An overview of GPS and GSM jammers

A GPS/GSM jammer is a device that prevents GPS location sensors and cell phones from working properly. A typical GPS geotagging device works by receiving signals from satellites, located in the orbit of the Earth, about 12500 miles from the surface of our planet. In order to function properly a GPS location sensor needs to connect to at least three satellites and use triangulation to determine its location.

The signals that GPS satellites are sending are radio signals of a certain frequency. There are two frequencies that GPS systems use. The frequency of 1575.42MHz is for public, non-military use and the frequency of 1227.6 MHz is used solely by the US military. GSM is a cellular network. Devices that operate on a GSM network need to be located within the network cells. Devices connect to the network by finding cells closest to them.

In North America GSM networks operate on the bands of 850MHz and 1900MHz. In the United States there are different regulations for different parts of the country when it comes to GSM frequency. In Canada the frequency of 1900MHz is used in the cities and the frequency of 850MHz is used in rural areas. A jammer is a device that sends out a signal of a certain frequency. If a GPS device has a 1575.42MHz signal coming from a satellite and a 1575MHz signal coming from some other device, it can’t function properly and identify its location.

This is how GSM Jammers work:

They send out a signal that “confuses” a GSM device prevents it from working properly.

GPS jammers are mostly sold to people who are being tracked at their jobs and would like to change that. An example may be a truck driver or a delivery driver that wants to make an unscheduled stop. GSM devices are used mostly by police and by organizations that are looking to have silence, from corporations that don’t want their employees to use cellphones at work to movie theaters that want to avoid a possibility of a phone ringing during a movie.

The simplest vehicle GPS jammers have an antenna attached to them and can be plugged into a cigarette lighter outlet. More expensive jammers block multiple frequencies and might have multiple antennae. A lot of handheld jammers block all the signals within a 15 yard range except for low frequencies and 4G broadband, allowing a person in possession of such a jammer to have complete privacy.

Desktop jammers are usually designated for office spaces. Certain models block all mobile users in the radius of up to 130 feet. Some jammers have advanced settings and allow the administrator to block only certain frequencies or block different frequencies at different times.