* * * * *
Science in action
> > Another unexplained phenomenon: Do you know of anyone who can explain why
> > I can hold my car's remote keyless entry fob to my chin and have its
> > range tripled, or even quadrupled? Try it. Yeah, it works. Really!
> >
>
> There's the challenge for this week, folks. A cavity-resonance, antenna
> effect, or just what? Let us know your theories … !
>
“An Interesting Phenomenon—The James Randi Educational Foundation Newsletter
[1]”
I don't have a theory, but I did decide to test the phenomenon (do doo de do
do!) to see if it really happens. Casa New Jersey is at the end of a dead-
end street with very little traffic, so it was a simple matter to park Lake
Lumina (my car—there's a long story attached to the name) at the end of the
street and using a 300′ tape measure, mark off the distances.
[Lake Lumina at the end of the street] [2] [3] [The front of Lake Lumina is
pretty long] [4] [5]
The tape measure was tucked underneath the front driver wheel (a convenient
anchor point), but given that I don't really know where the keyless entry fob
antenna is on the car, the measurements I did take could be anywhere from +4′
to -15′. So, with that in mind …
At certain intervals, I held the keyless entry fob five different ways:
[Fob at waist height] [6] [7] [Fob at shoulder height] [8] [9] [Fob against
my chin, mouth closed] [10] [11] [Fob against my chin, mouth open] [12] [13]
[Fob above head level—the so called “Don Martin” pose] [14] [15]
I'm sure I looked silly to the neighbors, but it's silliness in the name of
science! Undaunted, and with the help of wlofie (who was standing by Lake
Lumina) who used hand signals to indicate if the doors locked or unlocked, I
proceeded to look silly while seeing how far I could lock and unlock my car.
The keyless entry fob is the original unit that came with my car and as such
is seven years old, still with the original battery. Also, the fifth stance,
the so called “Don Martin” pose, was suggested halfway through the experiment
and I neglected to take samples at the shorter distances. I started out going
20 feet per attempt, then as the signal appeared to drop out, started
shortening the distances to locate where the signal dropped.
Now, onto the results:
Table: The range of a keyless entry fob under different holding techniques
Distance [16] Fob at waist height [17] Fob at shoulder height [18] Fob against my chin, mouth closed [19] Fob against my chin, mouth open [20] Fob above head level—the so called “Don Martin” pose [21]
------------------------------
20′ Yes No Yes Yes (not tested)
40′ Yes No Yes Yes (not tested)
50′ No Yes Yes Yes (not tested)
55′ No No Yes No Yes
60′ No No No No Yes
70′ No No Yes Yes Yes (sporadic)
80′ No No Yes Yes Yes
90′ No No Yes (sporadic) No No
100′ No No No No No
------------------------------
Distance [22] Fob at waist height [23] Fob at shoulder height [24] Fob against my chin, mouth closed [25] Fob against my chin, mouth open [26] Fob above head level—the so called “Don Martin” pose [27]
Holding the keyless entry fob to my chin did extend the range to twice that
of just pointing towards the car, but nowhere three or four times the claimed
distance. Also, the “Don Martin” pose also extended the range about twice the
distance. So it's hard to say if it's due to a cavity-resonance atenna
effect, or just the higher altitude the fob was held at increased the range
(and there is that spurious result at 90′—perhaps the signal reflected
oddly?). Who knows? I just generated some data that can be used in coming up
with a theory.
Now, off to email the results to the James Randi Educational Foundation [28]
…
Update on Tuesday, September 21^ST, 2021
I finally get some closure [29] on what is happening.
[1]
http://www.randi.org/jr/040105capitalizing.html#7
[2]
gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2005/04/02/thumb.p1010009.jpg
[3]
gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2005/04/02/p1010009.jpg
[4]
gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2005/04/02/thumb.p1010003.jpg
[5]
gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2005/04/02/p1010003.jpg
[6]
gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2005/04/02/thumb.p1010004.jpg
[7]
gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2005/04/02/p1010004.jpg
[8]
gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2005/04/02/thumb.p1010005.jpg
[9]
gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2005/04/02/p1010005.jpg
[10]
gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2005/04/02/thumb.p1010006.jpg
[11]
gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2005/04/02/p1010006.jpg
[12]
gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2005/04/02/thumb.p1010007.jpg
[13]
gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2005/04/02/p1010007.jpg
[14]
gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2005/04/02/thumb.p1010008.jpg
[15]
gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2005/04/02/p1010008.jpg
[16]
gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2005/04/02/chart.p1010009.jpg
[17]
gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2005/04/02/chart.p1010004.jpg
[18]
gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2005/04/02/chart.p1010005.jpg
[19]
gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2005/04/02/chart.p1010006.jpg
[20]
gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2005/04/02/chart.p1010007.jpg
[21]
gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2005/04/02/chart.p1010008.jpg
[22]
gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2005/04/02/chart.p1010009.jpg
[23]
gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2005/04/02/chart.p1010004.jpg
[24]
gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2005/04/02/chart.p1010005.jpg
[25]
gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2005/04/02/chart.p1010006.jpg
[26]
gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2005/04/02/chart.p1010007.jpg
[27]
gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2005/04/02/chart.p1010008.jpg
[28]
http://www.randi.org/
[29]
gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2021/09/21.1
Email author at
[email protected]
