. Yet, with the
Oriental method, we actually achieve compression of the flash powder compared with its density in the open
state. The reported value is about 1.2 times open density. This is said to help the report. Now, the Japanese
have considerable experimental data to back them up when they opine that this is best. We must take note of
differences in materials, formulas, and construction when comparing the two. Americans rely on a
comparatively flimsy case with a fast but hazardous compo, while the Orientals use a safer compo but one
that demands a stronger case and a hotter start from the black powder primer.

FISSION-FUSION-FISSION: A BIT OF TERRIBLE SPECULATION

Remember the World Book Encyclopaedia? Is it still around? The author's family got hold of a set in 1959,
and the 7 -year-old experimenter's curiosity forced him to read the whole thing. One unusually suggestive
piece appeared in volume H, under "Hydrogen Bomb." The sinister ignition sequence began with fission.
Every third-grader knew in those carefree days that fission sprang from exceeding the critical mass of nasty
isotopes of uranium or plutonium.

This provided the conditions needed to trigger the second stage: fusion. Tritium, deuterium, or lithium
deuteride, under incomprehensible conditions of heat and pressure, would fuse, releasing far more energy per
unit weight than fission. This two-step gave us the hydrogen bomb.

But physicist Edward Teller had seen beyond this simple device to what had been called the superbomb, a
term now lost out of disuse. It added a third stage to the fun. By encasing the works in otherw ise tame
uranium 238, even that meek isotope would undergo fission under bombardment by high-speed neutrons and
other menacing particles thrown out by the first two stages. This added a megaton or four to the yield, in
addition to producing some dandy fallout nearly absent from the "clean" two-step hydrogen bomb. (There has
been much speculation and ballyhoo over the design of multi-stage nuclear weapons, especially over alleged
secrets that made it into print. One called for the fusion stage to surround a rod-like core of plutonium which
would be forced beyond critical mass by the temp and pressure of fusion, thereby upping the yield.)

Where do we get off jumping from nuclear weapons straight down to sub-military pyrotechnic units? Because
the principles involved may, at least in theory, give us a fine, sturdy report from comparatively safe
materials. Consider this diabolical speculation:

First, take a core of about 1/2" diameter made up of FFFg black powder, enclosed in a layer or two of tissue
paper. The fuse or other initiator, such as an electrically fired squib, rests here also. Ignition of this black
powder alone would give us no more than a quick flash and a puff of smoke. It corresponds to the first, or
fission stage of the device.

Next, we must add the fusion component. Appropriately enough, this yields the greatest amount of energy
per unit weight. As with the Oriental salute, we will make this a hollow sphere of perchlorate-based flash
powder (3: 1: 1 of perchlorate, aluminum, and sulfur). Furthermore, we wi II use only the safer, bright
aluminum, since other factors obviate the need for that restless dark variety.

We will arrange this in a 2-inch diameter sphere around the black powder initiator. From the discussion of
Oriental salutes, we already grasp the workings of this device.

205
But this 2-inch sphere, although prcx:luctive of a credible report if confined in an extremely strong case,
would waste itself unless used as a trigger for safe material that would not explcx:le satisfactorily under other
practical settings. We will add a third layer, corresponding to fission because of its intrinsic benignity, yet
propelled by the laws of physics into respectability from intense heat and pressure generated by detonation of
the second stage: Center the existing 2-inch sphere in a 6-inch sphere filled with barium nitrate flash
powder (4:2:1 barium nitrate, black pyro aluminum, sulfur).

Finally, form the outer casing from twenty layers of thick, heavy, pasted kraft paper to provide maximum
strength.

Now step back and analyze the detonation sequence. The black powder will ignite the inner, potent flash mix
on a spherical front, start it burning outward in all directions at once. Burning will shift quickly to detonation
out of the exponential rise in temperature and pressure. The huge compression afforded by the mass of the
outer layer of flash powder will add to this. By the time the shock wave reaches the inner border of nitrate-
based flash powder, it will have created conditions of heat and pressure otherwise unobtainable by practical
means. This will cause it to explode soundly, where it would otherwise merely offer a bright if uninspired
flash.

Now, such a device clearly weighs several pounds; yet holds merit, despite its power, on safety grounds. Of
all materials that might be used to prcx:luce a genuine gut-thumper (and this would find application in aerial
displays, never on the ground •••• ) surely this is the safest. The most dangerous portion of it all is the
perchlorate-based flash mix; yet, use of bright aluminum rather than dark renders this combination as safe as
it is possible to be.

Pure speculation. The author has never made such a device. Only desert-dwellers with proper credentials and
licenses should even contemplate it. Still, the concept makes for compelling speculation ••••

BLACK CONES: DEADLY PRETENDERS

Practically everyone who has had the slightest contact with commercial fireworks has seen cone-shaped
fountains. That shape, and what charm it holds, with its colorful wrapper and fiery memories, arose out of its
analogy to the cone-shape of a volcano (and in fact some brands openly compared their products to Mt.
Vesuvius).

The second point is that cone fountains contain about ten percent pyrotechnic compo by volume. The rest is
nothing but space, wrap, and charm. The mark buys what appears to be a large item with a suitably large
price. But upend the damned things: the actual compo in a foot-tall cone extends less than 2 inches down
from the point.

Cone and other types of fountains have been labeled "safe and sane" in some states, meaning that they do
not leave the ground (usually; some energetic Chinese fountains have been known to blowout the bottom and
leap the roof ••• ), nor shoot "flaming balls," and, most importantly, do not explode.

But it wasn't always so. In finer days long gone, so-called Black Cones were sold; black from the color and
cone from the fact that frugal manufacturers thought they had found another use for the cones they used to
make fountains. But these little devils sprayed nothing. They were small cannon-crackers in terms of weight
of flash powder they contained. The diagram shows a generic example. Weight of composition ranged about
5 -10 grams, the equal of several cherry bombs.

Variations existed. The cone that whistled before it blew was a real crowd-pleaser.

Now as to the mechanics of making Black Cones. First, this is a hypothetical discussion. Don't make any
explosive device. That said, we see that we must first obtain the cones. Years back, these were available
from pyro supply houses of which there were never more than a handful at a given moment. They are nothing
more than the paper cones used as cores for skeins of twine, and should be obtainable from the appropriate
textile source.

We can see that even the small 7" cones would take us into the Bomb category if filled completely with flash

206
powder. Thus, we need a cardboard disk, say, 1/8" thick, and of a diameter to give us the distal 1/4 to 1/3
of the cone, which is still only a fraction of its volume. Experience in the early 70s showed that this would
comfortably hold about ten grams of flash powder, enough for five M-80s.

Stick a 4" length of green fuse through the top hole (NO EXPOSED PRIMING!), glue it in place, let it dry.

Next, upend the cone in a proper holder, pour in the powder, then seal the cavity with the disc and some
glue. (It is considered bad form to get glue on the powder. This holdover comes from the days when flash
powders used potassium chlorate. Many glues contain acid, death where chlorates are concerned.)

Ah, but we deny ourselves such sophistication with this simple approach. Could we achieve a louder report
with safer powder by using an initiator? Refer to the speculative diagram. Here we have glued a paper tube
of 3/8"-5/8" inside diameter securely into the end of the cone (half an M-80 casing will do), and sealed its
end with glue. Inside this cyl inder, we have loaded a gram of FFFg black powder, and sealed the end with a
layer of thin kraft paper. When the fuse ignites this black powder, it wi II spray the flash powder with hot
gasses at extremely high speed, giving us much the same effect we have in the Oriental method, though with
some loss of efficiency, but still a hardy gain over one limp spark from the fuse.

From here the imagination takes a dark turn, seemingly unable to refrain from comparing itself to nuclear
devices, as with the ominous fission-fusion-fission aerial salute. We see that we have the makings of a linear,
rather than a spherical device, one with unusual properties when used with titanium in the final stage,
discussed momentarily.

Our basic initiator is a fission-fusion stage corresponding to black powder starting ten grams or so of flash
powder. (Sorry, but we cannot get away with the safe, bright pyro aluminum. Truth told, the Black German
variety works best here, but we needn't resort to chlorates.)

What begs to be used is all that space beneath the strong flash powder. What if we were to pack it with,
say, the barium nitrate flash mix which happened to be a third by weight granUlated titanium, 20-40 mesh?

Detonation of the overlying salute would subject it to conditions of pressure and temperature difficult to
obtain without a metal casing, a taboo under all but military circumstances. Those do not interest us.

Construction of this device proved easy in 1970. Its detonation (so far out in the desert, away from any
flammable materials that you could've tested a real H-bomb without fazing old ladies pumping slot machines
in Vegas) produced A) a damned impressive report for its size; B) a genuinely blinding flash; and C) an
existential experience: No one can forget films of the Castle Bravo test-an early test of the hydrogen
bomb, out in the pacific. Some have rated its yield at 15 megatons. Its most striking feature was the fireball,
miles wide, blooming fast, then pausing like an eerie breath of Hell suspended in the air. Well, the burning
titanium here disperses in exactly that terrible hemisphere of a pattern, and with the same sort of slow-
motion at the end. The hackles rose when the author saw this, so closely did it mimic the thermonuclear
fireball recalled from fine nuclear training films shown to third-graders in the 1950s••••

Incidentally, the length of fuse protruding from the end of the cone should be long enough to give you enough
burn-time to get to a distance safe from the blast radius. At 3 seconds per inch, and assuming you run the
hundred in ten flat, that means about a foot of fuse.

Intriguing speculation, for grim groundburst fantasies only. At least you won't have to worry about
electromagnetic pulse••••

With that sick fantasy out of the blood, go back and remember the one deadly point about cone salutes:
Cones had come to be identified so much with harmless fountains that kids thought all cones were fountains.
Some found out the hard way that they weren't. That alone is enough reason to leave black cones on the
pages of sordid tales such as this, rather than in your hobby shop.

TRIANGLE CRACKERS/ANY PAPER CASE WILL DO

In the frenzy over the sale of "kits" with which to make ground salutes, we have seen a vengeful stupidity

207
TRIANGLE CRACKERS. TOP LEFT: Start with strip of
paper 1-3/4" wide. Fold at 60-degree angles to form
pocket (TOP RIGHT). Fill pocket w/flash powder and fuse.
MID LEFT, MID RIGHT: Continue folding at 60-degree
angles until all paper used, seal with paste to form
completed triangle cracker (BOnOM LEFT). Width and
type of paper not critical. Use whatever's handy.

208
that prompts laws that cramp the innocent more than the guilty. In case it isn't obvious yet, flash powder in
any casing will produce satisfactory results. Witness the triangle cracker.

American travelers returning from Mexico smuggle triangle crackers back across the border. To make them,
cut a strip of paper about 1-3/4" wide and a foot long. Fold to form a triangular pocket at one end. Pour in
2 grams of flash powder and insert a length of green fuse. Then fold the rest of the paper at 60 degree
angles until it is sealed, hold the end in place with a daub of paste, then seal the corners with glue so they
don't leak powder. Voila: the triangle cracker.

The two minutes it takes to whip one up is shown in the photo set, using dummy flash powder. Because of
the relatively weak casing it is necessary to use either perchlorate with Black German Pyro aluminum, or a
chlorate-based compo In practical terms that makes these little bangers too dangerous to handle.

A more elegant set of instructions for making them appeared in the early 1970s in American Pyrotechnist
Fireworks News, but the author was not able to tell any difference in performance between those made with
this eyeball-it method compared with measure-and-cut methods.

Here again, triangle crackers demand that you handle them well after they have become explosive. They
illustrate the lunacy of banning cases marked "M-80."

FIELD-EXPEDIENT SALUTES
The Fourth, or perhaps New Year's Eve, is tomorrow, and you haven't a thing combustible in the house. No
time to order casings, end caps to whip up a few bangers for festival. But there is hope. You will need flash
powder (instead of mixing your own, with its risks and getting on surveillance lists, get it out of ready-made
crackers) and green fuse (push-to-shove: buy legal Class C pyro devices and scavenge the fuse).

You will need a wooden dowel about 1/2" diameter by 6" long. It will make it easier to handle if you sand it
smooth and coat it with a touch of flour before you begin rolling cases.

Next, cut strips of newspaper 2" wide, about 8" long (the photo set used newsprint and inert powder). Roll
them into tubes with 1/2" protruding from the end. Secure the roll either with tape or a bit of paste. While
the tube is on the dowel, fold the ends over to seal that end, then secure it with two strips of tape, at right
angles. Remove the tube from the dowel. Make as many as you think you'll need.

Next, dump in enough fine, dry sawdust to prevent any powder from leaking out the bottom of the case, and
insert a 3" length of green safety fuse. Then pour in 1 to 3 grams of flash powder (depending on how loud
you want it, how many crackers you are willing to dismantle per banger). Tap the tube gently on the table
to get the powder to settle; you do not want it to mix with the sawdust.

On top of the powder, pour in about 1/4" of sawdust or rice chaff. The fuse should Iie at the edge of the
casing, not the center. Tamp gently. Now fold in the remaining paper starting with the side opposite the side
of the fuse, then fold in from the sides adjacent the fuse. The objective is to get the paper wrapped tightly
around the fuse. The fourth and fifth folds will bring the fuse over at 90 degrees, then another 90 degrees so
it ends up pointing toward what was the bottom of the salute. Secure the folded newspaper and fuse with
tape.

In case it isn't yet clear, there should be absolutely no exposed powder or other place where ignition could
take place prematurely.

What you have constructed is a variation on a device known to Europeans as "petardS" (modesty curbs
translation •••• ). True petards are made this way, but substitute bare black match (string impregnated with
black powder; a highly ignitable and quick-burning fuse that sees countless uses in pyrotechnics). Handfuls of
petards fill aerial shells. When the shells burst, petards explode half a second later in a barrage. The ground
salute with its 3-inch fuse will give the shooter time to retreat.

One source recommended use of potassium chlorate and Black German pyro aluminum as the flash mix for
petards, but we must take issue with that on safety grounds. We found the perchlorate quite satisfactory,

209
back in that grim summer of Watergate, and less prone to bring out sour sweat from worry over premature
detonation.

WHAT NOT TO DO
Consider any casing that throws off hard fragments taboo. That includes all metals, PVC pipe, glass and
ceramics, and anything with clumps of the professional pyro adhesive described previously (a thin film of it
won't hurt).

In addition to their deadly fragments, these casings predispose to premature detonation. For example, with
metal pipe you have to screw on the end caps. Friction created at the threads can set off the bomb in your
hand. PVC pipe is prone to accumulate enough static electricity to ignite many aluminum-based mixes.

MIX YOUR OWN FLASH POWDER?

As an alternative to mixing flash powder from raw chemicals, use the powder contained in commercially
available flash crackers (firecrackers, flashlight crackers). You do not have to buy strange chemicals that
move your name and address to the top of a surveillance list and get your phone tapped. Plus, it eliminates
the mixing process, one of the riskiest parts of manufacture.

In 1969 the author use a pair of nippers to halve firecrackers and remove their precious powder. Each could
hold the then-legal maximum of 2 grains-about 120 milligrams. He loaded the powder from a dozen,
roughly 1.4 grams of powder, which filled an M-80 casing less than half full, into each bomb. The source-
firecrackers happened to be Black Cat Brand, which, as the package states clearly, "Black Cat Is The Best
You Can Get," or at least it was when a firecracker could hold more than the 50 milligrams of powder it's
held to in these thin times, a token charge that has trouble bursting a flashcracker case. This powder burns
with disarming sluggishness out in the open; yet these salutes gave more bang for their size than any the
author made in his entire depraved career as a pyro, which fizzled well over 15 years ago. Friends used to
comment that it was embarrassing to shoot these salutes, even though we had skulked out into the woods and
presumably were the only ones to hear their devastating reports. They exploded so fiercely that, thrown on a
highway, they left a splotch as if the red paper case had been laminated to the pavement. No home-brew mix
ever equaled that grim feat. The photograph shows the top of an empty gallon paint can found in an illegal
trash dump deep in the woods some years ago. When discovered, the can was intact and closed. A single
Black-Cat-derived M-80 was placed on the top, then detonated. It punctured the top, venting enough
pressure into the can to blow off the lid and send it careening into the woods. Such was the power of these
fearsome salutes.

Using premixed powder has its risks. Since you do no mixing, you do not know what the powder contains.
You can see that it contains aluminum, or at least some powdered metal. But what you do not know may be
the most crucial piece of safety-related information about a tube salute: Does the powder contain potassium
chlorate?

If so, and if you carelessly let an acid-based glue drip on it before sealing, you are setting yourself up for a
spontaneous detonation. The reason is that potassium chlorate mixed with a fuel ignites spontaneously in the
presence of acids. Never mind the obscure chemistry of it; it happens (in fact, a test for the presence of
chlorate is to take a small sample of powder, put it on a brick, then, with appropriate safety precautions,
touch it with a glass rod which has been dipped in concentrated sulfuric acid; chlorate-containing mixtures
will ignite). So, anyone who actually made tube salutes with unknown flash powder, and we do not
recommend the making of tube salutes, puts himself and bystanders at risk. Act responsibly.

When salvaging flash powder from firecrackers, carefully extract the fuse before halving the cracker, about
midway between the ends. Then take the halves and turn them mouth-down and roll them back and forth
between your thumb and forefinger. The powder will pour out.

That approach made more sense years ago because crackers held more powder than they do today. Assuming
a potent formula to begin with, almost certainly one containing the dread chlorate oxidizer, you could in
theory buy flashcrackers in bulk and remove their powder. At less than 50 milligrams apiece, it will take
25-30 per salute; fewer, if you can get by with a less robust report. If Black Cat has not changed its
formula, nothing the author has seen can touch it in terms of raw power.
210
Another word about safety. Whenever you handle finely divided chemicals, no matter how harmless or inert
they seem, wear a respirator that will keep them out of your lungs. Charcoal, finely divided aluminum, and
especially known poisons such as arsenic, get in the lungs and can cause emphysema as well as poisoning.

A PHILOSOPHY OF PYRO
Those who just have to play with this stuff should understand that there is a right way and a wrong way. The
right way costs money-lots of it, in fact-and means heavy sacrifice and loss of privacy, perhaps a life of
hermitage.

That grim other route, the wrong way, means eventual injury to self and bystanders, possibly death, along
with an ugly media splash and a trip to the big house when you are discovered, a certainty.

Only a fool would choose the wrong way. We won't even discuss it. This outlines the right way:

STEP 1. If you do not already reside on barren, open land, free of the risk of forest fire, so far from the
neighbors or a secondary road that you will draw no attention, buy the land and move to that secluded and
desolate spot.

STEP 2. Construct your hobby shop such and locate it far enough from the residence and other structures
that no damage will result even if it all vaporizes at once. (If you plan to store chemicals in bulk,
particularly the militant oxidizers, it might not be a bad idea to get a steel door and some locks and alarms,
in case you become a target of thieves.)

