Area 51 Surveillance Mapped?

Does anyone know if any of the surveillance equipment that is known to be at Area 51 has been put onto a map of any sort? Or has anyone done any kind of a database of the equipment and where it is located??

[edit on 7-9-2008 by desertdreamer]

reply to post by desertdreamer


Mapped? Not really, but everyone who visits the area knows where the cameras are located. [Photographs are all over the net.] There are two cameras near the front gate, plus one on a large tower. [N37.344127 W115.656857 for the tower]

The back gate has a a few cameras, plus a large tower mounted camera. Bald Mountain has a moveable camera on the top, and suspected to have some fixed cameras. Also, the southern most border crossing near Bald Mountain has a moveable camera.

There is one camera in the hills along the way to the back gate.

Back gate: N37.594056 W115.898855
Bald Mountain: N 37.449087 W115.733803

To get the information you want, the waypoints would need to be projected since you can't physicallly get near the cameras.

That is good information gariac, thanks. I would have thought someone would have been tracking the security measures on a more extensive basis. I did notice that Chuck Clark had dug up some sensors a while back on public land.

How many sensors do you think are out there on public land? Also, what do you think about those public land sensors? Fair game to be found, photographed, and location logged?

What do you think?

Just a helpful idea.

It wouldn't be too smart to map a secure area of any government. Posting of the equipment is even a worse idea as then the proof is there for just about any charge that could be filed against you.

Call yourself anything you want, but chances are, you'd be called a terrorist suspect by media if any investigation is made. This is the age we live in.

Just a thought....

reply to post by desertdreamer


When I talked to Chuck about the sensors being on public land, he said that the government does place sensors near petroglyphs, which are on public land. So there is some precedence for sensors being on public land. The same sensors (MIDS or EMIDS) are used near the US/Mexico border according to internet posts.

If you read papers on how to set up these sensors, a common theme is to place them near intersections. To be more specific, you place them on each side of the intersection. By comparing the sequence of sensor triggering, you can not only determine where the vehicle is located, but the direction of travel. So a safe assumption is intersections near the border have multiple sensors. An of course there are probably sensors on their side of the border. The base uses a "numbered barrel" plus two-way radio scheme for contractors and probably the camo dudes to announce that they triggered an alarm and call out the barrel number on the radio. These barrels are on their side of the border.

Regarding making a map of the sensors, I don't see this being illegal or particularly useful. Since all the border crossings are alarmed, assume that if you drive across the border on a dirt road, you will trip an alarm. However, these road sensors really only keep out the honest people. There is probably some radar scheme to detect intruders not using the dirt roads. That is, the radar does exist, though it has not been proven the base uses such gear.

Regarding cameras near the border, the base wants you to see them. They are MOOP.

It is always good to keep in mind that the base "proper" is far inside the border. I would assume very close to the base, there is considerable surveillance hardware. The base will never be infiltrated, though you could probably get close as in the case of Jerry Freeman.

One hard to detect perimeter protection scheme is to bury fiber optic cable. If done properly, when the cable has weight on it, it will "disturb" the cable enough that if a light pulse is sent from one side of the cable, the stressed location will cause the light pulse to be reflected. Given the speed of light in the cable and the time delay, you can determine where along the cable that it has been disturbed. This is a scheme similar to time domain reflectometry, which is used to detect breaks or flaws in fiber optics or coax.

Getting back to the EMIDS or MIDS, they have a tilt sensor. So once Chuck picked one up, it was singing up a storm. Though the base claimed Chuck stole a sensor, I suspect this was something that they made Chuck sign in a plea bargain deal. It would be pretty simple to find a stolen sensor given that the sensor itself is alarmed.

I left out Road Block Canyon in my other post as a sensor location.

reply to post by hinky


The government cannot file charges on you (none that would stick anyway), for posting the positions of surveillance equipment located on public land.

reply to post by gariac


As always gariac, thank you for your reply, they are always very helpful and well put!

I thought Area 51 was made up in the movie Independance day?.........hmmmmmmmmmmm learn something new everyday!

As you probably know, the border has been moved a few times as the base steals more of our land. Often the border markings are not removed. Rather, they just mark the new border and leave the old markings there. This isn't a big deal when encountering the border since you always approach from free territory (our land). But if you are on a hill and peaking at the base, what you see as border markings may not be the actual border. This is especially true with those radar calibration targets (silver balls) that the base uses at corners of the border (usually) and every so often along straight lines of the border. Those silver balls can be seen for miles when the light is right.

I was reading an oral history from the Nye County sheriff:
NTS history

He remarks that protesters made it to Area 20, which is one wicked hike, worse than reaching Area 51.

Originally posted by sparksgordon
I thought Area 51 was made up in the movie Independance day?.........hmmmmmmmmmmm learn something new everyday!

Whoa! lol no offense but have you been locked in a closet for the last 10 years?!
just kidding

Sarcasm rules........hahahahahaha

reply to post by desertdreamer

The government cannot file charges on you (none that would stick anyway), for posting the positions of surveillance equipment located on public land.

If the surveillance equipment is placed by the military wether it be on public or private land, they can in fact place charges against you for posting positions of said surveillance equipment for possibly being a terrorist. The reason they would give is that the survailence equipment was placed for the protection of the citizens. By posting the positions of the surveillance equipment you are possibly reducing said protection, thus commiting a terroistic act.

Check news stories, happens all the time in "public areas". People documenting positions of hidden security cameras placed by local law enforcement on public streets. They make the statements that the people posted the information with the intent to commit treason or terroristic acts.

So, because I know the positions of the surveillance cameras, you feel that the government will place charges against me and accusing me of being a terrorist? That makes no sense. There are all types of surveillance equipment out at Area 51/Nellis, and if they place them on public land and they are found, they can try and make charges stick......but I guarantee you that they will not. Now if I was on Military land, that would be a different story. The public has a right to know WHERE they are, I never said anything about digging them up and HANDLING them. That is what would get you thrown in jail and charges applied!

reply to post by desertdreamer


You might want to check with Chuck Clark on that.

I don't need to......maybe you should do some research and you would see that the charges were dropped. also, the reason that charges were filed in the first place were because it appears that Chuck took one of the sensors, and if you have been reading this thread at all, you will see that I am not talking about removing anything.

reply to post by desertdreamer

public has a right to know WHERE they are,

The reason that they give for any type of monitoring done is for public safty, national security as well as a few others. In this case the public does need to know they are there, but as far as the exact locations, any mapping and pulblicising these would still fall under teroristic activities, and weather they are on public land or privat, those charges will stick. If you want to map these things and publicise them, let me know how it turns out for you.

Originally posted by gariac
He remarks that protesters made it to Area 20, which is one wicked hike, worse than reaching Area 51.

Holy coincidences, Batman!!!

Brodmann area 20, or BA20, is part of the temporal cortex in the human brain. The region encompasses most of the ventral temporal cortex, a region believed to play a part in high-level visual processing and recognition memory.

Area 20

When I get around to it, I will let you know.

[edit on 22-9-2008 by desertdreamer]