Slashdot Mirror


Nintendo DS Emitting Anomalous Signal?

An Anonymous reader writes "An owner of Nintendo's Shiny New Portable, has noticed his DS is emitting a signal that is projecting a ghostly image of his screen onto his TV- and he's not even multiplayer gaming. He and several others have uploaded photos of their DSs interfering with their TV's reception. As one forum-goer points out, this doesn't seem like the DS is adhering to FCC standards." More news from a forum, so enjoy some NaCl with this.

6 of 97 comments (clear)

  1. An Excerpt from the Forum... by devnull17 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Here's an excerpt from the thread:

    i really really hope ninty crakes some sort of hardware or wire so we can play our DS's ON a TV. Wud be a really nice idea, but then again the 2 screens on 1 tv would have to be cut down and also you would still have to keep looking at your DS on a lot of games becuase of the touch screen so its kinda pointless in some ways! still, for games like n4su2 and mario 64 wud be mint!!!!!!!!!

    OK, given that the majority of the posts look a lot like that one, why the hell would anyone with half a brain take this seriously? It's obviously just interference coming from an improperly shielded cable. I'm sure the FCC will have something to say about this--well, they would if Michael Powell weren't so busy acting as the Christian right's moralistic attack dog, anyway...

  2. When I turn on my microwave... by vasqzr · · Score: 5, Insightful


    I get funny lines on my TV. Same goes for the dehumidifier.

    Gonna recall those, too?

    1. Re:When I turn on my microwave... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Not if the artifacts are due to line noise in your AC mains, as opposed to the device itself emitting RF. This is most likely the case, and it isn't the device manufacturer's problem if you have bad wiring.

      Naturally, this couldn't possibly be the case for the battery-powered DS producing a likeness of the screen image. Like it or not, this will probably be a problem for Nintendo and its users.

  3. Why is it a problem for _some_ users? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And why is this not a problem for ALL owners of the DS? I'm guessing it's because the people who are bitching about the interference have cheapass television sets, which don't have enough shielding to protect them from interference.

    The shielding is supposed to protect other devices from being harmed by the emitter, but it's also supposed to protect the emitter from things that don't have shielding around them (power cables, speakers, etc.). If a television set doesn't have adequate shielding, it won't only interfere with other devices, it will be easier to interfere with.

  4. Bookmark by Keebler71 · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I'll need to bookmark this story for the next time someone claims FAA regulations against mobile devices serves no purpose...

    --
    "It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance." - Thomas Sowell
  5. Re:Yeah, and? by yutt · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I spent a good amount of time at the WarpPipe forums, but left. The majority of the posters are stupid 12 to 16 year old...boys who have nothing better to do...

    Sounds like Slashdot.