New Product - Portable Radon Gas Detector

Following a recent CBC report highlighting elevated radon gas levels in Canadian homes, we were moved to introduce a straightforward radon detector to our product line. The investigation underscored the significant link between radon exposure and lung cancer rates nationwide (link to article). For homeowners, the ability to verify that indoor levels remain below the recommended threshold can offer meaningful reassurance. However, even if the readings come back high, there are some practical steps you can take to reduce the exposure levels.

The unit we carry is consumer grade, which means it reaches a margin of error around +/- 5% over time. Whilst industrial grade units do exist, which can be more accurate, they are usually in the tens of thousands of dollars range. Home users would really just be determining whether their home is “Safe” or “Dangerous” rather than recording very specific numbers. Moreover, the user should also take into account that the threshold classified as “dangerous” encompasses a broad range when considering the varying recommendations issued by different countries and health organizations around the world.

Danger Levels

Here are the safe - dangerous Radon Levels (pCi/L) as suggested by the Canadian Government:

• Under 2 pCi/L = Low, but no level is risk‑free.

• 2–5.4 pCi/L = Elevated; consider mitigation planning.

• ≥ 5.4 pCi/L = Dangerous — mitigation recommended.

• 16.2 pCi/L = Urgent Level: Above these levels, mitigation should be completed within one year.

Just as a comparison to international standards, World Health Organization (WHO): Recommends action at 2.7 pCi/L (100 Bq/m³).

Other Alternatives

The benefit of owning this type of detector is being able to use whenever you like, and to take it to other locations you may want to measure, but it is not the only way to test your home for Radon Gas. Many municipalities and libraries will offer a Radon Gas device to borrow for free. If not, there are one-time-use test kits on the market for $50 range, so testing does not have to be expensive. Ultimately, we encourage people to use any means available to test for this danger in their homes.

Links

• CBC article mentioned above

• Canadian Government resources about Radon
  

Tariffs

Due to the current U.S. tariff situation, Spytech has been actively renewing and improving our supply chain and product line. We are prioritizing Canadian suppliers, distributors, and manufacturers wherever possible. Of course, in our industry nearly all electronics originate in Asia, and the United States, but we are working to bypass any unnecessary U.S. distribution channels.

Founded in 1991 and 100% Canadian-owned ever since, we certainly understand the challenges faced by Canadian businesses. We have always employed Canadian workers, paid Canadian taxes, and supported the local Canadian economy.  Like all Canadian businesses, we recognize the paradox of a system where our domestic tax revenue indirectly subsidizes our international competitors, but this is just a reflection of longstanding policy imbalances within our own country.

Lately however, the geopolitical climate has introduced a new urgency: many of these same foreign corporations who have benefited from Canadian businesses are now supporting the political movement to undermine Canada’s economic sovereignty. While we value so many past business relationships, and even great friendships we’ve built with American partners over the years, this recent trend is completely unacceptable.

If anything positive comes from the current political chaos it would be the opportunity for Canadian consumers and policymakers to champion our own domestic entrepreneurship! Choosing Canadian-made products not only sustains local employment, and bolsters GDP growth, but also ensures that revenue circulates within our economy rather than diverting towards offshore tax havens.

 Note that we have been listing some of the countries of origin for our products on our website so customers can see who benefits from their purchases - in particular we are trying to highlight companies with Canadian services - while also expanding procurement from European and Asian partners as alternatives to U.S. distributors.  Note that any products which don't have a country identified, just assume they are from China, due to it’s obvious dominance in global electronics production.

To our loyal Canadian customers: Thank you. Your support means everything, you are the only reason any Canadian small business can even survive in the face of competition from corporations with limitless resources, unfair foreign tariffs, and restrictive legislation which would never apply to large international corporations. Since we don’t have the same entitlements as the companies from south of the border, we assure you we will keep working harder, innovating more, and staying competitive to earn your business.  We ask for your patience and continued trust while we establish stronger partnerships within Canada, as well as other nations in a similar trade position as Canada, and strive to cultivate a more resilient and dynamic Canadian economy.

Spytech is proudly Canadian.

