ISA BOOMERANG NJD-5 User manual

ENTIRECONTENTSCOPYRIGHT© 2007  INFORMATIONSECURITYASSOCIATES
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Rev: January 8, 2008
InformationSecurityAssociates,LLC
BOOMERANG™
NON‐LINEARJUNCTIONDETECTOR
MODELNJD‐5
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OPERATOR’SMANUAL
ISA
Information Security Associates, LLC.

TableofContents
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Section1BoomerangOverview..............................................................1
RecognitionofFalseAlarms................................................2
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Section2BoomerangComponents........................................................3
ElectronicsPackage.............................................................4
Antenna................................................................................4
Cables....................................................................................5
Headset................................................................................5
HandleandPokeStick..........................................................5
CarryingtheNJD...................................................................5
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Section3InitialSetup.............................................................................  6
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Section4Operation................................................................................  9
ImportantNotesOnFullScaleReadings...............................10
UseofAttenuator..................................................................11
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Section5OperationalNotesandHints...................................................  12
“Phantom”ReturnsandInterferingSignals..........................12
ResolvingIndicationsofSemiconductors..............................13
DevicesHiddeninWalls.........................................................14
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Section6MiscellaneousNotes...............................................................  15
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Section7MaintenanceandAccessories.................................................  16
BatteryCharging...................................................................16
FuseReplacement.................................................................16
ReplacementofAntennaClothCovering..............................16
Accessories............................................................................17
Warranty...............................................................................18

