It is on the "Beany and Cecil" DVD, as an extra. Very not lost...

That looks a lot more like a wireless alarm system than a bugging device. The modem (the m2050 box) is a decade old.

Are we sure they didn't buy a used car, and just now discover it used to have an alarm?

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Gordon Dixon is supposed to be Gordon R. Dickson