Active Now

Malizz
Danilo_G
Discussion » Statements » Rosie's Corner » Did Kelly Anne Conway actually say microwaves could be performing surveillance on you? Say it ain't true. Is it or isn't it?

Did Kelly Anne Conway actually say microwaves could be performing surveillance on you? Say it ain't true. Is it or isn't it?

Posted - October 19, 2017

Responses


  • 32527
    This is old news.

    She misspoke a few months ago about surveillance.  She did mention "microwaves that turn into cameras".  But in her context it sounded like she was talking about a microwave oven being used for pictures. And maybe she was and was confused on the two separate technologies.  

    But there are indeed microwave cameras. Below is an image from a microwave camera....they can see in low/no light and through walls, give actual measurements such as height width etc. 

    cameraculture.media.mit.edu/time-of-flight-microwave-camera/
      October 19, 2017 8:26 AM MDT
    2

  • 17364
    You didn't know about microwave cameras?
      October 19, 2017 6:00 PM MDT
    1

  • 3680
    In order for that to work the camera would have to be a form of radar, similar to the airport security scanners the ignorant Press keep calling "X-ray scanners".

    Objects including people, do not radiate microwaves - with the exception of your portable 'phone and then only when it's switched on, to "tell" the system its location. They may (and we do) radiate heat, which is infra-red radiation, and there are types of camera sensitive to that, though the image does little more than reveal the presence and location of the heat source.

    A microwave oven will NOT turn into a camera or a radar set, even though the radar and the oven use much the same principles to generate the signal! I dare say it's possible to hide a camera in the appliance, should anyone want to do so, but the oven itself is not designed to emit coherent radiation and read the resulting reflections, and anyway is shielded to avoid the microwave radiation escaping, for the user's safety. 

    I had to look up the name, actually Kellyanne, not Kelly Anne, if the same woman, to establish her credentials. She studied Law, not physics or engineering; and Wikipedia describes her as a White House "Counselor", though not in what field. I suspect she was trying to comment on something beyond her understanding, though why I leave to her to explain.
      October 30, 2017 5:06 PM MDT
    1

  • 2500

    Infrared cameras can be a LOT more sophisticated than you say. They can return excellent images of the objects being photographed. I've routinely used them in thermal studies to locate "hot-spots" that were only a few degrees different from surrounding ambient, and at a fairly long distances. You have to end up with readable images to determine exactly where the "hot spot" is located. (They weren't cheap to buy though when I was doing that. Over $60-k for the camera and another $40-k for the "parabolic" lens.)
      October 30, 2017 8:07 PM MDT
    0

  • 113301
    Thank you for your thoughtful and information-filled reply Durdle. Yes. It's the very same dame. She is the one who coined the words "alternative news" when asked about "inconsistencies/contradictions/lies" told by Trump et al. She is very glib and thinks fast. She always sounds authoritative  and knowledgeable but she rarely makes any sense to me. i listen very closely to what folks say and it it doesn't pass the "makes sense" test I just ignore whatever they say. But electronics/electricity has always been a mystery to me. If you can bug a room and listen in on conversations why not "bug" a microwave with a camera to record what is going on? Except as you so clearly explained you can't! Conspiracy theories/redirection/red herrings. This is what is going in Trumpworld minutely and it is getting more and more obvious because of the first indictment the Special Counsel served yesterday. Things are closing in on Trump and he is desperately trying to divert attention by saying the real collusion is with Hillary Clinton and Russia. Anything to turn the spotlight off him which is odd since he revels in always being center stage. Happy Tuesday! :)
      October 31, 2017 2:15 AM MDT
    0

  • 2500

    And there's microwave and laser listening devices. One way to use either is to just aim the beam at a window and it becomes the diaphragm of a microphone. All one has to do is monitor the changes in the reflected signal. Not difficult at all.
      October 30, 2017 8:00 PM MDT
    0

  • 3680
    Thank you Salt & Red Pepper for the information on infra-red imaging; and on detecting window vibrations (I can see the principle there, but does it work on double-glazing?). I'd not realised there are IR cameras now with such definition, as all the IR images I'd seen were fairly general, such as the exteriors of buildings.

    Thank you Rosie! If you want simply to conceal a microphone or video camera, these can hidden in all sorts of things, but the original point you were querying appeared to me to refer to this Presidential aide thinking a "microwave" (i.e. over) could be used to spy on you. The cooker itself no, though I suppose you could hide a video camera inside it, looking through something like a ventilation hole in the casing.

    I believe there have been concerns about domestic appliances controlled from, say, a Smart Phone - the information that would convey is the possibility of the phone's owner not being at home, and helping analyse daily routines. 

    The UK Government is determined that every home in the Britain will eventually have so-called "smart" meters for the gas and electricity supplies. These display your home's energy consumption at the time of use, in the rather vague hope this will help you to economise, and more usefully also radio the readings to the relevant utility company for calculating the bill.  The concern here is that the meter uses, effectively, its own version of a portable telephone (cell phone in US), meaning it would not be long before the more sophisticated criminals develop ways to eavesdrop hence determine whether the house is occupied before deciding to burgle it.   

    These two concerns are NOT personal "surveillance" as such, but over property security. 


      October 31, 2017 12:43 PM MDT
    0