A Bug Worthy of James Bond? : Now a tiny device can pinpoint the radio waves swimming around you.

Radio frequency signals, like Joan Rivers, don’t know when to go away. They’re in the air everywhere, emitted by cellular phones, TV remote controls, microwave ovens and garage-door openers.

Anything with a transmitter--and, for all you amateur sleuths, that includes surveillance cameras and hidden microphones--sends out radio waves into the atmosphere.

A tiny $16 device called RF Bug, imported by NCG Co. of Anaheim, sniffs out strong radio frequency signals. The RF Bug, not much bigger than a gum ball, has six light-emitting diodes and a tiny antenna that detect nearby radio waves. The lights flash brightly when placed near an active RF field.

And some people’s joints ache when it’s about to rain. What good does it do?

Well, think of the possibilities. Start with cellular phones. Let’s say all those cell-phone owners who receive calls in restaurants, theaters, checkout lines and libraries actually care that their ringing phone bothers other people. They could disable the ringer and, assuming there’s no vibrating-phone option, attach the RF Bug to the phone. Because an incoming call increases the amount of RF, it activates the Bug.

Many people think cell phones damage the brain, yet continue to use them. This formula, fortunately, is simple to remember: Light equals phone call.

Half the fun of the RF Bug is finding a new way to use it. About 250,000 of these things have been sold in Japan. To cell-phone owners or the-spy-that-bugged-me types? That’s the real mystery.

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Information: https://www.rfbug.com; (800) 962-2611.