Pirate Radio Station In Florida Jams Automotive Electronics 315
Posted
by
Soulskill
from the it's-not-a-bug-it's-a-feature dept.
from the it's-not-a-bug-it's-a-feature dept.
New submitter titanium93 writes "For months, dozens of people could not use their keyless entry systems to unlock or start their cars when parked in the vicinity of the eight-story Regents bank building in Hollywood, FL. Once the cars were towed to the dealership for repair, the problem went away. The problem resolved itself when police found equipment on the bank's roof that was broadcasting a bootleg radio station. A detective and an FCC agent found the equipment hidden underneath an air conditioning chiller. The man who set up the station has not been found, but he faces felony charges and fines of at least $10,000 if he is caught. The radio station was broadcasting Caribbean music around the clock on 104.7 FM."
I'm confused (Score:4, Interesting)
I don't understand. 104.7 FM is a part of the spectrum allocated for radio broadcast. Why was that interfering with keyless entry systems? Is this just an issue of too much power?
wow (Score:5, Interesting)
" "We were blaming it on the police. The police were blaming it on the courthouse. We didn't know what was going on.""
Maybe you should stop blaming people for things when you don't know what's going on?
""Something mystical was going on,""
And there it is. people ascribe something as mystical and then they stop using their brain. This is why SCAMs* are dangerous. "It's energy and mysterious? well then I guess we can't find a real answer."
This thing happens, and it's always in the same area. Clearly Aliens.
"Most drivers were forced to read their owner's manual to learn how to access their manual key, Camara said."
Sigh.
*Supplements and Complementary and Alternative Medicines
Re:Illegal Radio Frequency jamming car locks? (Score:5, Interesting)
A lot of keyless entry systems work in the ISM frequencies around 433.920MHz - which is annoyingly close to one of the commonly-used 70cm channels around here.
It's possible that he was using a UHF link to his TX site to avoid detection, somewhere around 433.9MHz.
Re:I'm confused (Score:2, Interesting)
low-quality transmitters emit more on side-bands, IIUC
Re:RTFM (Score:4, Interesting)
It's amazing how many people forget to use their key if the remote stops working for any reason, including a dead battery. And from my experience, it's mostly middle-aged people who were driving for decades before remote entry became common.
Re:RTFM (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Ballsy pirate... (Score:4, Interesting)
In our area we have someone who's spliced a radio stations into the ground circuit for an entire city block. Makes it impossible to tone out wires at a few of our network racks -- we can't hear the trace tone over the salsa music.