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The device is housed inside a
sturdy black briefcase
from within it is operated.
It not only protects against RF (radio) bugs,
but can also find
mains carrier bugs
and infra-red bugs.
The bottom half of the case contains the actual
TSCM receiver, whilst the
accessories
are stored inside the top half.
A hinged panel contains an
impressive array of antennas
and acts as the lid of the accessories compartment
when in transit. The image on the right shows a typical OSCOR 5000 unit
with its antennas up, ready for use. It can be powered from the internal
battery.
Alternatively, the OSCOR can be powered from the AC mains, using the built-in
power supply unit (PSU), in which case it
can run indefinitely. In practice, AC-operation was recommended.
The device can autonomously monitor (scan) the Audio, RF and IR spectrum,
and will try to correlate any picked-up sound with the current sound in the room.
It can also be controlled manually using the built-in LCD display.
In addition, the graphical results
from a sweep job can be printed with the built-in thermal printer.
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The OSCOR 5000 was state-of-the-art for many years and was used by
law-enforcement and intelligence agencies worldwide. Use of the device outside
the United States had to be approved by the US Government. The basic device
had a price tag of US$ 18,200, whilst a deluxe version was available for
US$ 21,500. The optional 21 GHz downconverter (MDC-2100) was available for an
additional US$ 9,850. The device can demodulate AM, FM, wideband AM and FM,
subcarrier, CW
and SSB signals and optionally also PAL, SECAM and NTSC TV signals.
The intercepted audio could be recorded onto a tape cassette,
using the supplied Olympus pocket memo recorder. 1
In 2009, the OSCOR 5000 was succeeded by the much improved
OSCOR Blue, which is smaller, faster
and covers a wider frequency range (24 GHz).
As the OSCOR Blue is listed on the United States
Munitions List (USML), potential customers require a special ITAR export
licence. 2
It is therefore only available to US Government-approved law-enforcement
and ingelligence agencies. To bypass export restrictions, the nearly identical
OSCOR Green was introduced in 2011.
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The memo recorder was omitted when tape-based
recording systems became obsolete around 2000.
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ITAR = International Traffic in Arms Regulations. Items on the
United States Munitions List (USML) require an export license under the ITAR,
which is controlled by the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC)
of the US Department of State.
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The diagram below shows the OSCOR 5000 ready for use. Everything you need for
a sweep job is present in the case and the unit is constructed in such a way
that it can be operated from within it, either on the built-in battery,
or powered by the mains. After opening the case, the accessory compartement
is folded towards the rear and the antenna panel (which acts as a lid for the
accessory compartment) can be erected. It is kept in position by a spring at
the right. The actual receiver is mounted in the bottom half of the case,
which is placed horizontally on the table.
Alternatively, the suitcase can be placed in a
sloped position,
using the two extendable feet at the rear
(recommended), in which case a metal bracket (at the right) is needed to keep
the antenna panel at the top vertically aligned.
Note that the active antenna (left) and the IR receiver have to be extended
completely for proper operation of the unit. The power button is at the bottom
left.
After switching the unit ON (button at the bottom left) it briefly
shows a welcome message, after which it is ready for use. Autonomous scanning
can be started almost instantly and requires no further setup. It is recommended
to make a scan outside the target area first, in order to register any
friendly signals. These signals are then ignored when sweeping the
target room. Note that a special program key (EPROM) has to be present.
It is inserted into a slot to the left of the display.
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In order to protect the OSCOR 5000 against unauthorised use, a special program
key is supplied with the kit. The key, which is shown in the image on the right,
contains an EPROM and has to be inserted into a slot to the left of the LCD display.
Without this key, the unit can not be operated.
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Although the OSCOR can be used with external antennas, it will
usually be sufficient to use the three RF antennas that are built inside the
antenna panel at the top. Depending on the frequency range monitored by the
receiver, the most appropriate antenna will be selected automatically.
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The image on the right shows the antennas that are mounted inside the top
lid of the accessory compartment. At the left is the non-resonant active
telescopic antenna that is used for the frequency range from 500 kHz to
1.5 GHz. It has a built-in pre-amplifier with a 20dB gain. For the lower
frequencies between 10 kHz and 500 kHz, the square loop antenna at
the center is used.
To the right of the active whip antenna is a so-called discone antenna 1
that covers the SHF frequencies between 1.5 and 3 GHz.
