Topic: ADE 651 "explosives detector"
started by: Malcolm
Posted by Malcolm on Apr. 28 2013,10:08
< From Randi's website >. A few years back, that dude called bullshit on some "detection" equipment happily bought by numerous governments and private organizations. Turns out he was right, because the manufacturer just got nailed for fraud. But just how much does it take to trick people and how much could they really charge?QUOTE
The device has been sold to a number of countries in the Middle East and Far East, including Iraq, for as much as $60,000 per unit. The Iraqi government is said to have spent £52 million ($85 million) on the devices.
Dayum. But, come on, they must at least have been convincing fakes, right?
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It requires no battery or other power source; its manufacturer claimed that it is powered solely by the user's static electricity.
The hell, you say? Eh, maybe they're just sneaking a battery in there. Surely, though, the fake operating procedures for this device must have at least had the semblance of the scientific method.
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According to Husam Muhammad, an Iraqi police officer and user of the ADE 651, using the device properly is more of an art than a science: "If we are tense, the device doesn't work correctly. I start slow, and relax my body, and I try to clear my mind."
Wtf? Is he looking for explosives or trying to overcome erectile dysfunction? Oh well, at least no U.S. entities bought any of this quackery.
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The Quadro Tracker, also known as the Positive Molecular Locator, was a similar device sold by Quadro Corp. of Harleyville, South Carolina between 1993 and 1996.
Well, shit.
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Numerous US school boards, airports and police departments purchased the Quadro Tracker before it was banned.
Shitfuck. Come on, didn't they at least test them?
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The Jefferson County, Texas narcotics task force spent $3,250 on a Quadro Tracker. The task force's commander later said: "We played with it in the office and got mixed results. Sometimes we'd find something, sometimes not. Our rate of success was about half. I think it was either blind luck or a ouija board effect. It's not near as consistent as (drug-sniffing) dogs, but there are no vet bills."
Emphasis mine. These are the dudes who are supposed to outsmart drug traffickers. Allow me to introduce the Quadro Tracker 2.0, available for the low, low price of $1000 USD:
Posted by GORDON on Apr. 28 2013,10:48
I wonder what their success rate is compared to that of a dowsing rod.
Posted by Malcolm on Apr. 28 2013,16:44
(GORDON @ Apr. 28 2013,12:48)
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I wonder what their success rate is compared to that of a dowsing rod.
Funny choice of words there, guvner.
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Investigations by the BBC and other organisations found that the device is little more than a "glorified dowsing rod" with no ability to perform its claimed functions.
I guess slightly better than a normal dowsing rod, because they used the word "glorified."
Posted by TPRJones on Apr. 29 2013,07:41
Nothing "glorified" about it, looking at pictures it clearly is just a dowsing rod made out of metal and plastic instead of wood.