STEP 3. Obtain all necessary federal, state, and local permits and licenses to engage in the manufacture of
explosives for non-commercial use, unless you intend to make a go of it as a business; or perhaps hold
yourself out as being engaged in research. This is a legitimate ploy, since who knows what you may stumble
upon. This will mean letting BATF in on everything you do, keeping records of how much of this and that you
buy, where it goes, what you made, whether you distributed any of it to third parties. It also opens
otherwise verboten sources of chemicals. The feds will run a background check on you, print and photograph
you-and the boys will want to keep in touch. They may not choose to make that on-site inspection during
dayl ight hours••••

BATF "knows" about the pyro underground, and could bust thousands of weekend, non-commercial cherry-
bomb makers if it wanted to (uh, yes, if you bought chemicals, fuse, and casings by mail, BATF can pull your
name and address up on their computer in the time it takes to punch in your personal BATF 10 number... )
But it infi Itrated the fraternity long ago, found it harmless-patriotic, in fact-and elected to leave it
alone, at least until the political wind in D.C. chills and blows left. It has no qualms about busting wholesale
manufacturers, and who can blame it? Human nature allows no other behavior.

STEP 4. Act responsibly. Do not let third parties fool around in the shop, and NEVER let them get their
hands on chemicals or finished goods of any kind. Drop no casual remarks as to what you have mixed with
what. Many an oaf would take it upon himself to try it, with horrendous results.

STEP 5. Tell others about your strange hobby only on a need-to-know basis. People talk. Tell your most
trusted friend anything and you have told the world, populated by generally conniving and worthless people.

STEP 6. Do yourself a favor and observe all safety precautions rigidly. Observance does not guarantee that
an accident will not maim or kill you. But give yourself the best break, know what kind of risk you are
taking.

STEP 7. Learn the properties of all materials you handle. You can learn it without a chemistry degree, but
that sheepskin and the ancillary matters behind it (physics and physical chemistry, for example) makes you
more aware of chemical interactions, static electricity, and other forces not chronicled in the literature of
pyro, and puts you onto information sources the unlettered might never consider.

211
STEP 8. Don't even think about steps 1 through 7 unless you have reached the age of 30. They say life
begins at 40. Those who have been there will testify that those under 30 can act pretty irresponsibly. In
general, folks under 30 have not acquired enough judgment to take proper precautions. Sorry, no
exceptions••••

For some, the Pyro Way is the only way. It gets in your blood, like the sea or the wild or a strange affinity
for strong drink. Just be sensible about it. Know the pitfalls, avoid them through information and preparation.
Teddy Roosevelt said to avoid trouble by preparing for it.

CHEMICAL SOURCES IN THE AGE OF PARANOIA

Popular Science has traditionally reserved a section of its classifieds for "Science and Chemistry," a
carryover perhaps from the days when those terms called forth images of Mr. Wizard and rocket scientists the
country craved in the desperate wake of the Sputnik incident, and which it saw arising naturally from the
pool of eager young minds that defined American Youth. Interest in such matters was openly regarded with
approval; experimentation deemed a natural outgrowth of curiosity.

But times change. Today, knowledge of chemistry-or electronics, computers, or firearms-has come to be
tied almost solely to money and power. No one has to say that the most profitable of all uses for this
knowledge are illegal ones, or that the most heinous are political through their abuse of innocents.

For a while, PS warned readers that one or more classified ads under the "Science and Chemistry" section
had been reported in another publ ication to have been placed not by chemical dealers, but by the Drug
Enforcement Administration. Folks who wrote for these tainted catalogs found their names and addresses on
surveillance lists. Those who ordered the mixin's for, say, dextroamphetamine sulfate found themselves with
even more. Federal scams aside, the chemical companies proved only too happy to turn in those whose
ordering patterns rattled the DEA or triggered an alarm.

Today our keepers see yet another reason to check access to certain chemicals: terrorism. The fantasies
outlined in these pages could be blown, so to speak, into proportions involving hundreds of pounds of
material, in which case devices intended to provide little more than harmless excitement on New Year's Eve
would be perverted into dreadful instruments of harm. Unfortunately, enough mutants are willing to corrupt
this knowledge that a formerly totalitarian attitude toward chemicals has taken on a rude cloak of legitimacy.
The cyanide/Tylenol incident did little to calm the paranoia.

With the right elements and access to the average college library, it is possible to make C4, nitroglycerin,
napalm, nerve gas, phosgene, and even pure skunk scent. What a sad testament that there are those who
would make it and put it to unspeakable ends.

The extreme Left and extreme Right have, through tacit custom-mutual assent, it sometimes seems-
chosen contrasting ways to misbehave with chemicals. The Right has come to be linked with material we've
just outlined: explosives, boomers, roman candles, and everything else Ted Kennedy would rather crap in his
pants than let you get your grubby hands on. The Left, on the other hand, sees nothing wrong with whipping
up a batch of amphetamines or blotter acid, even selling it in a twisted sort of capitalistic venture it
normally abhors. The Left gets its explosives via roundabout routes from the Red Bloc: Why fool with flash
powder when rocket-propelled grenades are yours for the asking? Ah, hypocrisy. Human nature won't let
even political extremists sulk in peace.

The practical point behind it all says that people in the business of selling these goods and people in the
government will presume that you plan fiendish deeds when you sign up to buy certain substances, whether
that presumption be true or false. You will command more attention that you imagined just by ordering
chemical catalogs. In today's grim environment, that's enough to get you checked out for criminal
connections and political bent (if you are linked to the Klan, they will assume you're making explosives; if
you belonged to the SDS or voted for McGovern, they will assume that you aim to synthesize angel dust).

Here the issues of alternative 10, mail drops, and so on begin to take on new meaning-but don't kid
212
yourself. Even the best of the fake IDs will not hide you if the feds decide in a serious way that they want to
chat.

Chemicals listed in catalogs obtained in early summer, 1988, from firms that advertised in Popular Science
showed a dreary lack of verve. Chemicals of the type and qual ity best suited to pyrotechnic use are simply
not found openly. One must dig, tap into the old-boy network and such. Several firms will not sell chemicals
to individuals, period. True, some chemical companies sell potassium nitrate and potassium perchlorate, but it
is usually reagent grade, which makes it prohibitively expensive. Grades suited to pyro use are either "pure"
or "technical."

We interviewed two individuals associated with Square Lake Enterprises, Inc., successor to the now-defunct
WesTech Corporation, via telephone on 8/29/88. Square Lake, as far as we have been able to ascertain, is
the only remaining source of pyro-grade chemicals-but several catches could hang you up. The firm
operates under a consent decree in the wake of a legal onslaught from the muscle end of the Consumer
Product Safety Commission. Sources at Square Lake indicated that their counsel advised them that the cost
of fighting restrictions in court would prove astronomical; that even if they won, they would lose out of
insupportable financial burden. To stay in business, the principals agreed to a consent decree that limited
sales of finely powdered metal to half a pound per person per six months, except to Iicensed manufacturers of
explosives, and to keeping records in such detail as to allow verification of compliance, as well as legitimate
cooperation when some mutant decided to misbehave in a serious way and chose an explosion as his modus
operandi. SLE does not sell potassium chlorate, and CPSC has forbidden them from selling barium chlorate.
They do not presently carry ammonium perchlorate because the military and space agencies have seized
control of the sole remaining source in the United States in the wake of an explosion at the only other
NH4Cl04 plant. That second manufacturer is rebuilding, and SLE intends to resume sales when supply
restrictions allow. They will not sell oxidizers and combustible materials ordered simultaneously; the customer
must order them on separate forms, pay by separate, guaranteed funds or have materials shipped COD.

Their chemical inventory includes potassium perchlorate, potassium nitrate (with anti-caking material added),
potassium permanganate, barium nitrate, strontium nitrate, antimony sulfide, titanium in either 10 mesh or
60 mesh; aluminum in bright, pyro, and Black German pyro (mesh claimed is an incredible 600). They sell
syrupy sodium silicate and calcium carbonate, the ingredients of fabled professional pyrotechnic adhesive, as
well as green and red safety fuse, glue, a few mortars suitable for making class C fireworks.

SLE does not offer tube salute casings, since one of CPSC's key attack-points held that simultaneous sales of
chemicals and casings designed to produced banned report devices constituted sales of kits to make same. We
have already shown the mindless futility of restricting sales of paper tubes. In fact, one might argue that
CPSC's actions could backfire in the sense that experimenters might turn to PVC or metal cases.

Sadly, they offer literature that, while containing some timeless and useful information, may lead the novice
straight down the route to ruin: Weingart's Pyrotechnics and Davis' Chemistry of Powder and Explosives,
both 40 years out of date. They offer two apparently proprietary treatises we have not seen. We asked why
they did not carry Ron Lancaster's Fireworks: Principles and Practice, and the reply was that it was not a
hot seller at $35. Read carefully the cautions below regarding pyro literature.

They will not sell to anyone under the age of 21, and require a photocopy of your driver's license with the
initial order. Fact is, they keep more info on file at Big Brother's behest than the local gun shop where you
bought that last box of shotgun shells••••

The author has not purchased pyro materials since 1973. Taking inflation into account, pyro-grade chemicals
now sell for prices one can only describe as lethal.

We asked whether the principals at SLE suspected themselves or the company to be under surveillance, and
neither felt that they were. Of course, if B.B. didn't want them to know, they wouldn't. ••• Write for their
catalog c/o PO Box 3673, Logan, UT, 84321. Their order form asks "Where did you hear about Square
Lake Enterprises?" It might be unwise to mention this dread text. •••

213
What if dedicated pyro suppliers dry up? Chemicals in proper grades and particle sizes would remain
available. Otherwise, a domestic pyro industry would cease to exist. But companies that routinely sell 500
pounds of potassium perchlorate, technical, 200 mesh, to the Rozzazzo & Fong Fireworks Co., Ltd., do not
want to hear from you. First, you probably want five pounds at most. Second, like every business in America,
they have found it impossible to ignore the rising tide of product liability suits. All they need is to sell you a
potent oxidizer, have you blow off your right hand, then have to defend themselves against a multimillion-
dollar lawsuit brought by your parents, since you happened to be 15 years old ••••

In a practical sense, only one path offers access to whatever chemicals you wish to use, and without hassles
or drawing heat. That means following the arduous steps toward becoming a serious pyro, properly licensed
and such. It would not hurt to prepare some stationery and a set of purchase orders and a bank account with
your business name. You would be surprised how many doors it opens. And, of course, when a chemical firm
receives a significant order for hazardous materials, it helps to have it accompanied by a business check, a
purchase order, a cover letter on the appropriate stationery, and a "true copy" of your explosives license.
Without the license, forget it.

You will probably have to buy most chemicals in hundred-pound lots, but that is part of the price of dabbling
in the occult. If you cannot pay the fare, get off the train. You will save a bundle over what pyro supply
houses used to charge for a pound of anything, at least when pyro houses existed, and you won't have to buy
again for a J2!:!9. time••••

THE LITERATURE OF PYRO: CAUTION!

Available in reprint are George Washington Weingart's Pyrotechnics, Professor Tenney L. Davis' The
Chemistry of Powder and Explosives (incorporated in The Poor Man's James Bond, Part II; apparently, Davis'
book has passed into the public domain), and Britisher Ron Lancaster's Fireworks: Principles and Practice;
along with a sampling of highly technical manuals such as Military and Civilian Pyrotechnics, by Herbert
Ellern, and the translation of Schidlovsky's Russian treatise on the subject, complete with differential
equations to keep you up into the wee hours••••

These books make fine reading, but present definite hazards for the uninitiate, who haven't yet learned from
theory or practice the breed of doomstruck compositions that guarantee an abrupt and explosive end to one's
career.

The first two texts mentioned, The Chemistry of Powder and Explosives and Pyrotechnics, grew out of a very
different era -circa 1943 and the early postwar years, respectively-a time that saw cherry bombs,
torpedoes (a cherry bomb with no fuse that explodes when thrown against a hard surface), and cannon
crackers sold openly (the #12 cracker measured 1-1/2" x 12" long, and came in boxes of 25). Worse,
industry standards called for potassium chlorate as the oxidizer because it saved money over the perchlorate
and gave a genuinely terrible bang. Those babies earned the name, cannon crackers. These texts tell exactly
how the big crackers were made, and what compositions they used. The modern pyro, pro or amateur, gets
the creeping Fear just dreaming that these formulas ever got mixed, much less placed in unenlightened hands.

And you can get those books from the same outre' tribe of dealer who stocked this grim rag.

The point is, read those older texts for interest, for historical intrigue if you wish. But under no
circumstances entertain studies of whipping up a batch of Weingart's chlorate-based cannon cracker formula
#3. Odds are, it will detonate while you're mixing it, and you can kiss your hands, eardrums, and eyes
goodbye, then learn our probation system from the inside, since the judge won't have the heart to send up a
first-offender, especially after your crippling accident. ...

214
 8
ODDS & ENDS

"Vengeance is Mine," sayeth the Lord-and Mickey Spillane••••

* * *

LIE DETECTORS?
Everyone knows the basics: Certain physiologic changes are believed to flag the subject who knowingly fibs.
That assumption underlies the notion of lie detectors. Polygraphs and voice stress analyzers are the two most
widely touted. The polygraph measures pulse, respiration, and galvanic skin response (a fancy way to say
"sweating"). The VSA registers supposedly inaudible voice tremors.

But these tools post erratic track records. The media, in its rare fits of public service, has profiled horror
stories of men and women denied employment, fired, incarcerated, or-worst of all-suffering bruised credit
based on goofed-up lie detector tests.

One exercise proved particularly instructive to students of human physiology. The polygrapher was told that
one of a series of sUbjects was suspected of thievery. The examiner tested all subjects. In every case, the
machine found the marked suspect to be lying, yet that subject was utterly innocent. This was repeated with
different subjects and different polygraphers three times in a row, with the same results. What could account
for such consistent inaccuracy?

Simple. The human nervous system can, in fact, detect subliminal physiologic phenomena at an unconscious
level. Our subconscious can hear the sounds the VSA uses, even though our hearing technically extends only
to 20 Hz (though we damned well sense the 5 Hz rumble of an earthquake). The same applies to intonation,
accent, and gestures. It probably applies to facial expression as well. You've heard the phrase, "guilt written
all over his face"? This refers to a set of the features almost impossible to produce at will that we see on the
faces of guilty persons-or those who feel guilty.

The human subconscious can integrate all this and come up with a fair estimate of whether someone is lying,
probably because that ability had survival value millennia ago. Today we see the evolution of a new
subspecies, those who can lie poker-faced, without tells. That ability seems to possess survival value, too.
Lawyers and politicians bear it...just the breed we want to flourish and rule our world ....

Now, get this: A SUbject's perception, conscious or subconscious, that someone else believes he is lying may
induce, or at least heighten, those physiologic responses that polygraphers associate with deception. The fact
of the examiner having been told that a certain subject was suspect becomes a self-fulfilling physiologic
prophecy.
215
If guilt can be written allover the human visage, so can the belief that someone else is guilty. The human
subconscious spots both looks. Trained persons, usually police, who live in a world of lies, come to hone this
skill finely.

Think about it. Haven't you ever been wrongly accused of some bad deed? Remember your reaction?
Flushing, rapid breathing and heart rate, sweaty palms, trembling voice. Just how does that differ physio-
logically from the deception response?

Of course, another possibility says that polygraphers in these grim studies didn't want to look bad by finding
nothing. They have to earn a living. The polygrapher who reported zip might find his employer looking for a
"better" polygrapher ••••

Agreeing to take a polygraph exam, or believing the results good or bad, both represent no more than a roll
of the dice.

EVOKED RESPONSES: THE NEXT STEP?

The author once supervised a neurophysiology lab that routinely ran strange and venal tests called "evoked
responses." This chat carries the weight of personal experience, even though the author has forsaken the
horror of Hippocratic rot for the decadence of deep-fringe writing.

Back on track: Evoked responses are electrophysiologic phenomena elicited by any of a variety of stimuli and
recorded, most often, from the brain. The commonest examples are visual, brainstem auditory, and
somatosensory evoked responses. Their corresponding stimuli are a black-and-white video monitor displaying a
checkerboard pattern that reverses black-for-white about once a second; rarefaction cl icks (the speaker
diaphragm moves only backward with each click) delivered through an incredibly expensive set of headphones;
and subliminal shocks applied to various nerves. The characteristic waveforms seen in response to these
stimuli and recorded from the head are known as evoked responses. The diagram shows examples from the
author's lab.

What end do they serve? They rank as the most sensitive means of detecting subtle dysfunction of otherwise
inaccessible neural pathways. A patient may show a perfectly normal physical exam, only to have visual
evoked responses detect clear-cut abnormalities that identify multiple sclerosis. Brainstem auditory responses
may become abnormal years before the appearance of a tiny tumor of the nerve that goes to the ear.

Recording evoked responses compares with plucking a 1-watt radio transmission from Australia out of the air.
The responses sometimes measure a fraction of a millionth of a volt in size. Only computerized averaging of
series of a hundred to several thousand stimuli, which attenuates the noise component, lets us view the raw
evoked response in its naked splendor.

The most important aspect of an evoked response waveform is its latency: the time between the stimulus and
the appearance of the response. This ranges from about 1.5 milliseconds in the case of brainstem auditory
evoked responses, to several hundred milliseconds in other types-so-called "late" responses. Early responses
correlate clearly with known anatomy and disease.

But there is something mysterious, almost spooky, about these late responses. We don't yet know exactly
what they are or what they mean or how the brain generates them. But we have learned enough to put us
onto them as potential truthsayers with a 99 percent accuracy rate, this compared with 20 to 80 percent
for the polygraph or VSA, depending upon whom you choose to bel ieve.

In a chilling series of experiments, subjects were given a word and told to remember it. Then they were
hooked up to the fiendish recording apparatus. A video monitor displayed a series of words, and the brain
waves were checked for an evoked response after each word. What a kick when the only word to trigger a
late evoked response was the one they had been asked to recall.

