Cellphone detector - every teacher's dream gadget

When I was in New Zealand the one thing that never ceased to amaze me -- besides the postcard scenery -- was the amount of creativity in such an isolated nation of only 4 million people.

Perhaps it is the very isolation or maybe because the fact the sun rises there first that brings out the best in people. The effects in Lord of the Rings is testimony to that.

Here's a gadget I think that would be a hit worldwide -- even as debate rages about cellphone jamming -- and if the Chinese don't rip it off sooner than you can say CellTrac-r.


CellTrac-r is a cellphone detector. It enables flight attendants, teachers, prison wardens and parents (the last three may have more things in common with this device) to be aware of cellphone use. Here's the spiel:

Cellphones use two kinds of electromagnetic radio frequency signals to operate. Low radio frequency indicates that the cell phone is in standby while high frequency indicates that the cell phone is receiving calls or text messages.

CellTrac-r is an Electromagnetic Transient Anomaly Detector and only reveals the location of high radio frequency cellphones.

When a cellphone in operation is detected, the location is revealed by four lights on the CellTrac-r panel. If all four light up, the cell phone is near. If one lights up, the cell phone is about 98 feet away.

That is according to Katheryn Troyer who filed this news story for Kidsnewsroom.org

What's exciting about the CellTrac-r is that it has already found its niche.

Two students were caught using cellphones in end-of-year exams recently, reports the New Zealand Herald. The device picked up incoming and outgoing calls and text messages.

You can see the possibilities.

The CellTrac-r was invented by six secondary school students at St Thomas of Canterbury College in Christchurch.

The teenagers did it as part of 2004 Canterbury Young Enterprise competition at school and have now created their own company, Stopcom, and sold every model they made.

Unfortunately, according to their website, Stopcom is no longer taking orders for the device and is not seeking investors - I wonder why. But the company and all its assets are up for sale.