Mobile Phone - Useful Information

This information may be of use in an emergency while activating.

I can see at some time in the future, an activator on descending from the summit to the car park and finding that he has locked his/her keys in the car?

Does your car have remote keyless entry? This may come in handy someday. Good reason to own a cell phone: If you lock your keys in the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home on their mobile phone from your cell phone. Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end. 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).
It does work! We tried it out and it unlocked our car over a mobile phone!"

Another useful to know information is Hidden Battery Power

Imagine your mobile battery is very low and you have perhaps an emergency situation while on the hills. There is a hidden battery source and to activate it, press the keys *3370# your mobile will restart with this reserve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. This reserve will get charged when you charge your mobile next time.

Hope this info is of use.

73’s

Ian 2E0EDX

In reply to M3EDX:

Sorry Ian but these are a myths. The remote transmission of car key signals doesn’t work, can’t work and never will work.

And why would a manufacturer provide you with an emergency reserve battery and then not tell you about it? Or even more obvious, why doesn’t the phone automatically switch to reserve? They don’t and it doesn’t because it’s a myth. Anyway *3370# is the GSM command to enable or disable (sorry can’t remember which) the EFR codec.

Andy
(For the record I’ve written software that is installed on Samsung, Motorola, LG, Benq, TCL, Kyocera and Sharp mobile phones to name a just a few.)

In reply to M3EDX:
There is a hidden battery source and to activate it, press the keys *3370# your mobile will restart with this reserve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery

=================

Ian have you tried the above, will this not lock your phone, so you or anyone can use it.
i’ve had this information sent to me before in an e-mail,
go on Ian try it and let us know.

Steve m0sgb

I think most of us will have cars with central locking and for convenience use the key fob to lock the car. The problem is not locking the keys inside, but what you do with the key once you have locked the car. To minimise the risk of loss I have got into the habit of slipping this into a particular pocket on the front of my fleece. Nothing else goes in there and I zip it up firmly before commencing my ascent. Even so it is still a relief to find it where it should be when I get back to the car. Even more so to see my car is still where I left it!

73, Gerald

I was travelling with some colleagues last year through Germany in a newish Ford Galaxy. We were just about to get back into the car after a meeting when the driver put his keys down in the boot space to put on his jacket (having only released the boot and not the deadlocks). Just then, one of my other colleagues decided to be really helpful and close the boot.

Result… keys locked in car.

No problem we thought, we’ll just call the rental company and they will send some spares… “No they didn’t have any but would call Ford”.

A couple of hours later, a very nice man from Ford arrived. We asked him if he had some magic key that would open anything or a secret gadget to release the deadlocks and the immobiliser. “Nein” he said “but I do have the tools I need”.

He returned from his van with the tools. One of which was a large crow bar. I won’t tell you what he did with it and the other tools for security reasons but it was ugly to watch and I don’t think the car was permanently damaged!

The nice man from Ford said it happens all the time…

Moral of the story:

Never put your keys down inside the car… ever… even if you’re “just putting your boots on”

73 Marc GØAZS

In reply to M3EDX:

I keep seeing this on various emails / reflectors / forums. Sorry but save them for April 1st - doesn’t work. For a start what frequency band does your central locking plip work in? Yup, the bottom of 70cms amateur radio band - your phones will receive and retransmit this? NO - they work on audio.

Can I suggest these sorts of ‘good ideas’ are checked against sites such as Truth or Fiction before being passed on. You’ll be surprised how many you get that are bunk…

http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/c/cell%20phones.htm

73
Graham G4FUJ

In reply to G0AZS:

Hi Marc,

I’m fortunate, the boot on my car locks on the central locking system. I often slam the lid down with my keys inside the boot, but I’d need another key or fob to lock them in there.

I’ve seen the “lock manipulation” brigade in action. A drill was even involved. Where would we be without portable power? Hmmm, no SOTA!

73, Gerald

Interesting website Graham. It also claims the 112 international number for mobiles - mentioned in the last SOTA News - is a hoax as well.

Tom M1EYP

In reply to M1EYP:

Interesting website Graham. It also claims the 112 international
number for mobiles - mentioned in the last SOTA News - is a hoax as
well.

Tom M1EYP

No it says that 112 doesn’t work WORLDWIDE. Which is what I said last time too. 112 is the EU harmonised emergency number that works in addition to any local emergency numbers. If you dial 112 on a EU sourced mobile phone roamed in an EU country you will get the local emergency service.

Andy
MM0FMF

Hi Andy

Looks like I have been well conned!.. I’m now well mythed… Hi!Now going to hide under the nearest geocache!
Info was from a responsible person, at least I thought he was.

If anything though, my gullibility on believing this scenario and posting the topic reminds all activating portable to secure their car keys safely prior to the ascent etc.
Further that the mobile phone should be checked for battery life prior to the outing in case of emergency.