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SECTION1
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BOOMERANG™OVERVIEW
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TheBOOMERANG™utilizesaknownphysicalprinciplethatstatesthatanyrectifying
junctionwithsufficientlengthofconductorattachedtoactanantennawillnotonlydetecta
radiosignalandrectifyit,butalsowillcreateharmonicsofthatsignal.Aharmonicisa
wholenumbermultipleoftheoriginalsignal.SincetheBOOMERANG™transmitsona
frequencyof915MHz,its2ndharmonicisat1830MHz(2times915)andits3rdharmonicis
at2745MHz(3times915).
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Overtheyearsmethodsofdetectingthepresenceorlocationofobjectshavebeen
developedthatusearadiofrequencybeamtoindicatethepresenceoftargetsthatcontain
rectifyingjunctions.Themethodofdetectioninvolvesdetectingchangesmadetotheradio
signalbytherectifyingjunctiontarget.RectifyingjunctionsarePNtypesemiconductorsand
thechangethattheymakeistomultiplythefrequencyofthesignalbeamedatthem.
Semiconductorscreateharmonicsorwholenumbermultiples.Targetsareoftendesigned
intotunedcircuitsformaximumdetectionefficiency.Applicationshaveincludeddevicesto
locateskierstrappedinavalanchesandmorecommonlyareseeninelectronicarticle
surveillancesystemstodetershoplifting.Detectorsofthissortconsistofatransmitterand
areceiverthatistuned,forinstance,tothesecondharmonicofthetransmittedfrequency.
Whenthedetector’sreceiverdetectsasignalattheharmonicfrequency,itcanbeassumed
thatthetargetiswithinthepatternandrangeoftheantenna.
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TheBOOMERANG™utilizesthissameharmoniccreationanddetectionphenomenatolocate
devicescontainingsemiconductors:transistors,diodesandintegratedcircuitsusedin
eavesdroppingdevicesandotherelectronicproducts.Thesesemiconductorsdonothaveto
beoperatinginordertobedetected.
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TargetdetectionrangeoftheNJD‐5isafunctionofseveralthings:thepowerofthe
transmitter,thesensitivityofthereceiverincludingtheantennagain,andthenatureor
designofthedevicesbeingdetected.TheNJD‐5hasatransmitteroutputof500milliWatts.
Itsreceiverhasasensitivitygreaterthan‐105dB,meaningthatitcandetectextremelylow
levelsofsecondandthirdharmonicsignalspickedupbyitsantenna
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TheBOOMERANG™NJD‐5iscapableofdetectingcertaincircuitscontainingsemiconductors
foradistanceofupto20feet.AnattenuatorisbuiltintotheNJD‐5tolimitthedetection
rangewhenitistoogreat.
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RecognitionofFalseAlarms
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TheNJD‐5designisbasedontheanalysisofPNjunctionsandthenon‐linearregionofDC
current/voltagecharacteristics.Thesejunctionsradiateseveralharmonicsofthe
fundamentalfrequencyappliedtothem.Thelevelsofharmonicsradiatedbysuchjunctions
varywithrespecttothetypeofmaterialandaresimilarforspecificclassesofjunctions.
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Thevaluesofelectromagneticfieldintensity(thetotalamountofenergyreflectedas
harmonics)forcommonsemiconductorjunctionssuchasGermanium(Ge)PNjunctions,
Silicon(Si)PNjunctionsandGalliumArsenide(GaAs)PNjunctionsarealldifferentfromeach
other.Therespectivedifferenceinlevelsofthesecondandthethirdharmonicsaresimilar,
butthetotalamountofenergyreturnedasharmonicswilldiffer.Thisparameterwillaffect
therangeatwhichadevicecanbedetected.
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Fortheclassesofjunctionsrepresentedbythesecommonsemiconductors,thelevelofthe
thirdharmonicis20dBlessthanthelevelbeingradiatedbythesecondharmonic.Forour
purposes,thismeansthatalmostalloftheenergyreturnedasharmonicsfromthese
semiconductorswillbesecondharmonic.Onlyasmallamountwillbethirdharmonic.
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Thereisanotherclassofsemiconductor‐likejunctionsthatconsistsofnaturallyoccurring
dissimilarmetallicoxides.Thesemetallicoxidescommonlyoccurinbuildingandfurniture
constructionandarefoundinfurnitureandotheroffice‐typeproductslikethreeringbinders
andpaperclips.Inthistypeofjunction,theratioofthelevelsofsecondharmonictothird
harmonicisinverted.Thatis,thelevelofthirdharmonicisapproximately20dBhigherthan
thesecondharmoniclevel.Commonlyknownas"falsereturns",radiationsfromthisclass
ofjunctionscanberecognizedbythehigherlevelofthirdharmoniccomparedtosecond
harmonic.
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ThenonlinearregionofPNjunctionsisphysicallystable.Thismeansthatjarringorphysical
shock,etc.,doesnotalterthenatureoftheirresponsetoRFillumination.The2ndto3rd
harmonicratioremainsthesameandthesemiconductorremainssteady.Nochangesare
seenontheNJD’smeter.
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Thedissimilarmetallicoxidejunctionsthatcause“false”returnsare,ontheotherhand,
generallymuchlessstable.Physicaljarringwillveryoftenaffectthenatureoftheresponse
ofthejunctiontoRFillumination.Suchchangingresponsesareeasilyrecognizedonthe
NJD‐5'smeteraschangesinthelevelsoftheharmonicsandcanbeheardasstaticinits
headset.
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Thus,theoperatorcanalmostalwaysdistinguishbetweenasemiconductorandafalse
returnthatisinthefieldofviewoftheNJD‐5’santenna.Determinationofthetypeof
junctiondetectedcanusuallybemadebyobservingthelevelsdifferencesbetweenthe
detectedlevelsofharmonicsontheNJD‐5’smeterdisplay.
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SECTION2
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BOOMERANG™COMPONENTS
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ELECTRONICSPACKAGE
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TheNJD‐5'scircuitryiscontainedintheelectronicspackage.Allaspectsofoperationare
controlledhere.
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Therearereceptaclesfortheantenna’scoaxcables,themetercable,andheadphones.
Controlsincludepoweron/off,headphonevolume,andtrip(thresholdforthetarget
detectiontone).
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Ameterforbatterychargelevelislocatednexttotheon/offswitch.Itwillindicatebattery
levelonlywhentheNJDisturnedon.
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Therearealsotwoslideswitches.One,marked“Normal/ReceiverOnly”turnstheNJD‐5
transmitteronandoff.Thisaidsindeterminingifastronginterferingsignalisbeingcreated
bytheNJD‐5interactingwithsomesortofcircuitryintheareabeingexaminedoriftheNJD‐
5isdetectinganothertransmitteroperatingon1830or2745MHz.
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Theswitchmarked“Normal/2ndOnly”isusedtoturnoffthe3rdharmonicreceiver.Thisis
usefulwhenareturnneedstobeevaluatedindepth.TheaudiosectionoftheNJD‐5
switchesbetweenthe2ndand3rdharmonicreceiversatarateofabouttwotimesper
second.Sometimesthereisclear(oratleastperceptible)audioontheharmonicreturns
fromlisteningdevices.Bylisteningtoonlythesecondharmonicreturn,information
regardingthenatureofthedetecteddevicecanbegathered.
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Thebatterychargerjackandthefuseholderarelocatedonthebackpanel.
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TheNJD‐5isequippedwithadialattenuatorin‐linewiththetransmitteroutputtolimitthe
strengthofthetransmittedsignal.Theattenuatorisadjustablein3dBstepsfrom0to30
dB.Setat9dB,thetransmitterwillputoutapproximately62.5milliWatts.Thisisa
recommendedsettingformostuses.Operationathigherpowerlevelsincreasesthe
likelihoodofdetectingelectronicdevicesoutsidetheareabeingsearched.
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ANTENNA
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TheBOOMERANG™antennaassemblyconsistsofarectangularhousingthatcontainsthe
actualantennas.Thedesignandsizeoftheantennaistoeliminateanyreflectionscoming
fromthesideorrear.Theantennahousingalsocontainsbandpassfiltersforthe2ndand3rd
harmonicfrequenciestopreventanyunwantedsignalsfromreachingthereceivers.
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Theantennamaybemountedonthecollapsiblehandleorusedasahand‐heldunit.
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TwoLEDbarographmetersaremountedontheantennainameterbox.Themetersgivean
indicationofthestrengthofthereceivedsignals.TheredLEDindicatorisforthe2nd
harmonicandthegreenLEDisforthe3rdharmonic.Visualcomparisonofthestrengthsof
the2ndand3rdharmonicswillindicatewhethertheNJDhasdetectedasemiconductor(very
high2ndharmonic,low3rd)oracorrodedmetallicoxide(3rdharmonicisequaltoorgreater
than2nd).

