Re: Exploding pagers

On Fri, 20 Sep 2024 12:42:19 +0200, "Carlos E.R."
<robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:

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.
 

Reports suggest that some of the pagers didn't detonate, so can be
analyzed.

It would be interesting to see what they did.