Development of GSM - 900 Mobile Jammer: an approach to overcome existing limitation of Jammer

Nipun Kumar Mishra

Department of Electronics & Tele Communication Shri Shankaracharya College of Engineering & Technology,Bhilai,India

mishranipun@gmail.com

Abstract - we have seen a dramatically boom in the number

of users of mobile communication devices in the last two decade. This magnified the need of a more efficient and reliable signal scrambler for a cultured society. Mobile Jammer devices are becoming civilian products rather than electronic warfare devices. With increasing number of Mobile users, the need to disable Mobile phones in specific places, where the ringing of Mobile phone would be disruptive, has increased. These places includes Worship places, lectures Rooms, Hospitals, Concert halls, meeting room, jails and other places where the silence is appreciated. Mobile Jammer can be very effective in Confidential meeting Hall where important information can be leaked from room to outside without knowing to any other person. Jammer can be very effective in jails to break the communication between the prisoners. This paper discusses the design and development of GSM Mobile jammer and aims to present a solution for the problems of complexity and cost, related to jammer designs. Paper also discusses the performances of jammer for various types of signal. Keywords: GSM, Radio Frequency, Antenna, RF Generator, RF Amplifier.

also increases cost and complexity. In this paper I proposed Max2235 as a RF Amplifier which provides approximately same rang at the low cost and at less complexity. II. JAMMER/DISABLER DEVICES Five types of devices are known to have been developed (or being considered for development) for preventing mobile phones communications in certain specified locations: [4] TypeADevices: jammers. It contains several independent oscillators transmitting jamming signals that block frequencies used by mobile communication devices for call establishment. Type B Devices: intelligent cellular disablers. The device normally works as a detector. When it detects signaling from the Base station to the mobile station, it signals the base station not to establish communication. This process of detection and interruption of call establishment is done during the interval normally reserved for Signaling and handshaking. TypeCDevices: intelligent beacon disablers. These devices act as beacons, i.e. they instruct any mobile device within their area of coverage to disable its ringer or disable its operation. The problem is that these types of devices require intelligent handsets. Type D Devices: Direct Receive and Transmit Jammers. They behave as a small independent base station. The jammer is predominantly in receiving mode and will intelligently choose to interact and block the cell phone directly if it is within close proximity of the jammer. Type E Devices: EMI Shield Passive Jamming. This technique uses Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) suppression techniques to construct what is called a Faraday cage. The Faraday cage essentially blocks, or greatly attenuates, virtually all electromagnetic radiation from entering or leaving the cage. III. EXPERIMENTAL DETAIL, METHODS & MATERIALS Type A jammer is basically a transmitter which continuously transmits the signal of frequency range used by mobile/pcs system, but this type of jammer has drawback of continuous consumption of output power and continuous transmission of EMF signal in all directions without knowing that base station and mobile are trying to communicate with each other or not. It also creats unwanted interference with other type of communication. The effects of jamming depend on the jamming to signal ratio (J/S), modulation scheme, channel coding and interleaving of the target system. Generally Jamming to Signal ratio can be measured according to the following Equation. [5] J/S = (PjGjrGrjRtrLrBr) ( PtGtrGrtRjrLjBj) where: Pj = jammer power Pt = transmitter power Gjr = antenna gain from jammer to receiver Grj = antenna gain from receiver to Jammer Gtr = antenna gain from transmitter to receiver

I.

