This blog is intended to ask important questions about the claimed explosive and drug detection rods sold around the world. Anyone thinking about buying one of these "detectors" should do extensive research before making a purchase. We also examine nearly identical products such as the Quadro Tracker, MOLE, the Alpha 6, the GT200 Molecular Detector, and ADE 651. This blog is not affiliated with the manufacturer of the Sniffex, ATSC, or any of the other products mentioned.
Techowiz found this great video of a Thai news report where they opened up a GT200 detector that is claimed to find explosives and drugs and found...nothing. Maybe that is why the Thai government's purchase contract for the GT200 prohibited them from opening the devices for testing. Maybe? Just asking.
What can you buy for selling thousands of GT200 devices that don't actually work, have cost hundreds of lives, and had possibly innocent people arrested on the evidence of a witching wand? Techowiz also found that out. Here is a photo of what is apparently Mr. Jim McCormick's house, courtesy of Google Maps and StreetView. It looks like he has done pretty well for himself. At least the police in Britain finally saw fit to arrest him. Perhaps they could sell his house and cars and give the money to the orphans and widows in Iraq who lost their family members to people killed after car bombs drove right past check points supposedly protected by a GT200.
The people at DiodeBell are smart! If you are going to make a fake detector for drugs or explosives, why limit your claims to a few hundred meters? Why limit yourself to just a few explosives or drugs?
According to the video below, the following countries have been tricked into wasting valuable resources and risking the lives and human rights of their citizens by using the AL-6D.
Serbia, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Greece, China, India, Ethiopia, Syria.
Since India and China are included, about 40 percent of the world's population is at risk of being falsely accused of having explosives, drugs, or any other contraband based on the worthless "evidence" of a dowsing rod.
The AL-6D is a freely swinging antenna that points to where the desired substance is located, and has some fancy sounding explanation of how it works using scientific words that have a certain "truthiness" sound to them. The claims are not true, but they SOUND true! Only 3 years ago we published this post linking to the US Department of Justice's warning about these bogus explosive detectors. And that report was from 1999! Sadly, those predictions of the government, warning of more scams like the Quadro Tracker came true. There are getting to be too many to count - Sniffex, ADE650, ADE 651, GT200, Alpha 6, HEDD1, H3 Tec, and now the AL-6D!!
Here are the modest claims by DiodeBell about how the AL-6D can find anything!!
AL-6D detects and localizes explosives in long distances. The AL-6D device accurately detects mines, weapons, RPG’S, stinger missiles, explosive devices, mortar shells, nuclear projectiles, projectiles, antitank weapons, even gunpowder and many other explosives. The device detects explosives in distances ranging from cm to several km, depending on the quantity of explosives, in a sector of 360 degrees and in depths more than 8 meters under soil, water or in the sea. AL-6D detects explosives in open terrain, behind walls, barriers, buildings, hills, inside vehicles and metal containers, etc. Cosmetics, glycerine products, salts, metals and “dirty” battle environment do not influence the accuracy of explosive material detection. Electromagnetic transmission and radiation does not interfere and does not affect the operation and accuracy of the AL-6D device.
AL-6D is using a unique DiodeBell material structure localization technology and method. This technology is based on the magnetic attraction created by particular material structures when energized by low power electromagnetic waves, emitted by the AL-6D antennas. Other explosive detection systems although they promise to detect in long ranges are not accurate even in short distances. The systems that use high power ‘x’ and ‘γ‘ radiation, work only in very short distances, a few meters, and are actually “taking a picture” of the inside of a container or a luggage. Diodebell’s advanced AL-6D technology is the only system that accurately detects explosives in long distances.
The applications of AL-6D are limitless, including:
• Continuous surveillance and monitoring of confined areas of interest, such as passages, military camps, buildings, ports, airports, railway stations, hotels, bus stations, strategic targets, factories, bridges, weapon systems locations, etc.
• Scanning areas, terrains and territories of interest, unknown or invading territories, buildings, etc.
• VIP protection
• vehicles and moving objects, including transport vehicles, airplanes, ships, cars, trains, containers, personal luggage
According to DiodeBell: " AL – 6D appliance is self-contained energy package and does not require external electrical or other kind of power." Does that sound familiar??
