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