INTRODUCTION

Mobile Jammer is a device which disturbs the communication between the Mobile base station and Mobile equipment by transmitting the noise signal at the frequency, on which both are trying to communicate with each other. In all over the world there are many services which provide Mobile Communication like GSM, PCS, CDMA, EDGE etc. These Services operates at different frequency band and uses different Modulation techniques. GSM operate at 900 MHz and 1800 MHz in India and at 1900MHz in America. GSM 900 has 25MHz bandwidth for uplink and 25MHz bandwidth for downlink. For jamming of GSM 900 Mobile we need generation of RF signal of these frequencies with sufficient power. Every Jamming Device outputs a Jamming Signal on one or more frequencies at a particular power. The Output Power of the Jammer can typically be stated in Watts or in some cases dBm. The Output Power correlates generally to the Coverage Area that the Jammer will provide an effective blocking. As with other radio jammer, cell phone jammers block cell phone use by sending out radio waves along the same frequencies that cellular phones use. This causes enough interference with the communication between cell phones and towers to render the phones unusable. On most retail phones, the network would simply appear out of range. Most cell phones use different bands to send and receive communications from towers. Jammers can work by either disrupting phone to tower frequencies or tower to phone frequencies. The radius of cell phone jammers can range from a dozen feet for pocket models to kilometers for more dedicated units. When I started my work on jammer, my aim was to design a jammer of low cost and effective jamming range. During search, I found lot of work has already been done [1], [2], [3]. Design of both of jammers uses 2 RF amplifiers for power amplification. Use of 2 RF amplifiers increases the jamming range but it

978-1-4244-5875-2/09/$26.00 2009 IEEE

Grt = antenna gain from receiver to transmitter Br = communications receiver bandwidth Bj = jamming transmitter bandwidth Rtr = range between communications transmitter and receiver Rjt = range between jammer and communications receiver Lj = jammer signal loss (including polarization mismatch) Lr = communication signal loss The GSM Air interface uses two different multiplexing schemes: TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) and FDMA (Frequency Division Multiple Access). The spectrum is divided into 200 kHz channels (FDMA) and each channel is divided into 8 timeslots (TDMA). Each 8 timeslot TDMA frame has duration of 4.6 ms (577 s/timeslot). [6], [7], [8]. Type A jammer consists of IF Section, RF Section, Antenna and Power supply. IF Section generate the intermediate frequency signals, frequency range of Intermediate signal of hundreds of Kilohertz. With the help of IF Section, RF Section generates the RF Signal. The frequency range of RF Signal is the range of GSM Signal range. For transmitting the RF Signal we need Antenna. Antenna covers both uplink and downlink frequency range. IF Section consists of Triangular wave generator, RF Section consists of RF generator, RF power amplifier and Antenna.
Power Supply IF Section RF Section

Connection. It requires Bypass with a 220pF capacitor to GND for best high- frequency performance. Pin no.6 is Bias and Oscillator DC Supply Voltage Connection. It requires Bypass with a 220pF capacitor to GND for low noise and low spurious content performance from the oscillator. Pin No.7 is buffered Oscillator Output; output from this pin goes to RF amplifier for further amplification. Max2235 is a low voltage, silicon RF Power amplifier designed for used in the 900MHz frequency band. It operates directly from a single +2.7 to +5.5V supply. RF Power amplifier delivers +30dBm typical output power from a +3.6V supply or +28dBm from a +2.7 V supply. It can operate efficiently from -400C to +850C. Relation between output power and input power is shown in figure. We can see that even for -20dBm input power this RF amplifier provides +7dBm output power at 5V supply. [10]

Antenna

Fig-1 Type A Mobile Jammer

Figure 2 Max2623 tuning characteristic

For generation of RF Signal I used Max2623 which is Voltage Controlled Oscillator capable of generation of 885960MHz signal [9]. Input of this VCO is 0-4.8 V Triangular wave signal. Frequency of triangular wave signal is 142 KHz. Generation of RF Signal of Mobile communication range does not give guarantee of disrupting the communication between the two parties; it needs more or equal jammer power at the mobile equipment, so we need amplification of RF Signal. I used Max2235 as RF Power Amplifier. Max2235 is a low voltage, silicon RF power amplifier designed for use in the 900MHz frequency band. It is capable to provide +32.5dBm output power. For transmitting the generated RF Signal I used /4 wave monopole GSM SMA Antenna, which can operate up to 2.4GHz. Max2623 is a Monolithic Voltage controlled Oscillator 8 pin IC. Pin no.2 is Oscillator Frequency Tuning Voltage Input, the output of IF section is applied at this pin. Pin no.3 has Ground Connection for Oscillator and Biasing; it requires a low-inductance connection to the circuit board ground plane. Pin no.4 is Shutdown Logic Input. A highimpedance input logic level low disables the device and reduces supply current to 0.1A. A logic level high enables the device. Pin no. 5 is Output Buffer DC Supply Voltage

Figure 3 out put power vs in put power

(Sources: maximic.com)

We have to cover whole range of GSM range means from 890 MHz to 960 MHz for transmission I selected /4 wave monopole antenna. This antenna can operate up to 2.4GHz VSWR of this antenna is less than 1.9 at the centre and impedance of 50 . The radiation pattern of antenna is Omni directional [11], [12], [13].

