I looked this up on Google and got a ton of hits. Sometimes this
will happen mysteriously for many cars in a region then stop. (I
know that's not the problem here but it's intriguing.)
For example, from a Las Vegas paper:
Valley has keyless encounters of the weird kind
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Feb-21-Sat-2004/news/23271330.html
But I'm only going to quote parts that may help with this problem...
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According to the Federal Communications Commission, the low-power
radio frequency transmitters inside keyless entry devices are
similar to those found in other everyday items such as garage door
openers, remote-controlled toys, cordless telephones, building alarm
systems and the rapidly spreading wireless fidelity computer
networks, which are commonly referred to as "wi-fi."
Paul Oei, an electronics engineer with the Los Angeles office of the
FCC, said keyless entry systems operate on unlicensed frequencies.
The devices can fail when they are near an antenna emitting high
radio frequency energy. But that scenario would affect only vehicles
in a limited area, he said.
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It's also happened in Metro DC:
Keyless Remotes To Cars in Waldorf Suddenly Useless
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A28217-2004Jul4?
=====>
Some of the devices that have failed in Waldorf operate on a
frequency of 315 megahertz. Another common keyless entry frequency
is 302 MHz. Both of these frequencies fall within a range licensed
primarily for use by the military and the federal government.
In a summary of radio spectrum use from the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration, the frequencies
in the range from 225 MHz to 328.6 MHz "are heavily used worldwide
for critical military air traffic control and tactical training
communications."
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OK, this one may not help but it's so wild I wanted to mention it:
Locked Your Keys In The Car? Get Out Your Cell Phone
http://www.wsdmag.com/Article/ArticleID/13453/13453.html
=====>
There has been a rumor going around in one of those dreadful e-mails
that your friends and co-workers feel compelled to forward to you
all the time. If you lock your keys in your car and you have a
remote keyless entry system, you can get outside help to open the
car if you have your cell phone with you. Just call someone that has
a duplicate key fob that will open your car. Then, hold you cell
phone near the door lock and have the person with the key fob call
you back. The person with the key fob should then put the key near
their phone and push the unlock button. The door should open.
I was skeptical, to say the least, about this rumor, and was about
to dismiss it as one more Internet hoax. But I thought I better try
it out first. Well, low and behold, it works. I tried it with both
GSM and cdma cell phones, and it reliably opens (and relocks) the car.
<=====
Fascinating....
--Mike Blake