A panel at the bottom right
shows the selected antenna.
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For the best results, the telescopic antenna (left) has to be fully
extended when in use. Once a bug has been identified, an
RF hand probe
with a short telescopic antenna can be connected to the receiver
instead of the active antenna (by means of a long coaxial cable)
to locate the bug.
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In addition to RF (radio) bugs, the OSCOR can also pickup any infrared
(IR) bugs in the room. For this, the IR receiver (at the right) has to
be fully extended (upwards), so that the red tip has free 360° 'vision'.
The IR detector covers 850 to 1070 nm and demodulates any IR signal
that is modulated between 10 kHz and 5 MHz, making it suitable for
virtually any type of IR bug around.
Another popular type of bug is the so-called
power line bug or
mains carrier transmitter.
These bugs modulate their signal with a very low frequency (VLF)
directly onto the mains network.
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The OSCOR's mains inlet has a built-in detector for such bugs.
Although the device can be powered for several hours from the built-in
battery, it is recommended to power it from the local AC mains
wall socket, so that it can automatically check the mains network
for VLF bugs.
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The name Discone is a contraction of Disc and Cone, the two
components from which the antenna is constructed. Discone antennas
generally have a large bandwidth [2].
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The OSCOR 5000 comes with many accessories, all of which are stored inside
the top half of the briefcase, with the antenna panel acting as a cover to
keep the items in place when transporting the unit. Although the set of
accessories changed over time, the following items were issued:
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The OSCOR normally delivers its demodulated audio directly to the built-in
speaker, which is located to the rear right, to the left of the mini printer.
When sweeping a room however, it is recommended to use the supplied headphones
instead of the speaker, so that an eavesdropper is not made aware
of the current sweeping job.
A suitable pair of headphones is supplied with the kit and is usually stored
inside the accessory compartment. Any similar headphones or earpiece
with a 3 mm jack can also be used.
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When the OSCOR 5000 was introduced in the late 1990s, tape-based recording devices
were still a popular means of recording audio. For this reason, the device was
supplied with a so-called memo recorder that is shown in the image on the right.
In this case it is an Olympus S724 Pearlcorder that uses small tape cassettes.
The recorder was used for registering any suspicious intercepted signals, so that
they could be analysed later. When tape-based recorders became obsolete in the
early 2000s, the Pearlcorder was omitted from the later kits.
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Apart from narrowband and wideband audio signals, the OSCOR 5000 is also suitable
for the reception of analogue video signals in the common TV standards PAL, SECAM
and NTSC.
In the kit featured here, two small LCD monitors are supplied:
one for the PAL/SECAM
standard (50 Hz) and one for the NTSC stanard (60 Hz).
In later versions of the kit
a single multi-standard LCD monitor was supplied.
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By default, the OSCOR's built-in antennas are used to detect any bugs.
Once the presence of a bug has been confirmed however, it might be difficult
to find it. And this is where the small hand-held RF probe can be very useful.
It is connected instead of the active telscopic antenna, by means of a long coaxial
cable. The operator then moves the probe around the room like a magic wand
in order to find the maximum field strength, shortening the probes small
telescopic antenna as he homes in.
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One of the special features of the OSCOR 5000 is that it can correlate any
sound picked up from an RF signal, with the current sound in the room.
This way, an active radio bug can be identified immediately. For this
feature, the built-in microphone at the right center is used.
If necessary, the external microphone shown on the right can be used as
an alternative. It can be placed, say, near a conversation that takes place
in the room. When te external microphone is used, the internal one is
disconnected.
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A simple audio coupler is supplied to check low-voltage lines,
such as analogue telephone lines, for VLF bugs.
When checking telephone and computer network lines, it is advised
to use the audio coupler in combination with the
network breakout unit below.
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The sonar is part of REI's patented aucoustic bug locating method.
It consists of the small clicker that is shown in the image on
the right. It is used in combination with the correlation microphones.
By following the instructions on the LCD display, the OSCOR will
point you in the right direction within the room, much like a sonar.
Note that this feature will only work if the audio from the transmitter
(bug) can be demodulated by the OSCOR. It does not work with
digital, recording or burst transmission bugs.
