Wondering about new cell jammers

Hi All,

Having read about the new (still illegal here) cell phone jammers that cut off cell phone connections (not sure how works tho) does anyone know if these things will affect our PM/ICD's? Plan to ask my EP @ next check-up but that isn't until Jan. 2008.

Had a not great experience today. As I am 100% PM dependent I had to go thru a security to get into a work site I have not visited before. Not the airport. So I told the security guy that I couldn't go thru the walk-thru scanner thingie as I had a PM. So he whips out the wand & before I can say anything but stay away from my PM he's done. 'Course I got dizzy, not sure if it was anxiety & went away pretty fast. Called my EP & his nurse called back & said as wand has a magnet probably stopped PM but as long as dizzieness did not continue seems OK & it appears to be OK. So just watch out lot of people out there who know more than we do. HAH!!!

Thanks, Janet

6 Comments

Hi,

by Karen - 2007-11-13 04:11:00

What are cell jammers? I haven't heard about these yet.

They block the use of cell phones

by sboissonnas - 2007-11-13 05:11:25

Hi Karen,

They're just devices that block cell phone activity in the area around them. Think about how a flashlight works - you press a button and it turns on a light that lets you see a certain distance. How far the light extends depends on how powerful the flashlight is, and the more powerful the flashlight, the bigger it is. (Usually).

Same thing with the jammers, except instead of emitting light when you turn them on, they emit a signal that blocks out all cell phone transmissions. They make them in a huge range of sizes/strengths, from ones that can fit in your pocket to ones that can block cell phone usage in an entire building.

They're getting a lot of press right now because people are buying them (illegally - more on that in a second) and using them for their own purposes, like to cut off the conversation of a person who's talking way too loudly on the phone near them. (Hasn't everyone been annoyed by that at one time or another? Wouldn't that be such a nice power?) Another example: Some nicer restaurants have installed them to ensure that patrons can enjoy their meals in peace and quiet rather than be disturbed by the constant ringing of phones from the other guests.

As for the part about them being illegal, here in the US the airwaves are controlled by the FCC, and the FCC has declared that it is a crime to interfere with airwave traffic (like cell phone signals, radio waves, etc), particularly because it might interfere with the summoning of help in emergencies. (Think about those restaurants - if there were a fire, no one's cell phones would work while inside the restaurant to call the fire department.)

However, because cell phone service is so spotty anyway, it's really hard to know when you're near a jammer. They say the best way to figure it out is if you're on a call that gets dropped for no apparent reason - you're in a place where you usually get reception, you have plenty of battery left, and your phone even shows that it's getting a signal, but it just doesn't work. That's probably a good sign you're being jammed.

Hope this helps!
Stephanie

electro/magnetic fields

by maestro - 2007-11-13 06:11:18


All devices which emit an electrical field
and/or
magnetic field
have the ability to interfer with PMs.

Don't stand in between the security scanner devices at the doors of retail stores. They too interfer with your device.

The best we can do is carry an ID card and tell people not to endanger us and our PMs.

They shouldn't affect anything

by sboissonnas - 2007-11-13 12:11:54

Hi Janet,

First, I'm sorry about your unexpected wanding! I would have been extremely unhappy if they'd done that to me. I'm glad you're okay!

Your question about cell phone jammers intrigued me, so I looked it up. (In my evil mind I'd love to have one of my own for my train commute! But they are illegal indeed.) Here's a link with a lot of interesting information about how they work: http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/cell-phone-jammer.htm

From what I can tell (and I'm not an expert by any means), they operate by sending a slightly stronger signal on the same frequencies used by cell phones. So if you're not bothered by being around people on cell phones (and most of us aren't, I don't think), then I don't think the cell phone jammers should be a problem.

Two caveats, though - first of all, this may of course depend on the size and strength of the jammer. There are people on here who are bothered by being around very large electronic equipment, so I imagine being too near a very large jammer might cause problems as well. (Unfortunately, you may not know you're near one until you start feeling oddly. But then again, I don't know where one might expect to find industrial-strength jammers, either, so maybe this isn't much of a problem in everyday life.)

The other caveat is for the smaller jammers - if you should happen to have one (lucky you!), keep it a safe distance away from your pacemaker, just like a cell phone or any other portable electronic device.

Hope this helps! Great question. :)

-Stephanie

Cell phone jammer

by Wallybankes - 2012-11-23 05:11:46

Cell phone jammer is illegal in some areas as I know, but it is legal here in my country, so I just bought one for myself the other day from http://www.jammerall.com/ ,it is working great and helps me much when I don' t want to be bothered by cell phones.

Create good life with cell phone jammer

by adamarrara - 2014-05-20 12:05:20

Nowadays it can be seen that there is a wide spread of cell phones especially smart phone. We have to admit that the mobile phone make our modern life better and more convenient. However the cell phone sometimes causes new problems and breaks up people's peaceful life.To create a quiet condition, the cell phone signal jammer blocker which can be got from jammerfromchina.com can help a lot.

You know you're wired when...

You play MP3 files on your pacer.

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