Detecting an electronic device through tongue and groove?

[jerrytug]

Ok I'm trying to avoid ripping out lots of 1/2" tongue and groove, to find a small concealed electronic device on my barge.
It randomly emits loud bleeping noises, the volume and intensity comes and goes.
It is loud sometimes, and driving us mad.

It is impossible to hear where the bleeping is coming from, just that it is somewhere behing a large area of panelling.

A normal builder's batten detector is no good, it's an old iron hull and there are millions of random battens, fasteners etc behind the panelling.

I'm fairly sure it must be a left-behind fire alarm, gas detector or similar sensor/alarm.

This means it must have electronic currents flowing, and a quite powerful loudspeaker. But it's going to be made of plastic.

Are there any gadgets which could pinpoint it? That could detect the electronics or speaker in the pesky thing without me tearing out loads of t+g?

Preferably available on ebay, not something that Q would issue to James Bond. Although it might be worth it!

A penny for your thoughts chaps this is uncharted territory to me.

( PS the previous owners were swingers, I hope it's not a camera )

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

And going to be DC. Only non contact DC detectors I can see look to be china specials.

Buy a stephiscope and track it down

 

[James1979]

Thinking outside the box a bit. Can you get a dB meter or one on an app for your phone and see where it’s loudest?

i know it varies in volume but if you do it a few times and mark it you’ll get a rough idea?

 

[Shox Dr]

How often does it beep?

 

[James1979]

Once you narrow it down, drill a hole and put a boroscope in?

 

[fizzy]

Depends on what the gadget is. I suspect a smoke alarm or similar.
If so borrow a geiger counter off someone

 

[James1979]

Depends on what the gadget is. I suspect a smoke alarm or similar.
If so borrow a geiger counter off someone

Set fire to the t&g then you’ll know - if the smoke alarm goes off then that’s what it is

 

[zx9]

Do we think it is battery powered? And did it only start beeping when it got cold? Perhaps it is telling you it is time to replace the battery, if so it will stop when the battery is dead.

 

[voipio]

Had the same issue with a dishwasher, beeping because it needed more rinse aid. It was a bu**er to locate the source of the sound. In the end, I timed it to find out how regular the beeps were. Once I knew it was every 20 seconds, it was possible to listen out for it and be alert when it came, knowing when it was coming next. Things to try to narrow down the source include using something sound absorbent, eg a heavy cushion, foam carpet underlay, thick blanket, or just get someone to stand "in the way", to block off parts of the area. A thermal camera can be useful to spot things that are running, though if it's drawing flea power off a battery, it's not going to show up. It might be possible to detect voids, though, by heating the interior, or letting it cool down, and using the camera to spot possible voids. A radio tuned to longwave might pick up any digital hash coming off the device, but again, low powered devices tend not to give off much radio interference. A ground penetrating radar might do the trick if the panels are wood or plastic ;-)

 

[Rayf]

If it is genuinely a digital electronic device (microprocessor or other active digital electronics) you may have some luck tracking it down with a portable radio.
AM and/or FM, the locally generated noise can be quite wide band.

 

[qwakers]

use a microphone with the gain turned right up and move it around see if the speaker on whatever's in there gives feedback?

 

[daedalusminos]

If it's a microcontroller based device you may have luck with an RF spectrum analyser and try to pick up the main clock - potentially running at 8/16 or 32MHz. However, being battery powered this most likely will be much slower and more difficult to detect.

Alternatively, attach three sound transducers (piezo elements as that's what's likely generating the sound) to the T&G and monitor the time delay between each one picking up the chirp....bit of triangulation and you have your location.

 

[fizzy]

use a microphone with the gain turned right up and move it around see if the speaker on whatever's in there gives feedback?

If its a smoke alarm it will be piezo so doesn't work the same.

 

[mdr]

...or maybe a borescope? About £30 for one that attaches to a phone. Drill a small hole in a discreet place, poke it through, and plug afterwards? Example:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Inspection-Depstech-Waterproof-Borescope-Smartphone-Black/dp/B01NBFTAHE/

 

[Seadog]

I had something that was making an annoying beeping in my kitchen. Not regularly enough and of any length of time to allow me to track it down. It was several months before I realized that it was a battery-powered flow meter that I'd fitted to my water filter

 

[brightspark]

Depends on what the gadget is. I suspect a smoke alarm or similar.
If so borrow a geiger counter off someone

i have one its a must have device with all the lies and bull s...it we are fed and led to believe we are safe

 

[WorkshopChris]

Is it regular enough that you could pull fuses untill you fine the circuit powering it then follow the cable direction?

 

[brightspark]

Is it regular enough that you could pull fuses untill you fine the circuit powering it then follow the cable direction?

if u can you can clip a cable tracer on it and follow it along

 

[WorkshopChris]

if u can you can clip a cable tracer on it and follow it along

I was wondering that if its a 12-volt circuit you could use a tone trace tool like used on phone /data lines.

 

[armalites]

Do we think it is battery powered? And did it only start beeping when it got cold? Perhaps it is telling you it is time to replace the battery, if so it will stop when the battery is dead.

Put a new battery in it, should make it easier to find