The LA Times missed a chance to point out the complete worthlessness of Sniffex. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2008/02/iraq-in-baghdad.html

There are some things, though, that are never a tough sell in Iraq. Like $4,000, 18-inch-long flashlights that can take video and still pictures and have night-vision capabilities. The better to see insurgents with. The same company selling those also was showing its newest product: an $8,000 pocket-sized bomb-detector called Sniffex, which can also smell perfume.

The Sniffex detector does NOT locate explosives or bombs. In fact, the only way it would detect perfume is if the user smelled it.

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More from the Dallas Morning News about Sniffex and Homeland Safety International, HSFI, and their shady relations with the a stock promoter, MN1.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/DN-InvestorWebsidebar_13bus.ART.State.Edition1.356ccb9.html

Bravo to the Dallas Morning News for exposing the scam at MN1 that advertised Sniffex and the stock of the American seller, Homeland Safety International, and getting the MN1 web site to shut down in disgrace!
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/121307dnbusinvestorweb.2af4397.html

A reader pointed us to a case where this blog might have helped Sniffex Europe figure out the error of their ways. From the James Randi Educational Foundation forum:

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http://www.sniffex-eu.com/description.htm

After the SniffexQuestions blog made fun of Sniffex for wrongly saying for the past two years nitrous oxide, N2O, was the basis for all explosives, at least they now say they search for nitrogen dioxide, NO2. Should I be surprised by the fact they got the chemistry wrong again?

SNIFFEX® is reacting on the presence of any type of Explosives or Powder that contain Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2). Almost 100% of today's Explosives and Powder contain NO2 as stabiliser

NO2 is not a stabilizer, it is what most explosives have in common that makes them go BOOM. Explosives generally have a rapid exothermic reaction involving the nitrogen, oxygen and carbon in the material which produces gases and heat. Take for example TNT. Toluene is much more stable than trinitrotoluene. The nitro groups do not stabilize the toluene, they make it into an explosive. It turns it from a flammable liquid like gasoline, petrol, or benzene and makes it into a high explosive. Once again Sniffex fails the test.

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From the Bruce Schneier Blog Sniffex / ADE 650 / Alpha 6 discussion:

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This is the UNIFIL PR Video I previously talked about:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnMGnNjZbIs
You can see at seconds 11 or 12 a soldier making use of an antenna device.
The UNIFIL includes troops from developed countries. I wonder how they were convinced of using such a device

Posted by: LebaneseGuy at November 5, 2007 12:31 PM

The video shows what looks like an ADE 650 sold by Pro Sec in Beirut.

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

The AliBaba.com global trade website now has ads for this kind of dowsing junk. Here is one example from Thailand. If you have been reading the blog, you will be in the know that Alpha 6 is merely the new name of the Quadro Tracker dowsing rod which the FBI raided 10 years ago. The company then moved to the United Kingdom

Alpha 6 Explosive Detector

Place of Origin: United Kingdom	Brand Name: ComsTrac
Model No: Alpha 6

Terms of Payment: L/C

Minimum Order: 1 Piece/Pieces

Detailed Product Description

Alpha 6 Molecular Detector

Technical Specification
Size and Weight
Hand Unit 100 grams
160 x 45 x 18 mm
Antenna 430 mm

Detection Function
Working Principle
magnetic molecular resonance. Will detect a molecular structure identical to the substance in the recognition card placed in the hand unit.

Detection Range
:Max 500m radius from operator. Signal not affected by screening (i.e. will work through walls,concrete, metal, underground or through water etc)

Sensitivity
>15 nanograms at 300m

Power Supply
Induced current from static electricity of operators body.

Operating time
Unlimited

Operating Temperature
-40�C to + 65�C

Set up Time
<>

Types of Cards
Narcotics
Cannabis
Cocaine
Heroin
D-Meths
Ecstasy
Amphetamines
Opium
Explosives
Gunpowder (Ammunition)
RDX
C4
Dynamite
Nitro Glycerine
PeTN
Ammonium Nitrate/Diesel
TATP
TNT

Contact Person:	Mr. Itthirat Yamaphai
Job Title:	Director/CEO/General Manager
Department:	Energy
Address:	5 / 15 Ladphrao Rd, Wangthonglang, Bangkok, Thailand
Zip/Postal Code:	10310
Telephone:	66-2-5382874
Fax:	66-2-5382874
Mobile Phone:	6658103500