Kip Powick Posted January 16, 2005 Share Posted January 16, 2005 OK...this was passed to me by another "tech junky" and I would like to know if it works. One of you rich airline types out there, (employed), probably has this gizmo with your car keys so how about trying it, and reporting back to satisfy everyones curiosity. For those of you who have a car that can be unlocked by that remote button on your key ring: If you lock your keys in the car and the spare keys are home, and you don't have "OnStar," here's your answer to the problem! If someone has access to the spare remote at your home, call them on your cell phone (or borrow one from someone if the cell phone is locked in the car, too)! Hold your (or anyone's) cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the other person at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the phone on their end. (I guess you could give your "start gizmo" to your wife and call her on the cellphone as long as the car is out of gizmo range...like at a bar..or 3 blocks away...com'on you need the exercise) Your car will unlock. Saves someone from having to drive your keys to you. Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles away, and if you can reach someone who has the other "remote" for your car, you can unlock the doors (or the trunk, or have the "horn" signal go off, or whatever)! Well does it work ??? Am I saving you a ton of money or what..?(if it works...who needs CAA or OnStar?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boestar Posted January 16, 2005 Share Posted January 16, 2005 Keeping in mind that I have not tried this...I shouldn' work. The signal from the remote is an RF signal NOT audio. The cell phone is not capable of transmitting RF signals. Therefore it should not work. BUT.... I am willing to be proven wrong here. Someone give it a try and let us know. B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeker Posted January 16, 2005 Share Posted January 16, 2005 As Boestar says.....won't work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kip Powick Posted January 16, 2005 Author Share Posted January 16, 2005 As the sun eased its way over the muddy horizon and the soft hum of the furnance blower echoed through the dark bunker, I found the answer, squirreled away in a section called Urban Legends. Snot-gram enroute to my "friend". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeker Posted January 16, 2005 Share Posted January 16, 2005 Kip: regarding audio control of electronics: I do remember the first "remote control" tv we had used an acoustically tuned clicker to change volume and channels. When you pressed one of the two buttons a click at a certain pitch would be created mechanically and a servo would rotate the channel selector knob to the next channel or jump the volume to the next of three preset levels. I found, by experimentation, that the correct pitch could also be generated by clapping or snapping my fingers (this pre-dates "The Clapper" by a decade or two). Another example of this were the guys who built small electronic tone generators to get free long distance phone calls. Early payphones would create a tone when money was deposited and the operator would allow calls based hearing the tone. By holding the speaker close to the handpiece and repeatedly pressing the tone button you could fool the operator into thinking money was being deposited. Later this was changed so that a computer would record the tone but the tone generators were so good that it still worked! seeker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kip Powick Posted January 16, 2005 Author Share Posted January 16, 2005 Re Payphones.. On our RCAF course we had a guy who used to work for Bell. He showed us that by using a bobby pin one could get long distance calls free. You put one end of the pin in the mouth piece and the other end was rubbed on the coin return edge(metal). That got you a dial tone to anywhere. That was changed because the metal around the edge of the coin return was changed in future years or perhaps something was done that didn't allow a circuit. He then showed us the same thing could be done by using the metal ring in the overhead light. That was changed cause they shortened up the receiver cord. Haven't tried any of that lately....I now have a few bucks and can afford to call. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nsbs Posted January 16, 2005 Share Posted January 16, 2005 On Star versus "Blonde Star" If you haven't seen this before check it out you'll get a good laugh. http://www.extremefunnyhumor.com/mp3/blondestar.mp3 N Hilliard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeker Posted January 16, 2005 Share Posted January 16, 2005 Hilarious. On the same site go to: gail.mp3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Hudson Posted January 16, 2005 Share Posted January 16, 2005 Tried it the other day, and it worked.... Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rattler Posted January 16, 2005 Share Posted January 16, 2005 My version of the Onstar works great also. I just keep a spare key in my wallet. Of course my car has the "old fashioned" locks that work with a key and are not at the mercy of battery failure, just icing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Hudson Posted January 16, 2005 Share Posted January 16, 2005 And who needed CAA? The crank was in the boot and the little flat-top four was an easy turn. Had to keep the thumb open though...bad news if the thing backfired. Today, the crank is in the driver's seat and a satellite can open your car door. That's an improvement? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kip Powick Posted January 16, 2005 Author Share Posted January 16, 2005 Tried it the other day, and it worked.... Don You mean you actually opened the door using the cellphone method??????? If you did , how far away was the actual "gizmo" from the car??? Well wait a minute...I know BMW has a feature where a cellphone will open the door...just another minute...you're a Captain on 340's...so you probably own a BMW or maybe a Porsche or ....? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Hudson Posted January 16, 2005 Share Posted January 16, 2005 Yes, I opened the car door with the cell phone method. It took some doing. I stood a long enough distance away from the car, phoned my friend and he held his cell phone over the hood of the car and moved it around while I continued to click the key-entry device. It finally opened. I think further testing is warranted under more controlled conditions because it could have been a fluke, (we were a betting crowd..), but it worked once for me. Oh?, the car I own? 97 Acura...it's the new way in the industry...on an "AirTran DC9 Captain's salary" and three kids in university, one isn't buying Porsche's. Not complaining, merely observing, because its still a wonderful way to make a living. However, my son is selling Porsches...maybe an airline discount?... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kip Powick Posted January 16, 2005 Author Share Posted January 16, 2005 Yes, I opened the car door with the cell phone method. ............, but it worked once for me. Time to go to URBAN LEGENDS and make a post !!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeker Posted January 16, 2005 Share Posted January 16, 2005 I stood a long enough distance away from the car, phoned my friend and he held his cell phone over the hood of the car and moved it around while I continued to click the key-entry device. It finally opened. I think the fluke here is that it opened from further away than it's normal range, is that right? If you can make it happen from a distance of more than 10 miles I'll change my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Hudson Posted January 16, 2005 Share Posted January 16, 2005 Yeah, that's the test Seeker and I just haven't done it yet...little interest. But I'll give it a whirl sometime. What's a Sunday morning for?.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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