Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Staying off the Radar

thebean - 8-11-2013 at 09:13

I hope this is the right place for this. I am a US citizen who runs a small lab in my home. What should I avoid purchasing/doing to keep the cops out of my hair? I'd really hate to have my hard work destroyed because cops think I'm a cook or a terrorist. I know a variety of precursors for synthetic drugs and don't have any of those other than iodine which I isolated from tincture.

[Edited on 8-11-2013 by thebean]

bfesser - 8-11-2013 at 09:20

Try reading the other topics in this forum for a start.

[Edited on 8.11.13 by bfesser]

chemrox - 8-11-2013 at 11:31

I think if you have any hobby that is out of the ordinary or for that matter if you're a patriotic American, you should watch the you tubes on how to not admit police to your home, not answer their questions or cooperate in any way with investigations where you could be the target. Learn how to say, "Do you have a warrant?" and "I don't want to answer questions and "I want a lawyer.." This is just basic advice about everyone's rights. Also learn about jury nullification in case you're called.

Now, getting off the 18 hands horse, what do you want to do? If you want to play around with inorganics (within reason) there should be no issues at all. If you keep your organic apparatus in the 50-200 ml range there's not all that much to get excited about. If you go online and order 50,000 sudafed tablets there could be some unwanted scrutiny.

Cou - 28-11-2013 at 17:27

Never ever use the internet again.

prof_genius - 30-11-2013 at 10:19

Some tips are:
Only tell the people who need to know (family) about your lab.
Don't mention it to the neighbours (they commonly call the police).
If you record youtube videos of chemistry don't disclose your location.
Don't order out of the ordinary things (large quantities of iodine, etc.) through the mail, If possible pick the items up yourself so there won't be records of the package.

Hope this helps.

Cou - 1-12-2013 at 13:54

The problem is that if you have ever looked at wikipedia articles about chemicals, or even been on this forum, you are on the NSA watch list

cyanureeves - 1-12-2013 at 14:32

thebean discretion is best because c'mon we all know some people have a snitch nature or a knack to look for the worst in others. i started my lab(shed) for homemade plating solutions and for about 4yrs now i have almost every chemical needed to manufacture meth.we have all read stories of how meth heads were seen airborne in flames, trailer and all. explosives and meth go together i guess but i have yet to make either.do you think anybody will believe that i have been making plating solutions?i have a young teenage neighbor that shows her legs a bit everytime she sees me go in and out of my shed.i highly doubt she likes 53yr. old men or is interested in having some quarters plated gold or belt buckles turned silver.be glad you have your lab and relish your secrecy and of course share all your findings with us.you will eventually use chemicals that others use for drugs or explosives but will you limit your chemicals to just vinegar and baking soda?

[Edited on 12-1-2013 by cyanureeves]

IrC - 1-12-2013 at 22:34

Quote: Originally posted by Cou  
The problem is that if you have ever looked at wikipedia articles about chemicals, or even been on this forum, you are on the NSA watch list


Don't wish to burst your bubble but no matter what country your from, no matter what you do online, if you exist your on an NSA watch list. Myself I stay off the radar by wearing a tinfoil hat coated with ferrites and carbon nanotubes. Also I sanded down all my rough edges per the info I studied in Pyotr Ufimsky's 'method of edge wave diffraction'.

If this fails to make me completely radar invisible I do have a DVD copy of "The Philadelphia Experiment". I watch it at least once a year whether I feel paranoid or not.

Edit to add: it's been more than 2 years actually, I am going to dig it out and play it right now! While I read Pyotr's book that is.


[Edited on 12-2-2013 by IrC]

Fantasma4500 - 1-12-2013 at 23:25

wonder what country would be the best to stay off the radar.. would probably end up being a deep hole in madagaskar or some.. lol
cant have our 'entities' aka workpower to stop working, consuming and obeying can we

ElectroWin - 2-12-2013 at 12:48

none of the above advice makes any sense to me.

in some jurisdictions there is a charge simply for operating a clandestine laboratory. in other words, if your neighbours are kept in the dark about what youre up to, then youre sunk already.

authorities would like to use your cagey behaviour as evidence of criminal intent. if you dont at least make appearances of co-operating, then they'll throw the book at you.

but if youre not violating any zoning laws, and not cooking drugs or explosives, why should anyone bat an eye about your hobby?

Ragnar - 21-12-2013 at 12:59

Silence is best, less people that know the better. However, as others above have already touched on; if you're on the net in any way you've already gotten yourself on a list somewhere.

TheChemiKid - 21-12-2013 at 13:18

You really don't need to worry that much. There are tens of thousands of people on this forum, and not too many have had problems with the authorities. Just keep your head down, don't buy restricted chemicals, and don't blow up your house and you will be OK.

Random - 21-12-2013 at 15:26

Even if you would be on the watch list because of this forum why would you be scared if you aren't breaking the law?? There are many worse "criminals" on the net to watch out for.

I mean since when is chemistry illegal activity? It's a science after all. Physics experiments with high voltage wouldn't be any less dangerous, but after all we all use decently high voltage in our everyday life anyway.