5 ms·

Still sounds pretty mysterious to me. This kind of event is rare, and the source of the interference is (currently) a mystery. I’d love to pop by with a HackRF

Still sounds pretty mysterious to me. This kind of event is rare, and the source of the interference is (currently) a mystery. I’d love to pop by with a HackRF and directional antenna if I lived anywhere near-by!

basicplus2 6y ago
Not that rare for me or the people next door.. key fobs dont work frequently at my home.. have to use the physical key and operate the fob from within the car to disable the immobiliser
jsmith99 6y ago
Great way to get lynched by angry drivers assuming the person with the gear is the culprit.
- globular-toast 6y ago
  It's in Britain. We're not like that.
  - jsmith99 6y ago
    The shame of being angrily tutted at is comparable.
    - globular-toast 6y ago
      That is indeed a cause for concern. Donning a yellow fluorescent jacket should prevent any tutting, though.
  - ljm 6y ago
    We'll just say it's not a problem and then have the hypothetical argument we wanted to have when we're back home.
    - tomxor 6y ago
      This is the way
      - 177tcca 6y ago
        I mean, it certainly beats the boat ride to America, but, have to say it's starting to feel like neither ended up being the place to be.
- netrus 6y ago
  Just wear a safety vest and a safety helmet, people will recognize you as the problem-solver you are!
  - dredmorbius 6y ago
    Don't forget the clipboard.
nom 6y ago
It feel like it's getting more and more common. There is so much cheap no-name hardware imported where they just slap on FCC and CE logos. My bet is that it's a cheap power supply, they are the worst offenders.
- Nextgrid 6y ago
  I bought a couple capacitive touch 433Mhz light switches to use for a home automation system on AliExpress. Turns out they were very prone to detecting “ghost” touches and would sometimes end up stuck in the “touched” position forever, which would cause the same issue. Ended up binning them and going back to “push button” switches which are more reliable and are more likely to fail into the “off” position should they fail.
- Nanite 6y ago
  The “China Export” logo is a blatant but subtle imitation of the actual CE logo. Quite frankly insidious... https://support.ce-check.eu/hc/en-us/articles/360008642600-How-To-Distinguish-A-Real-CE-Mark-From-A-Fake-Chinese-Export-Mark https://support.ce-check.eu/hc/en-us/articles/360008642600-H...
  - throw0101a 6y ago
    Counter: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CE_marking#China_Export https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CE_marking#China_Export
  - tomxor 6y ago
    hmm? > In 2008, a logo very similar to CE marking was reported to exist and alleged to stand for China Export because some Chinese manufacturers apply it to their products.[14] However, the European Commission says that this is a misconception [... ...] despite the Commission's assurance that it is without foundation, this urban myth continues to be available on many websites. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CE_marking#China_Export https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CE_marking#China_Export
    - dfn43589 6y ago
LeonM 6y ago
It's not that uncommon actually. Even at my car dealership this is a common problem. A couple hundred cars with the same keyless entry system parked in the same lot. All those cars are actively scanning for their key fob, which causes all sorts of RF collisions. I've gotten used to having to use my physical key when picking up my car at the dealership.
- moonbug 6y ago
  the cars are transmitting? are you quite sure?
  - bondarchuk 6y ago
    Could be a challenge-response scheme where all cars are sending their challenge at the same time, after the initial signal from the keyfob.
    - deleted 6y ago
      [deleted]
  - LeonM 6y ago
    For keyless entry, cars are always transmitting. They look for a response of a key. In case of my car, if a keys comes close enough, it lights up the doors and doorhandles.
  - kevin_thibedeau 6y ago
    Unless you want to recharge your fob every week it has to stay passive as much as possible. The car has a bigger battery.
    - harg 6y ago
      Some older fobs do recharge when in the car’s ignition. My old bmw did this and it was recommended to swap the keys from time to time to make sure they didn’t run out off battery. I guess this can’t be the case with the “keyless” keys though

basicplus2 6y ago

Not that rare for me or the people next door.. key fobs dont work frequently at my home.. have to use the physical key and operate the fob from within the car to disable the immobiliser

jsmith99 6y ago

Great way to get lynched by angry drivers assuming the person with the gear is the culprit.

globular-toast 6y ago
It's in Britain. We're not like that.
- jsmith99 6y ago
  The shame of being angrily tutted at is comparable.
  - globular-toast 6y ago
    That is indeed a cause for concern. Donning a yellow fluorescent jacket should prevent any tutting, though.
- ljm 6y ago
  We'll just say it's not a problem and then have the hypothetical argument we wanted to have when we're back home.
  - tomxor 6y ago
    This is the way
    - 177tcca 6y ago
      I mean, it certainly beats the boat ride to America, but, have to say it's starting to feel like neither ended up being the place to be.
netrus 6y ago
Just wear a safety vest and a safety helmet, people will recognize you as the problem-solver you are!
- dredmorbius 6y ago
  Don't forget the clipboard.

nom 6y ago

It feel like it's getting more and more common. There is so much cheap no-name hardware imported where they just slap on FCC and CE logos. My bet is that it's a cheap power supply, they are the worst offenders.

Nextgrid 6y ago
I bought a couple capacitive touch 433Mhz light switches to use for a home automation system on AliExpress. Turns out they were very prone to detecting “ghost” touches and would sometimes end up stuck in the “touched” position forever, which would cause the same issue. Ended up binning them and going back to “push button” switches which are more reliable and are more likely to fail into the “off” position should they fail.
Nanite 6y ago
The “China Export” logo is a blatant but subtle imitation of the actual CE logo. Quite frankly insidious... https://support.ce-check.eu/hc/en-us/articles/360008642600-How-To-Distinguish-A-Real-CE-Mark-From-A-Fake-Chinese-Export-Mark https://support.ce-check.eu/hc/en-us/articles/360008642600-H...
- throw0101a 6y ago
  Counter: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CE_marking#China_Export https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CE_marking#China_Export
- tomxor 6y ago
  hmm? > In 2008, a logo very similar to CE marking was reported to exist and alleged to stand for China Export because some Chinese manufacturers apply it to their products.[14] However, the European Commission says that this is a misconception [... ...] despite the Commission's assurance that it is without foundation, this urban myth continues to be available on many websites. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CE_marking#China_Export https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CE_marking#China_Export
  - dfn43589 6y ago

LeonM 6y ago

It's not that uncommon actually. Even at my car dealership this is a common problem. A couple hundred cars with the same keyless entry system parked in the same lot. All those cars are actively scanning for their key fob, which causes all sorts of RF collisions. I've gotten used to having to use my physical key when picking up my car at the dealership.

moonbug 6y ago
the cars are transmitting? are you quite sure?
- bondarchuk 6y ago
  Could be a challenge-response scheme where all cars are sending their challenge at the same time, after the initial signal from the keyfob.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
- LeonM 6y ago
  For keyless entry, cars are always transmitting. They look for a response of a key. In case of my car, if a keys comes close enough, it lights up the doors and doorhandles.
- kevin_thibedeau 6y ago
  Unless you want to recharge your fob every week it has to stay passive as much as possible. The car has a bigger battery.
  - harg 6y ago
    Some older fobs do recharge when in the car’s ignition. My old bmw did this and it was recommended to swap the keys from time to time to make sure they didn’t run out off battery. I guess this can’t be the case with the “keyless” keys though