Note that evoked responses are involuntary. In fact, brainstem auditory and somatosensory evoked responses
record with exceptional clarity from subjects who are asleep, even under general anesthesia. Thus, they have
shown the capability to bypass conscious sentries that jinx the VSA and polygraph, and at least potentially
would find application in totally uncooperative SUbjects.
216
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video monitor displaying checkerboard pattern that reversed black/white. Result is
computer average of 100 reversals. RIGHT: Brainstem auditory evoked response.
Amplitude measures on the order of a microvolt, series of peaks easily reproducible, but
demand 1000 or more cl icks per series to average out noise. Normal series of peaks.
Two background scenarios: 1) A manufacturer of evoked response instruments told the author several years
ago that his firm was close to a breakthrough in recording electrodes that did not have to touch the head.
(This is not the same as reports of reading single words in a person's mind from a distance, using vaguely
described apparatus, but the real thing with immediate medical applications.) Conventional electrodes must
be applied with conductive paste or a pure evil glue called collodion. Marks who would never sit still for the
wires could be maneuvered into position near a sensor, then questioned. 2) Texts on hypnosis infer that the
unconscious mind continues to hear all that goes on around us even while we sleep, including sleep induced
by general anesthetics. The author witnessed something that bore this out during a horrible stint in medical
school. A surgeon had just removed the gallbladder of a chronically complaining woman. Wishing to rid
himself of her, now that the cholecystectomy fee was in the bag, he told her, somewhat playfully, while she
was still under the gas, "Mrs. Gide, tomorrow you're going to have trouble with your female organs!" Sure
enough, next day her complaints shifted to the appropriate area.

If it turns out that we can record late evoked responses from sleeping persons, the scheme reduces to slipping
the mark a mickie, wiring him up, and "aSking" questions in a special form, for example, "You did steal the
missing drugs." This, if all panned out, would elicit the late evoked response. "Check questions" might
resemble "You did not crash your car on the way to work this morning," and so on.

It is quite a leap from that doomstruck experiment to truth-saying through evoked potentials, at least so far
as the mainstream medical literature reflects. Frightening enough that a start has been made. The CIA has
probably been gnawing at it for ten years ••••

* * *

••• YES-BUT DO THEY KNOW?

As part of research for this book we had the publisher mail questionnaires to the Motor Vehicle Bureaus in all
50 states. Rather than waste several pages reprinting their addresses, phone numbers, available info and
fees, since that essential but dreary data has seen space in no less than 4 other books, we'll throw in a
question that might not have occurred to those who would tap the MVB for information: Does the Motor
Vehicle Bureau keep records of parties who request information? If so, will they give that data to the subject
of the query? In other words, can the mark pick up your trail by checking with the MVB to see who's been
snooping?

In many cases the answer was yes.

If spooklore has taught us anything, it's the frightening extent to which we may do unto others••• and they
unto us. This dictates discretion, perhaps use of a mail drop and an alias, when digging up the goods on
someone likely to take it personally, and who probably owns 6 volumes on tactical revenge. Pay by money
order, not personal check.

ALABAMA
Stated only that requests for info must appear on a special form containing the requester's notarized
signature.

ALASKA
Maintains no records of requests for info.

ARIZONA
Required to keep copy of request for at least 6 months, but that info for internal or law enforcement use
only.

ARKANSAS
Stated that they do keep records of requests for info, then went on to note that "When a traffic violation
report is sent to any requester other than the licensee, the licensee also receives a copy of the traffic
violation report. Requests for information on records are kept by the department. Although requester

218
information is available to the public, individuals on whom the request for information was made is not public
information." You figure out the syntax.

FLORIDA
Excludes personal info on active or former law enforcement officers (address, phone number, photos,
employment of person or family, "confidential/fictitious registration records"). Law requires them to record
the name of anyone other than law enforcement personnel who requests info about anyone else, the name of
the subject asked about, and to keep the info for a minimum of 6 months. They sell photographs of the
subject, up to 20" x 24" B&W enlargement, for $3.75.

HAWAII
Requires that persons other than those having a clear-cut need to know driver info sign an affidavit, and in
some cases post a bond before being given info. They did not answer our question as to length of time such
info would be kept, but we infer from material they sent that a request would generate a significant paper
trail leading to the inquirer.

IDAHO
"Records of requests for information are maintained for 3 years, but volume alone prohibits providing this
information, if requests were made."

INDIANA
Keeps records of requests, but did not specify their fate or accessibility.

IOWA
"Some requests for record information may be kept for a limited period of time and would not be considered
confidential. "

MAINE
Keeps requests for info on file for 1 year; requests deemed public information.

MINNESOTA
Retains records of requests for information "for accounting purposes only."

MISSOURI
Did not address issue; however, maintains one of the most comprehensive databases we reviewed, high
prices; on an intuitive basis we suspect that they keep records of requests for info.

MARYLAND
Keeps records of requests, which can be released to anyone.

MONTANA
Keeps requests of motor vehicle info for 3 years.

NEVADA
Maintains records of requests "for audit purposes only."

NORTH CAROLINA
Did not specifically state, but request must be submitted on form that asks for requester's name, address,
phone number, and DL number, and reason for request.

NORTH DAKOTA
Law requires them to notify the subject when someone requests a copy of his driving record, and to identify
the requester.

OREGON
Keeps requests for info for 3 years, they are public records.

219
PENNSYLVANIA
Retains copies of requests for info for 3 years, and will reveal to the subject that he has been asked about;
however, source stated over the phone that such records were not computerized, were stored and would
have to be dug up manually, such that it might be possible to miss the fact that a request was fulfilled.

TENNESSEE
Does not keep records" ••• in a manner in which they could be located. These records are kept only for
auditing purposes."

VERMONT
Does not maintain copies of requests for info.

VIRGINIA
Retains all requests for driver's records for 3 years and will disclose date and to whom furnished upon
written request from the subject asked about.

WISCONSIN
"Varies-call if you want details."

Replies from the follOWing states did not address the question of keeping records of requests: CA, DE, GA,
MA, MI, SC, SD, TX, UT. The rest of the states didn't answer the letter, printed on the publisher's
expensive bond stationery ••••

* * *

CREDIT, ALTERNATIVE ID, AND RELATED MATTERS

Let's skip the waltz and get straight to the tango.

1. Perfectly innocent men and women have legitimate need for alternative ID.

2. The only paper worth getting is genuine paper. Phony paper burns with felonious smoke.

3. In many states possession of alternative ID is not a crime. In some states it is.

4. None can deny that some use alternative ID for crime, but the same holds for use of guns, cars, and
common tools for crime.

As a rule, American citizens can call themselves anything they wish, and change the name at will, so long as
foul deeds or intent to commit them don't taint the scene. You can live under an alias if you wish. The alias,
this name other than your given name, becomes your legal name after a period in some jurisdictions.

Which holds fine in principle; but few interest/power groups will let you interface with them under a name
other than the one by which they have come to know you. Banks, credit institutions, vehicle registries,
police, and the tax folks don't care what you call yourself, so long as you fly straight and ante up, come
payout time. They have taken a dim view of alternative names since some persons have used them to escape
valid burdens. If that name fails to tally with records you have created under a different name, they will
want to know why; or, worse, will refuse to interface with you, in effect locking you out of the system.

And you do need to be part of the system, no matter what name you choose. To own and operate a car,
insure it, marry, parent, run a business, sue someone (or, more likely, be sUed)-all this becomes awkward
or impossible without a name that resonates in the downtown files.

Though America requires no national identity cards in the internal-passport sense the Soviet Union or France
do, identity cards by any other name are a fact of life just to stay out of jail. If the Authorities stop you on

220
the street and ask for "ID" and you don't materialize the right plastic, they can impound you without further
cause, on the presumption that you are a wanted criminal. So, for all intents, possession of some form of
bonded identity card is a must to travel freely in this free land of ours.

But conditions may arise that make it foolish to retain your link with a certain name. A legal change of name
will do for some situations, gigs that don't make it profitable to track you down. For others you will have to
get new, valid ID under a name that liberates you utterly from a bad past.

This need for freedom spawned an underground in the techniques of obtaining new ID. Its seamy reputation
may have arisen in part from early connections with domestic freak/hippie/drug/terror groups. At least 4
established and authoritative books detail the technique of getting new, valid ID-and it must be valid, the
real thing, issued by the proper government agency. It's the only kind that will stand scrutiny. ID nowadays
always tags to several computer files. If the number on your identity card doesn't beep the right bell on the
computer, it means a trip downtown for questioning.

NEW ID BY MAIL?
The fake-ID mailorder business must be making money, but the product fools only those who purchase it.
Nobody in a position to ask for ID is likely to buy fake plastic as genuine. Attempting to fake a driver's
license or state-issued ID is good for an automatic bust that your attorney will plea-bargain guilty as a
means to keep you from doing a stretch, at least if you have a clean record going in and the DA is in a
tender mood ••••

The only ID worth having is that which will withstand the type of scrutiny it is designed to protect you
against. Not only must it appear physically impeccable, replete with the laser grating or hologram that shows
up under the light or whatever, but your name, address, and license number must come up on the central
screen when they run a make on you. The only way to get one with your name and picture on it is to have a
genuine false name under which to get it.

The new-identity business has legitimate uses in a moral sense, if not a legal one. This society thrusts unjust
obligations on men and women as a matter of course. Male victims of divorce actions that leave the wife 90
percent of assets and half his income have reasonable complaint and should suffer no pangs at skipping out.
Likewise, having to support kids one never gets to see may be a bit much. And what about ladies who have
been around the track too often and wish to marry up, so to speak, but who cannot otherwise escape a bad
rep? No, when burdens passeth the point of human understanding, it becomes no sin to leave them behind.

It seems, in these grim times, that most grammar-schoolers in certain hip/felonious sections of the country
know how to get false ID.

Many areas now cross reference birth and death info. The lack of a connection between those two once
formed the basis for assuming the identity of someone born about the time you were, but who died early in
childhood, preferably in another county and preferably in another state. With that avenue now blocked, more
sophisticated ruses are required.

People looking for you in a serious way know all about false ID, as well as means to backtrack it. If you got
your false ID in a neighboring county then skipped out on a million-dollar obligation you could, in fact, have
paid (nobody will bother if you cannot pay), the investigator will concentrate his efforts close to home and
find you quickly. On the other hand, if you had the foresight to get your ID in a state in which you have
never resided, and saved it for just the right situation, you may be very difficult to find.

RULES
Before closing in for the kill, a scene at which you must present yourself for inspection by some career civil
servant, gear up for the event. Attention to detail will save some embarrassing and potentially costly gaffes.

1. Dress the part. Wear neat, inconspicuous clothing. A modest wristwatch and medium-priced pen, rather
than a ten-cent throwaway. Men should wear ties and be clean-shaven and generally neat in appearance. A
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recent haircut would not hurt if you lean toward the long-haired-weirdo-hippie-freak cult. Shined shoes.
Women should not look like off-duty whores. A dress or fashionable slacks, understated makeup, no stick-on
nails. In short, do not look like a "criminal type" on the make for new 10.

2. Act the part. Be polite, soft-spoken. Remain calm no matter what happens. That includes long waits for
which bureaucracies are rightly famous.

3. Procure "supportive documents" in advance. Bogus SS card, insurance card, blood donor card (give blood
and do it under a false name; who would dare challenge a goddamn blood donor••• ?). Documents should not
look fresh, obviously. Monogrammed wallet, shirt; wedding ring if your cover calls for you to be married,
pictures of pets, kids, etc.

4. Have on your person enough cash for bail and have memorized your attorney's phone number, both home
and office, just in case something genuinely ugly goes down ••••

5. Park your car well away from the facility, where it will not be tagged if left overnight. In fact, you
might take a cab to the facility. If the authorities get called, the quickest way to tie you to another name is
simply to run a make on your vehicle plate number.

6. If you anticipate being asked for a cover story as to place of employment and so forth, have it down pat
before you go in. If you are to be asked for a business phone number, memorize it. The best number will be
an unlisted one belonging to a trusted comrade who will answer with "Acme Transistor Company. May I help
you?" and will praise you as one of their most talented design engineers.

7. If they don't buy your pitch, calmly leave the premises with whatever documents you brought with you.
Hundreds of other places are waiting for you.

Major cities harbor large criminal populations, many of whose members seek new 10. For that reason, their
ID-related bureaus are likely to be hip to ruses that succeed with no trouble out in Sparse County. So don't
make a trip to the big city because you live in a small town.

OPTIONS FOR VIRGINS

The lord of one of America's grandest credit data banks reportedly opined that every American should be
given a permanent personal identity number. Until that comes to pass, options remain. Those who have not
yet established a paper trail might invoke options that compartmentalize aspects of one's life. For example,
when starting with a clean slate, obtain as many credit instruments as possible, but use different names,
addresses, social security numbers, dates of birth, occupations, and so on. The genuinely far-sighted
operative wi II establish accounts at different banks in different towns (you have heard of gossip, no?) to
enhance the separation. In this way, damage to one identity will not taint the others-or their credit
profiles.

When paying bills remember that they note your bank account number. Whatever you told the bank about
yourself, the creditor knows. Whatever you told the creditor about yourself, the bank knows. Both get
suspicious when facts fail to jibe. Paying by money order puts added distance between you and the snoopers.

It is foolish to let on about your system-to anyone. (Especially your new bride. You will dump her, or she
you, within 10 years. A jilted spouse blabs everything to the most damaging ears.)

Post office boxes offer some insulation, but beware the hazards. In small towns the nature of your mail will
shortly become common knowledge. And anytime the feds want to know all, the postal service will hand them
your mail before passing it to you. The post office denies all responsibility in these cases. The guys who get
the mail open it. The post office maintains credible deniability ••••

Another vital point is, even after you get new 10, pay taxes. Normal people do it, and no agency is willing
to put more manpower on your trail, and has the muscle to tap otherwise sealed sources, to collect on a
penny-ante tax-evader than the IRS. It does not care about your new name and lifestyle, as long as it gets
its cut of your take. (Beware the fact that the IRS files are open to the Justice Department.) Call it cheap

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insurance, as well as the patriotic thing to do, at least for those unfamiliar with Senator Fullbright's Golden
Fleece fi Ie.

What is good 10 worth in the wrong situation? Ask a survivor of Germany in the thirties what he would have
given for the proper set of papers when the roundup squad swept through town. "Your papers are in order,
Mein Herr. You may board the ship. Have a pleasant voyage to America." And as Frank assured us on the
Mothers' first LP, it sure can't happen here••••

MAIL DROPS
A mail drop is an address other than your own which will receive letters and parcels on your behalf, then
forward them to you. Most will also post letters and such for you, so that they bear a postmark of a town
other than yours.

Using mail drops for genuinely touchy business may not be wise. There are just too many ways to trace it.
First of all, every private eye and police agency in the country keeps a list of mail drops and receiving/for-
warding services. They simply punch in the address and run a search of their database, and up it pops that
"your" address is a mail drop. From there, all they have to do is present a subpoena, or warrant, which in
the case of the more aggressive Pis may be totally bogus, and the service will hand over a complete record
of all your mail transactions. ("Would you tell us, Ma'am, where the packages came from that you forwarded
to the subject?" "Yessir. They were from 'Gay Stallion Films' in Covina, California." "Thank you for your
cooperation, Ma'am.") At the trial, that tidbit will discredit you utterly in the eyes of the jury-and that is
exactly how the game works nowadays.

Conduct your affairs in anticipation of a hostile future probe. Using aliases, mail drops, semi-anonymous
money orders, and so on can help. But be aware of their limitations in the face of a truly determined
investigation.

Most of this can be garnered from fiction sources (The Day of the Jackal) and a library of new-ID books that
have seen print since the early seventies. In fact, 1971 's Paper Trip I remains in print as this book comes
out.

SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS: THE BASICS

The scene is a job interview. The interviewer riffles off a series of seemingly harmless questions, then pops
"What is your social security number?"

Wellsir, there is much more to ad libbing an SSN than choosing 3-2-4 digits at random, at least if they are
to blend with the rest of your cover.

Those who wish to fabricate an SSN for whatever reason have to understand features which the informed can
spot instantly as queer. The number tells the state of birth of the holder. If your employment appl ication says
you were born in Nevada, and the SSN you give comes from North Carolina, well, it puts the personnel
manager hip to your ruse.

Federal law demands that you give your SSN when filing tax returns, but, at least on the surface, IRS seems
stingy about giving that number out. But it has been known to use it to track down special categories of
misfits. For example, fathers (it's always the father •••• ) who fai I to pay chi Id support. It was reported that a
female employee of a section of the government with access to the SSN computer was jailed for tracking
down a man based on his SSN. The reason? He had made the Mafia's hit list. It used his SSN to track him
down, then waxed him. That's one way they find you, and one reason the federal witness protection program
assigns new SSNs (the film, F/X, suggested that they gave them out sequentially, rather than randomly, a
seemingly stupid move one hopes does not mirror real life).

A working knowledge of states and their corresponding SSNs will serve well when it comes to coughing up
one that jibes with the state of birth you just gave the employment officer. Since so many other texts have
printed the data, our wisdom simply advises memorizing what three-digit prefixes tag what states.

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CREDIT
Some spook texts devote chunks of space to means to establish credit or patch wounded credit. Readers who
seek those ends find that information invaluable. But those who have yet to interface with the system in a
serious way might choose the ounce of prevention to awful pounds of cure: DON'T USE CREDIT.

Pathetic credit junkies-the author has been there-might laugh aloud at that insane advice, yet it springs
as a sensible offshoot of credit and its terrible ills. Credit encircles too many aspects of your personal life. It
digs a permanent hole, becomes part of your identity profile. Once established, it defines your scope of
action, pegs your place in society-which might be OK if all credit info were accurate. Sadly, it isn't. For
that reason, consider these options:

1. Never reveal your correct social security number to anyone except the IRS and other agencies
empowered by law to know it. Warnings on credit card applications that giving false information is a crime
hold true if you give bad info as a prelude to fraud. As long as you pay, prosecution probably won't enter the
picture.

2. Never reveal your correct date of birth to any agency not empowered by law to know it. Ditto the
comments above re: SSNs.

3. Avoia forming a self-trapping matrix by using different SSNs, DOBs, names, and other personal
information when getting phone service, buying electricity or cable TV service. Nothing illegal curses this as
long as you do not commit fraud or intend to commit fraud or other crime. Pay your bills and nobody cares.
Be aware that a single bit of info revealed to two sources can trash the entire scheme, simply because
certain data is supposed to be unique to an individual, such as the SSN or a phone number. If two people
give the same phone number, and neither has a roommate, one of them is lying. Computers look for these
cross-links.

4. Choose one identity for the IRS and stick to it. The same holds for your driver's license, the name under
which you keep a phone, and so forth.

5. Meet all financial obligations promptly.

6. Establish bank accounts under different identities and use checks that fit the scene.

7. Pay by anonymous money order when needed.

8. Do obtain at least one major credit card, unless you are prepared to live with the inconvenience of never
being able to rent a car. (Alternatively, you may apply to a car-rental company to become "cash qualified,"
which subjects you to exactly the type of credit check as applying for a card; if you have created the proper
paper person, "his" credit should check good.)

9. When confronted with forms to fill in, always give misleading or incomplete information, except where
doing so violates law (with private concerns that chance approaches nil).

10. Do not fall into the credit trap. Live beneath your means. Want a new car? Save until you can pay
cash. You'll get a sweeter deal and save interest payments, in addition to eliminating the credit issue
altogether.