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The OSCOR 5000 can be powered by any of three sources: either from the
internal battery, from the AC mains (recommended) or, in the event
of a mobile application, from the cigarette lighter socket of a vehicle.
The image on the right shows the 12V DC cigarette lighter cable that is
supplied with the kit. The smaller plug should be inserted into the
12 VDC socket of the OSCOR, to the right of the AC mains socket.
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When the system is powered by its internal battery, it is still possible
to check a mains power line for VLF bugs, by using the Mains Coupler
shown here.
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When checking the wiring of a telephone set or a computer network
for carrier and RF bugs, this small breakout unit can be useful.
It can be connected between the device and the existing cable
(using the short modular cable below).
Each of the contact pins of the modular jack sockets is connected
to one of the contact strips at the circumference (numbered 1 thru 8).
The OSCOR may then be connected to any wire pair by means of
crocodile clips.
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This set of jumper cables consists of a short RJ12 cable and a short
RJ45 cable that can be used in combination with the breakout box
above for minitoring the wiring of a telephone extension or a personal
computer (PC).
Depending on the type of connector on the device,
the appropriate jumber cable should be used. The RJ45 sockets (at
either side of the breakout box) accepts both RJ12 and RJ45 plugs.
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The entire OSCOR TSCM receiver is housed inside the bottom half of the
plastic briefcase. It is mounted in a metal frame that is kept in place
by four twist locks: two at the front and two at the rear. The twist locks
can be release with a screwdriver.
Rotate the head 90° counter clockwise.
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After the four locks have been released, the entire frame can be
lifted from the case,
but it might be necessary to bend out the front of the
case somewhat with the help of a screwdriver.
Once the frame has been removed from the case, it can be placed
upside down on top of the accessory
compartment, for easier access. The various sub-systems are
easily identified, as shown in the diagram above this section.
The actual receiver is covered by a heavy metal cover that is held in
place by 6 bolts. Removing this cover is not easy and may
require some force.
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With the metal cover out of the way, the receiver board is exposed.
It consists of several sub-circuits that are easily recognised.
The RF section, the synthesizers and the Voltage Controlled Oscillators
(VCOs) are shielded, whilst the VLF, IF and AF circuits are not. There
are quite a few modifications
to the board and the shielding, and some components are glued-in,
propably to improve the receiver's performance and stability.
This is fairly normal for this kind of equipment.
Another feature, that was common practice in the TSCM trade of the
1980s and 90s, is that the text has been removed from most of the
Integrated Circuits (ICs). This was done to protect the design and
avoid it being copied by the competition. Although it does indeed
obscure certain design features, a trained technician should be
able to 'guess' which components were used.
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MDC-2100 Downconverter 3 to 21 GHZ OPC-5000 OSCOR PC software OIF-5000 IF output interface (10.7 MHz)
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2001 4.0 2002 Video upgrade 2004 5.0
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- US 4,399,556
- US 5,020,137
- US 5,241,699
- US 6,397,154
- US 7,058,530
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Audio 50 Hz - 15 kHz RF 10 kHz - 3 GHz IR 850 - 1070 nm
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WFM FM wideband NFM FM narrowband WAM AM wideband NAM AM narrowband SC Sub-carrier SSB Single sideband
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Audio 250 kHz, 15 kHz and 6 kHz Video 10 MHz
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- NTSC, PAL or SECAM video standard
- + or - sync
- AM or FM demodulation
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Whip antenna 500 kHz - 1,505 MHz (active, telescopic) Discone antenna 1.5 - 3 GHz Loop antenna 10 - 500 kHz Infrared detector 360°, 850 - 1070 nm (modulation 10 kHz - 5 MHz) Status indicators LEDs showing selected antenna AC VLF AC current probe integrated with AC mains input 20dB pre-amplifier Built-in
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- OSCOR 5000E Brochure
REI, 2010. 6 pages full-colour.
- OSCOR 5000E Owners Guide - version 4.0
REI, 2001.
- OSCOR 5000E Owners Guide - version 5.0 (revision 2)
REI, 2005.
- OSCOR 5000E Owners Guide - version 5.0 (revision 5.1)
REI, Date unknown, but probably 2012.
- MDC-900 and MDC-2100 Owners Guide - version 4
27 February 2008.
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© Crypto Museum. Created: Sunday 29 November 2015. Last changed: Friday, 10 March 2023 - 09:12 CET.
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