7 ms·

Spoiler: they are air sampling units. Vendor page: http://www.hi-q.net/products/continuous-duty-air-samplers/psu-series-outdoor-mobile-continuous-duty-samplers

by runjake 11y ago

Spoiler: they are air sampling units. Vendor page: http://www.hi-q.net/products/continuous-duty-air-samplers/psu-series-outdoor-mobile-continuous-duty-samplers/default.html http://www.hi-q.net/products/continuous-duty-air-samplers/ps...

ucaetano 11y ago
Ahhh, don't spoil the conspiracy theories. But maybe it's something else DISGUISED as an air sampling unit!
- kafkaesq 11y ago
  You never know: http://www.businessinsider.com/army-sprayed-st-louis-with-toxic-dust-2012-10 http://www.businessinsider.com/army-sprayed-st-louis-with-to...
blakesterz 11y ago
Big metal box in a very public place? I feel like I'm channeling Bruce Schnier here but I'll say it anyways... If I was a bad guy and wanted to plant something very bad in plain site, this is exactly how I'd do it. How long do you think it would take the good guys to figure out it's evil? I'd think hours at least. This is something like I'd expect to read in that Movie Plot contest he runs every year.
- gist 11y ago
  I once installed a construction cam and made up a label which indicated it was from the local township and even put a phone number on it. Nobody every questioned it (but it was on a residential street).
- shostack 11y ago
  At least they were smart enough not to have LED Mooninites on it. [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Boston_Mooninite_panic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Boston_Mooninite_panic
- Mo3 11y ago
  The three exclamation marks in "Do not unplug!!!" made me suspicious immediately. I know this is kinda funny coming from a German but seriously, the department of homeland security can't type properly? I would've called 911 on that box immediately.
  - pkinsky 11y ago
    I'm guessing that, if unplugged, they continue to run off battery power and send an alert to the nearest homeland office.
    - Mo3 11y ago
      Sure and I would very much hope so considering how much your government spent on these things but I was replying to that guy who said that they could be fakes set out by malicious people. And, judging by the very unprofessional sign and the fact that it is sitting completely by itself in a public street connected to a street light, that's not a very far-fetched thought..
  - ryanlol 11y ago
    You would have called 911... on a box? What the fuck?
    - Mo3 11y ago
      A box sitting completely by itself in a public street connected to a street light, with an unprofessional sign on it? Hell yeah! Every 12 year old could build that box, print the sign and connect it to the street light. And thousands of people walk right by it, see the fancy Homeland Security badge that you can find within seconds on the internet and assume that the person who used a standard tool to open a street light had every right to do so. This might sound a bit paranoid I assume but remember we're talking about a hot zone for potential attack plans right now.. And where I'm from, official things are marked very clearly and undeniably, not with random phone numbers on it that no one bothers to cross-check anyway.. But with 911 (our equivalent at least) on it to be called in case of an emergency. And not with three god damn exclamation marks in the header. 13 year old Call of Duty players and our 14 year old intern do that..
- tlrobinson 11y ago
  "How long do you think it would take the good guys to figure out it's evil? I'd think hours at least." Indeed... "there are about 20 sub-divisions of Homeland Security it might belong to"
- fnordfnordfnord 11y ago
  Hours? You're giving them far too much credit.
- tn13 11y ago
  The fact that the reporter called up Homeland security and they could not figure it out is far more scary. I wonder how the local law enforcement allowed this.
  - ryanlol 11y ago
    Why would they not? If it was an actual bomb they'd undoubtedly try to make it look much less obnoxious, and nobody would notice.
- DonHopkins 11y ago
  It's a PST-JITB: Portable Security Theatre Jack-In-The-Box.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
protomyth 11y ago
"This extremely popular, outdoor rated continuous duty air sampling system is intended for secure outdoor ambient particulate and/or gaseous air sampling." extremely popular? I wonder what sales figures constitute popular in this category. I wonder if there is a magazine that covers this area?
- __jal 11y ago
  A long time ago, I discovered that there was a publication called Potato World Weekly. (No idea if it still exists.) It was a tabloid-size glossy, not terribly skinny, a weekly (as it said), and, perhaps not surprisingly, really expensive. I still find it pretty funny, but the wider point is that I would not be at all surprised by a trade journal for continuous-duty air samplers and continuous-duty air sampler accessories. Or more likely, a subscription site.
  - qq66 11y ago
    Globally, the potato market is MUCH bigger than the Web design market.
    - __jal 11y ago
      In your experience, are web designers big consumers of continuous-duty air samplers and continuous-duty air sampler accessories? If so, the field has changed a lot since I've been involved.
- paulajohnson 11y ago
  Over here in the UK we have a comedy news quiz called "Have I Got News For You". Each episode features a "guest publication" which is always along the lines of "Air Quality Professional" or "Snail Breeders Monthly". OK, so I made those up, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them.
Animats 11y ago
That device is just a sample collector. It doesn't measure or detect anything. It just deposits particulates on filter paper, to be removed periodically and analyzed elsewhere. It's mostly for long-term cumulative hazards. To be useful for Super Bowl City, someone should be servicing the device every few hours. Has anyone seen people doing that? Homeland Security has deployed bio-warfare detectors at previous Super Bowls.[1] Those have an annoying false-alarm rate. But at least they report immediately if they detect something. [1] http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jul/08/nation/la-na-biowatch-20120708 http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jul/08/nation/la-na-biowatc...
- wavefunction 11y ago
  Ah, when you put it like that, the NSA bulk collection of records is just a sample collector, and it doesn't measure or detect anything.
  - Karunamon 11y ago
    There might be something to this if there was a protocol for delivering secure data over diffuse particulate matter...
    - avn2109 11y ago
      Honestly, is there something stopping you from encoding a signal by modulating the airborne concentration of some particle? Maybe something that doesn't occur commonly - use e.g. helium instead of nitrogen or something like that.
  - Animats 11y ago
    If you're being attacked, you'd like to know about it. This thing is more of a forensic device to figure out how you were attacked afterwards.
    - tlrobinson 11y ago
      Or security theater.
jonah 11y ago
...which makes them great for long-term air quality studies but since my prayers have to go around to each device retrieve the filter media and take it back to the lab for analysis, is pretty useless for any acute airborne hazards.
- nickodell 11y ago
  Maybe the DoHS is trying to go around to various cities and establish a baseline for particulates, so that when there's a suspected attack, they can quickly tell what's normal and what's new.
- pbhjpbhj 11y ago
  The device seems like it's a lot more than a piece of filter paper and an air intake - surely there's much more going on in there than just particulate collection.
pbhjpbhj 11y ago
The one in the OP has a different collector. Presumably they're sampling for explosives/radioactive matter/ ...? Of course it would be a great way to hide something like license plate cameras, in plain sight, with the assumption that they're air-quality sampling systems. As someone else pointed out, wouldn't these very quickly get stolen? OT: Couldn't help but chuckle at http://www.hi-q.net/products/size-selective-particulate-sampling-inlets/default.html http://www.hi-q.net/products/size-selective-particulate-samp... with the juxtaposition of the ISO9001 quality mark and the forgotten "lorem ipsum" placeholder text ...
- BHSPitMonkey 11y ago
  License plate cameras aren't new to the bay area: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/09/your-car-tracked-the-rapid-rise-of-license-plate-readers/ http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/09/your-car-tracked-... (and that's to say nothing of the ones being put into patrol cars, or the data collected on the bridges coming into the city)

