Directional microphones, for long distance discreet listening

Those who work in the surveillance and monitoring field, such as law enforcement agents and private detectives, know well how hard it can be to keep a person under surveillance, when he has something to hide and uses a few simple precautions to avoid getting caught. A typical example is represented by adultery cases, and a solution can come from using a parabolic directional microphone.

On a specific case I had the opportunity to follow, the cheating husband was not using any technology to avoid being caught, but he was simply sitting at a particular bench well hidden on top of a hill in a park; from this point of view, he could easily see whoever was coming his way, without being seen. This made it almost impossible to take photographs of the secret couple, let alone listen to their conversations, without making them suspicious.  

The private detective who was investigating on the case solved the problem by using a couple of directional microphones, otherwise called shotgun microphones because they roughly look like a gun with a long barrel. The technical name of this equipment is actually "supercardioid directional microphone", and those which look like two long barrels are actually two super-sensitive and powerful microphones, capable of picking up sounds, with extreme clarity, at a distance up to a few tens of meters.  

This particular type of microphones, thanks to its noise-filtering characteristics, allows you to easily separate the voice from any background noise. Therefore, by connecting a directional microphone to a transmission or recording system, one can store or transmit an extremely clear sound, perfect for being used, for example, before a court of law.

In this specific case, this detective located the place where the cheating husband and his lover where having their secret rendezvous, and all he did was just get there one hour before them, place a couple of shotgun microphones in a well-concealed way, and connect them to a radio transmitter. At that point, all he had to do was go back to his car, comfortably parked a block away, where with a radio receiver and a digital recorder, he was able to easily listen to their conversatons, and save them on the recorder.

You can easily imagine the consequences that the man had to face: his wife asked for (and obtained) an immediate divorce, along with a hefty compensation for damages. In spite of all the precautions that one may take, unfaithful husbands and criminals can be caught red-handed thanks to modern surveillance technology, of which parabolic microphones and ultrasonic receivers are but an example.  

For more information on directional microphones, miniaturized microphones, and a wide array of surveillance devices for any privacy need, you can visit Endoacustica, one of the most renowned operators in security.  

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