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Credit Card-Detecting Technology Used In Search For Actor Julian Sands

maximus otter

maximus otter

Recovering policeman
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Searches for missing British actor Julian Sands have continued by air only, with authorities using new technology that can detect electronic devices and credit cards.

San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said it was “hopeful” that the technology would be able to more accurately pinpoint an area on which to focus efforts.

On Wednesday, the sheriff’s department tweeted: “The search for Julian Sands continues by air only.

“The California Highway Patrol – Valley Division Air Ops from Auburn, California, is currently assisting us in the search using a Recco device.

“Recco technology can detect Recco reflective material, electronics, and in some cases, credit cards.”

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/worl...ing-search-for-actor-julian-sands/ar-AA16KobQ

The Recco website.

l can understand a hiker or traveller buying one of Recco’s radar reflectors to assist in rescuers locating them in an emergency, but this application of the technology seems a little…conspiracy-capable?

I was dimly aware that credit cards had RFID chips, but l wasn’t aware that crefit cards could be detected from the air.

maximus otter
 
maximus otter said:
I was dimly aware that credit cards had RFID chips, but l wasn’t aware that crefit cards could be detected from the air.
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They can't be....there's got to be conflation and crossed-wires in this story.

I hadn't heard of Recco as a brand, but the concept of passive electromagnetic reflectors attached into the fabric of clothing, to detect buried avalanche victims, is well-known (therefore I'm puzzled by their claims that it is a patented solution).

The original approach was extremely short-range (think of treasure-hunting metal/landmine detectorists), so I'm *extremely* sceptical regarding the claim that this system could work from helicopters. The sheer quantity and level of other electromagnetic responses (man-made and natural) coupled with the inherent attenuation of distance, makes this sound highly-unlikely.

It's quite different from the Barryvox avalanche systems that I've seen up-close, used by alpine expeditions or mountain rescue teams. Under those circumstances, everyone in a group has a small battery-powered transceiver on 457kHz, all of which are set to 'Transmit' at the point of departure. Following an avalanche/landslide incident, a single victim can then be located (ideally) by the rest of the team switching their devices to 'Receive', and then doing sweep searches. This also works (in principle) if the entire team are swept away in a slide, as the Search & Rescue authorities would come ready-equipped with sensitive Barryvox receivers....for ground searching.

And this has also become rendered largely-obsolete with the advent of GPS/GLONASS satellite navigation coupled to Iridium (and other) satcoms alarm monitoring systems.

So an ultraminiature diode stitched to a woven coil on a jacket, being detected by a helicopter team? Highly dubious...

This would be the equivalent of a library or shop theft detection RFID system being relied upon to be aware of someone thieving halfway down the street.

But I will look into this further (the Recco website is very lacking in genuine technical details).

(EDIT- and whilst an NFD/RFID tag in a credit/debit card might officially be said to be semi-active/partially non-passive, the laws of physics could not allow this to be seen or detected over large distances. The inverse-square law of radiated energy is an annoying but inescapable universal constant...double the distance, quarter the signal....quadruple the distance, one sixteenth of the signal et cetera ad infinitum)
 
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I dont know much about the subject but I am having this idea of something which is useless in the city with many returns, but helpful in an area with few targets?
 
James_H said:
According to a poster there, RECCO has only been used to successfully find four people since its 1983 inception.
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Curious: I'm undecided as to whether they're listing their entire success catalogue, or randomly-selecting four (rather uninspiring) instances where the Recco system worked, but it works great all year round, everywhere (mmm, I'm very doubtful about that)

And from that reference you've given, there's a curious kit omission from the caveat statement:
It is never a substitute for the trinity of avalanche beacon, shovel and probe
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ROPE! Roped together with....avalanche cord!! With lots of marvelous plastic bob-floats. And direction arrows/length labels. With the the entire group carabinered onto that rope. I would never even dream of anyone climbing anywhere (even on the flat) with the slightest avalanche risk, without being attached to a decent avalanche rope.
 
@Herr Cloaca - perfect, thank you: an excellent find.

The real puzzle I still have with this concept is the absence of any real antennas, for it to work.

However: on consideration, if we compare this to a traditional corner reflector on the mast of a ship, or buoy: these are true passive retroreflectors, which behave at radio frequencies exactly the same way in which the reflective surfaces of road-signs and hi-viz safety clothing react at visible frequencies (albeit at much-smaller nanoscopic wavelengths).

Both result in a 'coherent return' from being illuminated by both radar and light energies (respectively): the corner reflector by virtue of being the total opposite of a 'stealth object', and the roadsign/safety jacket by having a large semi-planar surface area acting as a paramirror.

I wonder: perhaps I'm focusing my incredulity upon the salvation target side too much, and not enough on the overhead search system. Has radar now advanced to Lidar levels of resolution and detail? More research required later...
 
The antenna in a contactless card does seem rather small. Maybe someone isn't being completely honest about the technology they're using.

https://www.superiortitanium.com/thor-RFID-shield.html?variation1=Set of 4 RFID Sleeves for Credit Debit Cards

antenna-in-card.jpg
 
Erinaceus said:
The antenna in a contactless card does seem rather small. Maybe someone isn't being completely honest about the technology they're using.

https://www.superiortitanium.com/thor-RFID-shield.html?variation1=Set of 4 RFID Sleeves for Credit Debit Cards

antenna-in-card.jpg
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Thanks for this. I didn't understand the technology being discussed and this explained it for me. Sometimes you never think to question how something works that you use every day.

Now, I can say that I have my doubts with this being used to find someone missing. My debit card is very finicky when I use tap and more times than nought it doesn't read. All of the different readers have a fairly specific way to "tap" them.
 
I have hiked through that wilderness I think 4 times, in different seasons. Even though it is surrounded by heavy urban populations, it is isolated. If one wanders off the main trails, or falls down an enbankment, it is easy to not be found. It is cold even in the summer, but the sunrise in the mountains is spectacular. I hope he is found, safe and sound and sorry for all the worry.

@brownmane: I agree. Now I know why my chipped card works sometimes but not all the time. I must face the north, raise my non-card bearing hand, empty my thoughts, gently with Zen attention approach the reader with my card, etc. etc. :)
 
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