TheNJD‐5antennaisconnectedtothehandlebymeansofanadjustableswivel.Theswivel
isscrewedontothethreadsofthemountingbracketontheantenna.theswivelcanbeused
asahandgripwhenusingtheNJDinahandheldmode.

Themalethreadofthebracketontheantennahastwoslotsmachinedintoittobeusedto
locktheantennaincertainorientations.

CABLES

TheNJD‐5electronicspackagecontainsatransmitterandreceiver.Theseareconnectedto
theantennabymeansofcoaxialcables.Thecablesare8feetinlength.Connectorsforthe
variouselementsareconfiguredinsuchawaythatitisnotpossibletoconnectthecables
incorrectly.Thetransmittercannotbeconnectedtothereceiver'santennaandviceversa.

CoaxialcablesusedatBOOMERANG™operatingfrequenciesareverycritical.Careshould
betakenthatthecablesarenotoverlystrainedbybendingattheconnectors,beingstepped
on,etc.

Ifacable‐connectorjunctionbecomesfrayedorifadegradationofperformanceoccurs,
switchtotheothersetofcablessuppliedwiththeNJD‐5untiltheconnectorcanbe
repaired.TheNJDissuppliedwithtwosetsofcoaxialcables.

TheNJD‐5antennamounteddisplayisdrivenfromtheelectronicspackageviathemeter
cable.TheNJD‐5issuppliedwithan8footlongmetercable.Thiscablealsoservesa
batterysavepurpose.PowertooperatetheNJD‐5isroutedthroughthemetercable.
WhenthecableisremovedfromitsjackontheNJDelectronicspackage,thebatteryis
disconnected,makingitimpossiblefortheNJD‐5toconsumebatterypowerwhileinthe
storagecase.

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HEADSET

TheNJD‐5hasoneheadsetjackontheelectronicspackage.Thejackisa1/4"monojack.

HANDLEANDPOKESTICK

Theantennaismountedtoatelescopinghandle.Thehandleisadjustableinlengthfrom
19"to57".CablesareattachedtothehandlebymeansofVelcrostraps.Theantenna
swivelcouplestothehandleinatwistlockmethod.

Thepokestickisatelescopingrodthatisusedtotaponsurfacestotrytodislodgecorroded
metallicjunctions.


CARRYINGTHENJD

TheNJD‐5issuppliedwithabackpackstylecarryingharness.Useofasingleshoulderstrap
isnotrecommendedbecauseitleadstorapidoperatorfatigueanddiscomfort.The
backpackharnessallowstheNJD‐5tobecarriedonthelowerbackwherecontrolsare
accessibleandweightisevenlydistributedacrosstheshoulders.


BATTERYCHARGER

TheNJD‐5issuppliedwithaplug‐inbatterycharger/externalpowersupply.Thesupplycan
operatetheNJD‐5whilechargingitsbattery.Thesupplyoperatesoverarangeof100‐240
VoltsAC,50or60HertzandrequiresnoswitchselectionbytheuserforprimaryACvoltage.

TheNJD‐5isdesignedtooperatefromitsbattery.ContinuedoperationusingtheACpower
supply/batterychargermayoverchargethebatteryandshortenitsusefullife.Donot
chargetheNJD‐5formorethan8hourswhenfullydischarged.



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SECTION3

INITIALSETUP

1.Removetheelectronicspackagefromthestoragecase.

2.Removetheantennaassemblyandswivelmountfromthestoragecase.

3.Attachtheswivelmounttotheantenna.

A.Ontherearoftheantenna,notethe5/8"malethreadbelowthedisplay.
LocatethetwoVshapedslots.Notethattheyare90oapartandremember
wheretheyare.

B.Notethenylonthumbscrewontheswivelassembly.Backitoutfarenoughso
itdoesnotprotrudeintothe5/8"femalethread.

