High tech Soviet radio bug - 'World War Weird'

[SiriusHardware]

Some of you probably know all about this, but...

There was an interesting final segment in the episode of 'World War Weird' broadcast on 'Yesterday' this teatime (24/10/22) concerning a nearly undetectable bug which the Russians managed to smuggle into an American diplomatic facility at the end of WWII.

It was in one sense a classic 'Trojan Horse' as it seemed like a harmless decorative wooden carving which was given as a gift to the USA by the equivalent of a scout troop, but concealed inside was an early example of an RF powered transmitter circuit, essentially a transmitter which was inert unless there was a strong radio signal being beamed at it to power it in much the same way as the security tags now used in shops, libraries, etc. Since it didn't rely on internal or local wired power it was effectively everlasting and never needed to be accessed to change batteries, etc.

To add yet another level of interest this item had been put together for the Soviets by none other than Leon Theremin, better known as the inventor of the pioneering electronic musical instrument.

[McMurdo]

I think it's been discussed on the forum before, but here's its wikipedia page

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Th...tening_device)

[Restoration73]

Secondary Wave Circuits mentioned in

https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Rad...RC-1970-08.pdf

[G6Tanuki]

I remember some similar narrative where a US diplomat and his family returned to their apartment in one of the Soviet states after a holiday. Their dog went crazy, pawing and digging at the floor in one corner of the flat.

At first they suspected mice or rats but investigation revealed a STASI bug whose inverter circuit was operating at a frequency inaudible to humans but very much in the audible spectrum of our canine friends.

[Radio Wrangler]

The other interesting thing about that bug was the man who invented it... Leon Theremin.

(cue eery music)

David

[greg_simons]

Interesting device, i think the spooks regularly scan for radio emissions that could activate any sort of tuned circuit these days.
Greg.

[lightning]

l remember reading about a govt building being dismantled and in the wall was found a bugging device, the battery was still serviceable so it could have worked, and it had apparently been put there when the building was built thirty years previously.

Who knows what secrets it had listened in on.

[Graham G3ZVT]

The spooks are more paranoid about active electronics. Google "NLJ detector".

[turretslug]

A similar approach, but with optics, to "The Thing" is the alleged aiming of lasers at windows, the reflection hopefully being modulated by speech within.

[McMurdo]

If anyone is looking for christmas presents then I can recommend this. The Thing affair is described in detail.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Theremin-ET.../dp/0252072758

[Graham G3ZVT]

Another thing that was done was to receive the wideband signal caused by the varying beam current of a CRT computer monitor, add some local syncs, and read what is on the screen.

I can well believe this was particularly effective in the days of monochrome TTL CRT displays and when computers weren't quite so ubiquitous.

[emeritus]

I remember a TV programme where a guy parked outside an office demonstrated how he could display the screens of computers inside the office, on his laptop. This was in the era of CRT monitors.

[Andrew2]

In the accounts that I've read, there wasn't any mention of 'RF powered circuitry'. The device seems to have been nothing more than a large RF cavity with one end of it arranged as a flexible diaphragm which would pick up sounds from the room. When it was in a high level RF field (beamed into the room by a nearby transmitter outside the building), the movements of the diaphragm would cause the incident RF to be modulated. The modulated RF would be re-radiated be a short aerial, also concealed within. This would be received by Boris & Natasha nearby.
I don't know what frequency it worked on, but due to size limitations I'd guess somewhere in the UHF region 300 to 1000 MHz. Perhaps it would work at almost any frequency within reason.

[Electronpusher0]

The Russian passive bug was mentioned in the book "Spycatcher" although the technical details were very sketchy, which was strange since the author, Peter Wright, was an electronic engineer.
A full account of it was given in one of the hobby electronics magazines, I can't remember which one.

Peter

[McMurdo]

I believe that Peter Wright was the uk expert given the task of examining the bug and making it work.

[SiriusHardware]

Andrew2: I admit my assumption that the transmitter was an 'RF powered circuit' was based on the fairly sketchy information provided in the programme referred to in #1.

I am now better informed thanks to the links which have been posted since.

[Electronpusher0]

Originally Posted by McMurdo

I believe that Peter Wright was the uk expert given the task of examining the bug and making it work.

Perhaps he was not, I have read "Spycatcher" and as I say the details of the bug are sketchy and frankly not quite correct.

This website
https://hackaday.com/2015/12/08/theremins-bug/
says
"In his book Spycatcher, British operative Peter Wright claims that the US came to him for help determining how the device worked. However he is not mentioned in other accounts of Theremin’s bug."

I think it is generally recognised the Wright may have "elaborated" on his experiences for the book.

Peter

[McMurdo]

the cryptomuseum has a bit about him here and his involvement with The Thing.
As with Colossus, secrets can be kept as and when necessary. I wonder what's going on behind the scenes these days that we'll only discover in 30 years' time.

https://cryptomuseum.com/people/peter_wright.htm

https://cryptomuseum.com/covert/bugs...ndex.htm#satyr

[avocollector]

Originally Posted by McMurdo

the cryptomuseum has a bit about him here and his involvement with The Thing.
As with Colossus, secrets can be kept as and when necessary. I wonder what's going on behind the scenes these days that we'll only discover in 30 years' time.

https://cryptomuseum.com/people/peter_wright.htm

https://cryptomuseum.com/covert/bugs...ndex.htm#satyr

Wright was fascinating - his descriptions of how they stopped magentic mines exploding under UK ships for example. His obsession with Roger Hollis MI5's boss being the Cambridge 5th man intrigues me as well - the latest book I read gets close but does not prove it.

[lesmw0sec]

Harry Spencer (Spenny) G6NA had quite a lot of dealing with the electronics dirty tricks dept. I recall him mentioning that he had ground the crystals for a device mentioned in Wright's book. He once introduced me to Col. Stirling (SAS) who had an office below Local Radio Consultants in South Audley st. I believe that he made some broadcat transmitters for Stirling.