Steve-M0SGB. Tried the mobile phone extra power suggestion and my phone never locked.However, as Andy makes mention too, the *3370# keys probably might disable the phone.

Apologies to all for info posted.

Ian
2E0EDX

In reply to G4FUJ:

Hi Graham

I was’nt aware of this site… but point taken.

Ian
2E0EDX

In reply to M3EDX:

And also …

There’s no point in having a checklist before an activation if you don’t use it.

I always zip up the pocket with the keys in just before I leave the car to signify that I’ve locked it. That bit of the procedure worked. Unfortunately it didn’t stop me doing one-and-a-half ascents of Mynydd Troed when I spotted the unzipped pocket and had to return the car.

Doh …

Richard

In reply to M3EDX:

Ian,
The remote on your car is on around 433.490mHz in the 70cm band. The information is available on the Ofcom website http://www.ofcom.org.uk/. Similar devices such as garage door openers are on the same frequencies. This is why if you are transmitting on 70cms your remote may not work. If any one has found a magical way of sending a radio signal by phone in this way we might have to rewrite the laws of physics.

Steve GW7AAV (still trying to break the laws of gravity)

This is interesting - http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radiocomms/isu/ukfat/ukfat07.pdf

In reply to M3EDX:
Now going to hide under the nearest geocache!

go on will this be a virtual = traditional = or multi, I was in Blackpool last week, wanting to do the electic telegragh series, but got the wrong starting point (Hence girlfriend) never read the whole page about the cw, So when I come back I might see if I can find you as a geocache hi hi,

Yes I thoubht the phone thing was a big scam,

I know that on a Nokia phone you can use it as a dmtf key-pad for activating any echolink or irlp links on 145 mhz.
i’ve done this before, when my key-pad was broken, so this one works.

as for leaving keys in a car with central locking, an old way i’ve done on a rover car, is to use a tennis ball and a old 5 pence piece, cut a hole the same size as the 5p, place the tennis ball over the lock, ans whack it one, it then send all the air from the ball into the central lock system, and releases it,
it does work (tried and tested)

Well looks like I won’t be out again this weekend, as the weather is awful,

I might try some chasing from home !!

Steve m0sgb

In reply to MM0FMF:

I’ve seen 112 mentioned on a sailing forum - person concerned even thought he’d be able to use it on a cell phone 250 miles out to sea! :o))

I believe there may have been some U.S. vehicle central locking systems (in the dim and distant past) using ultrasonics - just maybe the phone thing would have worked for them… I could well be wrong there though!

73

In reply to GW7AAV:

An interesting (to some) if not directly related issue is that every time I operated on 70cms from a summit, I found that my TomTom used to require a reset when I got back to the car. Now I leave it locked in the boot to save myself the hassle.

73, Gerald

In reply to G4ERP:
just a quickie;
when i’m going out activating a summit, I always put the keys in the top of my ruck-sack pocket, then I put all my gear on before all doors are lock by the key. and when I come back to the car we know where the keys are.

sorry Ian what are the co-ordanations have you for the big stone/geocache you are going to be under,

Steve m0sgb

In reply to M0SGB :

There’s a good one for Vauxhalls(sp?) too, but I’ll hold on that, for the moment ;o)

73

In reply to MM0FMF:

In reply to M1EYP:

Interesting website Graham. It also claims the 112 international
number for mobiles - mentioned in the last SOTA News - is a hoax
as
well.

Tom M1EYP

No it says that 112 doesn’t work WORLDWIDE. Which is what I said last
time too. 112 is the EU harmonised emergency number that works in
addition to any local emergency numbers. If you dial 112 on a EU
sourced mobile phone roamed in an EU country you will get the local
emergency service.

Andy
MM0FMF

Thanks Andy for clarifying this point, which could ultimately save a life.

As the news editor, I am responsible for what is printed in the news, however, the news item brought into question by Tom M1EYP, was sent in by Mick 2E0HJD who I’m sure only had everybody’s health and safety in mind. It was included in the news in good faith.

As your editor, I sincerely apologise for any confusion or mis-information, if any exhisted in that particular news item.

Having said that, can I take this opportunity to say a big thank you to all who have emailed me with your very kind comments and support about the news letter. I hope to continue with your newsletter in the near future, because I know that so many of you have enjoyed the past issues judging by your recent comments.

73 Mike

In reply to M3EDX:

Looks like I have been well conned!

That’s all right Ian. These things are written so that they often seem plausible if you don’t really read what is being said. They seem so great that the good Samaritan that lives in all of us wants to pass on the ‘good advice’ we’ve just heard.

The usual give-aways include some attribution to an authority figure or respected company followed by some urging to pass the info on to everyone you know. If you check out the myths and urband legend sites you’ll see that all these messages are very similar and so you can spot them a mile off even if you have no knowledge about the subject in hand.

Andy
MM0FMF