[geeks] Grrr. stupid products

[Kris Kirby]

On Thu, 6 Sep 2001, Bill Bradford wrote:
> Is it just me, or is the "cellphone expander antenna" thing that you put
> under your battery in a cellphone the worst, stupidest, makes-no-sense,
> scam-the-public product you've ever seen?

Yes.

> IF ITS NOT HOOKED UP TO THE ACTUAL ANTENNA, ITS NOT GONNA HELP.
>
> "Works on any mobile phone".  BULLSHIT.  ANTENNA NEEDS TO BE A
> MULTIPLE OR FRACTION OF THE WAVELENGTH OF THE PHONE TO WORK RIGHT.

[Splitting hairs] Unless it's using sub-resonant antenna theory. That's
the stuff used with ultra-low power transmitters to do spy work.
(http://www.timedomain.com comes to mind -- but they are convinced thier
Chief Innovator *invented* Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum -- he just
calls it "Wideband". Loads of FUD.)

I'd really like to see what the big idea of that piece of metal is -- that
one and the companion product that's supposed to block 90% of the RF
headed toward your head by covering the speaker with a mesh grille.

The *stupidest* hams have a better clue about antenna theory and how radio
works than your average person does about their cell phone. But hams have
to pass a test. (Probably a good thing if you've ever had to deal with a
CB "expert".)

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Kris Kirby, KE4AHR          | TGIFreeBSD... 'Nuff said.
<kris at nospam.catonic.net>   |
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"Fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony."