"Useless" bomb detector used by thousands

jamief · 22 Jan 2010 at 16:29

The real travesty is the number of lives that have been lost because the device is completely useless. I'm quite astonished the "inventor" hasn't been brought to trial.

AGD · 22 Jan 2010 at 16:31

jamief said:
The real travesty is the number of lives that have been lost because the device is completely useless. I'm quite astonished the "inventor" hasn't been brought to trial.

Exactly. He has seriously endangered people's lives.

gillywibble · 22 Jan 2010 at 16:31

Dolph · 22 Jan 2010 at 16:31

*awaits news of Labour ordering these devices for the army and the police*

Stretch · 22 Jan 2010 at 16:35

RobH said:
Looks like a RFID to me, if they are then they can store some data as they have a ROM with a serial number in it.

Dr Markus Kuhn said:
There is nothing to program in these cards. There is no memory. There is no microcontroller. There is no way any form of information can be stored

G-MAN2004 · 22 Jan 2010 at 16:35

bibalasvegas said:
Exactly. He has seriously endangered people's lives.

In January 2010, ATSC managing director Jim McCormick was arrested pursuant to an investigation by the Avon and Somerset Constabulary that ATSC may have fraudulently misrepresented the ADE 651 when it was sold to the government of Iraq.

hood1971 · 22 Jan 2010 at 16:38

My dad has dealt with Jim McCormick before and nearly bought distributuon rights to sniffex which I am sure is the same thing. Luckily I had a quick google on it and showed him the US navy's test results.

My dad is a sucker for scams

McCormick is a strange guy, kept talking about being a spy then saying he couldn't say anything as it was hush-hush - pure con artist.

Amnesia · 22 Jan 2010 at 16:47

hope he gets charged with all injuries/deaths he has caused aswell.
i'd expect a story like this on 'only fools and horses'.

Tr Insanity · 22 Jan 2010 at 17:00

Who would believe that crap anyways!?

He says that the key to it is the black box connected to the aerial into which you put "programmed substance detection cards", each "designed to tune into" the frequency of a particular explosive or other substance named on the card.

He claims that in ideal conditions you can detect explosives from a range of up to 1km.

Not to be harsh, but if anyone is stupid enough to buy this, it's their own fault.

Strife212 · 22 Jan 2010 at 17:04

The Iraqi government has spent $85m on the ADE-651

It costs 5p for the innards according to the BBC.... it's beyond words really.

Rroff · 22 Jan 2010 at 17:08

hood1971 said:
My dad has dealt with Jim McCormick before and nearly bought distributuon rights to sniffex which I am sure is the same thing. Luckily I had a quick google on it and showed him the US navy's test results.

My dad is a sucker for scams

McCormick is a strange guy, kept talking about being a spy then saying he couldn't say anything as it was hush-hush - pure con artist.

Pretty much no one whos signed the OSA and is the real deal is actually going to talk about it.

hood1971 · 22 Jan 2010 at 17:11

Rroff said:
Pretty much no one whos signed the OSA and is the real deal is actually going to talk about it.

What I meant was that he kept talking about being a spy at some time or other then not finishing his tall tale saying it was hush hush.

V4NT0M · 22 Jan 2010 at 17:12

Comments on this video are also interesting.

Glaucus · 22 Jan 2010 at 17:12

Why is it just a ban, surly they should be shut down and investigated for false and misleading advertising. And why did people buy them without doing any research.

Tefal · 22 Jan 2010 at 17:19

surely as soon as you buy one you dismantle it and have a gander inside? :confused:

wannabedamned · 22 Jan 2010 at 17:20

Tefal said:
surely as soon as you buy one you dismantle it and have a gander inside?

Thats what I'd have thought :confused:

Either that or....You know test the device you're spending millions on before you put it into action??

MikeHunt79 · 22 Jan 2010 at 17:25

Seems the placebo effect is alive and well, and people will always find ways of cashing in on it!

PixieLandGirl · 22 Jan 2010 at 17:37

Wow that is just shocking. Like many have said who would not test such a product out?

I also cant help but think 'great lets give other countries, in many ways a justifiable reason to actually want to bomb us'

real · 22 Jan 2010 at 19:02

The blame should be 100% on the mugs that bought the device as it is obviously crap.

Although it is genuinely upsetting to find out that those who bought the product are responsible for the security of others as well as massive budgets.

Westyfield2 · 22 Jan 2010 at 19:20

How do they claim it works?

Having done Physics A-Level (yeah exams are getting easier etc etc) I'm genuinely interested into how it's supposed to work!