Radio Interference?

Will IceSpy interfere with, or be subject to interference from other equipment like mobile phones or electrical plant?

Do you have concerns regarding potential interference to or from IceSpy System5 or IceSpy RL system, particularly where it is used in areas where sensitive information is being communicated?

IceSpy systems have undergone full approvals, to European Standards, for both Radio Type Approval and EMC Type Examination.

Type Approval defines that the system makes use only of approved radio frequencies, and that the power levels employed are below certain limits. The limits are strictly defined, the purpose being to prevent equipment interfering with other radio equipment which may be operating in the vicinity. The standard applied to the IceSpy System5 to gain this Type Approval is the European standard ETS 300 220 (which supersedes the UK approval MPT 1340).

The EC keeps us on our toes and IceSpy also meets the latest R&TTE directive for communications equipment (harmonised standard ).

The R&TTE directive applies to all electronic products (not just radio transmitters) and its purpose is two-fold:

to ensure that no equipment interferes electromagnetically with any other equipment (i.e. limits the amount of electrical ‘noise’ transmitted either by cable or by radio frequency);

to ensure that no equipment is interfered with by a reasonable amount of ‘background’ electrical noise which may reasonably be expected to exist in normal environments. This includes protection against common interference problems such as static discharges, electric motors, etc.

The rigorous approvals applied to all of the IceSpy systems to gain their CE mark was the European standard ETS 300 683.

The result of these approvals, in practical terms, means that the chance of IceSpy interfering with sensitive equipment is no higher than any other product on the market, whether or not it contains a radio transmitter. Indeed it is likely that IceSpy will interfere less than many other items of electronic equipment, because it has had to go through more thorough testing than non-radio equipment.

As far as effects of other equipment on IceSpy is concerned, it has to be admitted that it is possible to ‘jam’ the 433MHz waveband so that IceSpy will not operate. This could only be done intentionally and/or by equipment which failed the standards listed above. In practice, any jamming would need to proceed for an extended period (more than an hour) to have any appreciable effect on the system, and in this case the system would raise an alarm. Short bursts of radio signals at the same frequency (which will occur from such items as car alarm keyfobs, for example) will have no effect on IceSpy systems. Very high transmitter powers at different frequencies, as little as 2MHz away from the IceSpy frequency, have little or no effect on the performance of IceSpy.

System5 allows you to discover if there is interference from other nearby systems causing any problems.

It would also be possible, in theory, for a dedicated ‘hacker’ to sit with a radio receiver and decode the messages being sent by IceSpy, and thus find out what temperatures the refrigerators are running at. This seems an unlikely commercial venture, however!