A Stingray closely resembles a portable cellphone tower. Typically, law enforcement officials place the Stingray in their vehicle with a compatible computer software. The Stingray acts as a cellular tower to send out signals to get the specific device to connect to it. Cell phones are programmed to connect with the cellular tower offering the best signal. When the phone and Stingray connect, the computer system determines the strength of the signal and thus the distance to the device. Then, the vehicle moves to another location and sends out signals until it connects with the phone. When the signal strength is determined from enough locations, the computer system centralizes the phone and is able to find it.
Stingray 2014 Portable
Cell phones are programmed to constantly search for the strongest signal emitted from cell phone towers in the area. Over the course of the day, most cell phones connect and reconnect to multiple towers in an attempt to connect to the strongest, fastest, or closest signal. Because of the way they are designed, the signals that the Stingray emits are far stronger than those coming from surrounding towers. For this reason, all cell phones in the vicinity connect to the Stingray regardless of the cell phone owner's knowledge. From there, the stingray is capable of locating the device, interfering with the device, and collecting personal data from the device.[26][27]
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) confirmed that local police have cell site simulators in Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Alaska, Missouri, New Mexico, Georgia, and Massachusetts. State police have cell site simulators in Oklahoma, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. Local and state police have cell site simulators in California, Texas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, Florida, Maryland, and New York.[4] The police use of cell site simulators is unknown in the remaining states. However, many agencies do not disclose their use of StingRay technology, so these statistics are still potentially an under-representation of the actual number of agencies. According to the most recent information published by the American Civil Liberties Union, 72 law enforcement agencies in 24 states own StingRay technology in 2017. Since 2014, these numbers have increased from 42 agencies in 17 states. The following are federal agencies in the United States that have validated their use of cell-site simulators: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, US Secret Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, US Marshals Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, US Army, US Navy, US Marine Corps, US National Guard, US Special Command, and National Security Agency.[4] In the 2010-14 fiscal years, the Department of Justice has confirmed spending "more than $71 million on cell-site simulation technology," while the Department of Homeland Security confirmed spending "more than $24 million on cell-site simulation technology."[44]
The increasing use of the devices has largely been kept secret from the court system and the public.[56] In 2014, police in Florida revealed they had used such devices at least 200 additional times since 2010 without disclosing it to the courts or obtaining a warrant.[2] One of the reasons the Tallahassee police provided for not pursuing court approval is that such efforts would allegedly violate the non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) that police sign with the manufacturer.[57] The American Civil Liberties Union has filed multiple requests for the public records of Florida law enforcement agencies about their use of the cell phone tracking devices.[58]
Local law enforcement and the federal government have resisted judicial requests for information about the use of stingrays, refusing to turn over information or heavily censoring it.[59][60] In June 2014, the American Civil Liberties Union published information from court regarding the extensive use of these devices by local Florida police.[61] After this publication, United States Marshals Service then seized the local police's surveillance records in a bid to keep them from coming out in court.[62]
The map below tracks what we know, based on press reports and publicly available documents, about the use of stingray tracking devices by state and local police departments. Following the map is a list of the federal agencies known to have the technology. The ACLU has identified 75 agencies in 27 states and the District of Columbia that own stingrays, but because many agencies continue to shroud their purchase and use of stingrays in secrecy, this map dramatically underrepresents the actual use of stingrays by law enforcement agencies nationwide.
The other controversy with stingrays involves secrecy and lack of transparency around their use. Law enforcement agencies and the companies that make the devices have prevented the public from obtaining information about their capabilities and from learning how often the technology is deployed in investigations. Agencies sign nondisclosure agreements with the companies, which they use as a shield whenever journalists or others file public records requests to obtain information about the technology. Law enforcement agencies claim criminals could craft anti-surveillance methods to undermine the technology if they knew how it worked. The companies themselves cite trade secrets and proprietary information to prevent the public from obtaining sales literature and manuals about the technology.