IV. OBSERVATIONS & RESULTS Figure 4 is showing output spectrum of Voltage Controlled Oscillator when I have given tune signal from designed triangular wave generator.VCO output spectrum ranges from 907MHz to 1107MHz.The output power of this signal is -3dBm. Output waveform of this generator is like a saw tooth waveform. Amplitude and frequency of waveform are 4.8V and 142 KHz respectively. Figure 5 is showing the output of RF Power amplifier on Spectrum Analyzer when marker is on 935MHz This is the output when I have applied triangular signal as tune signal, Output power is +27dBm for 935MHz to 960MHz.This signal is capable of jamming any GSM-900 mobile within average radius of 8m. It is capable to jam BSNL, IDEA and Smart phone in its effective area but it can not jam Airtel mobile because Airtel is operating on 1800MHz GSM band in Chhattisgarh.

so maximum output frequency will increase for increasing the amplitude. For covering the GSM downlink range we need 4.8 V at 142 KHz frequency.Output power of RF amplifier for 3.7 V is higher than the 4.8 V but the output signal frequency does not come in the range of GSM downlink range (935-960MHz).So for jamming GSM we need amplitude of 4.8 V of tune signal.
Table-2 Observation table of RF Amplifier for Triangular wave input with variable tune frequency Sr. No. 1 2 3 Amplitude Of tune signal ( V) 0-4.8 0-4.8 0-4.8 Operating frequency (KHz) 142 300 404 Minimum frequency (MHz) 704 704 704 Maximum frequency (MHz) 972 954 940 Output power (dBm) 27 28 29

We can observe by this table that if we increase the operating frequency of tune signal then the maximum output frequency reduces. For 0-4.8 V amplitude and 142 KHz signal output signal spectrum lie in the range of GSM with sufficient power. If we increase the frequency beyond this range, then the maximum output frequency will not come in GSM range and jamming will not occur. It means increasing operating frequency of tune signal will decreases the maximum output frequency of RF Generator. Minimum output frequency is constant at 704 MHz for all tune input frequencies.
Figure 4 Output of Voltage Controlled Oscillator Table-3 Observation table of VCO for Square wave input with variable Amplitude Sr. No. Amplitude of tune signal ( V) 0-3.7 0-4.1 0-4.7 Operating frequency (KHz) 186 186 186 Minimum frequency (MHz) 704 704 704 Maximum frequency (MHz) 937 948 973 Output Power (dBm) 28 27 26

1 2 3

Figure 5 Output of RF Power Amplifier Table-1 Observation table of RF Amplifier for Triangular wave input with variable amplitude
(Signals are taken from function Generator)

We can observe from the table that for jamming the GSM signal through the square wave tune signal we need minimum amplitude of square wave around 4.5 V other wise tune signal is not capable to generate GSM signal and jamming will not occur, when the amplitude is 3.7 V it is generating a signal whose spectrum lies between 704937MHz.whcih not cover GSM downlink range.
Table-4 Observation table of VCO for Sinusoidal wave input with variable tune frequency Sr. No. 1 2 3 Amplitude ( Vpk) 4.8 4.8 4.8 Operating frequency (KHz) 142 323 406 Minimum frequency (MHz) 704 704 704 Maximum frequency (MHz) 972 954 948 Output Power (dBm) 27 29 29

