Mathematician William M. Raike of the U.S. Navy's Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., and three associates from Seattle invented a gadget they call a "phasorphone." It scrambles voices on both ends of a CB radio or phone conversation and costs about $100, far less than similar devices already on the market.
Officials at the National Security Agency were so impressed that they offered the inventors research contracts. When the foursome declined, the agency asked them to sign on as consultants. They refused again. But then the U.S. Patent Office rejected their application for a patent. Reason: NSA had decided that the sale...
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