The problem, however, is that Justice Department policy is not law. And although the policy includes state and local law enforcement agencies when they are working on a case with federal agents and want to use the devices, it does not cover those agencies when they are working on cases alone. To address this loophole, lawmakers would need to pass a federal law banning the use of stingrays without a warrant, but efforts to do so have so far been unsuccessful.
Calling the Stingray's JL9 brake system 'base' doesn't feel quite accurate. These 2014-2019 Corvette C7 brakes will out-perform just about any car's high-performance brake option. But Chevrolet offered so many brake upgrade paths for the C7 Corvette, 'base' is what JL9 gets called. And, when it's time to replace your C7's front brake pads, you can improve upon stock Stingray pads without upgrading to an expensive big brake kit. You also don't have to put up with increased rotor wear, brake dust or brake noise. That's where Hawk HPS brake pads come in.
Ensure your Volt is always charged and ready to go with this handy Portable 120 volt Battery Charger Cable from Chevrolet. This Genuine Chevrolet Accessories Battery Charger Cable is a must-have solution when on the go. Simply utilize a convenient 120 volt outlet when you arrive at your destination. Designed specifically for your Volt, this portable EV Charging unit extends approximately 25 feet. Good maintenance practices include: Keep away from moisture and extreme temperatures; regularly inspect cords and connections for wear; and keep out of direct sunlight as much as possible.
The scheming started in mid-January, just before the official reveal of the seventh-generation 2014 Chevy Corvette Stingray at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show. We'd seen illustrations of what the new Corvette could look like; we even knew what its new direct-injection small-block was bringing to the table. We knew we wanted one for our long-term test fleet.
What We Bought Throughout its history, the Chevy Corvette has been a performance bargain, and that formula doesn't change for the 2014 C7 Stingray. For only $51,000 (plus $995 for destination/delivery), you get a sports car with an aluminum frame, a carbon-fiber hood and an all-new 455-horsepower 6.2-liter small-block V8 that twists out 460 pound-feet of torque. A seven-speed manual transmission is standard, as are a limited-slip differential, an 8-inch color touchscreen with Chevy MyLink, Bluetooth phone and audio, removable carbon-fiber roof panel, keyless entry/start and more.
Like all Corvettes, our Lime Rock Green 2014 Corvette Stingray began its life at the Bowling Green, Kentucky, factory, and that's where our Long-Term Road Test begins, too. Two of our guys picked it up last week and trekked 2,000 miles back to L.A. For the full rundown on the Corvette's first road trip and continuous updates over the next 12 months, follow our Long-Term Road Test page. Love the Corvette or hate it, this year's going to be good.
UPDATE: We have our 2014 Chevy Corvette Stingray in our possession now. If you missed the live webcast, here is a shot of Dan Frio behind the wheel with Kurt Niebuhr holding the camera.
When it comes to straws, we drew the long ones. While our colleagues Ron and Phil did the actual hard work of ordering up our 2014 Corvette Stingray long-termer from a local dealer, Photo Editor Kurt Niebuhr and I got the cake assignment to go fetch the car. The purchase price included the $990 dealer option for Museum Delivery, which would send our car from the plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky, to the main lobby of the National Corvette Museum on the other side of the highway. From there, you pick it up and drive it away.
For one thing, I'm on camera. There's a live view of me standing around behind our new 2014 Corvette. I'm getting requests to wave and smile. Oh, and tweet for us, Kurt. I feel like I'm on display as much as the Corvettes. The second thing that's making me uncomfortable is the Corvette itself. It's pristine. Like, perfect. I get uncomfortable around perfect.
Dan's got music studios on the brain as we meander down through Tennessee into Alabama. And just as quickly as we're on the interstate, we're off of it. We're not driving through towns as we are through groupings of small buildings. The lack of pace here is palpable and the 2014 Corvette Stingray just seems so unnecessary.
Coffee at a nearby motel clears us up, but this motel is a little different. It's clean, modern and well appointed. There's no mistaking it for a classic Route 66 job, but it's attractive. Instead of wallowing in nostalgia, it's cleaned up and made something for itself. Naturally Dan and I look, again, at our 2014 Corvette. 2ff7e9595c
Comments