New Product - The Alarm Clock WiFi Camera

WiFi Clock Camera

Over the years, we have always offered some kind of clock among the ever changing variety of hidden cameras. These are one of the most useful cameras for numerous locations. Originally, they were just a wireless video camera, and you would have a seperate VCR recording the video. Then they evolved into self contained DVR/Camera that could record for a few hours. Today they even have a built-in WiFi modem, so you can stream the video anywhere in the world, because it can connect to the internet. All this inside a standard alarm clock you can just place on a table or shelf.

We have had a customer place one of these clock cameras in an office to monitor who was snooping through his desk. Sure enough, a coworker was caught sneaking in and trying to steal any information that would be useful to his own career.

Another customer placed a clock camera in her mother’s room at a long-term care facility. The mother suffered from dementia, so it was difficult to tell what she was complaining about, but something strange was upsetting her. So many others have used cameras for similar scenarios. In this case, the customer discovered one particular care worker was trying to acquire infromation about the mother’s credit cards and bank accounts, likely for some type of identity theft.

As you can tell from these stories, there are a wide range of applications in which a clock camera can be helpful. The newest model even has alerts for motion detection. You can check a recording or live stream, to see remotely what goes on at the camera location. You can use the camera to protect your home or property, you can use it for a “Nanny Cam” or you can use it to compile video evidence you need to document.

Find out if your own problem could be solved by Spytech products.

Contact us at:

stproductinfo@gmail.com

416-482-8588

or visit us at:

2005 Yonge St, Toronto, ON, M4S1Z8 in Canada.

Click picture to view the product…

The Truth About Detecting GPS Vehicle Trackers

The most common inquiry we hear at Spytech these days is, “How can I find out if there is a GPS tracker on my vehicle?” The answer really depends on a few different factors, of course, so let’s examine those:

Types of GPS trackers

• Passive Trackers

First of all, there are passive GPS trackers that simply record their location and don’t send out any information to anybody. These are not very popular any more these days, because people enjoy instant gratification, and these trackers require you to wait for a few days, and then retrieve the unit to view the data. Think of them like a tape recorder. Instead of sound, the unit just records your location, but the recording cannot be accessed until someone gets the unit back and plays back the data. These passive trackers are impossible to detect with any electronic detectors because they simply don’t give off any kind of signal.

• Active Trackers

These are the most modern trackers that people prefer today. These devices don’t just record their location while they are driving around, but they can also be viewed live on some kind of tracking app, by the person that is tracking you. They would see you as an icon on a map. Usually the user can also see maps of several days into past history, and the device can send alerts to tell that person when you start moving, or if you go to a certain place on the map, all depending on the type of service the tracker is using. Let’s not get too much into the features since there are hundreds of different models out there.

The point is, these Active Trackers all have something in common, they have to communicate with the user to make all this data available to them. The signal they use is some kind of GSM, 3G, 4G LTE mobile data network signal. A fairly decent “bug” detector would be able to detect this signal. Sounds easy right? Well unfortunately, there are so many variables effecting the results, that we can’t even recommend using a detector to search for trackers. The success rate is too low to be considered “reliable”.

• Other Trackers

One reason people may never find a tracker is because they are simply looking for the wrong thing. Maybe you have searched every inch of your vehicle, and there really is nothing there, but it turns out your smartphone has been infected with some kind of spyware. There are also prehistoric non-GPS Trackers people used back in the 80s to track vehicles. Luckily those are easily detectable with any bug detector, because their signal is much more powerful than any modern trackers. Besides, those arcane trackers were almost impossible to use, so you would never see one today. Another tracking technique is “following”. Just like in the movies, an investigator might tail a car visually, and then report the location to the client. There is no machine to detect this, it’s more the type of thing you would have to notice.

Anti-Tracking Techniques

• Bug Detector

Pretty much any bug detector can locate an Active GPS Tracker, under the right conditions. Immediately you can rule out being able to detect Passive Trackers with this technique. Also, if you are driving around with a detector you will see it going crazy almost all the time, since there are thousands of wireless signals all over the place. For example, it could be set it off by any bluetooth, mobile phones, transit vehicle, taxi radio, cell towers, radio stations, smart devices, etc. Basically the detector will be beeping constantly. How would you ever know if the detector is indicating your car has a GPS?