by runjake 11y ago

ucaetano 11y ago

Ahhh, don't spoil the conspiracy theories. But maybe it's something else DISGUISED as an air sampling unit!

kafkaesq 11y ago
You never know: http://www.businessinsider.com/army-sprayed-st-louis-with-toxic-dust-2012-10 http://www.businessinsider.com/army-sprayed-st-louis-with-to...

blakesterz 11y ago

Big metal box in a very public place? I feel like I'm channeling Bruce Schnier here but I'll say it anyways... If I was a bad guy and wanted to plant something very bad in plain site, this is exactly how I'd do it. How long do you think it would take the good guys to figure out it's evil? I'd think hours at least. This is something like I'd expect to read in that Movie Plot contest he runs every year.

gist 11y ago
I once installed a construction cam and made up a label which indicated it was from the local township and even put a phone number on it. Nobody every questioned it (but it was on a residential street).
shostack 11y ago
At least they were smart enough not to have LED Mooninites on it. [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Boston_Mooninite_panic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Boston_Mooninite_panic
Mo3 11y ago
The three exclamation marks in "Do not unplug!!!" made me suspicious immediately. I know this is kinda funny coming from a German but seriously, the department of homeland security can't type properly? I would've called 911 on that box immediately.
- pkinsky 11y ago
  I'm guessing that, if unplugged, they continue to run off battery power and send an alert to the nearest homeland office.
  - Mo3 11y ago
    Sure and I would very much hope so considering how much your government spent on these things but I was replying to that guy who said that they could be fakes set out by malicious people. And, judging by the very unprofessional sign and the fact that it is sitting completely by itself in a public street connected to a street light, that's not a very far-fetched thought..
- ryanlol 11y ago
  You would have called 911... on a box? What the fuck?
  - Mo3 11y ago
    A box sitting completely by itself in a public street connected to a street light, with an unprofessional sign on it? Hell yeah! Every 12 year old could build that box, print the sign and connect it to the street light. And thousands of people walk right by it, see the fancy Homeland Security badge that you can find within seconds on the internet and assume that the person who used a standard tool to open a street light had every right to do so. This might sound a bit paranoid I assume but remember we're talking about a hot zone for potential attack plans right now.. And where I'm from, official things are marked very clearly and undeniably, not with random phone numbers on it that no one bothers to cross-check anyway.. But with 911 (our equivalent at least) on it to be called in case of an emergency. And not with three god damn exclamation marks in the header. 13 year old Call of Duty players and our 14 year old intern do that..
tlrobinson 11y ago
"How long do you think it would take the good guys to figure out it's evil? I'd think hours at least." Indeed... "there are about 20 sub-divisions of Homeland Security it might belong to"
fnordfnordfnord 11y ago
Hours? You're giving them far too much credit.
tn13 11y ago
The fact that the reporter called up Homeland security and they could not figure it out is far more scary. I wonder how the local law enforcement allowed this.
- ryanlol 11y ago
  Why would they not? If it was an actual bomb they'd undoubtedly try to make it look much less obnoxious, and nobody would notice.
DonHopkins 11y ago
It's a PST-JITB: Portable Security Theatre Jack-In-The-Box.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]

