Re: Exploding pagers

On 2024-09-19 17:59, Crash Gordon wrote:

On 9/17/2024 1:18 PM, Crash Gordon wrote:

Posting is on-topic for s.e.d because these things had to be *designed*.

 I expected there'd be politics, but I was hoping for more discussion of *how* this was accomplished.  So I'll answer my own question.
 Apparently "somebody" built batteries containing PETN which would detonate when the battery exceeded some temperature.  Then installed these batteries into ordinary pagers; the only clue that something was wrong would be that battery life would likely not be what the spec sheet said it should be.
 Then by repeatedly triggering the pagers, caused the batteries to heat up resulting in detonation of the PETN.  I wouldn't be surprised to find a piece of nichrome inside the battery; it would heat a little when the pager activated and then cool off, but repeated activation would push it over the threshold.  Maybe a schottky involved somehow, to prevent heating when the battery is being charged.

But it appears that they exploded simultaneously or nearly so. Hard to achieve that synchronicity by heating. I rather think they sent some type of code, maybe a string.
Methinks that now the factories are a legitimate target for the "receiving side", unless they can convincingly prove that they are totally innocent.
I wonder if the entire batch was deployed, whether there are intact pagers in storage that they can investigate.

The radios on the next day would have been fitted with similar batteries but I'm not sure how they would have triggered the heating.
 

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Cheers, Carlos.