11. Anticipate hassles because you lack a credit history. Those who apply to live in apartments routinely get
run through Retail Credit, Inc., or a similar databank. No record can close as many doors as a bad one. Be
prepared to offer, say, 6 months' rent in cash in advance as the levy of being an unknown.

12. Decide your priorities before you enter any situation that may demand release of personal data. If you
may be denied rental, decide beforehand whether you will put up with the hassle of living elsewhere, or
surrender and reveal all that personal data needed for the credit check.

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CONSUMER INFORMATION REPORTS
Consumer Information reports magically transform bums, geeks, and winos into irrefutable sources whose
pronouncements become final.

The CI industry has created a job-and a huge income-for itself by fostering the notion that its reports are
necessary, desirable, and reliable. As to reliability, fantasize this:

You apply for a job with a company that routinely obtains pre-employment consumer investigative reports.
The agency asks you for the names of everyone on your street, at least 2 houses down. Then it chooses one
at random to interview. It invites that person in to be interviewed about you:

Q What do you think of Mr. Walsh?

A He seems odd to me. He comes and goes at such strange hours.
Q Have you ever observed any deviant behavior on Walsh's part?
A I think he uses cocaine or marry-wanna.
Q Does he throw loud parties?
A Oh, you bet.
Q Do you believe he drinks to excess?
A He probably keeps more liquor in that house than Seagram's distillery.
Q How does he get along with his wife?
A They fight all the time. I think she's getting ready to leave him.
Q Any other evidence of domestic strife?
A His two kids are always in trouble at school.

Since this is a fantasy, pretend that the source will tell the truth about anything he is asked about himself:

Q Now, sir, if I may ask you a few questions to help establish your reliability and qualifications to serve
as a witness in the case of Mr. Walsh?
A Of course.
Q Fine. Have you checked to see whether his job might demand that he keep odd hours?
A No.
Q When was the last loud party Mr. Walsh threw?
A I can't recall.
Q On what do you base your impression that Mrs. Walsh is about to decamp?
A Huh?
Q Let's try another question. Have you personally viewed the vast stores of booze you stated Mr.
Walsh kept?
A No.
Q Have you personally observed him to be drunk or to use illegal drugs?
A No.
Q Have you, yourself, ever been drunk?
A I'm an alcoholic, but I've cut back to a half-pint a day.
Q Where are you currently employed?
A I was fired six months ago for habitual drunkenness on the job.
Q What is-er, was-your line of work?
A I was an engineer on a railroad that hauls toxic waste and nerve gas weapons.
Q Have you, yourself, had any trouble with the law?
A I'm on parole for embezzlement.
Q Thank you, Mr. Vagabonde. That will be all. I'll have your comments about Mr. Walsh typed up for
you to proofread before they become part of his permanent file••••

The scene is prima facie absurd; not what the witness said about the subject of the investigation. Other
works have documented that such comments are all too common. What's absurd is the investigator making
the vaguest attempt to establish the reliability of the witness, or his moral right to judge another person,
prior to embalming his comments about a defenseless third party.

Exaggeration has a point. What happens in this scenario is exactly what the information bureau and those

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who use it are doing, only they insist upon fooling themselves and the public about it (they fooled Congress,
or perhaps lobbied it into abject submission, when they gilded the Fair Credit Reporting Act heavily enough
to counterbalance the idea of fair play).

LOW PROFILE
Several authorities in this field of privacy feel that one of the most effective means of shielding one's personal
Iife from scrutiny is not to do things that trigger a probe. For example, flaunting the symbols of success,
living in a neighborhood where the guest houses start at $60,000, flashing one of the golden credit cards,
and so on make others give you that second look that whets the appetite to know more. Now, be frank in
admitting that symbols serve that very end in this symbol-oriented society. Keeping a low profile may fail to
draw the caliber of mate you've set your sights on, for example.

Make a choice: you have seen how much of your existence can be an open book to those with nothing more
than the desi re to know. Erasing that desire wraps another layer of insulation between you and loss of
privacy. But if those symbols are a part of your scene, necessary for some social strata, then accept their
burdens•••but keep some things private.

SAFE DEPOSIT BOXES

•••aren't safe from bank burglaries, open to just about any agency, especially the IRS, with nothing more
than administrative authorization. This means looking hard at alternative caches for those truly personal
documents-your alternative ID-and computer files (encrypted, then copied onto bulk-erased and freshly
formatted diskettes, with the decoding programs and passwords securely stored elsewhere; do have the
presence of mind to rename files that might otherwise give you away; change FRAUD.TAX to, say,
GAME1.BAS).

Be aware that the bank creates a record every time you access the box, and that this record could prove
damning. If you were served papers suing you for ten million dollars, and the next day went to your safe
deposit box, then lost the suit to the tune of the full amount, you will have a hard time convincing the judge
that you did not remove assets from the box that the court would otherwise have attached to pay your
monumental if mundane judgment.

In the heyday of the survival cult, the notion of burying one's goods became hip. Several texts gave advice
on the mechanics involved, mostly relating to sealing 4" PVC pipe correctly and including a packet of
desiccator to keep the stuff dry, how to avoid metal detectors, and so on. Dunno. Seems like creative use of
above-ground locales, with their instant-access feature, offer the more flexible choice in these changing
times.

DATABASES & DATASORTS: DAT'S AWRIGHT ••••

To use a well known firm as an example, take Radio Shack. Notice the mechanics of buying at that fine
chain of stores. The salesperson writes each part-number on the sales slip, and almost always asks for your
name and address. And if you pay by credit card, your own, you can hang it up•••banish all fantasies of
privacy.

Now, why do Radio Shack and hundreds of other companies gather this information?

1} Inventory control. It tells them daily, even hourly, what products move and what they need to jettison. 2)
Buying patterns in response to ad campaigns, sales, and the like. 3) Names of buyers offer added value in
that mai Iing list companies want them. Not just that, but matching the name with the product(s) bought
offers greater worth. Many advertisers pay extra to reach persons who regularly buy high-ticket items at
Radio Shack, or any other store.

But what if a party wanted to know the names and addresses and any other info of any person anywhere in
the land who had bought the parts, or most of them, that suggested he was building bugging gear? Big
Brother is no stranger to what goes on in the private sector. He might tap into Tandy's main computer
without Tandy's permission or knowledge, and ask it who had bought, within a space of a day or a year, the

226
parts to make, say, a phone-tap FM transmitter. Or the voice scrambler whose plans appeared in Radio
Electronics. Would your name surface along with the other dissidents tagged for surveillance?

COUNTERMEASURES
When you buy materials from which the wrong -or right-inferences could be made, automatically,
arbitrarily, and at the flip of a switch, doesn't it make sense to throw up a bit of a screen? Buy some parts
at one store, the rest at another, order the remainder through the mails, all under different names and
addresses. (But even here we hit snags. The government's computer contains every telephone number, voter
registration, address, social security number, date of birth, and name in the land. The program can be told to
zero in on alias-users-buyers whose names fail to match with known local names, people whose names and
addresses do not appear in the phone book, or which do not match with real names and addresses, and so
forth.)

* * *

COMPUTERS REVISITED
One fascinating revelation -perhaps we should pull up short and call it an inference-arising from the
hydrogen bomb story held that work hung up almost two years out of physicists' hopeless belief that it would
take that long to solve mathematical equations involved, a necessary prelude to building a device costing
millions of dollars. In those days that meant money.

The hydrogen bomb ushered in a leap of destructive power that paralleled the jump in information-handling
power afforded by the personal computer. Though modern-day nuke designers still rely on supercomputers, or
at least a VAX, how long in theory would it take to repeat those 1950 H-bomb equations on a desktop
machine running an Intel 80386 and its 80387 math coprocessor? A day? An hour? Mere seconds?

The information has always been there, patiently awaiting those with the time and temperament to unearth
it, collate it, and synthesize something from it. More than anything else, the personal computer can let the
average citizen of the Western Bloc access it, manipulate it, control it, harness it. The computer has proven
to be the proverbial lever long enough to move the Earth.

The government and big private concerns have held such vast power because of computers. They alone could
pay to maintain instantly accessible files on literally anyone.

But that's changed. Trouble is, the populace has yet to make a unified, organized effort to keep tabs on the
government the way it does on you and-ulp-me.

Right now, there exist desktop computer systems capable of maintaining files on every elected
representative, for example (let's start with that singular breed). Want to see Senator Bullmoose's voting
record on screen in graphic form for his entire career? Punch a few keys and up it pops. Compare it with a
graph of his campaign contributions and their sources, then ask for a correlation. Hmmm. The big blip from
RipOff Cigarettes coincided with his No-votes to cut tobacco subsidies.... Want to know who's registered to
lobby for whom in Washington? Again, it should be at your fingertips. Party-attendance, guest lists, public
bank balances, the percentage of IRS screw-ups compared with taxpayer screwups. Commercial software that
leans in this direction surfaced in the summer of 1988. "Congressional Toolkit" from B. J. Toolkit (Croton-
On-Hudson, NY) offers a database of sorts on Congress, along with the power to generate form-letters for
mass mailings. The company sells also databases on selected state governments.

When they first became available to personal computer users, Winchester hard disks that held a helpless 5
megabytes sold at about a thousand dollars a meg. Today the entry-level norm has pushed past 20 to 30
meg, with one company upping the ante to 60 meg, this on a sluggish XT-class machine. The 80286 and
80386 machines take hundreds of megabytes of storage in stride, along with the ability to manage megabytes
of random access memory (RAM). The optical storage disk effectively places unlimited desktop mass storage
in the hands of anyone who owns a personal computer. That should lead to-

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THE PEOPLE'S DATABASE
Any phrase containing "the people's" usually means that Karl Marx, Nick Lenin, and Jane Fonda endorse it.
Let's be straight and say that, with due regard to those legendary freedom-fighters-whatever that vague
phrase means-"the people" as a concept belongs neither to the left nor the right. Rather, it distinguishes
the general population from its government and from non-governmental groups that exercise power not
accessible to the average citizen. Of all elements that define these several groups, the one that has proven
decisive over the years is the ability to store and retrieve information about other persons.

That power now lies within the grasp of "the people," and they couldn't act more oblivious to it.

Truly powerful private databases would of necessity have to restrict access by those they profiled: pol ice,
politicians, lawyers, businesses, private investigators, etc. Only the little guy and his family could join the
club.

Easier said than done. Once the system proved itself in a handful of cases, the reigning powers would plant
moles in the system, pass restrictive laws-even sabotage would follow.

The "underground" concept holds nothing, for not only does that breed dwell powerless, except as to
annoyance value, but its outcast status makes it easy prey for all marauders. No one will come to its rescue
in the event of a "crackdown." The easiest method has been a civil suit. Simply defending a suit costs
hundreds of thousands of dollars. No insurance exists to cover this twilight-zone sort of activity. When faced
with a suit, they would usually forfeit or lose, or capitulate by dismantling their data network.

Describing the mechanics of intelligence-gathering, retrieval, and storage is easy. Implementing it in ways
that achieve the desired clout won 't be.

Present computer bulletin boards allow dialog, which is fine if you wish to hash over obscure and mundane
dreck. Start talking about deeds that muscle in on Big Brother, private or governmental, and watch how
quickly the feds show up to confiscate your computer-and you.

At a minimum, these subjects need to be in the public database:

The media.
Local IRS contingent; most info about auditors, supervisors.
IRS errors and resultant damage to taxpayers.
Nearest FBI contingent.
Local police records of disciplinary action, unnecessary use of force, officers' history of alcoholism, etc.
Location of speed traps, etc.
Local pol iticians.
State legislators.
Employees of local offices of credit agencies ('specially those lovable field-reps).
Local private investigators.
The Phone Company, in whatever guise.
Editorial staffs of local newspapers-with whom are they chummy?
Apartment complex managers.
Apartment complex owners.
Lawyers.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Physicians.
Insurance brokers.
List of who has sued whom, why, for how much, who won.
Local district attorney.
Judges (start with all who have handled scrapes of the Kennedy clan).
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.
Powerful, i.e., wealthy, people who have shown an interest in shaping local policy, whether it be
zoning, taxes, easements, water and sewer, etc.
228
Use optical scanners to input data from books such as the phone directory (the computer should be able to
generate its own reverse phone directory). Some sources may be willing to cooperate and put the data on
optical disks or rent it via modem. (The phone company will monitor these data transfers; better go back and
move the phone company and its policy makers to the top of the surveillance list. ••• )

One of the most important systems would be a "counter-credit" computer file: a file that held mistakes
contained in credit or consumer files, one that devoted its space to the subject's side of things. Create a file
on merchants and so on who gave this info consideration and those who did not. Boycott those who did not.
Note the potential for blacklisting employers, apartment complex managers, and others who abused cred-
it/consumer investigative reports.

Learn whom the FBI had investigated, its findings, and to whom it had released them.

Use computers to automate requests for info under FOIA.

A great deal of work for an individual. It would take a network to assemble this. We have to start
someplace.

Wouldn't it feel great, being able to run a "make" on the creeps who just yesterday put you through a
degrading credit check that got your name right but missed the part about that civil suit being settled in
your favor?

How do you dig out dirt on these people and agencies? Check the references at the end of the book. There is
no point to reprinting investigative technique; it's last week's news. Observation, bugging, running down
license plates, staking out the residence, checking on the deed-it's all an open book. The point underscores
the power of massed data instantly on tap.

It's been said that the personal computer is a tool of capitalism. True, but one that will never reach its
potential without an organized effort on the part of citizens to stand up for their rights, or make their own.

Wouldn't terrorists and criminal types like to get their filthy hands on this data? Yes. And for that reason we
do have to keep certain aspects of government and enforcement off limits, both for SOCiety's benefit and to
protect the I ives of our legitimate operatives. But clearly the days of impunity from investigation simply
because a man or woman totes a badge or wears a uniform are over.

Hookup networks present a gilded opportunity for B.B. to tune in on you, unless you use a genuinely difficult
encryption algorithm. And, despite what you have heard, despite what the NSA says you cannot do, it is
possible to maintain relative privacy with the right encryption; but don't think those encoded bits will remain
secret forever. The NSA stores them, and as computers evolve, will decode them.

Picture one scenario: you have been tooling along at a comfy 35 when an urgent blue light starts to pulse in
the rear-view mirror. The heat wants you for something. Submissively, you pull over.

"May I see your license and registration, sir?" asks the patrolman, as he burns his 35,000 candle-power
sealed-beam flashlight straight in your face.

"Certainly, Officer. And may I have your name and badge number?"

"Yes, sir. My name's Friday-Moe Friday. Badge number 714."

"Thank you."

While he puts in a call on your license and registration, you put in a call to the civilian database on him: Has
this cop ever been charged with use of excessive force? What does his psych profile say he usually stops
people for? Does he use radar? Is he qual ified to use it? When was his last radar refresher? Is he prone to jolt
you with his shock-stunner for mouthing off? A psycho, perhaps, to pull his piece and wave it for show?
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Just as the officer has a legitimate interest in knowing whether a speeder or bad driver has outstanding
warrants or a history of DUI, so civilians maintain rightful interest in the officer's past behavior.

Stop and look at the concept of Special Privileges and the reasoning behind it. We empower select members
of society with rights and authority denied the rest, ostensibly to serve the common good. In the case of
police, we have given them power to arrest, to carry firearms, to have their commands obeyed under penalty
of incarceration (disobeying a police officer). As a given, courts take the word of a police officer over that of
the unsworn citizen if it comes to a trial.

It just makes sense to subject those with this terrible and discretionary leeway to tighter surveillance as the
price of expanded powers. True, they already undergo semi-probing background checks just to get their jobs;
but these checks and the results are conducted and held largely in-house. Better to get some of it out where
all can see it.

J. Edgar Hoover's stint at the helm of the FBI left us with a grim legacy of illegal government snooping
unequaled in modern times. And it became common knowledge that intelligence units of many police
departments bugged premises and phone lines without authorization. But who's to say it isn't still going on?
Get lists of the agents, make their personnel files public knowledge. It's a reasonable price for special
privileges.

Re-reading those artless words evokes a dreadful sense of naivete. A unified "people's database" could snag
on regional, factional, racial, economic, and political differences. Each social stratum must have its own idea
of what a non-governmental database should be and how it should be used. Cooperation vital to an effective
setup might not materialize. Pipe dreams••••

* * *

DESKTOP PUBLISHING AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR FALSE DOCUMENTS

Personal computers can design fake birth certificates that, if printed on a phototypesetter, will fool anyone
because a photocopy would look as if it had been minted from the real thing. The same design fed through a
laser printer easily betrays itself as phony because of the low resolution of current lasers, about 300 dots per
inch.

But times change. Rumors of 650 dpi laser printers for consumers are circulating already. We expect the
evolution of printing technology to shave the gap between laser printers and true phototypesetters, with their
3000 dpi resolution. They should be available to anyone with a computer soon. What an irony that the
coming flood of fake documents will undermine the Authorities' faith in paper, edging us further toward a
completely digitized society and negating a newfound power to produce genuine-looking papers.

* * *

L1PSTICK ••• AND OTHER TRACES

Fingerprints and tire tracks are macrotraces: visible to the naked eye, and so obvious that all but the most
amateurish felon obscures them or avoids leaving them. But forensic science has identified a wealth of trails
that are not obvious when they get left. These microtraces and the fresh generation of of lab apparatus that
detects them have opened up a world of new and reliable sources of evidence.

Forensic science's power to identify even microscopic traces of material or flesh and match it with samples
gathered later amazes no one so much as those who have gone to the big house because they overlooked that
flaw in their plans. Recently, forensics began talking about extracting the DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) from
a tiny piece of skin to match it with that of the perpetrator as surely as a fingerprint. That means that, if
they found the spot from which a sniper cooled his target, they would also be able to recover microscopic

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traces of shed skin (you shed skin all the time, but don't see most of it). A trip to the lab, and a sample of
your own (which they can get from the carpet in the motel room you rented for the job) and you are as 900d
as convicted.

* * *

ALARMS & RELATED LORE

Forewarned is forearmed, and from that simple maxim sprung the alarm trade. Alarms possess three key
elements: 1) sensors, 2) the control station, and 3) the "means of notification."

SENSORS
"Captain, sensors indicate •••• "

So began Mr. Spack's report to the Captain of the USS Enterprise, whose five-year mission never seemed to
plunge it into back-streets and alleys of burglar country where most Americans live and work.

Intrusion alarms must possess means of sensing the intruder, and so they do. A dazzling array of sensors, from
mundane to outlandish, have evolved in parallel with security needs. To understand a sensor is to grasp its
strengths and limitations, whether your end be to defeat it or trust your valuables or your life to it.

