Heathrow zapped my Rangie

Whilst waiting to collect my brother-in-law at Gatwick airport about 4 weeks ago I noticed my Garmin eTrex Vista was saying 'no sats available'. I had a clear line of sight upwards. Didn't really give it much thought at the time, as I knew where I was... :-)

Martyn

On or around Tue, 25 Nov 2003 11:29:35 -0000, "David French" enlightened us thusly:

yikes. I think I'll stick with a key. If necessary, I'll immobilise it by pocketing the rotor arm.

David> Just dropped Abby off at Heathrow (T1), in the Rangie. David> Took the keys out but didn't lock it, as I was only David> standing next to it.

Yeah, there is lots of interference at Heathrow. Yours will have the earliest part number for the RF receiver. If you want to swap it for the 1997 one (less vulnerable to interference but still open to power drain if you have a 433MHz transmitter around, we can come to an arrangement as I have one in the garage).

AndyC

--

Not heard of this happening at Heathrow, but back in the summer I had a guided tour of RAF Fylingdales. We parked our cars up by the security hut, and were told by the guards not to lock our cars using the keyfob as the radar would not allow us to reopen them again. My Vauxhall alarm plays up all the time so I locked the van via the passenger door....but the bloke next to used his keyfob before anyone had told him.......oh dear...cue one call to the AA when we got out again!!.

Dom J

On Tue, 25 Nov 2003 18:05:45 +0000 (UTC), "Dom J" made me spill my meths by writing:

Same here on a previous Sub Brit tour. I did find that you >can< use the keyfob to gain access again.

You need to time it right, i.e. when the effing 'uge pulses aren't blipping out across the ether. This can be achieved by standing there and blipping the fob to a regular beat of a couple of times a second, making sure that you don't reblip it when you see the indicators flash else you re-arm it.

Chanting a mantra of Olde English, Dutch and Norse sweary words might have helped but couldn't be proven.

Try holding a fluorescent tube up in the air to gauge the timing of the radar pulses :)

Thought you might be a real Rugby fan going down to watch the England team arrive home!

Can't one be a 'real' Rugby fan if one doesn't go to see the team return?

Martyn

Kin eck - the Dutch let you out of the country (or did they deport you?) ;-)

If I get drunk enough, I may tell you all a very sad tale of me trying to unlock a Rangie with flat battery in the keyfob. It involves rain, Scotland, lots of mud, a Wedding and me in a kilt, the way the Scots wear them...

Martyn

No problem when I picked up friends in our S111. :-)

Sounds interesting...

Perhaps I should have used the word "fanatic" instead. I prefer rugby to football anyway, although the last rugby match I went to must be about 15 years ago as i went with a former boyfriend and had only just left school.

I think going to the airport has more to do with being a bandwagon fan than a rugby fan. Or perhaps I'm just a grumpy old git.

Mandy got caught up in a big melee this week when Sam (Pop Idol) came home to Barnsley to do his shopping. Thousands of nobodies piling in to see another nobody. They'll forget about him almost as quick as he forgets about them. In the rush a grown woman shoved Charlotte's pram out of the way and then knocked an old lady over. I guess 'grown' and 'evolved' are different things.

Are we OT yet?

:-)

Tim Hobbs

'58 Series 2 '77 101FC Ambulance '95 Discovery V8i

Martyn

It's no surprise that 49 people have actually bid for this totally worthless joke item...

Bloody hell David, I just did a quick search for 433MHz on Google and it looks like apart from radar at Heathrow, you have to avoid:

Tin coated platinum heat spreaders(whatever they are) Garage doors Weather receivers All-in-one learning remote controls (interesting possibilities though!) Remote control dockyard cranes (careful!) Vehicle winches Cordless Hi-Fi systems Childrens walkie-talkies Door bells

Probably best not to drive too near to kids with remote control cars either, it might go "Knight 2000" on you!

Guy

Eh? Are you saying it... it... IT ISN'T REAL???

S*d that, I'm withdrawing my bid...

Martyn

The Schrader rf valves in tyre pressure monitor systems have a mode that runs at 433MHz, so don't park next to a Renault Laguna, Citroen C5, Plymouth Prowler, Corvette or (even rarer) a Peugeot 607 or just about any new US SUV...

Tim Hobbs

'58 Series 2 '77 101FC Ambulance '95 Discovery V8i

I'm more surprised that 125000 people have looked at it!

I'd like to know how he found it in the first place?