Gadget to block local cellphone transmissions?

There are such gadgets, though they're much harder to find than all the articles a google search for "cellphone jammer" yields.

As you are a Prodigy user, I'll assume you're in the USA -- tempting as it may be, jamming a cellphone might not be worth the legal penalties to you; see the legal page in the above article.

You should also know that with a digital signal, which nearly all cellphones use most of the time now, simply creating "local interference" will not introduce a "flea in their ears" as it might with analog signals. The effect of jamming digital audio would be more like rapid disconnects/connects, resulting in a very choppy conversation, IF it didn't kill their connection altogether -- the legal page explains why ya can't do either.

I find taking a ball bat to the offenders works quite well. Most likely a hell of lot cheaper that a a radio jammer. Now if I could figure out a way to get those drivers to get of their phones, life would be grand.

Find a good lawyer before proceeding. Set aside $$ for bail.

On 18 Feb 2007 08:13:51 -0800, "Mr. Wizard" Gave us:

I find that a nice curare dart is good for retards that can't handle other people getting on with their lives. If I could shoot every one of you retarded bastards with one, life would be grand.

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Aye, or maybe just open a window and push them out :-)

Thanks Jeff.

How about a water pistol with a big stink added to the water - like week-old urine. After they catch me, I'll email you from the inside ;-)

Thanks Ray.

I am in USA and I think I found the solution when I was answering Jeff's email.

What's the penalty for firing stinks?

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Use MethylMercaptan; the french might call it Eu de Skunk.

take up opera.

Bye. Jasen

He's also stupid. Some research has shown that 50% of the pretentious cellphones calls are to no one.

The trick is to start asking the person on the phone all about their business they're talking about. "So how did Jane meet Paul?" Why doesn't Jane like their son?" "Did Paul wear a condom?"

They get most offended while standing in the shop queue with bunch of complete strangers asking them questions about their telephone conversation everyone has to listen to.

:-) Try it. The reaction really REALLY is worth it. :-)

Or

"Blood EVERYWHERE? You can clean it up with meat tenderizer but you'll need a lot of it. And run the knife through the dishwasher on power cycle at least three times".

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But I already like opera. How does that help me --- oooohh, I got it. I'll bring a radio or tape recorder along and blare it at them, and MassiveProng. You know that guy probably has just a little worm and is exaggerating again ;-)

RF.

Now there's a great idea. About a month ago a real skunk fired at something about 20 feet from where I live and that stuff still stinks a bit. For the first two weeks it was like getting a kick on the nose. A water pistol filled with that would be as good as a shotgun.

MassivePong is more accurate.

something

I have an even better idea. I will get a pet skunk, train it to shoot at people with cell phones, and then take it along on the bus. :-)

RF

Anyone looking forward to a cross country (or cross ocean) trip in a plane where passengers can use their cellphones? Noise cancelling headphones anyone?

If you have not personally tried these you might be surprised with this.

Unfortunately in my experience, using three different brands of noise cancelling headphones over the last 15 years, while they do a surprisingly good job of whacking low frequency roar and rumble of engines and road noise, this actually lets the conversations that you were not previously able to hear come through loud and clear now. Flip the switch off and the roaring grumble of the city bus is all you can hear, flip it on and now two dozen conversations, half on cellphones, loud and clear is what you get to listen to.

I've asked a number of times if this is just because of the compute power or battery life or the quality of the microphone limiting the upper frequency that is effectively cancelled, or if there is really deeper physics that says it would be exponentially harder for every higher octave. I tried reading the Handbook of Noise Cancellation and couldn't get an answer from that either.

I've never gotten what seemed like a really convincing explanation, but I have gotten some silly ones. The sales kid at the Bose store, who was

But I have not tried the $500 Bose small plane pilot noise cancelling headset on the bus, they didn't want to loan me a set for the afternoon, and you don't get to see those at your mall Bose store. Those are supposedly playing at a completely different level from the consumer grade Bose and Sharper Image and Philips and two other brands, one of which I started using over 15 years ago and are now flakey. The Philips HN050 were particularly poor compared to others in my opinion, but they were cheap when closed out. They claim only 10 dB reduction between

If someone finds a brand that really does cut 40 dB from 20 Hz to 6000 Hz or more and is plausibly priced let me know and I'll buy a pair.

I believe these "noise cancelling" devices work by measuring, and cancelling, "white noise", that is, the random hiss, rumble, or roar of engines, etc., and cannot cancel the more modulated sounds of human speech (no matter what the frequency).

As you say, with the engine noise cancelled out, the human speech comes thru loud & clear. Drat!

-georgeK KB1HFT