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Drivers locked out of their cars at Royston Tesco

bbc.co.uk

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Re: Drivers locked out of their cars at Royston Tesco

#21

Post by jsmith99 »

JosephRedfern wrote: post #16
LeonM wrote: post #5

There is nothing 'mysterious' about this, this is just how radios work. Neither does it have to be malicious. Most car key fobs work in the 433MHz range, if there is something in the area transmitting at said frequency, it will cause the relatively weak signals from keys fobs to be blocked. This it why we have electromechanical compatibility (EMC) certification for any electrical devices being sold. With the market b…

Still sounds pretty mysterious to me. This kind of event is rare, and the source of the interference is (currently) a mystery. I’d love to pop by with a HackRF and directional antenna if I lived anywhere near-by!

Great way to get lynched by angry drivers assuming the person with the gear is the culprit.

Re: Drivers locked out of their cars at Royston Tesco

#23

Post by p0d »

The ham radio folk, of which I am one, are probably down there with scanners now and could tell you the problem ;-)

Before I was a licensed ham I put together a little AM transmitter with a 9v battery connected to a portable cd player. I was shocked that I could pick up the signal several miles away (and yes I know hams, very bad behaviour, I was ignorant).

I'll put my money on a new antenna having gone up nearby.

Re: Drivers locked out of their cars at Royston Tesco

#24

Post by globular-toast »

jsmith99 wrote: post #21
JosephRedfern wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Still sounds pretty mysterious to me. This kind of event is rare, and the source of the interference is (currently) a mystery. I’d love to pop by with a HackRF and directional antenna if I lived anywhere near-by!

Great way to get lynched by angry drivers assuming the person with the gear is the culprit.

It's in Britain. We're not like that.

Re: Drivers locked out of their cars at Royston Tesco

#25

Post by adaml_623 »

Jimjamb98 wrote: post #15
mhh__ wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where do you live that a car gets stolen from your street every week?

I can share that from living in a Northern UK city, between 2 or 3 "notorious" streets there would be multiple car break-ins each week. The University's student Facebook page became a constant feed of people reporting cars with smashed windows.

There is a big difference between drug addicts breaking windows to steal change and cars being stolen,

Re: Drivers locked out of their cars at Royston Tesco

#26

Post by netrus »

jsmith99 wrote: post #21
JosephRedfern wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Still sounds pretty mysterious to me. This kind of event is rare, and the source of the interference is (currently) a mystery. I’d love to pop by with a HackRF and directional antenna if I lived anywhere near-by!

Great way to get lynched by angry drivers assuming the person with the gear is the culprit.

Just wear a safety vest and a safety helmet, people will recognize you as the problem-solver you are!

Re: Drivers locked out of their cars at Royston Tesco

#28

Post by nom »

JosephRedfern wrote: post #16
LeonM wrote: post #5

There is nothing 'mysterious' about this, this is just how radios work. Neither does it have to be malicious. Most car key fobs work in the 433MHz range, if there is something in the area transmitting at said frequency, it will cause the relatively weak signals from keys fobs to be blocked. This it why we have electromechanical compatibility (EMC) certification for any electrical devices being sold. With the market b…

Still sounds pretty mysterious to me. This kind of event is rare, and the source of the interference is (currently) a mystery. I’d love to pop by with a HackRF and directional antenna if I lived anywhere near-by!

It feel like it's getting more and more common. There is so much cheap no-name hardware imported where they just slap on FCC and CE logos.

My bet is that it's a cheap power supply, they are the worst offenders.

Re: Drivers locked out of their cars at Royston Tesco

#29

Post by hcho »

ed_balls wrote: post #22
neals wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cars not having physical locks on doors or for ignitions anymore is one, I assume.

Does such car exist? (Tesla Maybe?)

None of the cars I have driven in the last decade had physical keys. Owned a Nissan, Mercedes and Toyota, rented various BMWs, Peugeots etc...

Re: Drivers locked out of their cars at Royston Tesco

#30

Post by globular-toast »

ryankrage77 wrote: post #12

What's stopping people from physically inserting the key into the lock/ignition?

In some cars, if you lock the car with the fob it primes the alarm. If you subsequently unlock it with the physical key the alarm will activate when you enter the car. You can only disable it in with the fob. Source: had a 7th gen Honda Civic.

Many cars hide their keyholes making them essentially inaccessible. Many drivers probably don't know they have one. Volkswagen has been doing this on some models since 2009. Source: had a Mk6 Golf.

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