Sr. No. 1 2 3

Amplitude Of tune signal ( V) 0-2.8 0-3.7 0-4.8

Operating frequency (KHz) 142 142 142

Minimum frequency (MHz) 704 704 704

Maximum frequency (MHz) 907 925 972

Output power (dBm) 29 28 27

We can observe the effect of amplitude of tune signal on maximum output frequency, since Max2623 is VCO whose oscillation frequency depends on amplitude of input signal,

For sinusoidal tune input if we decreases amplitude of tune signal then the bandwidth decreases means maximum

frequency reduces so output signal range does not cover GSM downlink range so jamming will not occur for lower amplitude. If we increase the operating frequency of tune signal then also maximum output frequency decreases.
Table-5 Comparison of RF Amplifier output

Tune signal Triangular Square Sinusoidal

Amplitude Of tune signal( V) 4.8 4.8 4.8

Operating frequency (KHz) 142 142 142

Minimum frequency (MHz) 704 704 704

Maximum frequency (MHz) 972 973 972

Output power (dBm) 27 26 27

When GSM Signal has low power it completely jams mobile but when GSM Signal is coming with high power then jamming range reduces. The entire three Triangular, Square and Sinusoidal signals are capable to jam GSM-900 mobile in its effective area. VI. CONCLUSIONS Mobile jammer has both advantage and disadvantage, its work can be considered as a good or bad, it depends on which type of signals are to be intended to be jam. If it is used to jam the prisoners mobile in jails or it is used in religious places then it is good but if mobile jammer are used to disrupt the privacy of people then it can not be considered as good job so jammer characteristic depends on its users mind and thinking.
[1] [2]

For 4.8 V and 142 KHz frequency the bandwidth of VCO is more or less same for sinusoidal, triangular and square wave. Strength of output signal is also approximately same for all three tune input. The entire three signals are capable to jam GSM-900 mobile in its effective area. V. DISCUSSION In this paper a GSM-900 Mobile Jammer was implemented. The jammer was tested against the GSM-900 band and has proven success with average range of 8 meter. When the tune signal of frequency of 142 KHz is applied at the pin no. 2 of Max2623, then the signal which repeatedly moves from 935 to 960MHz is observed at the pin no. of 7 of Max2623 on Spectrum analyzer. Power of output signal is observed +27dBm.Output of IF Section is observed on CRO and it is seen that the output is triangular wave. Amplitude of triangular wave is 0-4.8V and frequency of signal is 142 KHz. Implemented Jammer disturbs the communication between base station and Mobile. Some time it jams the Mobile and some time it weakens the network strength only. This is happening because we have no control on the power of incoming signal.

[3]

[4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]

REFERENCES Ahmad Hijazi, GSM-900 Mobile Jammer Vijay S Kamble,Mrs, Archna Wasule,Dilip S Kale, Mrs. Neema Shikha, Antenna for mobile phone jammer, First international on Emerging Trends in Engineering & Technology, ICETET 08, 16-18 July 2008 Pp 856-859. Daniel S. V. Araujo,Jose C.A. Santos,Mauricio H.C. Cias, A dual band steerable Cell Phone jammer, Microwave and Optoelectronic conference 2007 IMOC - 2007,SBMO/IEEE MTT-S, Oct29-Nov 2007 pp 611-615. Mobile & Personal Communications Committee of the Radio Advisor Board of Canada, Use of jammer and disabler Devices for blocking PCS, www.rabc. ottawa. on.ca Braun,T.;carle,G.; Koucheryavy,Y.; T saoussids, V.; Wired/ WirelessInternetCommunication,ThirdInternational Conference, WWIC 2005,Xanthi, Greece. http://tcil-india.com/new/White%20 Papers.htm Theodore S Rappport, Wireless Communication , Second edition, Pearson Education http://pt.com/page/tutorials/gsm-tutorial http://datasheets.maxim-ic.com/en/ds/ MAX2361-2365.pdf http://datasheets.maxim-ic.com/en/ds/MAX2235.pdf http://www.antennafactor.com/documents/ ANT-916-PW- t.pdf K.D. Prasad, Antenna & Wave Propagation, Satya Prakashan, http://www.electronics-manufacturers.com/products/rf-microwaveomponents/antenna.