Path: utzoo!telecom-request Date: Wed, 26 Jun 91 12:20:01 EDT From: Ihor J Kinal Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Is Cellular Phone Jamming Possible? Message-ID: Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories Sender: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 495, Message 8 of 10 Lines: 34 In article , johnl@iecc.cambridge.ma.us (John R. Levine) writes: > I'd think a straightforward way to inactivate a system that uses a > car's cellular phone to call the cops would be to use a pair of bolt > cutters to remove the antenna. I thought the same thing -- but in today's [6/26] {NY Times} Business section, there's a review of the device. [I assume it's the same thing we've been actually discussing, although the details appear to be different]. Point 1: It's not actually cellular, but some spread-spectrum technology which is much-more difficult to jam [assuming that the thief even knows that the need exists to perform jamming]. I doubt a typical scanner would notice. Point 2: It's not clear what the antenna requirements were -- supposedly the unit could be placed anywhere in the car, although I'm puzzled as to the strength outside that nice Faraday cage [unless, of course, you're driving a Vette]. Point 3: Given a choice, I might still prefer a Lo-Jack system -- this way, if the police don't repsond in time, we can still recover the car, as well as nab the gang in question. Hope this helps, [standard disclaimers, plus I'm a software person, now]. Ihor Kinal att!cbnewsh!ijk or att!trumpet!ijk