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COOKEVILLE, TN |   In 2023, Research Electronics International (REI) will be celebrating 40 years in business designing and manufacturing electronic security equipment.

So much technology has changed since 1983 when Bruce Barsumian, a young, self-taught inventor launched REI. Ronald Reagan was in his first term as U.S. President. Macintosh and Dell computers didn’t exist yet, nor did the 3.5 inch floppy disk, cellular phones, or the internet (aka World Wide Web). But espionage and information security was nothing new and Barsumian had a talent for making products to protect against eavesdropping.

Barsumian set up shop in Cookeville, TN and with a small staff began designing, producing, and selling their products. 40 years later REI is respected as a world leader in the design and manufacture of Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM) equipment serving government agencies, law enforcement, corporate and private security operations all over the world.

During a recent interview, Barsumian said “I never imagined REI would become an industry leader…at first, we just wanted to make the best products we could.”

REI President and long-time business partner, Tom Jones, stated “With the simple mission in mind of making the best products, REI has grown, matured and adapted to a lot of change over the years. As we celebrate our 40th anniversary, we hope you’ll celebrate along with us.”

Be sure to keep up with us on our website, in our newsletters, and through our social media, and if you see us at a tradeshow or seminar, stop and say “hello.” We’d love to see you.

For more information about REI visit reiusa.net or follow along on LinkedIn.

COOKEVILLE, TN – Research Electronics International (REI), recently held a dinner honoring company founder, Bruce Barsumian.

This event celebrated more than 40 years of innovation, leadership and dedication as a pioneer in a niche technology industry.Bruce Barsumian, Founder of Research Electronics Int'l

In 1983, Barsumian, along with a handful of employees, relocated a small electronics business from Florida to Cookeville, TN to launch what would become an international leader in counter surveillance with:

  • 75,000 ft² in-house manufacturing headquarters
  • International Training Center
  • In-house circuit board manufacturing
  • Multi-Engineering (electrical, RF, mechanical, etc.)
  • REI equipment in over 100 countries

A true pioneer in the counter-surveillance field, Barsumian has over 14 design patents relating to electronic security. Among the many products he designed are:

  • Spectrum Analyzers
  • Telephone and Line Analyzers
  • Non-Linear Junction Detectors (NLJD)
  • Acoustic Noise Generators
  • Voice Stress Analyzer
  • Phone Voice Scrambler
  • Broadband RF Detectors

The celebration honoring Barsumian’s legacy was held at REI’s headquarters in Algood, where company employees, family and friends gathered for dinner and recognition ceremony. During the event, Barsumian commented, “I never imagined REI would become an industry leader…at first we just wanted to make the best products we could.” Many stories, laughs, and expressions of gratitude were shared as attendees acknowledged his impact on the company and the community throughout the years.

The team at REI is excited for Barsumian to enjoy his retirement as they carry on his legacy.


Cookeville, TN, March 25, 2022 – REI has released a new MESA® firmware update (version 1.1.17) with a new Mobile Bands feature. Discrete Bands displays enabled Bands simultaneously in the same spectrogram view. This spectrogram display shows only the custom spans the user wants to see.

Mobile Bands frequencies can be customized to desired spans in the
Mobile Bands Edit screen. In this example, some bands were renamed
and 4 bands (4G LTE, CDMA 3G, Band 4, and 2.4 WiFi BT) were
Enabled to display.

Here Mobile Bands shows the 4 custom bands Enabled in the Edit screen.
The orange border indicates the CDMA 3G band is selected. Discrete Spectrums was then selected.

Discrete Spectrums displays a spectrogram of the enabled bands. Here the
Average Trace (blue trace) and Waterfall features were also selected.  

Discrete Bands are beneficial anytime multiple frequency spans need to be shown together in a spectrogram.

Other changes included in this update:

  • Improved Mobile Bands Edit Screen
  • A new default range is specified for the 5GHz Mobile Band
  • Quick Mute – activated by pressing and holding the speaker icon
  • More file naming options

The free firmware update is available to download here. Update instructions are included in the download.

The MESA® is a portable, handheld RF receiver that detects known, unknown, illegal, disruptive, or interfering transmissions. MESA® has portability and operational features that make it ideal for tactical use. It provides tools, specifications and design features for locating unknown signals throughout a wide frequency range up to 6 GHz (12 GHz with the Down Converter antenna).

Tactical TSCM Kit

Cookeville, TN, July 6, 2021 – REI has developed a compact, travel ready sweep kit – the TTK Tactical TSCM Kit – for the frequent Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM) traveler.  The TTK provides a single compact, easily deployed sweep kit that fits most airline carry-on compartments and weighs approximately 25 lbs./11.3kg. The TTK combines the necessary equipment to perform effective sweeps for illicit RF transmitters and hidden electronics.

Porting multiple TSCM products and cases from office to jobsite can be unwieldy and inconvenient. It also increases risk of damage, especially when needing to be checked at the airport. The TTK is packaged in a hard-shell carry-on travel case with custom foam layers to secure and protect case contents.

