A small camera hidden inside a house violates your privacy and should be located so it can be removed. To detect a small camera that is hidden in a wall or ceiling, use a laser detector that reflects light off the camera's lens. The laser detector can be acquired from select hobby shops and security systems service centers. The procedure is straightforward and, unlike the hidden camera, perfectly legal for you to do.
Instructions
1. Open the battery compartment on the side of back of the laser detector -- the exact placement will depend on the make. If a screw must first be loosened, loosen the screw with a Phillips jeweler's screwdriver.
2. Insert the correct type and number of batteries into the battery compartment. Close the lid and, if a screw exists, tighten the screw.
3. Set the selector switch on the laser detector to "Video" or "Camera" -- the exact name depending on the make -- if the detector is also used for locating hidden audio microphones. If the laser detector only detects cameras, ignore this step.
4. Press the power button or slide the selector switch to "On" -- depending on the make -- so that the detector is powered.
5. Stand across from a room or area that you want to search for a hidden camera. Place your eye against the viewfinder on the laser detector.
6. Sweep the laser detector slowly across the room, starting at the left side and ending at the right side. Do this multiple times, raising and lowering the angle of the detector so that different parts of the opposing wall are covered.
7. Aim the detector at the ceiling overhead, sweep the detector from left to right across the ceiling, starting at the left side and ending at the right side.
8. Go into the room or area that is being searched and stand in the middle. Rotate your body to the left and repeat the procedure with the laser detector on the wall that you didn't search before. Turn to face the opposing wall and repeat the procedure with the laser detector. Aim the detector at the ceiling overhead and repeat the procedure that was done with the ceiling before.
9. Stop scanning a wall or ceiling when a pinpoint of light is seen in the viewfinder. Orient the laser detector to face the wall or ceiling where the light was. Walk towards the light until you come to the wall or ceiling where it is located. Turn the laser detector off.
10. Inspect the wall or ceiling at the spot where the light was seen to find the lens of the hidden camera. Gouge the wall with the tip of a Phillips screwdriver to loosen the camera from inside the wall. Pull the camera out; alternately, you can place a piece of duct tape over the lens or press against the lens of the camera with the tip of the Phillips screwdriver until the plastic or glass lens cracks.
Tags: laser detector, wall ceiling, hidden camera, repeat procedure, with Phillips, area that
