
Russian Espionage and Electromagnetic Fields: The Story of the Theremin (2017) - lelf
https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2017/10/theremin-instrumental-instruments
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bobbiechen
For anyone looking to try out the theremin, OpenTheremin [1] is a really cool
project that puts a theremin into an Arduino shield. I bought one to mess
around with (there's also schematics if you want to build it yourself), and
yup - can confirm, it's anything but easy.

[1]
[http://www.gaudi.ch/OpenTheremin/index.php/opentheremin-v3](http://www.gaudi.ch/OpenTheremin/index.php/opentheremin-v3)

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reality_inspctr
It’s important to add that Moog had a deeply psycho-spiritual view connected
to the theremin; basically that it was manifesting creativity from the
universe the way a flower manifests beauty from the sun.

(If people are interested I can try to find source links, but I’m the former
Co Chair of the Bob Moog Foundation.

~~~
afandian
Maybe you can help me out. I went to an event in 2003 or 2004 or thereabouts
in London. I'm sure it was called MoogFest. It was due to be held at Turnkey,
the legendary music tech shop, but a power cut forced a last-minute move to a
bar in soho.

Bob Moog was there. It may have been a birthday celebration. He signed
t-shirts. I bought one, but but being young and foolish I preferred the silver
print on black, so didn't get it signed. I did shake his hand and mispronounce
his name to his face though.

But I've looked a couple of times over the years and I can find no mention of
that London event online, anywhere. Other MoogFests are documented, but not
that one. I know I didn't dream it because I still have the t-shirt...

What event did I go to?

(edit - here's a mention but it's not very descriptive
[https://www.radioscienceorchestra.com/bob-
moog](https://www.radioscienceorchestra.com/bob-moog) )

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reality_inspctr
In public comment I can just say it has had many owners. The version you
describe was before my time but it sounds likely. You might be mixing the
names up, though. I believe something like the London Synthesizer Club or a
vaguely similar name did events like you’re describing. Look for info about
Herb Deustch that might help. The current version is amazing and my favorite.

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4cao
There's also the matryomin: a single-antenna theremin inserted into a
matryoshka doll.

The Guinness world record for the largest theremin concert was set by a
matryomin ensemble:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnlsfeRNw1I](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnlsfeRNw1I)

~~~
52-6F-62
Okay that was fascinating. Thank you.

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presiozo
All jokes aside, the Theremin is actually quite a remarkable instrument when
played correctly. Also remarkable is his listening device, "The Thing", hung
for seven years in plain view in the US Ambassador's Moscow office and Soviet
agents eavesdropped on secret conversations. Used the same principles as RFID.

~~~
js2
Here's an artist playing one on Tiny Desk Concert:

[https://www.npr.org/2019/01/10/683943414/carolina-eyck-
and-c...](https://www.npr.org/2019/01/10/683943414/carolina-eyck-and-clarice-
jensen-tiny-desk-concert)

~~~
SeanLuke
Yep, Carolina Eyck is the best of the best.

Here's the notorious video of her performing the Ecstasy of Gold with voice,
theremin, and a looper pedal (that's how she load in multiple sounds and
layers them).

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajM4vYCZMZk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajM4vYCZMZk)

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anarbadalov
This is terrific, thanks for posting. Readers will appreciate Sean Michaels
moving novel "Us Conductors," ([https://www.amazon.com/Us-Conductors-Novel-
Sean-Michaels/dp/...](https://www.amazon.com/Us-Conductors-Novel-Sean-
Michaels/dp/1935639811)), which is loosely based on Leon Theremin's life. I've
never read anything quite like it — part biography, part thriller, part love
story, part music history. (Michaels is quoted in the piece, actually.)

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fit2rule
Even a cursory glance at the NSA ANT Catalog is enough to give one the
impression, there's a whole other battlefield out there.

Every now and then, almost yearly now, the conspiracy theory scene pings one
of my favourite theories: the Russkies have the electromagnetic spectrum well
and truly under their grasp, and can disable any other military simply by
flicking the off switch. They've discovered some way to do this, and it works
every time.