C.Screwtheswivelfarenoughontotheantennasothatthethumbscrewcanbe
seatedinoneoftheslots.Theslotsallowtheusertoselecteitherverticalor
horizontalpolarityandtolocktheantennatokeepitfromrotating.Lineup
thethumbscrewwitheitheroneoftheslotsandtightenitdown.

D.Donotdisassembletheswivelwiththethumbscrewtightened.Itmustbe
loosened.

4.Connectasetofcoaxialcablestotheantenna.Thecoaxialcableassemblyisbuiltwith
maleandfemaleconnectorstopreventincorrectconnectionofantennaelements.

5. Connectthemetercabletotheelectronicspackageandtothemeterdisplayboxon
theantenna.Alsoconnectthecoaxialcablestotheelectronicpackage.

6.Removetheextendibletelescopingantennahandlefromthestoragecase.Itisstored
inthefoampaddinginthelid.

7.Extendthehandletoaconvenientlength,usuallyabout3feet.Todoso,loosenthe
knurledlockringsbytwistingthemtotherightandslideoutthesectionsoneata
time,startingwiththebottomsection.Donotpullthetelescopingsectionsouttoofar
orwithtoomuchforceortheymaybindandmakeithardtocollapsethehandle.
Tightenthelockringsfirmlybyhand.Insertthebayonetfittingontheantennaswivel
mountintothesocketontheendofthehandle.Thefittingisatwistlocktype,and
willclickintoplacewhensecure.Toremove,pushdownandtwisttheopposite
direction.

Page7
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
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8. AttachthecoaxialcablesandthemetercablestothehandleusingtheVelcrostrips
providedwiththeNJD‐5.

9.Inserttheheadsetpluginthejackonthesideofthemeterbox.

10.TochecktheoperationoftheBOOMERANG™,firstturntheVOLUMEcontrolto12
o'clockandturntheTRIPknoballthewayclockwise.

11.SwitchtheON/OFFswitchtotheONposition.

AdjustthevolumeontheheadsettoacomfortablelevelwiththeVOLUMEcontrol.

NowsetthealerttonethresholdwiththeTRIPcontrol:

WhenadjustingtheTRIPcontrol,makesuretheantennaisnotpointedatany
electronicequipmentorattheelectronicspackage,asareturnsignalwillbereceived
andindicated.

TurntheTRIPcontrolcounterclockwise.Asyouturnpastacertainpoint,the800
Hertztonewillcomeon.Turntheknobslightlybackclockwiseuntilthetonestops.

SettheAttenuatortothe9dBsetting

12.Removethetesttargetfromitsenvelope.Holditbetweenthumbandforefingerin
frontoftheantenna.Ifitisheldclosetotheantenna,bothmeterswillgofullscale
andthetoneheardintheheadsetwillbesteady.Asthetargetismovedawayfrom
theantenna,thetonelessensinintensityandthemetersbegintodrop.

13.TheNJD‐5mustbecapableofdetectingthetesttargetheldbetweenthumband
forefingerforadistanceofatleast2feetwhenthetargetisorientedparalleltothe
shortsideoftheantennaandtheattenuatorissetto9dB.Thistestwillgiveyoua
futureindicationastowhetherthesensitivityofyourBOOMERANG™hasdecreased.

14.PracticewithtargetssuchasthetesttargetsuppliedwiththeNJD‐5,portableradios,
telephonesandanyothercommonobjectscontainingsemiconductorstodevelopa
feelfortheperformanceoftheNJD‐5.

Page8
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
15.Theantennahasadetectionpatternwhichisnotsymmetrical,andexperimentation
withthetesttargetandotherdeviceswillshowyouwhatthepatternis.Ifthe
antennaiswithin2feetofatarget,thepatternisnotasimportant.Thisisthereason
theantennaisheldclosetothesurfacebeingsearched.

16.TheNJD‐5'santennaradiatesapolarizedsignal,meaningthatthesignalfromthe
targetwillgivedifferentresultswhentheantennaisrotated90degrees.Thesignalis
orientedvertically,paralleltotheshortsideoftheantenna.Trydifferentorientations
oftheantennaandthetargettogetthestrongestreturnsignal.

17.Attachthebackpackstylecarryingstrap.Cliptheshortendsofthestraptothering‐
likehandlesontheelectronicspackage.Clipthelongendstothesideoppositethe
shortendssothestrapformsan"x".Connectthestrapssothecablescomeoffthe
rearoftheNJD‐5andwillnotinterferewiththestrapswhentheNJD‐5iscarried.

KeepthestrapfairlylongsotheNJD‐5electronicspackagerideslowontheback.This
waythecontrolscanbereachedwithouthavingtotakeoffthebackpack.

Usetheloop‐likecheststraptoadjusttheshoulderstraplocationontheshouldersfor
morecomfort.