Any electronics/spy experts? Wireless Device

I work for a major appliance repair company, and one of our techs came across something really bizzare. He is a little out there already, but I believe he saw what he described. Under the bottom panel on a new Whirlpool over the range microwave,he found an odd wireless device. He described it as a small square box with 219.xxx mhz on it, and connected to a battery pack like would be in a home wireless telephone. He said there was no hole he could see for a microphone. If anyone at Whirlpool put it there, they are not owning up to it.
Anyone have any ideas? The micro was put in by the home builder, and obviously the customer had no idea. Once we found it,we couldnt do anything else, and management would not lets us take any pictures.

He did draw one, and I am going to attempt to attach.

 

ok, hope this worked for the picture

 

Its a bomb!:wow:



Oh and this.
http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/218-219-mhz-service

 

That looks like a bug... Jealous spouse?

 

When was the house built, Brian?

Way back in the day that was a kind of a Citizen's Band, then it was a UPS two-way service for a while (which couldn't really be used the way UPS wanted to use it), and a failed 'interactive' TV service (idea was your remote would radio back to the scrambled-TV provider and you'd get the channel descramble code).

Battery-powered, huh? Probably a husband spying/listening on wife.

 

Ok, I can fix shit..but I have no idea what the hell that website said. the tech asked the customer is whe was a spy when I was on the phone with him.
I figured someone on here might know what it i
Im not sure about the living arangements at the home, but he did say there was no microphone whole he could see. He was a TV tech previously, so even though hes weird,he is pretty smart

 

The website said it was an interactive TV service for a while, but it is unused, they want to change the rules for what it can be used for, and auction it off again.

 

Hey Dave, house was built in mid 2012, the appliances were installed when built. I dont rememeber the exact address, but is was on 16th avenue and Redbird in Northwest Phx

 

Curiouser and Curiouser.

That's Part-95 operation, kind of a Citizen's Band:

...created a radio service allowing for unlicensed (Part 95) operation, with a power limit of 2 watts.

I'm going with 'spying on the wife' with Popular Science 'surveillance equipment'.

 

Thanks Dave
I actually thought of you when I posted. I figured you would know something about it. My curiosity was what started it all when he started talking about it. Once the manager overheard, he said he wanted the tech to pack up, and get out of the home. I have seen, and heard a lot over the years, but this takes it for strangest.

Hope all is going well for you.

 

I'm doing well, glad you are too. Still haven't left Phoenix metro, but don't have a lot of free time outside work (too much work and no racing).

 

This would only be better if it had Made in Russia stamped on it.

 

http://www.tscm.com/bugfreq.html

-jim

 

Cmon bro, management wasn't there during the repair, right?

Let's see the pic.....

So was it removed or left there and was the owner advised of his findings?



I have a good idea what it is but it doesn't make sense where you found it.

 

Its most likely a bug.

The 219 MHz band hasn't found a real use since it was taken from the Amateur Radio service in the 1990's.

There was TV Answer, who was going to build a cellular 219MHz network for wireless cable like two-way interactivity. That failed for lack of market, funding, and technical feasibility.

The UPS wanted the band, and got it assigned to them by the FCC. They found it to be less than what they needed, and cellular phone technology became cheaper than what they had planned.

Most recently, there was a proposal for it's use by the trucking industry, but I don't think that's going anywhere, either.

There was never a legitimate use in the 219MHz band for anything like the device pictured.
It would not need a hole for a microphone, as the bottom plate would serve as a diaphragm and transmit sound.

As a bug, with an independent battery pack and no facility to recharge it, this would have needed attention on a weekly basis to refresh the battery.

 

I really tried to get a pic out of him. I even wanted to go back to the house with him and do it myself,with no luck. The micro needed a door still, but our boos wanted to close the unit up, and not touch it anymore.
We had to contact Whirlpool, and they had no idea what it was. I wondered if it was some QC thing installed they forgot to remove for testing radiation.

What do you think it is ?