MAGNETIC CONTACTS
One of the oldest, most durable and reliable sensors is the magnetic contact. In its commonest form, it is a
magnetic switch-one whose on/off state is determined by the presence of a nearby magnetic field-and a
small magnet to supply that field. The nearness of the magnet can either open or close the switch connected
to an alarm circuit. Switches open in the presence of a field are said to be "NO" or "normally open." Those
normally closed are said to be "NC."

Most magnetic switches are visible and easily bypassed, assuming the burglar/intruder knows whether they
are open or closed. Since most are NC, a wire clipped across the exposed terminals will bypass them.
Despite these drawbacks, magnetic switches are cost-effective, durable, resistant to false alarms if installed
properly, and deter all but determined vermin.

The hidden ones can be detected often with a good compass. The pho1;o shows that even the compass out of a
Cracker-Jack box will detect the typical alarm sensor magnet from 5 inches. Pros doing serious work use a
magnetometer ••••

But sometimes it isn't practical to bypass with clips. Perhaps the window is guarded with foil or a shatter
sensor. Some switches have been defeated by a strong, externally applied magnetic field. Where to get a
magnet to supply that field? Expensive woofers often use ceramic magnets weighing 60 ounces or more.
Edmund Scientific and several industrial supply houses also sell big magnets. Now, as to how to orient the
magnet. This ploy has been mentioned, but the author has not seen specific instructions given as to
proximity, polarity, and so forth. As a rule, you want the second magnet to take the place of the first as its
holder is jimmied away. This may be a two-felon job.

The author used the 60-ounce magnet, part of an 11-pound structure, from a Gold Sound model 1260 woofer
and a set of normally closed magnetic contacts to test distance over which the big magnet could keep the
switch closed. The results were unimpressive, perhaps out of the circular shape of the field produced by the
platter-like magnet. The cheap compass followed the field at a distance of 3 feet, give or take.

Clearly, those who would use magnets in this fashion need to do careful advance work: know whether the
switch is NO/NC, its location, material used in door, then buy the stuff and do a dry run. Like picking locks,
and before doing it for serious stakes (like three to five in the pen) you must know all the angles. An
accomplice must case the place (pretend to be cleaning service; if they hire you you're in!).

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The magnet fails on steel doors for obvious reasons: the iron content of steel makes it a magnetic conductor.
It "captures" the magnetic flux and makes it flow along the lines of the substance, reducing its impact at the
switch. Magnetic contacts mounted on steel doors usually employ spacers or special shielding to avoid having
the door neutralize them.

And, just because you made it inside doesn't mean you have made it to the boiler room. Most professional
alarm installers and many do-it-yourselfers put in traps. Even they understand how easi ly the magnetic
contact can be bypassed. For example, cut a hole in the door and walk in.

So-called high-security magnetic contacts use a pair of switches sensitive to the direction of a local
magnetic field and oriented at right angles to one another. Imposition of a new magnetic filed may hold one
switch, but makes the second switch open, and the jig is up.

FOIL
Foil refers to metal strips, usually lead, lacquered over exposed outside glass surfaces such that it forms part
of a closed alarm loop. Window shatters, foil breaks, alarm triggers. Simple.

But foil foils mainly smash-and-grab operations. Being visible, and with the existence of glass cutters with a
sharp bite, it takes little imagination to see how to defeat foil: Cut a circle out of a window where there is
no foil, bypass the closed loop. In sections at which the foil must bridge a raised surface, it often requires use
of screw terminals. Here a simple alligator-clip jumper will suffice.

Use of foil seems to be waning, judging from the appearance of storefront glass nowadays. It remains a
durable, rei iable countermeasure with deterrent potential, since burglars understand that foi I is almost never
installed alone, that traps inside will confound the caper.

GLASS-BREAK DETECTORS
The vulnerability of foil led to development of a sonic sensor that mounts directly to glass, particularly large
expanses it would be unsightly to foil fully. It is said to be "tuned" to the frequencies of breaking glass and
glass cutters.

Anyone who has used these handy gems will tell what a pain they can be. The cheap ones require connection
to some manner of "pulse stretcher," since the signal sent out by the sensor itself will not trigger the alarm.
Many demand sensitivity adjustment. Too much, and a passing truck calls the police. Too little, and the glass
cutter goes undetected. Adjustment requires that the amateur purchase a special meter and a custom striker
to simulate breaking glass, which is nothing to the professional installer who will use and depreciate the gear,
but a hefty outlay for the do-it-yourselfer.

Then there is the adhesive. It doesn I t last forever, and substituting your own may alter the response
characteristics of the sensor.

Still, like foil, would-be burglars know window sensors when they see them. They probably do deter many
B&Es.

The best protective combination for large expanses of clear material is polycarbonate, either alone and with a
scratch-resistant coating, or sandwiched between layers of glass, like an automobile windshield; and fit it
with alarm sensors. That way, an attempt to break in A) lets everybody know, and B) thwarts all but a
prolonged attack with a saber saw.

ULTRASONIC MOTION SENSORS AND THE CURSE OF FALSE ALARMS

A train sounds its horn as it approaches. Though you know intuitively that the pitch of the horn is constant,
you hear a droning scream that drops in pitch as the train hurtles past. This results from the Doppler effect.
Electronic instruments can "hear" tones, both audible and inaudible to humans, as well as shifts in the pitch
of those tones, like the droop in the whistle of a passing train. This forms the basis of ultrasonic intrusion
sensors.
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An ultrasonic sensor consists of a source of sound in the range of 25 KHz to 40 KHz. This lies above the
audible range of humans since lower-pitched tones might be irritating or tip off crooks (alarms using audible
tones do exist).

The second crucial element is a receiver capable of detecting a change in pitch of the tone. What would
change the pitch of the reflected sound? Movement of the object it bounced off. It would show the same type
of Doppler shift as a train whistle. Here the moving object is assumed to be a prowler.

The problem with ultrasonic sensors, at least the early models and even some still sold, is their proclivity to
sense non-intruders. Moving air currents can set them off. Ultrasonic sound created by water heaters can do
it, too. Expanses of glass rattled by gusts of wind. The list of things that move when no one is around is too
long to print. Most of them have been culprits in false alarms sensed by ultrasonics.

But the principle of the system is, uh, sound, and the electronics inexpensive (indeed, the works have been
reduced to a chip). Ultrasonic sensors found credibility in verification circuits made so the unit would not trip
with the first, or even the second or third, pulse. This added circuitry breathed new life into an inexpensive
but effective sensor, which had seemed doomed out of its shortfalls. Today's high-end ultrasonic motion
detectors incorporate sophisticated discrimination circuitry that has all but eliminated false alarms, keeping
the ultrasonic alarm a viable choice.

How do you know that an ultrasonic device protects the premises? Assuming you can tour the locale
beforehand, simply inspect it. Most units are clearly visible, and many sport "walk lights"-LEDs that glow
when the sensor trips. This will give you a reading on the sensitivity of the alarm. Without the ability to case
the joint, an ultrasonic sniffer may be of use. This devices senses ultrasonics, then cuts the frequency by half
to one quarter, making it clearly audible through a set of headphones. These devices are fun to play with in
their own right: animals and insects use the ultrasonic band for plenty of business we known nothing of.
Tuning in is like using a scanner. Information Unlimited sells plans for an ultrasonic sniffer.

MICROWAVE SENSORS: SON OF FALSE ALARMS

Microwaves are electromagnetic radiation, but the behavior of this energy conforms in many ways to that of
sound, and we can harness those properties to give us indication of movement. Police radar is the most
widely known application. As with ultrasonics, it's the change in pitch of reflected microwaves that provides
the indication of movement and speed.

Microwaves exhibit special properties. They bounce off metallic objects; but water, as in water contained in
the human body, absorbs them. They pass through most non-metallic, dry materials, such as wood and
plastics. Thus, a human body moving in a microwave field can alter the returning waves either by soaking
them up, or by reflecting them off metallic objects carried or worn on the person.

A basic microwave sensor consists of a transmitter and a receiver, just as with the ultrasonic detector. The
receiver is made to detect changes in the quantity of reflected energy, rate of change, or to employ the
Doppler effect to discern movement.

The advantages of microwave sensors are high sensitivity, the ability to cover vast spaces, both open and
enclosed, with a single sensor.

But microwave sensors suffer problems which have proven among the most vexing in the alarm trade. First,
though absorbed by water and reflected by metal, they pass unimpeded through wood and many plastics,
which means that the microwave sensor will pick up not just the felon in the office, but the rats in the walls
and the dog trotting by outside the office, or the pedestrians and cars parading innocently past.

Remember that water absorbs microwave energy, and that much modern plumbing consists of microwave-
transparent plastic. Flushing the commode on the fifth floor can trip the alarm down in the lobby because
plastic pipe runs in the walls.

Beyond that, microwave sensors may be set off by radio interference from other sources, such as microwave
ovens and deadly police radar-even radar emissions given off by some extremely cheap brands of radar
detectors.
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With all these drawbacks, there are still situations for which microwave sensors offer the most sensitive,
reliable, and cost-effective coverage. Outdoor alarms covering thousands of feet, consisting of a transmitter
at one end, receiver at the other. Police radar detectors may pick this up and warn us of the threat.

And as with ultrasonic motion sensors, microwave has been mated successfully with circuitry to screen out
false alarms.

INFRARED SENSORS
Formerly one of the most exotic and expensive alarm technologies, infrared has surfaced on the shelf at your
local discount house at a fraction of the price it commanded 10 years ago.

Infrared refers to electromagnetic energy whose frequency places it in the range of heat, as in heat of the
human body compared with its surroundings. Infrared alarms employ two configurations, active and passive.

The active type is easy to figure out based on knowledge of ultrasonic and microwave units. One unit sends
out infrared signals, a sensor detects direct or reflected energy. The combined gimmick works by sensing
changes in the pattern received. The simplest is a full interruption, as with a si'lgle beam sent down a
hallway or across a doorway. A body passing through would disrupt it fully. This crude type of circuit has
been used with visible light as well, often as an "announcer" placed in front of the door in stores. The whole
works-transmitter and receiver-can be had on a single chip.

More sophisticated devices add nuances to the pattern, and may detect changes short of interruption, a la
microwave.

IR viewers and night-vision goggles can see IR beams, though not as spectacularly as portrayed in the
movies.

Passive infrared sensors adapt to the existing background infrared radiation, then detect changes in it
produced by the shielding effect of a moving body, as well as heat from the body itself.

Early infrared devices had their share of false alarms. Many were too sensitive, so that the beam of
headlights shining through the window could trip them; or movement of the walls caused by a passing truck,
the changes in temperature produced by heating and cooling systems. And as electronic devices, some found
themselves triggered by two-way radios and other sources of stray energy.

But the devices which have been around since the late 1970s cut up the sensor field of each unit into
multiple adjacent zones. They include circuitry-sort of a built-in verifier-that require two adjacent zones
to fire in succession within a set period or the sensor will not trigger.

Ultrasonic, microwave, and infrared sensors require power. That usually means another pair of wires going to
each sensor, and explains why most users of these sensors were institutional, at least unti I recently. Some
passive infrared sensors use built-in, long-shelf-life lithium batteries as the sole power source, with a claimed
active life of more than ten years. The author has used this type of sensor in an office and found it reliable
and resistant to false alarm. Initial cost was high: $40 per single-zone sensor, $60 per multiple zone sensor
(1984); but the cost and trouble savings of not having to wire external power to each sensor more than
made up for this cost (which fell short of other IR sensors in any case•••• ).

Just for kicks, the author sought to defeat his own alarm. Instructions that come with the IR units told to set
the sensors at face-height, since the face is usually warmer than the rest of the body. He found that he could
defeat the alarm by crawling, which took him out of its sensor zone, or by walking v-e-r-y s-I-o-w-I-y,
since the device would not trip unless two adjacent sensor zones triggered in succession and within a set
period. Do not rely on IR alone. A sturdy combination consists of magnetic sensors, IR, and internal traps,
such as pressure sensors under the carpet, proximity sensors, and so forth.

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f\)
w
U1

TOP LEFT: Inside a common alarm control box. TOP RIGHT: Panel itself uses electronics that date
to the early seventies. BOTTOM LEFT: multi-zone self-powered passive infrared sensor w/cover
removed. BOnOM CENTER: Back of same unit, illustrating use of reflector to let one IR sensor-
pair cover multiple zones. BOnOM RIGHT: Even compass out of Cracker-Jack box picks up field of
magnet used in alarm contact at 5". Use better compass or magnetometer for serious work.
SEISMIC SENSORS
Passive in the sense that they send out no signal to betray their presence, seismic sensors get into
sophisticated technology in their discrimination circuits. These must tell the difference between human
footfalls and thunder, passing cars, animals, and a host of low-frequency vibration sources that otherwise
would trigger them.

The breed encountered most commonly in civilian use hides underground; several above-ground species saw
use in Vietnam, including one disguised as a rock.

Early models had to be dug up yearly to replace their batteries, inconvenient, to say the least, and expensive
to maintain; and many had to be hard-wired. Later models powered their sensors by relying on the
piezoelectric effect, but still faced the conundrum of processing the signal and getting it to the monitoring
station. Either hard-wire, or rely on radio transmissions.

Whichever avenue you choose, seismic sensors are expensive, so much so that their use is limited to genuinely
high security installations-it is rumored in certain circles that this type of sensor rings the NSA complex in
West Virginia at a radius of one mile-working with limitless funds. That describes Uncle Sugar, all right.

PROXIMITY SENSORS
Know what a theremin is? Let's rephrase the question: Did you see the film, The Day The Earth Stood Still?
Creepy outer-space music swelled in the background whenever the robot, Gort, sprang into action. A musical
instrument known as a theremin conjured those tones. If you have never heard the name, chances are you've
never seen one played. The musician's hands never touch the instrument, which consists of two flat metallic
plates about a foot apart.

Placing a hand some inches above one plate activates the sound. Moving the hand closer turns up the
volume. Move the other hand nearer or further from a second plate to alter pitch.

The theremin works on the principle of altered capacitance. Now, we all know about the Leyden jar, at least
we did back when most of the population had attained a degree of literacy commensurate with eighth grade
earth science. The Leyden jar is a capacitor, something that stores electrical energy. The mere proximity of
two conductive objects creates capacitance, often so small as to be immeasurable. A theremin senses altered
capacitance produced by nearness of human hands, and converts those changes into audible tones.

But the combination of a metal Object, or a whole string of them for that matter-usually with the provision
that they be isolated from ground-and a nearby human body sets the scene for a measurable change in
capacitance when the body nears the wired objects. Proximity detectors function on this basis.

PDs have proven an inexpensive means of securing large numbers of metal objects that might otherwise sprout
legs and walk off, such as desktop computers, personal copiers, and the Iike. Sometimes whole lots of cars or
aircraft have been secured this way, and all by a control box no larger than a 35 mm camera.

The units are quite flexible. Simply wire together whatever you wish to protect, then adjust or "null" the
unit, set the sensitivity (it can be set for actual contact, or variable proximity), and forget it. Gloves will
not defeat the system, since capacitance changes despite them.

Professional units sell for hundreds of dollars; yet you can make use of the same principle in those hand-on-
the-doorknob alarms: a hand on the outer knob is detected by a crude proximity sensor, one that lacks the
sophistication or fleXibility of the larger units. Less than $30 at Wal Mart.

HYBRID SENSORS
Alarm designers capitalized on the strengths of various sensors by using them in combination, which remedied
their respective weaknesses. One sensor cross-checks the other. For example, water flowing through plastic
pipes might send the microwave into a dither, but the passive infrared would ignore it. An intruder crawl ing
slowly on the floor might escape the IR, but the microwave would tag him. These designs provide that no
alarm signal fires unless both sensors give the OK. This bui It-in double-check has been implemented
successfully, if not inexpensively.
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SENSORS YOU AREN'T LIKELY TO USE
Bank vault doors contain temperature sensors for burn-jobs, as the torch attack is known in the trade. The
interior may hold an air-pressure sensor to detect that slight drop/rise, depending on conditions, when the
door swings open. Vibration sensors may line the interior vault walls, just in case the baddies have decided
on the sledge-hammer attack through the side wall. Naturally, the floor will contain pressure pads that trip
when stepped on, and the interior of the vault will contain in addition active and passive IR, microwave, and
ultrasonic sensors.

And big-time safe crackers have defeated that and more••••.

THE CONTROL UNIT

Sensors merely send out some type of blip to claim that intrusion is underway. To perform some useful task,
such as sounding an alarm or notifying the police, a control unit must process the blip.

Blips tend to measure low-voltage and low current, incapable of switching high-wattage loads that perform
useful work. The control panel takes the blip and converts it into a change in a second or third circuit that
does have the capability to switch heavy electrical loads.

In addition to this fundamental function, the panel decides when the system is armed and when not, and
allows selection of alarm loops and zones, time delays for entries and exits, and so forth.

In addition to the sensor loop, the most vital input to the control panel is its arm/disarm switch. In the vast
majority of cases, arming and disarming involve momentary closure of a switch that trips a latching relay
inside the panel (a latching relay moves to either the on or off position each time it trips, and stays there
until tripped again).

Now, if the arm/disarm switch were a button, anyone could press it. For that reason, alarm switches require
either a key -most often a tubular one, given the ease with which pin tumblers fall to picks-or an
electronic switch activated by a numeric code. Both types momentarily close a pair of contacts to
enable/disable the panel.

DEFEATING ARM/DISARM SWITCHES

The author installed his first alarm system in 1979, two more in 1984. These were commercial-quality units
of the type guarding many homes and businesses, and they cost a bundle. He has used tubular keyswitches,
magnetic contacts, infrared sensors, foil, leased alarm lines and police-notification relays, electronic code
switches, bells, backup batteries, and traps-and in the course of doing so picked some small knowledge of
their quirks and workings.

Of several methods to defeat an alarm, one involves turning it off. We review pointers here not to train
fledgling felons, but to demonstrate the weaknesses in most low-to-moderate cost security systems.

We all lose keys. Losing the tubular key to your alarm system usually means waking the neighborhood before
you can rush in and kill the siren. Keyless electronic switches evolved as a convenience, but they work in an
electrical sense the same as the mechanical breed. When discussing means to defeat them, we find no
remarkable difference in approach.

Virtually all residential and most commercial arm/disarm switches rely on momentary closure of a pair of
contacts. That tubular keyswitch you see flagging the existence of some alarms (and some scams) is meant to
be turned and held for about 0.5 seconds, long enough to trigger a latching relay inside the concealed
control panel that A) arms the system, and B) turns on the red LED to tell you that it's armed. Code
switches do this electronically, but a mechanical attack can let you defeat the system if you can get to the
connecting cable.