protomyth 11y ago

"This extremely popular, outdoor rated continuous duty air sampling system is intended for secure outdoor ambient particulate and/or gaseous air sampling." extremely popular? I wonder what sales figures constitute popular in this category. I wonder if there is a magazine that covers this area?

__jal 11y ago
A long time ago, I discovered that there was a publication called Potato World Weekly. (No idea if it still exists.) It was a tabloid-size glossy, not terribly skinny, a weekly (as it said), and, perhaps not surprisingly, really expensive. I still find it pretty funny, but the wider point is that I would not be at all surprised by a trade journal for continuous-duty air samplers and continuous-duty air sampler accessories. Or more likely, a subscription site.
- qq66 11y ago
  Globally, the potato market is MUCH bigger than the Web design market.
  - __jal 11y ago
    In your experience, are web designers big consumers of continuous-duty air samplers and continuous-duty air sampler accessories? If so, the field has changed a lot since I've been involved.
paulajohnson 11y ago
Over here in the UK we have a comedy news quiz called "Have I Got News For You". Each episode features a "guest publication" which is always along the lines of "Air Quality Professional" or "Snail Breeders Monthly". OK, so I made those up, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them.

Animats 11y ago

That device is just a sample collector. It doesn't measure or detect anything. It just deposits particulates on filter paper, to be removed periodically and analyzed elsewhere. It's mostly for long-term cumulative hazards. To be useful for Super Bowl City, someone should be servicing the device every few hours. Has anyone seen people doing that? Homeland Security has deployed bio-warfare detectors at previous Super Bowls.[1] Those have an annoying false-alarm rate. But at least they report immediately if they detect something. [1] http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jul/08/nation/la-na-biowatch-20120708 http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jul/08/nation/la-na-biowatc...

wavefunction 11y ago
Ah, when you put it like that, the NSA bulk collection of records is just a sample collector, and it doesn't measure or detect anything.
- Karunamon 11y ago
  There might be something to this if there was a protocol for delivering secure data over diffuse particulate matter...
  - avn2109 11y ago
    Honestly, is there something stopping you from encoding a signal by modulating the airborne concentration of some particle? Maybe something that doesn't occur commonly - use e.g. helium instead of nitrogen or something like that.
- Animats 11y ago
  If you're being attacked, you'd like to know about it. This thing is more of a forensic device to figure out how you were attacked afterwards.
  - tlrobinson 11y ago
    Or security theater.

jonah 11y ago

...which makes them great for long-term air quality studies but since my prayers have to go around to each device retrieve the filter media and take it back to the lab for analysis, is pretty useless for any acute airborne hazards.

nickodell 11y ago
Maybe the DoHS is trying to go around to various cities and establish a baseline for particulates, so that when there's a suspected attack, they can quickly tell what's normal and what's new.
pbhjpbhj 11y ago
The device seems like it's a lot more than a piece of filter paper and an air intake - surely there's much more going on in there than just particulate collection.

pbhjpbhj 11y ago

The one in the OP has a different collector. Presumably they're sampling for explosives/radioactive matter/ ...? Of course it would be a great way to hide something like license plate cameras, in plain sight, with the assumption that they're air-quality sampling systems. As someone else pointed out, wouldn't these very quickly get stolen? OT: Couldn't help but chuckle at http://www.hi-q.net/products/size-selective-particulate-sampling-inlets/default.html http://www.hi-q.net/products/size-selective-particulate-samp... with the juxtaposition of the ISO9001 quality mark and the forgotten "lorem ipsum" placeholder text ...

BHSPitMonkey 11y ago
License plate cameras aren't new to the bay area: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/09/your-car-tracked-the-rapid-rise-of-license-plate-readers/ http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/09/your-car-tracked-... (and that's to say nothing of the ones being put into patrol cars, or the data collected on the bridges coming into the city)