Palm-Sized Detector Alerts Nearby Cell Phone Activities

‘Wolfhound-Lite,’ a palm-sized mobile phone detector, has been recently released by a leading vendor of enhanced wireless products and solutions for the international and domestic industry, Berkeley Varitronics Systems (BVS). This detector, the second in a portfolio of enhanced mobile phone detection gadgets from BVS, can be worn like a wireless pager on the clip of a belt or hidden in the packet. By vibration, Wolfhound-Lite alerts correctional and security professionals regarding proximity of mobile phone activity.

This device runs can be powered for eight hours by using 9-volt rechargeable standard Lithium Ion batteries, to help security personnel scan continuously for all mobile data,  voice, or data transmissions while keeping their hands and eyes free.

Wolfhound-Lite incorporates a multi-band receiver that is capable of scanning at high speed in a pager configuration and can be kept in the pocket.

It has an integrated omni-directional antenna unit that enables correctional personnel to detect a distinct RF energy algorithm of a mobile phone and hatch on to it. Its bright and discreet OLED display depicts strength of the RF signal. It has a stealth mode for operator alert by vibration when a mobile phone is sensed.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce revealed that the utilization of contraband mobile phones in the US prisons is increasing. The number of such phones confiscated by officials in the prisons has increasing significantly during the past few years only.

To counter such growing problems, the Wolfhound-Lite can sense and find out the contraband mobile phone’s location without utilizing jamming methods that could interfere with 911 emergency calls or authorized communication channels. The CTIA and FCC rules do not allow for jamming. CTIA is a leading association of the wireless industry. Other solutions would need network infrastructure of wireless sensors that have to be hard-wired throughout the prison area and is difficult and expensive to install.