Its a far-fetched and bizarre concept, and surely there are detractors and
supporters of the theory - but for the sake of a thought experiment, imagine
it _were_ the case.

Would you use this capability, much?

Or, would you use it sparingly, in such a way as to avoid detection - say,
introducing the odd power-cycle glitch here, maybe a spike there - just enough
to keep your target occupied, but not enough that they'd wise up to so much
sabotage.

I mean, you wouldn't just fly over a US destroyer/carrier fleet, and
demonstrate it, overtly, naturally...

Would it instead be better for people to believe such capabilities are
impossible - and if this is the case, how do we prevent a hundred years of
Tesla's and Theremins' from stumbling onto the technique again, hmm...

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heavenlyblue

      - Imagine if penguins actually had an ability to create portals to other side of the universe? It actually makes sense that they don’t show us that capability because we would quickly try to steal it from them...
    
      - Imagine if Chinese have actually invented coronavirus? It would actually make sense to start it in their own country so that nobody would realise it was their invention.
      
      - Jet fuel doesn’t melt steel beams

~~~
fit2rule
Imagine if we could put a metal object in the sky that would allow us to talk
to anyone in the world instantly?

Imagine if we could take someones blood, clean it, and put it back ..

Imagine if we could gain access to the NSA's extensive documents and discover
what they're really doing with that tax-payer money ..

I mean, Imagine ..

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polytely
First learned about "The Thing" from the excellent book _Spycraft: the secret
history of the CIA 's spytechs, from communism to Al-Qaeda_ by Robert Wallace
and H. Keith Morgan.

The Thing was operating more than half a decade before it was detected, during
which it listened in on 4 US ambassadors. And when they first found it they
couldn't really figure out how it worked because it didn't have any
electronics in it. Eventually Peter Wright at MI5 managed to reverse engineer
its workings:

"To operate the device, the NKVD aimed a continuous 800MHz radio signal at the
seal from a listening post in the building across from Spaso House [the
embassy]. The Thing's thin diaphragm at the top [...] vibrated with the sound
of a voice. Those vibrations created modulations in the reflected radio signal
that bounced back to the listening post. The Thing did not require power in
the same way a mirror does not require power to reflect light. The radio
transmitter and receiver code-named LOSS (or REINDEER by the Russian techs),
were a marvel of signal processing considering the technology available at the
time." chapter 12 p. 164

It's so cool to me that there is probably amazing tech out there right now,
being used for all kinds of espionage operations which we will only find out
about in 30 years or so.

[0]:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thing_%28listening_device%...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thing_%28listening_device%29)

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madengr
Yeah that book is pretty amazing. I don't see how he got it cleared for
publication, but he did.

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zoomablemind
> “It’s simply the electromagnetic fields in your own body, what we refer to
> as capacitance, affecting the circuitry through the electromagnetic field
> surrounding some device,” says Albert Glinsky, ...

This 'explanation' makes the instrument appear even more magical. It's less
mysterious to describe it in terms of a resonant LC oscillator, where C
(capacitor) value, i.e. its capacitance, is affected by the presence of hands
or other conductors between the theremin plates/antennas. A sidenote, in
common implementations the C change is later translated into L value, i.e
inductance, change. More details [0]

Speaking of the mentioned clever espionage device. In modern days the similar
principle is applied but using lasers and room's windows for vibrating
surface. However, the thicker glass used in contemporary thermal packs may
dampen the acoustic vibrations; still, by itself it's an acoustic resonator
and the question is how sophisticated is the receiver.

[0] [https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/11573/how-
do...](https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/11573/how-does-a-
theremin-antenna-work)

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schemathings
Minor nit: "After his successful tour of Russia, in the late 1920s Lenin sent
Theremin to Western Europe, where the legend of his mysterious instrument
quickly grew."

Lenin died in 1924.

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waste_monk
Which only makes it more impressive.

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andi999
So what does the FCC say about it?