Obviously, the only way to get reliable detection, is to eliminate all other interference signals. You may have to take a trip out into the country, and at least try to be out of sight of any cell towers, and a few feet away from any other vehicles or people. Turn off your own mobile devices before you start. Park in a place where you can safely walk around without worrying about traffic. Turn on the detector in the lower sensitivity setting (see the manual of whatever detector you are using). Walk around the car at about one metre distance, slowly, and look for any blips on the detector. If there is one, move closer to the car at that location and try to find the source by watching the detector’s signal strength display. If that first circle finds nothing, go around the car again, this time only a few inches away. Make one circle at waist height, and then another around the underside of the vehicle, since most trackers are stuck to the bottom with a magnet. Also check the inside, in case there is a tracker under your seat, in your dashboard, or in your trunk. If your detector keeps beeping everywhere, even away from the vehicle, then you should drive to a better location, there could just be some interference where you are, from some invisible RF source.

If you follow this advice you should detect any tracker that is actually active at the time. Keep in mind, if you found nothing, that doesn’t mean there is nothing! There could be a different type of tracker (see the above descriptions), or there could be an Active Tracker that is just in sleep mode, or maybe it just has a dead battery at the moment. We don’t recommend depending solely on a bug detector to confirm you are safe. If the detector does succeed, and you find the tracker that way, then all this effort was worth it. Since there is luck involved, you should always compliment this with the visual inspection.

• GPS Jammer

These devices are illegal in Canada and USA and we don’t offer any for sale. They effectively jam all GPS devices in the area, whether this is a tracker on your vehicle, an airport navigation system, emergency vehicle, or search and rescue device. We advise people never to use jammers because they can result in a heavy fine and are far from discrete.

• Visual Inspection

Whenever we have talked to a person that discovered a GPS tracker on their vehicle, they always used this technique. Usually they had their car at a garage for service, or an oil change, and the mechanic asked them if they were aware there was a tracker on their vehicle. The mechanic only found it because the person simply never looked for it.

There is not much to say about this technique, except you have to be thorough, and do some research so you know what common GPS trackers look like. Look under the vehicle and inside. This is the only way you can locate Passive Trackers, or Active Trackers that have been shut off (it is sometimes possible to shut them off remotely).

Other Options

There are also professional vehicle sweepers in most larger cities. Of course, someone with actual experience is going to have a lot better odds of finding a tracker on your vehicle, than you would yourself. You can search your area’s local listings for “counter surveillance” and there may be such a service available close to you.

As you can see from this guide, it is not all that easy to detect a well placed GPS tracker on your vehicle. Bug detectors can provide a win for you, but they are no guarantee, since so many trackers may not be sending a signal at the same time you are searching for them. Many devices are sold online as “GPS detectors” but they are really just normal bug detectors and have the same issues and advantages, as described above. At this time we have not seen any detectors on the market that do anything different. Feel free to contact us if you know of any.

Hopefully this information will clear up some of the confusion when searching for GPS trackers.

Good luck and happy spying!

New Products for 2020

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New 4G GPS Tracking Device

In Canada, our cellular network has already moved on from 2G coverage in most areas. This hasn’t prevented an unfortunate amount of 2G trackers from being sold across Canada. At Spytech, we try to stay up to date on the latest technology, so we are already offering the 4G Trackers. They have about one week battery life, small size and the latest technology to provide maximum location accuracy. Monthly fee is $15 USD/month to use with IOS/Android app, or any computer.

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New WiFi Clock Camera

This upgraded clock camera now has a higher video quality, thanks to a new chipset, and uses a new app. The new clock design is smaller than previous models. Motion activation, push notifications and all the typical DVR functions are still available. Many of our customers use clock cameras to provide video coverage for their valuables, catch trespassers entering their home, and monitoriing elderly relatives who use personal care workers.

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New Cup Lid Camera

This is a battery powered, mobile surveillance camera. The battery life is about 3 hours, so the applications would be for specific conversations, or meetings, but the time would not be long enough to leave in a house for a few days. The cup should usually be size L (depending on the brand you use). Some of our customers have placed this camera in an office to record meetings, and a few people have used it as a hand-held hidden camera for conversations, because they required a longer battery than watch or keyfob cameras could accomodate.

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Bug Detector Pro 2.0

CA$179.95

New Bug Detector Pro

Almost the same as the previous Bug Detector Pro. The newest feature is that this updated model has both, the usual RF detection, and also Digital Data detection capability. Our tests have found that this is the best Bug Detector Pro at locating our own spy cameras and microphones. WiFi, RF and GSM signals can all be detected with the improved Bug Detector Pro.