Included in the TTK are:

TTK Carry-on TSCM Sweep Kit

  • MESA® REI’s newest hand-held Spectrum Analyzer for portable RF analysis up to 6 GHz (12 GHz with Down Converter Antenna)
  • ANDRE® Broadband Detector for near-field detection and location of RF transmitters up to 6 GHz (12 GHz with Downconverter Antenna)
  • ORION 2.4 HX® Non-Linear Junction Detector for finding hidden electronics (active and inactive) (FCC 3.3W or G 6.6W)
  • CMA® Countermeasures Amplifier for detecting wired surveillance devices
  • FLIR DM285 Industrial Imaging Multimeter (U.S. only, not included in export kits)
  • Accessories – cables, batteries, antennas/probes and tools

For the full press release on the New TTK Tactical TSCM Kit click here.
For additional product information click here.

Cookeville, TN | REI Announced last week it will be hosting online seminars with topics including Technical Threats, an overview of the ANDRE Near-Field Detection-Receiver, OSCOR Spectrum Analyzer, the newest REI product, the MESA.

Seminars last approximately one hour, attendees are encouraged to turn on their video and ask questions, and registration is free.

Follow the link below for any upcoming seminars you would like to register for:

Technical Threats Seminar

ANDRE Seminar 

ORION Seminar

MESA Seminar

OSCOR Seminar

GPS Tracking Device Seminar

Basic Telephony Security Seminar

TALAN Seminar

Introduction to VoIP Seminar

RF Fundamentals

Data Viewer

Purchases are HEICO’s 4th and 5th acquisitions in this fiscal year to date —

 

MESA™ Mobility Enhanced Spectrum AnalyzerCookeville, TN | REI announces the new Mobility Enhanced Spectrum Analyzer (MESA™), a portable handheld spectrum analyzer that delivers precision, high performance, and versatility for assessing RF energy in a variety of environments. The MESA™ is capable of detecting known, unknown, illegal, disruptive, or interfering transmissions throughout a wide frequency span up to 6 GHz (12 GHz with Down Converter antenna).

The MESA™ includes testing modes for RF spectrum analysis, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Mobile Bands and includes a new Patent Pending SmartBars™ mode that displays like a broadband receiver and uniquely highlights changes in RF energy in a bar graph display.

MESA™ is slightly larger than a typical DSLR camera, weighs about the same and is the only spectrum analyzer of its kind to be completely touch screen controlled.

For the full press release on the New MESA™ click here.
For additional product information click here.

June 1, 2020 |

REI continues to adapt to the current COVID-19 situation to ensure we are available for our customers, partners, and employees.

REI employees are following the CDC Social Distancing Guidelines to ensure the safety of the staff, suppliers and customers. Additionally, production shifts have been adjusted to provide adequate production coverage and we are still building and shipping products.  A small service/support team is working on-site with the remainder of Engineering, Sales/Marketing and Admin working remotely.

Training courses will continue in June and are open for registration. However, while social distancing practices are in place, seats are limited. Available courses can be found on the REI Training Calendar.

Travel for REI staff remains canceled for the foreseeable future.

We hope business will return to normal as soon as possible, in the meantime, please continue checking the REI website for updates, or contact us via phone or email.

 

Tom Jones
President, Research Electronics International, LLC

 

COOKEVILLE, TN, March 6, 2020 – Research Electronics International (REI) President, Tom Jones announced today the company will donate $20 thousand to the Cookeville-Putnam County Tornado Relief Fund, to help victims of the March 3rd tornado that hit middle Tennessee. Additionally, Victor H. Mendelson Co-President and Chief Executive Officer for HEICO Corporation’s Electronics Technology Group, REI’s parent company since June 2019, announced it will make a matching donation of $20 thousand for a combined contribution of $40 thousand.

The fund was established to provide direct financial support to the victims of the tornado in the Cookeville-Putnam County area. The EF-4 tornado that caused 18 fatalities and tremendous damage throughout middle Tennessee, struck the area in the early morning hours, catching many people by surprise. “We have many friends and neighbors throughout this community who are really hurting from this tragedy, and we feel this is one of the ways we can help contribute to healing and rebuilding,” Jones said. “The people of middle Tennessee have shown tremendous character in the aftermath of this disaster with the turnout for relief efforts, and we know they are just beginning.”

Click here to read the entire release

REI has received many calls and messages of concern regarding the tornado that devastated Cookeville and Middle Tennessee communities March 3rd. We are pleased to report that REI was not impacted directly by the tornado, but many of our friends, neighbors and family members were, and have had their lives changed forever.  REI will be supporting recovery efforts in every way we can.

The community outpouring of support by emergency responders, volunteers and the community at large has been truly amazing.  We are blessed to be part of an incredible community. For anyone wishing to contribute, there are 3 ways to donate to the Cookeville Putnam County Tornado Relief Fund. This is the ONLY OFFICIAL Designated Donation Account…100% of the donations will go directly to the impacted victims.

The Cookeville-Putnam County Tornado Relief Fund will be administered through the Bank of Putnam County. Donations can be made online at putnamcountytn.gov/relief/

To donate by mail, make check payments to Cookeville-Putnam County Tornado Relief Fund and mail to:
Bank of Putnam County
P.O. Box 2809
Cookeville, TN 38502

REI would like to thank everyone who reached out to us with concerns, and for your continued thoughts and prayers.

     
Pictures of damage from the March 3rd tornado in Cookeville, TN taken
by REI Compliance Manager Pamela McIntyre.