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Pirate Radio Station In Florida Jams Automotive Electronics

New submitter titanium93 writes "For months, dozens of people could not use their keyless entry systems to unlock or start their cars when parked in the vicinity of the eight-story Regents bank building in Hollywood, FL. Once the cars were towed to the dealership for repair, the problem went away. The problem resolved itself when police found equipment on the bank's roof that was broadcasting a bootleg radio station. A detective and an FCC agent found the equipment hidden underneath an air conditioning chiller. The man who set up the station has not been found, but he faces felony charges and fines of at least $10,000 if he is caught. The radio station was broadcasting Caribbean music around the clock on 104.7 FM."

14 of 315 comments (clear)

  1. RTFM by subanark · · Score: 5, Funny

    From the article:

    Most drivers were forced to read their owner's manual to learn how to access their manual key, Camara said.

    1. Re:RTFM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      But it's locked in the glove box!

    2. Re:RTFM by cusco · · Score: 4, Funny

      My Ford Escort

      Well, there's your problem . . .

      --
      "Think about how stupid the average person is. Now, realise that half of them are dumber than that." - George Carlin
  2. My Solution by Westwood0720 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Drive a shitty car with the doors unlocked and the key in the ignition. Worked for me for over a decade now!

    1. Re:My Solution by Nidi62 · · Score: 5, Funny

      I dunno... thieves aren't always the brightest bulbs in the box..

      Well, he was smart enough to leave the Pinto, wasn't he?

      --
      The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
  3. I guess it's true what they say.. by geekoid · · Score: 5, Funny

    104.7 FM brings you the best jams~

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  4. Jammin by PaddyM · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...

    We're jammin', we're jammin', we're jammin', we're jammin';
    Hope you like jammin', too.

    ...
    Credits to Bob Marley

  5. Pirate Caribbean radio? by erroneus · · Score: 4, Funny

    Anyone else finding this amusing?

  6. Say a prayer for me now by ischorr · · Score: 4, Funny

    '"At first I thought it was me," said Jacobson, who started to say a little prayer every time she tried to use her electronic key.'

    God: Messing with people's vehicles since 4000BC.

  7. Re:Illegal Radio Frequency jamming car locks? by Megane · · Score: 5, Funny

    And he would've gotten away with it too, if it weren't for those meddling keys.

    --
    #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
  8. Re:Illegal Radio Frequency jamming car locks? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    The illegal transmitter was most likely home built, improperly adjusted, and lacking harmonic filters and a narrow band tuned antenna. Most transmitters do not run class A or Class AB amplification like a low distrotion audio amplifier, but in Class C a clipped mode transmission rich in harmonics for high energy effeciency (like a switched mode power supply) and the output is filtered with a resonant tuned tank circuit. If the bootleg transmitter was not tuned, or lacked the tuned tank and tuned resonant antenna, then he was not only broadcasting in the FM band but also providing lots of energy on harmonics of the fundemental.

    Yes, but couldn't we just reverse the phase-charge polarity of the main deflector array, route the backup thermoquantum buffers through the primary energy manifold, and use a timed tachyon-gamma pulse to cancel out the interference?

  9. Re:towed to the dealer? by AaronLS · · Score: 3, Funny

    Thanks for that. The world is a better place now. Please follow his next 3 posts to ensure grammar compliance.

  10. Re:No thanks! by Anne+Thwacks · · Score: 4, Funny

    The majority of faults in all technology disappear when exposed to an engineer. Engineers exude technology friendly vibes. (And dont try to dance to Carribean music while putting the key in the slot, unless they are Jamaican, in which case no problem, man!)

    --
    Sent from my ASR33 using ASCII
  11. Re:I'm confused by sco08y · · Score: 4, Funny

    Nope: American cars can't stand reggae, much the same way Martians can't stand country music.

    On the contrary, the American cars were jammin, jammin, jammin, jammin right straight from yah.