Bustin’ Makes Me Feel Good: A Low-Cost Cell-Phone Buster for the 850 MHz Band

Abstract

In 1957 the site for the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory was chosen for its minimal radio frequency interference (RFI) from nearby human activities. The efficacy of the site has since been compromised by having a full staff of 40+ engineers, technologists, and scientists located directly adjacent to the telescopes. The site is visited daily by temporary workers, the general public, couriers, and contractors. Guided tours are offered 10AM–5PM every weekend from April through October, significantly increasing the number of visitors. The encroachment of humans on site brings RFI that is carried on their persons, such as cell phones, tablets, smart watches, and cameras. We built a device to detect cellular uplink activity as a means to demonstrating an affordable off-the-shelf solution for finding bad actors on site who have not powered off their cellular devices. We describe the cell-phone buster device, show the results from a brief survey of on-site cellular activity, and discuss plans to expand the capabilities to detect Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and other RF emissions from personal electronic devices on site.