These modules link to the panel via multi-wire cable, often ordinary telephone cable, 4- or 6-wire. Now, if
you know which pair controls the alarm, you needn't bother with the box at all. Simply strip into the
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TOP LEFT: Typical alarm code-key switch. Unit that has been in service some time wlo change in
code may show wear or dirt on most frequently pressed keys. TOP RIGHT: Inside the box.
Screwdriver tip between the pair that should be shorted for half a second to disable system.
BOTTOM LEFT: Rear view of two code boxes made about four years apart by same company.
Normally open tamper switch bottom left of both. BOTTOM RIGHT: Little change in circuitry over
the years. Left tamper switch is no more than a piece of spring steel held away from a contact when
box is screwed to wall. Unit on right uses true switch, requires much less pressure to hold, is more
easily defeated. Also, right unit has capability to change code by moving jumper wires. Obvious from
photos that, once you get inside the box, identifying the correct pair to short is a cinch.

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multicable wire, and momentarily short the pair. (This assumes either that the box is mounted outdoors, or
that you can access it without tripping the alarm.) You should see the red indicator light go off and the
green come on if you have done it right.

What a pity no one uses the same color pair of wires consistently to tell which powers the LEDs and which
controls the box. To learn that, you may have to open the control box. Be aware that all professionally
installed and most amateur boxes hide a normally ~ tamper switch on the back that will trip the alarm as
soon as you unscrew it from its mount. One pair of wires in the bundle serves that switch, and if you short
them the alarm will sound.

The more expensive and more secure the system, the more likely you are to encounter switches mounted in
the box, with a protruding plunger, plus one or more in the mount. That takes an awful lot of hands to hold
unless you have partners, or can isolate the cable, know what wires terminate where, and can bypass them.

Is it possible to defeat them? Of course, and quite easily once we note their construction. The most useful
tool to learn the status of wires feeding an electronic keyswitch is a digital multimeter. These meters sport
extremely high impedances, usually 10 megohms or more, such that you could put the leads across the
normally open tamper pair without tripping that sector. The red LED pair will be carrying either 6 or 12
volts, depending on the design of the system, and the green LED should be dead (if the green light is on, it
means the system's off). The pair will be carrying low-level control voltage, since it trips a relay inside the
panel. That is the pair to short for a half a second. If you identified the pair correctly, the green light will
come on, and the system will be off. You may hear a relay click somewhere in the building as this happens.

Due to differences in design among brands, as well as the evolving nature of circuits, the professional
approach means buying a panel, rigging it with the same type of keyswitch or electronic switch you have
seen on the premises, and reading each pair with a DMM. You should be able to identify a unique
voltage/polarity pair that tells you it's the one to short momentarily. You could do it in the field, but leaving
so simple a matter to chance would be folly.

A direct attack on an electronic keybox is best done as a two-man job. Have one operative hold the box
firmly in place while the other removes the mounting screws. Then slide a slim but firm shim up behind the
box before you take it off the wall (of course, if it is mounted inside a socket in which the tamper switch is
mounted, you must dig out the cable, since you probably won't be able to shim the switch if the works are
recessed). Once freed, turn the box over. Carefully slide the shim to reveal the position of the tamper
switch, usually the bottom. Depress the switch as you remove the shim fully. This exposes the back, which
may then be pried off (two practiced pair of hands makes this easy). Now, you want nothing to do with the
leads to the indicator diodes. By inspection and process of elimination, identify the prospective shorting pair.
Take a jumper and short them to see if that disarms the circuit, as evidenced by the green on/red off
change. (Make certain you do not short the tamper pair, which will trigger the alarm instantly; in fact, to
facilitate handling, you might cut that pair, one wire at a time to avoid accidental shorting).

If one combination does not work, try others until the alarm is off. Then re-secure the box (screw it back on
the wall, tape it to a board, lay a brick on it, whatever) and you are home free.

These boxes sell for so little that, in the process of casing the joint, to coin a phrase, you can ascertain the
brand. Buy a system yourself and open it up, see how it works, put the meter on it. Pros work this way. It's
one reason crime pays.

UNDERSTANDING THE CONTROL PANEL

Both users and would-be attackers of alarm systems should appreciate the differences between UL-approved
and non-UL-approved units. There are effectively no rules for non-UL units. Those that meet UL standards
are equipped with features that could prove decisive in special encounters. First, they must be equipped with
battery backup. Cutting the AC power won't disable the system. Second, they must have a "secondary
loop." This loop independent of one or more "main" loops remains active even after the automatic cutoff has
silenced the main alarm tripped earlier. Many control units, UL-approved or not, automatically rearm
themselves after being tripped if the alarm loop has been restored and before the automatic bell cutoff. That
is, if a burglar forced open the door, tripped the alarm, then shut it as he fled when the bell sounded, the

239
unit would ring for 15 seconds to half an hour, depending on its configuration, then return to duty. If,
however, the door had been propped ajar, or some other point in the loop left broken, the unit would shut
itself off, leaving the premises defenseless.

Hardly surprising that an effective tactic calls for the burglar to trip the alarm intentionally, and in a few
seconds cut an inconspicuous wire or shim a door open such that, though the unit will draw attention, its
automatic cutoff will silence the alarm permanently since the alarm loop remains broken. The baddies return
a few hours later to gut the premises at their leisure. (Cops know this ruse, and tend to keep an eye on
premises whose alarm tripped earlier in the evening.)

UL-qualified units must contain a loop to guard against this attack. That loop remains armed whatever the
status of the main loop, and will again sound the claxon should the baddies return. Of course, the backup
loop must have its own independent sensor, usually a "trap" inside the building.

A third UL measure, one genuinely handy in light of known tactics to defeat combination switches, demands
that entering the code, turning the key, or shorting the proper contacts will not silence the alarm once it
has been tripped. It will do so with most non-UL units. That means that to defeat a UL unit, the alarm
cannot be tripped even momentarily, or it rings until programmed to shut off, or until the owner or alarm
company arrives.

Be careful hooking up the backup battery. Install it polarity reversed and kiss the panel goodbye. The author
bought two $300 control panels in 1984, identical save that one was UL-approved, the other not. Only the
approved unit bore an orange warning sticker that told of of deadly results of reversed polarity. (The author
would have bought but one unit, but he had destroyed one by accidentally reversing the polarity, which was
not marked all that clearly on the backup battery •••• ) Given the stiff prices of alarm control units, and the
simplicity of incorporating protective circuitry into them, one has to wonder why it had not been done. Who
knows ••• maybe some companies do a fair business replacing burned-out boxes•••certainly not the maker of the
author's prize panels••••

COST
Buying from an alarm company, even by mailorder, usually means a near-fatal price markup. Twenty dollars
worth of electronics, and not very sophisticated stuff at that, becomes the $299 Deluxe Special when
mounted in a $2 metal box. Sensors, wire, installation, and so forth cost extra, and bear the curse of that
same awful markup.

What a pleasant surprise that you can buy units of equal performance at the local Radio Shack for half the
cost. Radio Shack, at least in the opinion of some, has earned no renown for rock-bottom prices, which
makes its prices on alarm gear -the equal of "professional" models in most respects-surprising and
attractive. Comparison shopping is a must for amateur installers.

Before McGee Radio decided to change its image and its inventory, it carried the Cal-Rad line of products,
among which some genuine alarm bargains could be found. We haven't been able to run down a discount Cal-
Rad dealer. Perhaps McGee wi II rethink its marketing. strategy.

WINDOW STICKERS
"Warning! These premises protected by electronic intrusion system!"

Now, everybody, criminals most of all, knows that some stickers are fakes. Experienced burglars know
genuine stickers from phony, and real outdoor switches from bogus.

In general, window stickers will deter the unmotivated amateur, at least send him to the house next door,
rather than call your bluff. Stickers and hard evidence of an alarm, such as a genuine outdoor disarm switch
or obvious glass-break sensors could prove more effective in combination with warning stickers.

240
ILLUSIONS
The alarm business props up an illusion of security. Genuine security starts with attitudes and awareness
patterns. Physical aids serve as extensions of those postures, rather than the bastions of security some would
have us bel ieve.

As a rule, NEVER discuss your security measures with anyone except as they need to know. This applies to
your most trusted employee. If s/he must have the disarm combination, you must divulge the numbers; but
you needn't reveal that the code is fixed, or the location of tamper switches, or where all the sensors are
hidden, or that there is a backup loop, and so forth.

When you change employees, change the code, re-key your locks. Consider adding or moving your interior
traps if the employee left under unpleasant circumstances, or if there was a taint of dishonesty.

THE "MEANS OF NOTIFICATION"

The alarm process distills to infinitesimal currents controlling the shifting of progressively larger ones. The
detector circuit runs on milliamps or even microamps, but it trips a mechanical relay (which are being phased
out as high-power semiconductors come to the fore) that will handle the power to drive an alarm bell. Some
will trip a relay that will take the full 120 volts/20 amps from the wall circuit. Some fiendish defenders have
made use of that very property to fashion potentially lethal traps, but that is illegal ••••

Suitable alarms can trigger most any device you care to name. Therein lies the key to their flexibility.
Ringing a bell will not rattle most experienced burglars, especially ones who know your setup is not
connected to an alarm station. It takes less than a minute to lift your thousand-dollar VCR along with a few
other goodies, then be off and away, home free. What you seek is for your alarm not only to sound the siren,
but to do something that makes the felon want to leave NOW, and the Devil can keep your damned VCR.

For many years, an acceptable means was a device that, after a set interval, released a cloud of CN or CS
tear gas-which rendered the place inhospitable, but took about a week with the windows open to clear out
so you could move back in. (And some owners "forgot" to disarm the bugger when they entered their own
premises. What price security •••• )

And alternative might be an electric fence charger wired to selected objects; do not wire house current to
anything. It killed in one case that got nationwide publicity. The jury ruled in favor of the crime victim and
acquitted him of manslaughter.

Another option gets more exotic, but holds promise. This is the ultrasonic pain field generator sold by
Information Unlimited. They sell completed units with sensor and everything; or you may configure your own
alarm panel to activate the sound generator.

ALARM CONTROL CENTERS

In some locales, you may lease a line from the phone company and have it surface at the local police station
or an alarm company. That way, when your alarm trips, the cops know it an instant after the crooks (or
maybe first, if it is silent).

The leased pair reverses polarity. The monitor can tell if it is cut, but that gives a different signal than
triggering the alarm. This is easy for someone with a knowledge of electronics to defeat. And the phone
company couldn't be more helpful in showing where to access the line. It's right in the surface box on the
outside of your building, where the bad guys can put the meter on it. Phone lines run 48 volts. The
dedicated alarm pair usually does not; or, if it does, out of some limp attempt to foil burglars, they will
attach a lineman's handset to each pair and key in on the pair with no dial tone. In the discussion of bugging
you met the punch-down block. The phone company used that same punch-down block for the author's leased
alarm-line pair; $17 a month in 1984.

Bigger game, such as banks, have turned to special pulsed signals to keep the central unit happy, but
sophisticated vault special ists have mimicked even this complex signal.
241
The latest units send a digital bitstream seemingly random to someone monitoring it and trying to decipher it.
But it's only a matter of time before it falls to decryption software.

* * *

A BRIEF LOOK AT SPOOK BOOKS

The publication in 1972 of Kurt Saxon's Poor Man's James Bond defined a genre-the "big" spook book-
that was continued and refined by later authors and has grown to more than a dozen volumes, all feeding an
insatiable hunger for this dread lore. In case the reader has not scanned them, we offer sketches of selected
works.

THE ANARCHIST'S COOKBOOK

Badly out of date but still selling for $20 in some outlets, William Powell's early (circa 1972) effort has
become an interesting period piece with strong political overtones, one that reflects a naivete of both the
enforcers and their victims, as seen in better if more turbulent days. Its tech advice has succumbed to the
passage of time, as do we all in the end. An interesting read from a historical perspective.

THE POOR MAN'S JAMES BOND

Now a cult figure in the realm of spook literature, and lately a guru in the survival camp that peaked in the
late 1970s, Kurt Saxon shook the world with his new twist in 1972. TPMJB rambled through everything
from tear gas to interesting uses for shotgun shells.

In those early days it was great fun to read, a great kick to show off to your friends. It made you feel as if
you knew so much that nobody else did. Saxon's approach emphasized a self-sufficiency that has proven
unnecessary, if only temporarily. For example, most folks can buy all the professionally produced tear gas
they want today, and needn't resort to synthesis.

TPMJB now appears in a Part II edition that consists of a compendium of previously published material,
including Tenney L. Davis' The Chemistry of Powder and Explosives. A worthwhile read for those who have
not seen it.

THE BIG BROTHER GAME

Author Scott French, under the firm tutelage of publisher Lyle Stuart, produced The Big Brother Game in
1976. It has shown amazing stamina in the spook field, despite its necessarily dated technology, though many
of its lessons hold firm. French's canny/witty insights into the private detective and big brother arenas ring
true even today. A whimsical, post-60s innocence made it novel in its day, a warm, welcome glow that has
faded from other works in the cold reality of these grim times.

A landmark book that upped the ante for authors looking to break into the field, TBBG remains on the
recommended list.

THE COMPLETE SPY

McGarvey and Caitlin produced this compilation of hardware from various catalogs, complete with pix and
prices, and shored up the list with sl ick filler to flesh out their uses. At 8-1/2 x 11, it is a true big spook
book, perhaps the softest of the breed in terms of exposing the reader to genuinely tricky material. Superior
section on physical disguise.

SPY- TECH
Conspicuous mainly for its journalistic excellence and the you-are-there feel it breathes into spyplane flights
and spy satellite tests, Graham Yost's Spy-Tech leans top-heavy with spy satellites and aircraft, light on
detail about field gear. The book covers in a single sentence what we would like to read several pages about.
Still a good read and probably the most professionally flavored of the breed.
242
HOW TO GET ANYTHING ON ANYBODY
Lee Lapin's entry, one of the costliest of the bunch, going for $30 most places and as high as $34.95 in
past Edmund Scieiltific catalogs, employs a Consumer Reports style in hands-on tests of selected S{XlOk gear.
We see mainly medium-priced merch in profile. The heavy stuff rates mention, but we do not get to play with
it through author Lapin's hands.

One of the meatiest of the group, HTGAOA wastes little space and belongs in the Iibrary of all serious
students of investigation.

Spy GAME
A collaboration of Scott French and Lee Lapin, the work presently perches in the S{XlOk hutch but proves
difficult to define. The premise seems to have been, What would a pair of S{XlOk-types do if they had
unlimited resources? The authors bought or borrowed enough gear to keep them under government
survei !lance for the rest of their lives, then lit out on a road-trip for Africa, conducted field-tests, took
pictures, and reported the results. In addition to providing worthwhile data unavailable elsewhere, the book
takes us on a safari of vicarious indulgence like nothing else in print. Through the authors, we get to shoot
body armor, peer through the best in night-vision scopes, handle the top directional mics, track cars
equipped with the latest infrared beacons•••the list goes on for more than 500 pages.

Spy Game offers expert advice from other contributors, most notably new-ID czar Barry Reid and defensive
driving expert J. D. Aranha.

The book is big and expensive. It measures 8-1/2 x 11 and weighs several poundS, even in softcover. No
price printed on the cover. We got our copy for $35 plus shipping, only to see it listed elsewhere for $30.
Recommended •

Each of these books embraces a broad spectrum. For each subject they mention, there exist at least 5
dedicated texts. For example, silencers command a groupie-like following, as does credit, new ID, skip-
tracing, and another favorite, lock-picking. Though ceding depth compared to dedicated texts, the S{XlOk
genre offers a global perspective essential to effective use of its lore. For instance, no operative would
master lock-picking and learn nothing of alarms and police behavior •••or silencers, should the pit of the gig
call for that grim recourse ••••

* * *

A PHILOSOPHY OF PERSONAL SECURITY

So what practical use arises from this dread and sinister lore? What other than passing interest has the
average Jane for lock-picking and raw steel bullets?

First, it is a cult just to get information, a philosophy that there is nothing about anyone or any topic you
cannot learn if you truly wish to do so; no place you cannot enter, nothing forbidden to those willing to pay
the fare in terms of work and risk. Information confers power; power bestows freedom.

By the same token, recognize that there is much about you, often more than you imagined, available to
others, most of it both detrimental and inaccurate-and those others usually harbor you ill will. Spooklore
tells how to protect your own privacy, your own security.

In this age that won't rent you a car unless you flash a major credit card, or get "prior credit approval,"
which amounts to the same credit check the card companies run, few can afford to ignore this technology,
this philosophy.

Did you buy this book through the mails? How did you pay for it? Having examined it, is there anyone whom
you would wish not to know that you had bought it? Has the fact of its purchase put you on secret
government survei Ilance lists?
243
If you paid by check, be aware that the law requires your bank to keep a photocopy of your checks for at
least five years. Technically, they are required to copy only checks over $100, but many banks copy them all
to avoid the labor cost of screening. The check need not mention the book title. The government and private
snoopers know what companies sell what off-the-wall books. They have ways of pressuring them.

Did you know that some mailorder companies sell lists of their customers to mail solicitation agencies? (Hell,
even SOF does it, but will remove your name if you so request.) Did you ask that your name be left off the
bookseller's personal list? Did you use an alias?

If not, then count on the fact of this purchase being known. (The police reportedly found a copy of Hit Man,
by "Rex Feral," in the closet of the man ultimately convicted in the so-called "billion dollar boy's club"
case. Would any books in your closet give the wrong impression, should your house be searched for other
reasons? This book, maybe•••• ?)

244
 9
SOURCES, RESOURCES,
& REFERENCES

For those unfamiliar with the abbreviation, "ISBN" stands for "International Standard Book Num-
ber," a unique number assigned to most books publ ished in the free world. You needn It know author,
title, or publisher, only that number, to order a book from any bookstore, or to have the library
check their stacks for it or get it on interlibrary loan. References listed here are worth reading,
many are worth buying if you get involved in spookdom in a serious way. Catalogs listed are worth a
look, too.

* * *

Microphones 3rd Edition, by Martin Clifford. 1986; ISBN 0-8306-0475-8

Digital Audio Signal Processing: An Anthology, edited by John Strawn. ISBN 0-86576-082-9

Digital Image Processing, by Gary Baxes. 0-13-214064-0, Prentice Hall

Digital Picture Processing, by L.P. Yaroslavsky. Springer Verlag 0-387-11934-5

Digital Processing of Analog Signals, by Thomas Young. Prentice Hall. These last four "digital"
books will interest mainly those who already understand basic digital technology.

Code Breaking and Signals Intelligence, edited by Christopher Andrew. 0-7146-3299-6

Cryptography: A New Dimension in Computer Data Security, by Carl Meyer and Steven Matayas.
0-471-04892-5; Wiley. Do you have a PhD in mathematics? This is your book.

