Slashdot Mirror
Flaming Cellphones
phorm writes "Many of us have heard the urban legend of cellphones causing fires at the gas pump, but how about the hazards of replacement batteries? Reuters is carrying a story about a woman whose cellphone burst into flame, causing her superficial burn injuries. According to Nokia, the problem has occured before, and is related to non-brand replacement batteries. For various reasons, these batteries may overheat and catch fire, or even explode! So far I haven't found much info on whether this has happened with other brands of phone, though I do know that my little flip-phone gets very hot when running in analog mode. Perhaps some slashdot readers have had a similar experience?"
Call the fire brigade!
So my cellphone just burst into flames. Does anyone on Slashdot have an idea what I should do?
So...what...are they pink? Do they have pictures of Tinky Winky on them? Or what? :)
My journal has hot
This is only proof that there is a god, and he does not approve of cell-phoning and driving.
www.olin.edu
Are we supposed to welcome the cell phones as our new overlords, or the off-brand batteries?
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
was she talking on the cellphone on a bus/train/mass transit system?
if so all I can say is:
"hah hah"
If you work for the CIA, do not take company messages while drinking coffee and browsing CDs at the record store.
I'd like to see THAT happen in class!
Nobody calls me you insensitive clod.
"Derp de derp."
It's the MPAA out for revenge for the bad text messages reported recently. Watch out, lest your speakers burst into flame for playing illegal .mp3s. I think giving them the ability to light phones ablaze was too big a concesion for them, as punishment just for badmouthing their IP, but IP is IP, right?
SAILING MISHAP
Apparently, whoever she was talking to hit the "ignite cellphone" button...
I like my beer cold, my TV loud, and my cellphones flaming .
I'm wondering. Do you have to hit these phones from behind?
This brings a whole new level to the concept of starting a flame war or having a heated discussion on the phone.
It also opens up the potential for cellphones to be sold as firestarters for campers outside of the transmission range, a wholly untapped market.
Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!!
Perhaps some slashdot readers have had a similar experience?
Count me in.
Back in the late Eighties, I bought one of those 'brick' phones. Of course, as was the style at the time they weren't called that, because they just happened to be that size, nothing special.
As was the style at the time, the phones used ridiculous NiCad batteries for portability -- when you were in the car, they ran off of a device hooked up to the car battery, so you didn't need to wear the batteries out. Unfortunately the NiCad batteries were crap. As you probably already know, NiCad batteries have this really horrible 'memory' effect where if you recharge the battery before it's completely empty, it thinks that where you've just started to recharge it from is the *real* empty.. and it's not.
I could also only get thirty minutes' talk time out of a full charge, although it'd stay on standby on one charge for about three hours. Considering it took 12 hours to charge the NiCad (overnight charger), this wasn't a great arrangement if you wanted to use the phone while out and about during the daytime.
At the time, NiMH's weren't available for cell phones, in fact hardly anyone used them at all for anything really. But they delivered better battery life (for the time), didn't have the horrible memory effect, and charged more quickly than the NiCads charged.
So what I did was buy a second battery from Motorola for the princely sum of $95 (!!! and this was in the Eighties!!), I gutted it, and replaced all of the NiCad cells (yes, those big batteries are just collections of batteries all hooked together - it's not just one giant pool of acid in there..) with approximately 25 regular AA sized NiMH batteries that I bought at some store in a town. And, yes, I made sure the voltages all added up and that the current supply somewhat matched up. So I threw the casing back on the battery, hooked it up, and the phone worked! Talk-time was up to about ninety minutes, standby time was up to SIX hours (!! - I know, this sounds pretty ridiculous by today's standards, but there you go). I was walking on air.
A week later, I was walking along, cellphone in its case (they were big, so you carried them in things kinda like camera cases - you know, those big Nikon camera bags, that you can get a few lenses in).. phone was on standby,and suddenly BANG, the side casing of the battery ploughed a hole through the bag and fell onto the floor and suddenly all this goop (the battery acid) was running out. I dropped it immediately and battery acid was pouring out everyplace.
That was some dangerous stuff.
mogorific carpentry experiments
I like burning the phone bills.
Speech: Free
Beer: $699.00
...at the movie theather. Asshole who doesnt turn off his cellphone, gets a call, answers it and BOOM, the fireworks illuminate the room. Yes, entertainment at its finest!
Excerpt from a related story ...
"John Smith, 45, received minor burns to his hands Thursday evening when his computer suddenly burst into flames. Operating system vendor Microsoft provided a statement, indicating that the cause of the small fire was due to the use of Star Office, a 'non-microsoft brand' product."
Skiers and Riders -- http://www.snowjournal.com
to the cellphone of that guy that goes around asking,"can you hear me now?" If only life were so sweet.
"At first, we thought it was just another snake cult."
Glock gun: Point away from face. (Aaahhh. So THAT'S what I've been doing wrong)
Nah.. she downloaded a clip from a Madonna song to use as the ringer, and the RIAA is getting REALLY aggressive about protecting their artist's IP.
Stop, drop, and rollover minutes
In fact I'm using my phone to view Slashdot at this very moment and it's...... #### NO CARRIER ####
"A spokeswoman for Siemens said a GSM (cellphone) of the Siemens brand exploded last year in Germany."
Exploding Siemens?
Sometimes they make it all too easy...
I was once involved in a similar incident, though the cause wasn't battery related. I was on an away mission, collecting soil samples for later study, when the captain ordered an immediate wide-range phaser volley directly on my communicator's position.
I never did learn why the order came through, and I spent the next two weeks in sick bay, listening to the doctor tell me how he's "not this" and "not that." At least I got a raise in rank, and a nice blue uniform to replace the scorched red one.
A guy goes to the doctor with both sides of his face badly burned. The doc asked him what happened. He says he was ironing his clothes when the phone rang and he picked up the hot iron and held it to his head.
So the doc asks what happened to the other side of his face.
"I had to call an ambulance."
Bless this thy Holy Hand Phone of Antioch, that with it thou may burnest thy faces of thine enemies into little tiny bits, in thy mercy.
C'mon.....finish the job:
Doc: So, why is the first side burned twice as badly as the second side?
BBQ guy: Right after I hung up from talking to 911, the first caller called back.
[ba-da-BOOM!] Thank you very much...I'm here 'till Sunday.