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PSA: The Home Depot parking lot in Decatur taught me about hidden mics the hard way | DIY Surveillance Hacks - Free To Speak

martin.riley•2mo ago

PSA: The Home Depot parking lot in Decatur taught me about hidden mics the hard way

Back in 2019 I was testing a new recorder setup in my car, had it hidden under the seat with a lav mic taped to the steering wheel column. I was parked near the garden center at the Decatur Home Depot around 7pm, testing audio range. Some guy walks by, stops, taps my window and says "your signal is bleeding into my earpiece real bad." Turns out he was a security contractor testing his own gear and my cheap transmitter was stepping all over his frequency. Never thought about channel overlap before that moment. Now I test my stuff in the middle of nowhere at the county park instead. Anyone else run into interference issues like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_wendy2mo ago

75 dollars. That's what I spent on a "pro grade" wireless lav setup from Amazon before I learned the hard way that being a cheap gear head means you're basically a radio pirate with bad aim. I was parked behind a truck stop in Birmingham trying to record engine noise for a project, and some dude in a semi pulled up yelling that I was clobbering his CB channel. I felt like a complete idiot standing there holding my little transmitter while this guy's rolling his eyes at me. Now I just use a long cable like a caveman, makes me feel better about life.

wyatt1352mo ago

Thought I could cheap out on wireless stuff too but you changed my mind.

felix4142mo ago

The four times I've had radio interference issues I just moved spots or switched frequencies. It's not like the FCC is gonna kick your door down over a cheap wireless mic hitting some trucker's CB for ten seconds. People act like this is some deep espionage lesson when really you just bought the wrong gear and parked in a bad spot. I've been running cheap Amazon wireless stuff for three years now and the worst that happened was some static during a wedding ceremony. If it really bothers you that much just buy the $40 Surefire brand kit with the auto-scan function and stop overthinking it.

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