Yes, it has 9-volt batteries to power the LCD screen, but what powers the turning of the antenna to point to the explosives or nuclear warhead? The answer is gravity! There is no motor turning the antenna, it just points in the direction in which you slightly tilted your hand, even if the movement was so slight that you did not realize you made it. That is why the AL-6D is hand-held. If you put it on a stand or tripod and let cars drive by trying to find the one with a bomb in it, it would not move at all for the biggest truck bomb or nuclear missile, unless it was blown around by the wind or shaken by an earthquake.
According to the company's website their addresses are:
DiodeBell
97 Spruce Street
South Plainfield, NJ 07080
Phone & Fax: 610-6430285
sales@diodebell.com
DiodeBell
302 Sea Street
Dennisport, MA 02639, USA
Phone & Fax: 1-530-6853915
sales@diodebell.com
I know Greece is busy with the economic crisis, but USA? Are you there? FBI? Federal Trade Commission? Does Anyone care about this fraud being sold in the United States of America? The FBI shut down Quadro Tracker 15 years ago for this same basic scam product.
For more entertaining reading, or if you are an FBI agent seeking evidence for fraud, you can download a copy of the AL-6D detector brochure here in case the company is smart enough to take down the false claims from their web site.
That review of a very similar looking device used for treasure hunting was quite insightful in their final conclusion:
But the real story of this device lies in the circuitry, or the lack thereof. Both the main unit, and the accessories, are stuffed full of do-nothing garbage, and a great deal of effort was made in preventing anyone from determining what the Electroscope is all about. Once dissected, it should be obvious to anyone, even those without a technical background, what the Electroscope really is: an ordinary dowsing rod, with a voltage applied to the antennae. The accessories are entirely bogus, and serve no useful purpose. The four items described here (Model 20, Phaser, and two modules) have a total price tag of $1283, but there is only about $10 worth of "technology" in all of it.
I think a dissection of the AL-6D would show the exact same results: do nothing electronic garbage stuffed inside a box which is really an ordinary dowsing rod. If you really think dowsing for explosives works, save yourself the money and use a wire coat hanger bent into the shape of an L and make it yourself for free. You will have exactly the same level of accuracy as any of the devices like AL-6D, HEDD1, Sniffex, Quadro Tracker, Alpha 6, PSD, GT200, H3 Tec, or any of the other past, present, or inevitable future devices.
No, it is NOT unfortunate that some people refuse to believe that your product works! If you ever once prove your ADE651 Detector works, we will believe you! You are right that many people do not believe the concept [that dowsing rods work to find explosives]. but that does not mean we are ignoring the problem. The group of bloggers united to exposing your fraud and bringing companies like yours to face criminal charges is trying to SAVE lives by convincing people to use REAL explosive detection equipment, not a freely swinging transistor radio antenna on a plastic box that has failed every scientific test of its capabilities.
Does anyone else notice how Mr. McCormick rationalizes the failure of the ADE651? "It is more technique..." - Meaning YOU the buyer or tester is at fault if it does not find the bombs.
Think of all of the lives lost in Iraq and around the world if his claim of having sold 6,000 dowsing rods around the world is true. How many innocent people in Thailand have been arrested on the "evidence" of a bogus magic wand. How many people killed in the drug wars in Mexico, when the police searching for weapons or drugs walked right past the criminals beside them. How many people died in Iraq, in bombings like the in the video Jim showed so dramatically.
Yes, people doubt the "technology" of the ADE651 because every time the technology of divining or dowsing rods has been tested for finding explosives or drugs or weapons, or anything else, the technology has failed. Why does the device SEEM to work during the sales demonstration? Because with the ideomotor effect, the customer slightly moves his hand toward the sample of explosives without realizing it. It is a magic trick. It is an illusion. It is NOT a way to protect lives from terrorists or violent drug lords.
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Thanks to our friend AT at the Lonjho blog for bringing this video to our attention.
News reports in Thailand have reported the deaths of 3 police officers and one civilian due to the failure of the GT-200Detection Device not finding hidden explosives.
US Navy Test Results
James Randi obtained a copy of the US Navy Test Results of Sniffex and published portions. Later, the Dallas Morning News also got a copy and the writer put it on the Propublica web site.
Thank you to Bruce Schneier for the warning about this product, and to James Randi for having already done so much work researching it. And thank you to everyone else who has posted information on the web or sent links.
