IED in Iraq
I have been corresponding with someone who's a massively talented hardware hacker and he has this to say about IEDs in Iraq:


I was connected via a soldier on Iraq who sent me a picture of
the radios they are using to set off the IEDs. Some of them
are using FRS radios (Family Radios). The picture I saw was
a Motorola TalkAbout 5000 (or something like that).

What I did was make a FRS radio connected to a 7 watt external
amplifier, and with a BASIC stamp controlling the main function
buttons of the radio. It will hop through all 838 possible codes
(22 channels, 38 privacy codes) and transmit for 1 second on each
channel. Hopefully setting off the bombs before they drive through.


To which I wrote and reply this is what was said:


> Alright. It seems like a slow process but a surefire one if they're
> using the right kind of radios.
>
> This seems to be the kind of thing a HERF device would actually be
> useful for. Assuming you've got the right people over there, I imagine
> they can get that radar system :-)


Yes, that is another problem... they use whatever is available.
But cellular phones and FRS radios seem to be the most popular.

A HERF/EMP device would actually probably be a pretty good idea,
but controlling the beam pattern might be a problem.

BTW, here is pic of an IED using a cellular phone. A good GSM900
jammer might not be that bad of an idea to bring along:



If anyone has any information on IEDs in Iraq, I would love to hear about it.

I really wish I had brought a GSM jammer with me. Or an EMP. Or a HERF device of any sort. Or a bullet proof vest.