Private Investigator's Basic Manual, by Richard H. Akin 0-398-03520-2, Charles C. Thomas

Fireworks, by George Plimpton. 0-385-15414-3, Doubleday. The pyro underground seen through
the eyes of the Times. An interesting read, but strictly soft-core.

Tungsten: Sources, Metallurgy, Properties, and Applications, by Yihe and Wang. 0-306-31144-5,
Plenum Press

Intrusion Detection Systems, by Robert L. Barnard. Butterworth. 0-409-95025-2, 1981. Dry

reading, but comprehensive and all meat.

245
Alarm Systems and Theft Prevention, by Thad Weber. Butterworth, 1973. 0-913708-11-9.
Chatty; dated in a technological sense, but conveys much more in the way of the criminal mind-set
and attack modes than Barnard's book.

Confidential Information Sources, Public and Private, by John M. Carroll. Butterworth. 0-913708-
19-4, 1975. Solid basic reference, along with data on the Canadian systems.

Metalworking, by T. Gardner Boyd. 0-87006-396-0; Good Art PUblishing

Metallurgy Basics, by Donald V. Brown. 0-442-21434-0, Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1983

Special Circuits Ready Reference, by John Markus. ISBN 0-07-040461-5, McGraw-Hili. One of a
series of electronic circuit compendia compiled by Mr. Markus, this volume zeros in on compressors,
limiters, automatic level controls, and frequency-shapers. Mere days before this book went to press
we breadboarded the automatic level control circuit at the top of page 3 (referenced to 73
Magazine, June, 1976, pp 52-54). Using the old workhorse 741 op amp and a common FET
stocked by Radio Shack (2N3819), this unit beat every ALC we had tested up to that point,
including the 570/571 series of dedicated chips. We substituted the new J-FET input version of the
741 with some reduction in noise; mated easily to passband filter (cut hiss at the ALC by placing a
100 to 1000 picofarad cap across pins 2 and 6; the higher the cap value, the greater the
treble/hiss cut; use the output pot of the ALC as your "volume control;" audio taper works best).
As matters stand, we would use this design in lieu of the uPC1571 in Ultra-Amp, at least for the
ALC. The circuit would not replace a true compressor.

Audio IC Op-Amp Applications, Third Edition, by Walter G. Jung. 0-672-22452-6, Howard W.

Sams & Co., Indianapolis, 1986. Order by phone 800-428-SAMS. Also get Mr. Jung's Op Amp
Cookbook, which deals with compressors and limiters.

Active Filter Cookbook, by Don Lancaster. Sticky reading at first, but the more filters you build,
the more sense it makes. Get from Sams Co.

Understanding Operational Amplifiers, by Melen & Garland, from Sams. These last 5 books, along
with chip-makers' data sheets and a few months at the breadboard, will enable the novice to design
and build his own custom "Ultra Amp."

Amplification for the Hearing-Impaired, Ed by Michael C. Pollack, PhD. Grune & Stratton, 1988,
0-8089-1886-9. Main value lies in its vast reference list of audiology journal articles that detail
signal processing techniques to maximize intelligibility of speech. Get it on interlibrary loan.

Cryptology and the Personal Computer, by Karl Andreassen. Aegean Park Press, 0-89412-145-8,
1986

Satellite and Cable TV Scrambling and Descrambling, by Brent Gale and Frank Baylin. 0-917893-
07 - 7. Good discussion of theory, no hard descrambler circuits.

National Semiconductor Linear Databooks, #1, 2, 3. Offer info varying in depth from minimal to
detailed external schematics & applications for their own & pin-compatible chips. Available from
Digi-Key. #2 & 3 $10 each; #1 $15. #3 deals with audio amps and preamps. National and other
chip-makers will, on request, send you application notes concerning their various chips, essential to
understanding their uses. The books on op amps noted above contain manufacturers' names &
addresses.

Parts Express, 340 East First St, Dayton, OH, 45402; 800-322-3525; best prices we've seen on
piezo horn tweeters; general electronic parts.

Nuts & Volts magazine, Box 1111, Placentia, CA, 92670; $12/yr, $60 lifetime subscription; wide
range of display and classified ads for all manner of electronic parts & finished gear.

246
J&M Country Store, RR1, Box 59, Alexander, IL, 62601. Mailorder dealer of Estes Industries
rocket products. Good prices compared w/retail hobby stores.

Flight Systems, Inc. 9300 E 68th St, Raytown, MO, 64133. Source of F-c1ass short-burn/high-
thrust rocket engines. Catalog $2.

North Coast Rocketry, Box 240017, Mayfield Hts, OH, 44124. Catalog $1.50. Sells kits for
rockets that dwarf Sidewinder missiles and the engines to power them. Their products aimed at
advanced rocketeers. Run by genuine pros. 'Nuff said ••••

Fertik's Electronics, 5400 Elle St, Philadelphia, PA, 19120. Electronic parts, some surplus, many
hard-to-find, bargains in some categories.

McGee Radio, 1901 McGee St, Kansas City, MO, 64108. Catalog $2. Formerly broad-spectrum
electronics, now emphasizing raw loudspeakers, mics, PA gear. Carries piezo tweeters.

Fair Radio Sales, Box 1105, Lima, OH, 45802. Mainly surplus electronics, some of it pre-WW II.
Best bargain: thin PC board $2.25 a sheet #VTC-SS 18" x 24", cut it w/scissors for quickie
boards. 419-223-2196.

Mouser Electronics; has 3 distribution centers. 1-800-346-6873 for free catalog updated several
times a year. Along with Digi -Key, one of the largest parts houses in the country. Fast, but usually
has to back -order a few parts.

Digi-Key, 1-800-344-4539 for free catalog, ditto updates. Similar to Mouser, greater emphasis on
connectors, different emphasis on semiconductors. The two firms' inventories complement each
other. Fast, rarely has to back-order. These two catalogs essential if you get into electronics.

Gernsback Publications, Inc. Publishes Radio-Electronics and Hands-On Electronics. Back-issues of

both are available. Write them at 500-B Bi-County Rd, Farmingdale, NY, 11735 for price and
availability. They offer a photocopying service for individual articles. If you plan to build projects
whose schematics Gernsback kindly granted us permission to reprint, you may want to get the whole
article in which it originally appeared.

Crypt, version 3.1, was released just as this book went to the printer. Price $25, rather than $20
quoted earlier. Write Mr. Maniscalco for details on this vastly improved version of the program
detai led in the Security chapter.

The Puzzle Palace, by James Bamford. 0-395-31286-8, Houghton Mifflin. Definitive work to date
on the National Security Agency.

Will: The Autobiography of G. Gordon Liddy. For spiritual guidance.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream, by Hunter
S. Thompson. Ditto....

247
 ERRATA

P7, last para: element inside credit card mic is not a WM62-A; P33, para 2, line 2: RC = LC;
P42: caption Popular Science = Popular Electronics, which has been resurrected since The
Spook Book was published; P42: schematic positive side of 47uF cap does connect to the left
side of S1; P44, para 6, L2: you ears = your ears; P45 schematic: pin 4 of LM386 is grounded;
P55 middle schematic 1uF NP cap should come off pin 10 rather than ground; P69, line 3, para
4: CCS = the CCS; P70, para 7, line 2: profession = professional; P103 diagram: U20 = U30
(generally, U20 = U30 in VC discussion); P110, para 2, line 3: delete "detectors;" P110, para
6, line 6: $11 = $8; P116, para 8, line 3: an = a; P129, para 9, line 3: M16A1 = M16A2; P130,
para 4, line 1: alter = altar; P143, para 4, line 2: delete "with the axis;" P144, para 8, line 1:
suppresser = suppressor; P144, para 11, line 1 speak = peak; P145, para 11; line 1: passed =
passes; P226 , para 6, line 4: offer = offers; P 240, para 5, line 3: of of = of; Mario Maniscal-
co's new mailing address: Box 110082, Cleveland, 44111.

248
 Form Approved: OMB No. 1512-004213131/86)

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY FOR ATF USE ONLY

BUREAU OF ALCOHOL. TOBACCO AND FIREARMS

APPLICATION FOR LICENSE

UNDER 18 U.S.C. CHAPTER 44, FIREARMS
1. NAME OF OWNER OR CORPORATION (l{ partnership, include name of each partnerl

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NUMBER

4. NAME OF COUNTY IN WHICH BUSINESS IS LOCATED 6. BUSINESS LOCATION (l{ no street address in item 5, show directions
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the fee shown in column le) with the application. I
DESCRIPTION OF LICENSE TYPE "X" FEE
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THAN DESTRUCTIVE DEVICES
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---
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DESTRUCTIVE DEVICES
_._-
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MAKE CHECK OR MONEY ORDER PAYABLE TO THE BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO AND FIREARMS TOTAL FEES 1$
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luired to pa)' a special (occupationaH tax before commencing husiness (26 U.S.C. 58tH). for information, contact the NFA Branch, Bureau of
Icohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Washington, DC 20226.
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f!
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I .
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RESPONSIBLE PERSONS (see Instruction 71 IN THE APPLICANT BUSINESS. IF A FEMALE, LIST GIVEN NAMES AND MAIDEN, IF MARRIED, e.g.,
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TO BE SUBMITTED IN DUPLICATE
APPLICATION FOR TA.X PAID TRANSFER AND REGISTRATION OF FIREARM TO: National Firearms Act Branch
Bureau of Alcohol. Tobacco and
2a. TRANSFEREE'S NAME AND ADDRESS (If transferee is a Special (Occupational) Taxpayer who Firearms
is acquiring firearm for personal use. rather than as part of his business inventory. show personal Washington. DC 20226
name below and check here: 0 I

1. TYPE OF TRANSFER (Check one)

(See instructions 1 and 6)
2b. TRADE NAME (See instruction 2e)
0$5 0$200
3a. TRANSFEROR'S NAME AND MAILING ADDRESS (If the firearm is registered under your trade
name, enter your trade name. EXECUTORS: See instruction 2f.1
Submit with your application a check or
money order for the appropriate amount
made payable to the Department of the
Treasury. Upon approval of this application.
this office will acquire. affix and cancel the
required "National Firearms Act" stamp for
you. (See Instruction 6)

3b. NUMBER. STREET. CITY. STATE AND

ZIP CODE IF DIFFERENT FROM
ITEM 3a.

3c. IF APPLICABLE: DECEDENT'S NAME, ADDRESS. AND DATE OF DEATH

The above-named and undersigned transferor hereby makes application as required by Section 5812 of the National Firearms Act to transfer and register
the firearm described below to the transferee.
4. DESCRIPTION OF FIREARM (Complete items a through h) d. MODEL
a. NAME AND ADDRESS OF MANUFACTURER b. TYPE OF FIREARM (Short- c. CALIBER.
AND/OR IMPORTER OF FIREARM barreled rifle. machine gun, de- GAUGE OR
structive device, any other SIZE (Specify) LENGTH e. OF BARREL:
weapon. etc.) (Inches) f. OVERALL:

g. SERIAL NUMBER

h. ADDITIONAL DESCRIPTION OR DATA APPEARING ON FIREARM (Attach additional sheet if necessary)

5. TRANSFEREE'S FEDERAL FIREARMS LICENSE (If any) 6. TRANSFEREE'S SPECIAL (OCCUPATIONAL) TAX STATUS
(Give complete 15-digit number) a. ATF IDENTIFICATION NUMBER b. CLASS
I I I
First 6 digits 2 digits 2 digits 5 digits

I I

7.
I I
TRANSFEROR'S FEDERAL FIREARMS LICENSE (lfany)
I 8. TRANSFEROR'S SPECIAL (OCCUPATIONAL) TAX STATUS
(Give complete 15-digit number) a. ATF IDENTIFICATION NUMBER b. CLASS
First 6 digits I 2 digits I 2 digits I 5 digits
I I
I I I
I I I
UNDER PENALTIES OF PERJURY, I DECLARE that I have examined this application, and to the best of my knowledge and belief it is true. correct
and complete, and that the transfer of the described firearm to the transferee and receipt and possession of it by the transferee are not prohibited by the
provisions of Chapter 44, Title 18, United States Code; Chapter 53, Title 26, United States Code; or Title VII of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe
Streets Act, as amended; or any provisions of State or local law.
9. SIGNATURE OF TRANSFEROR (Or authorized official) 10. NAME AND TITLE OF AUTHORIZED OFFICIAL 11. DATE
(Print or type)

THE SPACE BELOW IS FOR THE US~ OF THE BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO AND FIREARMS
BY AUTHORITY OF THE DIRECTOR, THIS APPLICATION HAS BEEN EXAMINED, AND THE TRANSFER STAMP NUMBER
AND REGISTRATION OF THE FIREARM DESCRIBED HEREIN AND THE INTERSTATE MOVEMENT OF
THAT FIREARM, WHEN APPLICABLE, TO THE TRANSFEREE ARE:

o APPROV ED (With the following conditions, if any) D DIS~PPROVED (For the following reasons)

SIGNATURE OF DIRECTOR, BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO AND FIREARMS DATE

251

ATF Form 4 (5320.4) (10-83)

 CERTIFICATIONS
1. PHOTOGRAPH

If the transferor of a destructive device, machinegun, short-barreled shotgun or short-barreled

rifle is a Federal firearms licensee, and the transferee is anyone other than a licensee qualified to
deal in the firearm to be transferred, the transferee must sign the Applicant Certification (item 2
below) in the presence of the law enforcement officer signing item 3 below. The Law Enforcement AFFIX
Certification (item 3 below) must be completed for the transfer of any registered firearm to an RECENT PHOTOGRAPH HERE
individual other than a licensee qualified to deal in the firearm to be transferred. In addition, the
individual transferee must affix a recent photograph !taken within the past year) in item 1 and (Approximately 2" x 2")
submit, in duplicate (to the transferor) two completed copies of FBI Form FD-258, Fingerprint
Card. (See Important note below.!

2. APPLICANT CERTIFICATION
I, , have a reasonable necessity to possess the device or
(Name of Transferee)
weapon described on this application for the following reason(s)

and my possession of the device or weapon would be consistent with public safety (18 U.S.C. 922(b) (4) and 27 CFR 178.981.

UNDER PENALTIES OF PERJURY, I declare that I have examined this application, and to the best of my knowledge and belief it is true, correct
and complete, and that receipt and possession of the firearm described on this form will not place me in violation of the provisions of Chapter 44,
Title 18, U.S.C.; Chapter 53, Title 26, U.S.C.; or Title VII of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act, as amended, or any provisions of State
or local law.

(Signature of Transferee or official authorized to sign for firm) (Date)

3. LAW ENFORCEMENT CERTIFICATION (See IMPORTANT note below)

I certify that I am the chief law enforcement officer of the organization named below having jurisdiction in the area

of residence of . I have no information indicating that the transferee will use the fire-
(Name of Transferee)
arm or device described on this application for other than lawful purposes. I have no information that the receipt and/or possession of the firearm de-
scribed in item 4 of this form would place the transferee in violation of State or local law.
~

(Signature and Title of Chief Law Enforcement Officer - See IMPORTANT note below)

(Date)

(Organization and Street Address)

IMPORTANT: The chief law enforcement officer is considered to be the Chief of Police for the transferee's city or town of residence, the Sheriff for
the transferee's county of residence; the Head of the State Police for the transferee's State of residence; a State or local district attorney or prosecutor
having jurisdiction in the transferee's area of residence; or another person whose certification is acceptable to the Director, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco
and Firearms. If someone has specific delegated authority to sign on behalf of the Chief of Police, Sheriff, etc., this fact must be noted by printing
the Chief's, Sheriff's, or other authorized official's name and title, followed by the word "by" and the full signature and title of the delegated person.

252

ATF Form 4 (5320.4) (10·83)

 Form Approved: OMB No. 1512-0024 (9/30/86)
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY-BUREAU OF ALCOf-iOL, TOBACCO AND FIREARMS 1. TYPE OF APPLICATION (Check one)
APPLICATION TO MAKE AND REGISTER A FIREARM 0 a. TAX PAID. Submit with your application
(Submit in duplicate. See !lIstnLctiollS attached.) a check or money order for $200 made pay-
able to the Department of the Treasury.
TO: National Firearms Act Branch, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobac<::;:> and Firea'ms, Washington, DC 20226 Upon appro~al of the application, this of-
fice will acquire, affix, and cancel the re-
quired "National Firearms Act" stamp for
The undersigned hereby makes application, as required by Sections 5821 and 5822 of the National
you.
Firearms Act, Title 26 U.S.C., Chapter 53, to make and register the firearm described below.
0 b. TAX EXEMPT because firearm is being
2. APPLICATION IS MADE BY: TRADE NAME (If any) made on behalf of the United States, or any
o INDIVIDUAL department, independent establishment, or
o BUSINESS FIRM o GOVERNMENT ENTITY agency thereof.

3a. APPLICANT'S NAME AND MAl LING ADDRESS (Type or print below and between the dots) 0 c. TAX EXEMPT because firearm is being
made by or on behalf of any State or pos-
session of the United States, or any political
• • subdivision thereof, or any official police
organization of such. government entity
engaged in criminal investigations.

b. IF P.O. BOX IS SHOWN ABOVE, STREET ADDRESS MUST BE GIVEN HERE c. COUNTY

IMPORTANT: COMPLETE THE REVERSE SIDE. INDIVIDUALS (INCLUDING LICENSED COL- d. TELEPHONE AREA CODE AND NUMBER
LECTORS) MUST ALSO SUBMIT, IN DUPLICATE, FBI FORM FD-258, FINGERPRINT CARD.

4. DESCRIPTION OF FIREARM (Complete items a through i) d. MODEL

a. NAME AND LOCATION OF ORIGINAL MANU- b. TYPE OF FIREARM TO c. CALIBER,
FACTURE OF FIREARM (RECEIVER) (If proto- BE MADE (Shortbarre1ed GAUGE OR
type, furnish pions and specifications) (See Instruc- rifle, machine gun, destruc· SIZE (Specify) LENGTH e. OF BARREL:
tion 2/.) tive device, etc.) (inches)
f. OVERALL:
g. SERIAL NUMBER (See Instruction 2g.)

h. ADDITIONAL DESCRIPTION (Include all numbers and other identifying i. STATE WHY YOU INTEND TO MAKE FIREARM (Use additional
data which will appear on the firearm) sheer if necessary)

5. APPLICANT'S FEDERAL FIREARMS LICENSE (If any) 6. SPECIAL (OCCUPATIONAL) TAX STATUS
(Give complete 15-digit number)
First 6 digits 2 digits 2 digits 5 digits
a. ATF IDENTIFICATION NO. b. CLASS I
I I I

I I I 7. EMPLOYER'S IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (If applicable)

: I 1

IMPORTANT: GIVE FULL DETAILS ON SEPARATE SHEET FOR ALL "YES" ANSWERS IN ITEMS 8 AND 9
8. IS APPLICENT YES NO 9. HAS APPLICANT YES NO
a. Charged by information or under indictment in any court a. Been convicted in any court of a crime punishable by
for a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceed- imprisonment for a term exceeding one year?
ing one year?
b. Been discharged from the armed forces under
b. A fugitive from justice? dishonorable conditions?
c. An alien who is illegally or unlawfully in the United States? c. ~een adjudicated as a mental defective or been
cbmmitted to any mental institution?
d. Under 21 years of age?
e. An unlawful user of or addicted to marihuana or any d. Renounced his or her citizenship, having been a citizen
depressant, stimulant or narcotic drug? of the United States?
10. A citizen of the United States
UNDER PENALTIES OF PERJURY, I DECLARE that I have ex-
amined this application, including accompanying documents, and to the best of my knowledge and belief it is true, accurate and complete and the making
and possession of the firearm described above would not constitute a violation of Chapter 44, Title 18, U.S.C., Chapter 53, Title 26, U.s.C., Title VII of the
Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act, as amended, or any provisions of State or local law.

