WARviewing
Encyclopedia
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
from X10
X10 Wireless Technology
X10 Wireless Technology, Inc. is an American subsidiary of a Hong Kong-Bermuda company best known for marketing wireless video cameras using controversial pop-under advertisements. It was founded in 1999 in Kent, Washington.- History :...
cameras in major cities from traffic cameras, lobbies, or locally owned shops. WarViewing is derived from the term WarDriving
Wardriving
Wardriving is the act of searching for Wi-Fi wireless networks by a person in a moving vehicle, using a portable computer, smartphone or PDA....
(where people drive around with Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
equipment and look for wireless computer networks) which was originally derived from Wardialing (an outdated practice where people would use a modem to brute-force dial phone numbers searching for other computer modems which would answer).
War viewing involves travelling around either in a vehicle or on foot and using a video receiver and screen to view transmissions (usually) in the 2.4 GHz license free ISM band
ISM band
The industrial, scientific and medical radio bands are radio bands reserved internationally for the use of radio frequency energy for industrial, scientific and medical purposes other than communications....
. This is a set of international frequency allocations that are intended for a number of public uses, but the 2.4 GHz allocation is predominantly used for wireless cameras, home video senders and Wi-Fi computer networks.
War Viewers will usually mount an external omni-directional antenna to a vehicle to extend the limited range of reception (much like War Drivers do). Expected ranges in an urban environment can be from as little as a few metres up to about 50 metres, although longer ranges are possible with directional antennas, higher quality equipment or particularly favourable conditions.
A small screen and openly available 2.4 GHz video receiver is usually used to see what video transmissions there are out there. Finds can include wireless covert surveillance cameras, CCTV cameras, TV senders, home video senders, X10 cameras, etc.
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
networks currently share approximately the same frequency band as the video transmissions, which means that the antennas used are interchangeable.
If war viewing is done on foot, then sometimes a directional antenna like a patch antenna
Patch antenna
A patch antenna is a type of radio antenna with a low profile, which can be mounted on a flat surface. It consists of a flat rectangular sheet or "patch" of metal, mounted over a larger sheet of metal called a ground plane. The assembly is usually contained inside a plastic radome, which...
or yagi antenna
Yagi antenna
A Yagi-Uda array, commonly known simply as a Yagi antenna, is a directional antenna consisting of a driven element and additional parasitic elements...
is used to try and pinpoint the exact location of a transmitter, and to cut down on interference.
As the video signals are broadcast in a license free ISM band
ISM band
The industrial, scientific and medical radio bands are radio bands reserved internationally for the use of radio frequency energy for industrial, scientific and medical purposes other than communications....
, it is not illegal in the UK to receive them even if they are not intended for you.
A warspyer uses a 2.4 GHz video receiver, an LCD screen, a battery
Battery (electricity)
An electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Since the invention of the first battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta and especially since the technically improved Daniell cell in 1836, batteries have become a common power...
, and sometimes a signal booster.