EVALUATION OF OPERATING BANDWIDTH AND POWER LEVEL THRESHOLD OF RF DETECTORS.

In December 2010 to February 2011, the Instrumentation & Electronics Technology Division (BTIE) conducted a series of tests to measure the operating bandwidth and power level threshold of two RF detectors; HomeSafe (model 790) and Ghost (model CT-AS0039). It was determined that the Ghost RF detector's Channel A has the largest operating bandwidth (0.3 MHz to 4.84 GHz), followed by its Channel B (0.4 MHz to 4.35 GHz), while the HomeSafe RF detector has the smallest operating bandwidth (91 MHz to 3.88 GHz). The HomeSafe RF detector has the lowest power level thresholds for the frequency range of approximately 0.7 to 2.9 GHz, while the Ghost RF detector's Channel A has the lowest power thresholds for the remaining tested frequencies. The Ghost RF detector's Channel A also generally has the most stable power level thresholds over the frequencies. Based on the results obtained, the Ghost RF detector is more suitable for detection of wireless spy devices as it can allow for the detection of a wider range of signal frequencies. In addition, its two power level threshold channels, Channel A with lower power level threshold for detection of low power level signals, and Channel B with higher power level threshold to avoid false alarms, allows the user to sweep the suspected area using Channel A, and then, hone in on the target using Channel B. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]