SPY TECH
COVERT WIRELESS LISTENING
INSTALL A SNEAKY
BUG IN A BOOK.
M016
BY DAVIDSIMPSON
THE SPY WHO BUGGED ME: Don’t judge
a book by its cover.
Connect a shirt-pocket “amplified listener” hearing aid with an in-car
FM transmitter, and you’ve got a wireless bug.
Tuck them inside a hollowed-out book with the mic concealed by the dust
cover, and you’ve got a covert listening device that you can leave lying around
or on a shelf near a surveillance target. Then an undercover agent in the next
room can eavesdrop on any devious plotting through her FM radio.
Photograph by Garry McLeod
This is a fun and easy project, and if it weren’t for potpourri, or maybe even your dog’s collar.
the “covert” part, you could have all the components The important considerations are:
working together before you leave the RadioShack » Make sure the microphone isn’t obstructed.
where you got them. (Really, I did!) » Provide an easy way to turn the power on and off.
I used a book to camouflage my listening system, » Don’t enclose the electronics in metal, which
but you can also use a stuffed animal, a plastic toy limits the transmitter’s range.
(the big robotic WALL-E has potential), a basket of » Protect the delicate connections inside.
88 Make: Volume 16