11. SIGNATURE OF APPLICANT 12. NAME AND TITLE OF AUTHORIZED OFFICIAL OF FIRM 13. DATE
OR CORPORATION (If applicable)

THE SPACE BELOW IS FOR THE USE OF THE BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO AND FIREARMS
By authority of the Director, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, this application has been examined and the
applicant's making and registration of the firearm described above is:
I STAMP NUMBER

o APPROVED (With the following conditions, if any) o DISAPPROVED (For the follo .....ing reasons)

EXAMINER DATE AUTHORIZED ATF OFFICIAL DATE

253
 ADDITIONAL REQUIREMEN1S

1. PHOTOGRAPH

The Chief of Police. Sheriff. or other official acceptable to the Director

must complete the "Law Enforcement Certification" below. If the ap- AFFIX
plicant is an individual (including a licensed collector! a recent photo' RECENT PHOTOGRAPH HERE
(Approximately :2" x :2 ")
graph must be attached in the space provided and FBI Form F 0-258,
Fingerprint Card, completed in duplicate, must be submitted.

2. LAW ENFORCEMENT CERTIFICATION (See IMPORTANT note below)

I certify that I em the chief law enforcement officrr of the organization named below having jurisdiction in the area of residence of

(Name of Maker)

I have no ir,formation indicatmg that the maker will use tt'f; f,rEi;rm or dE<\'ice de&cbed en thi& cpplicativ-: for other than law~ul purpose~_

I have no information that POSSESSION OF THE FIREARM DESCRIBED IN IT[ r\1 4 ON THE FRONT OF THIS FORM WOULD PLACE
THE MAKER IN VIOLATION OF STATE OR LOCAL LAW,

(Signature and Title of Chief Law Enfore-ement Officer-see IMPORTANT note below)

BY (See IMPORTANT NOTE BELOW)~~~~~~~~~_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Signature and Title of Delegated Person)

(Organization)

(Street Address)

(City, State, and ZIP Code) (Date)

IMPORTANT: The chief law enforcement officer is considered to be the Chief of Police for the maker's city or town of residence, the
Sheriff for the maker's county of reSidence; the Head of the State Police for the mahr's State of residence; a State or local district at·
torney or prosecutor ~Icving jurisdiction in the maker's area of residence; or another persor, whose certification is acceptable to the Director,
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, If someone has specific delegated authority \0 sign on behalf of the Chief of Police, Sheriff,
etc" this fact must be neted by rrinti'll) the Chief's, Sheriff's, or other authorized officii'S name and title, followed by the word "by"
and the full signatllre and title of thf; delegated person.

254

ATF FORM 115::1~>n 11I1n.A':n

 Form Approved: OMB No. 1512·0025 (12/31/86)

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY-BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO AND FIREARMS 1. TYPE OF NOTICE

NOTICE OF FIREARMS MANUFACTURED OR IMPORTED a. FIREARMS ON THIS NOTICE ARE:
(Check one)
(Complete in duplicate - See Instructions on reverse)
TO: The Director. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Fi....rms. Washington, DC 20226
o MANUFACTURED
o REMANUFACTURED
The undersigned hereby serves notice of the manufacture. remanufacture, reactivation, or importation of
firearms as required by section 5841 of the National Firearms Act. Title 26, U.S.C. Chapter 53.
o REACTIVATED
o IMPORTED (If imported complete
2. PRINT NAME AND TITLE OF PERSON AUTHORIZED TO SIGN FOR A BUSINESS OR FIRM Items c and d)

3. NAME AND ADDRESS (Include trade name) b.NUMBER OF FIREARMS COVERED

BY THIS NOTICE (See Instruction J.c.)

FOR IMPORTED FIREARMS ONL Y

c. IMPORTATION PERMIT NUMBER
(See Instruction l.d. on reverse)

3.a. TELEPHONE NUMBER (Include area code) d.PERMIT EXPIRATION DATE

4. DESCRIPTION OF FIREARMS (Complete all items)

DATE OF MANUFACTURE OR TYPE OF FIREARM CALIBER MODEL LENGTH fIn. SERIAL NUMBER
REACTIVATION (Shortoorreled rifle, GAUGE AND OTHER MARKS
(If imported, give date released from Customs machine gun, destructive OR SIZE OF OVER· OF IDENTIFICATION
custody & manufacturer's name) (Ifremanu. device, etc.) BAR· ALL (See Instructions I.e. and t.JZ')
factured or reactivated, indicate name of REL
original manufacturer)
a b c d e f g

h. ADDITIONAL DESCRIPTION (Use additional sheets if necessary) i. WHERE ARE FIREARMS KEPT?

5. FEDERAL FIREARMS LICENSE 6. SPECIAL (OCCUPATIONAL) TAX STAMP

LICENSE NUMBER TYPE OF BUSINESS EXPIRATION DATE ATF IDENTIFICATION NUMBER CLASS

UNDER PENALTIES OF PERJURY, I DECLARE that I have examined this notice of firearms manufactured, remanufactured, reactivated or imported and,
to the best of my knowledge and belief, it is true, correct and complete.
7. SIGNATURE OF MANUFACTURER OR IMPORTER (Or authorized official shown in Item 2) 8. DATE

255

ATr::: c n D U ., 1E;."'2?1\." '''1 QC;.\

 INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preparation of Notice of Firearms Manufactured or Imported. typed forms are preferred, pen and ink may be used; forms completed in pen-
cil will not be accepted.
a. This form is required to effect the registration of all firearms imported,
manufactured, remanufactured or reactivated by qualified Federal firearms i. If any questions arise concerning the preparation of this form, please con-
licensees who have paid the special (occupational) tax to import or manufacture tact tht;l nearest ATF Office or the National Firearms Act Branch at (202)
firearms. 566-7371.

b. Firearms may not be described on attachment sheets. Each must be listed 2. Where to File Form-Submit completed forms to the National Firearms
on ATF Form 2. Act Branch, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Washington, DC 20226.

c. A separate Form 2 must be submitted for the four categories of manufac- 3. When to File Forms-
ture, remanufacture, reactivation and importation of firearms.
a. All firearms manufactured, remanufactured or reactivated during a single
day must be filed no later than the close of the next business day. (27 CFR
d. If the importation involves more than one import permit, a separate Form 179.112).
2 must be filed to report those firearms imported under each permit.

e. Serial numbers- Sections 178.92 and 179.102 of the regulations require

that an individual serial number, not duplicating any serial number placed by 4. Disposition of Form- The manufacturer or importer must prepare the form,
the manufacturer on any other firearm, must be placed on the firearm. in duplicate, file the original with the National Firearms Act Branch and keep
the copy with the firearms records required to be retained at the premises
f. Reactivation of an NFA firearm-Any NFA firearm (including the frame covered by the required special (occupational) tax stamp.
or receiver of such firearm) must be registered to the possessor in order to
be lawfully possessed. A Form 2 to register a reactivated NFA firearm will not
be accepted if the unserviceable firearm is not registered to the applicant. The 5. Receipt of Form by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms-
firearm in that event, would be considered contraband and would be subject
to the seizure and forfeiture provisions of the law. a. The receipt of this form properly prepared and executed by a manufac-
turer will register the firearms listed on the form to the manufacturer, with
g. If a firearm being remanufactured includes a previously identified NFA the exception noted in item 1f. of these instructions.
frame or receiver, the serial number must be the original serial number, followed
by letters identifying the remanufacturer. b. Timely receipt by A TF of a properly prepared and executed form and
timely receipt by the ATF Regional Director (Compliance) of a copy of ATF
h. The signature required on both copies of this form must be entered in Form 6a (required by 27 CFR 178.112) covering the firearm(s) reported on the
ink. Facsimile, photostatic or carbon signatures are not acceptable. Although form by the importer, will register the listed firearms to the importer.

PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT NOTICE

+.
This request is in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980. The
information you provide as a qualified licensed firearms manufacturer or im-
porter is to register, as required by law, firearms within the jurisdiction of the
National Firearms Act, which have been la~ully manufactured or imported.
The data is used to determine applicant's eligibility to register the firearms
described. The furnishing of this information is mandatory (26 U.S.C. 5841cl.

256 ATF FORM 2 (5320.2) 13-B51

'll" u.s. GPO: 1985-4&1-843/36926
 Fonn Approved' OMB No 1512-0182 (1 " '~I,)
FOR ATF USE ONLY
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO AND FIREARMS

APPLICATION FOR LICENSE OR PERMIT

UNDER 18 U.S.C. CHAPTER 40, EXPLOSIVES

NOTE: PLEASE COMPLETE IN TRIPLICATE, USING TYPEWRITER OR BALL POINT PEN

SECTION A (Must be completed by all applicants)

1. NAME (If partnership, include name of each partner)

2. TRADE NAME, IF ANY 3. EMPLOYER IDENTIFICATION NO. OR SOCIAL SECURITY NO.

(Voluntary_ _ instructions)

4. NAME OF COUNTY 5. ADDRESS (RFD or streat no., city, Stata, ZIP Code)

6. LOCATION (If no slreat address in item 5, show direction 7. TELEPHONE NUMBER (Include Area Code)
and distance from nearest P.O. Of city limlls)

Business ( ) Residence ( )

8. ARE YOU PRESENTLY ENGAGED IN A BUSINESS FOR WHICH A LICENSE OR PERMIT tS REQUIRED UNDER 18 U.S.C., CHAPTER 40, EXPLOSIVES? (If yes, show date business began)

OYeslDate: DNo

9. IS OR WILL YOUR BUSINESS BE: (Check appropriate bole)

o IndividuaHy Owned D A Partnership. o A Corporation o Other (Specify)

10. APPLICATION IS MADE FOR A LICENSE OR PERMIT UNOER 18 U.S.C.. CHAPTER 40 11. DURING THE TERM OF THE LICENSE OR PERMIT, THE APPLICANT INTENDS TO
AS A: (Sea instructions and check appropriate box) MANUFACTURE, IMPORT, DEAL, OR USE:
(Sea instructions lor defin~ions of classes 01 explosives)
TYPE (Check appropriate box)
EXPLOStVES LICENSE
CODE
20 Manufacturer of High Explosives
X FEE
o High Explosives o Low Explosives (Including firewa",s)

21 Manufacturer 01 Low Explosives $50 o Blasting Agents

22 Manufacturer 01 Blasting Agents
23 Importer of High Explosives 12. LIST THE TYPES OF EXPLOSIVE MATERIALS YOU INTEND TO MANUFACTURE, IMPORT,
24 Importer of Low Explosives $50 DEAL OR USE (e.g., Dynamite, TNT, Black Powder, Firewor1<s, etc.)
25 Importer of Blasting Agents
26 Dealer in High Explosives
27 Dealer In Low Explosives $20
28 Dealer in Blasting Agents
29 Dealer in Low Explosives - Black Powder Only $20
30 Manufacturer (Limited) of High Explosives
31 Manufacturer (Lim~ed) of Low Explosives $ 5

EXPLOSIVES PERMIT 13. IS STATE OR LOCAL LICENSE OR PERMIT REQUIRED FOR EXPLOSIVES OPERATIONS?
(If yes, give numbers, if not obtained. give date applied lor)
33 User of High Explosives
34
35
User of Low Explosives
User 01 Blasting Agents
$20 o YESINumbers or Date oNO

36 User (Limited) of High Explosives 14. DATE OPERATIONS REOUIRING A LICENSE OR PERMIT ARE DESIRED TO COMMENCE:
37 User (Limited) of Low Explosives $ 2
3B User (Limited) of Blasting Agents

PLEASE MAKE 0 CHECK 0 .MONEY ORDER PAYABLE TO THE

"BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO AND FIREARMS" TOTAL AMOUNT $

STORAGE FACILITY DATA (Must be completed If e~ptoslve materiats will be stoned)

Section 8420),18 U.S.C. pro"'ides "It shall be unlawful lor any person to store any explosive material in a manner not in conformily with regulaltons promulgated by the Secretary." Before applying for a
icense or perm~, the applicant must read and be familiar with tihe requirements as sel forth in 27 CFR Part 55, Subpart K - STORAGE. AN APPLICATION FOR A LICENSE WILL BE DENIED IF UPON AN
INVESTIGATION IT IS FOUND THAT STORAGE FACILITIES ARE INADEQUATE.

15. ALL OF THE STORAGE FACILITIES LISTED ON ATIACHED SHEETS, IF ANY, MEET THE MINIMUM REOUIREMENTS AS SET FORTH IN 27 CFR PART 55, SUBPART K - STORAGE (II No, ex-
plain on separate sheet)

DYES o NO

16. TYPE, LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION OF EACH PERMANENT STORAGE FACILITY (AttaCh separate shea~s) - Sea inst'uctions 1, 11 and 16)

17. TYPE AND DESCRIPTION OF EACH PORTABLE OR MOBILE FACILITY (Attach separate shee~s) - Sea instructions 1, 11 and 16)

257

ATF F 5400.13/5400.16 (3-851 REPLACES ATF FORMS 4705 AND 4707 WHICH ARE OBSOLETE
 18. LIST BELOW THE INFORMATION FOR EACH INDIVIDUAl OWNER. PARTNER. AND OTHER RESPONSIBLE PERSONS (See Instruction 9) IN THE APPLICANT BUSINESS. IF
A FEMALE, LIST G1VEN NAMES AND MAIDEN, IF MARRIED, e.g., "MARV AllCE (SMITH) JONES". NOT "MRS. JOHN JONES." (If additional space is needed use e eeparate st.eI.)

FUll NAME POSITION & SOCIAl HOME ADDRESS

PLACE OF 8lRTH DATE OF
SECURITY NO. (Include ZIP eo..) BIRTH
(Volunlaly_ _ leat plIgII)
R
E
• b c d e

S
p
0
N
S
I
8
L
e
P
-£
R
S
0
111
S

I
N
F
0
GIVE FULL OETAILS ON SEPARATE SHEET FOR All "Ves" ANSWERS IN ITEMS 19 AND 20 YES NO
R 19. IS APPI.JCANT OR ANV a. Charged by information or under indictment in any court lor a crime punishable by imprisonment lor a term exceeding one year
M PERSON NAMED IN 1--'
A b. A fugitive from justice
ITEM 18 ABOVE
T
c. Under 21 years of age
I
0 d. An unlawlul use< of or addicted to marihuana or any depressant, stlmulanl or narcotic drug
N
20. HAS APPlICANT OR ANV a. Been convicled in any court of a crime punishable by imprisonment lor a term exceeding one year
PERSON NAMED IN (Note: The actual aMltence given by the Judge don not matter - A ..V.... _ _ Ia - . y " the Judge could have
ITEM 18 EVER: given a aentence of more than one year. AJao a ..Y.... ans_ Is required " a conviction ' - been CIIac:Nrged.... _de,
or cII....1ued pu.-nt to an expungement or a ..habilltalton sWtule.)

b. Been edjudicated as a mental defective or been commined to any menial instijulion.

--
SECTION B (MUST BE COMPLETED AS NOTED)
21. HOURS OF OPERATION OF APPLICANT'S BUSINESS (N/A lor use<~imijed) 22. ARE THE LICENSE APPlICANT'S BUSINESS PERMISES
TIME SUNDAV MONDAV TUESDAY WED. THURS. FRIDAY SAT. OPEN TO THE GENERAl PUBLIC DURING THESE HOURS?
f - - - I-
OPEN DYES DNO
,- (If no. give explanation on separate ~
CLOSE

o
23 L'CENSE APPLICANT'S BUSINESS IS LOCATED IN:
A Commercial Building o
A Residence
24. PERMIT AND MANUFACTURER-lIMITED APPLICANTS:
WHICH EXPLOSIVE MATERIALS Will BE USED
PURPOSE FOR

OOlher (Specify) o Coal Mtmng (Including construction on coal mIning property)

o Other Mining Or Oua"Y'ng o Agriculture o Construdion
25 MANUFACTURER-LIMITED: LOCATION WHERE
EXPLOSIVES MANUFACTURED o Road Building o o
Oil Drilling FITewOOcs Display
o Seismographic Research o Other {Specify)

26. MANUFACTURER~lIM'TED: LOCATiON WHERE EXPLOSIVES 27. USER-lIM'TED: SPECIFV OUANTITY OF EXPLOSIVE MATERIALS
USED. NEEDED (Not applicable lor fireworks display)

- -
28. PERMIT APPLICANT INTENDS TO TRANSPORT EXPLOSIVE 29. PERMIT APPLICANT INTENDS TO PURCHASE EXPLOSIVE
MATERIALS IN INTERSTATE OR FOREIGN COMMERCE? MATERIALS IN INTERSTATE OR FOREIGN COMMERCE?
(If yes. slale where) (II yes. state where)
DNO DYES ONO DYES
30. TYPE 29 LICENSE APPLICANT: 00 YOU HAVE A FEDERAL FIREARMS LICENSE? (If yes. show the Federallirearms license number)

ONO o YES

SECTION C - CERTIFICATION (MUST BE COMPLETED BY ALL APPLICANTS)

31 Under the penait",. Imposed by 18 U.SC. 844. I declare thai I have examined this apphcation and documents submined in support thereol. and to the besl of my knowledge and behef. they
are true. correct. and complete. I also certify that I am familiar wilh all published Slale laws and local ordinances relaling to explosive materoals for the locatIon in which ',ntend 10 do bUSIness.

APPLICANT'S SIGNATURE TITLE DATE

FOR USE OF BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO AND FIREARMS

32. APPLICAnON IS REASON FOR DISAPPROVALfTERMINATION

o APPROVED o TERMINATED'
o DISAPPROVED· "(Fee Will be refunded)

SIGNATURE OF REGIONAL DIRECTOR (COMPLIANCE) DATE

258

ATF F 5400.13/5400.16 '385'

$29.95
Printed in U.S.A. ISBN 0-940401-72-X