|
|
|
|
|
|
Ballpoint bug
TM-109
was a subminiature covert listening device (bug)
disguised as a ballpoint,
supplied in the early 1970s by
TMS in Köln (Germany) and, under different names,
by several spy and security shops in Europe, including the
PSS Spy Shop
in Amsterdam (Netherlands), where it was known as PS-006.
As the device was illegal, it was generally sold 'under the counter'
and at airports, clearly marked 'for export only'.
During the Cold War
it was known by the
MfS (Stasi)
as TRM-109
[B]. 1
|
The PS-006 ballpoint bug consists of a simple free-running
FM transmitter that operates at a frequency between 70 and 92 MHz.
It is powered by two small button-type batteries (3V) and has a
bandwidth of approx. 150 kHz. A standard (analogue) FM receiver
(87-108 MHz) was used for reception.
The transmitter is small enough not to disturb normal operation
of the pen; it can be used for normal writing as well.
The version shown here was built for the special 130-150 MHz range, for which a
professional communications intercept receiver
was needed.
|
|
|
As the transmitter is free-running (i.e. not crystal-based) it
is rather sensitive to the so-called hand-effect. As a result,
the frequency may vary when the device is carried close to the body.
Luckly, the FM band was not as populated with commercial stations in
the 1980s as it is today, making it relatively easy to 'follow' the
drifting transmitter on a domestic receiver.
A small wire, hidden inside the pen, acts as the antenna.
Due to the limited voltage (3V) and the way the bug is constructed,
the operational range is limited to approximately 30 metres. The
intercepting party (the receiver) therefore had to be at close
proximity, e.g. in an adjacent room.
|
-
Note that this product was sold by many spy & sucurity shops,
under different model numbers.
|
-
Document kindly supplied by Detlev Vreisleben [2].
-
Document obtained from BStU [3].
|
- Spy Shop Amsterdam, PSS-006, ballpoint transmitter
Instruction leaflet (Dutch). Date unknown. Spy-Shop cat.nr. PS-006.
- Detlev Vreisleben, TMS electronic catalogue
Received May 2019.
- Bundesbeauftragte für die Stasi-Unterlagen (BStU) 1
Federal Commissioner for the Stasi-Records.
|
-
Full name: Bundesbeauftragte für die Unterlagen des Staatssicherheitsdienstes
der ehemaligen Deutschen Demokratischen Republik
(DDR) —
Federal Commissioner for the Records of the
State Security Service
of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) —
officially abbreviated to BStU.
|
|
|
|
Any links shown in red are currently unavailable.
If you like the information on this website, why not make a donation?
© Crypto Museum. Created: Monday 29 April 2013. Last changed: Thursday, 13 June 2019 - 05:48 CET.
|
 |
|
|
|
