Mobiles in hospitals

[breezer]

the show is called braniac's science abuse on SKY, they also doused the inside of a caravan in petrol and put about 50 mobiles inside and rang them with no problems.

you forgot to mention they had a volunteer, stood him in a bucket (to insulate him) gave him a nylon jacket, asked him to rub it up and down (which he did) then he touched a single wire which went to the caravan

I didnt know a caravan could look so good (it expoded)

it also had john tickle as a presenter who, so i am told came from big brother

we wont mention where they put plums in a string bag on a manakin and fired cricket balls at it, but it did show how much protection a "box" gives

wasnt as funny as the laughing gas experiment

 

[kendor]

I didnt know a caravan could look so good (it expoded)

hope they took the mobiles out first As for mobile use in hospitals there is definitely an issue with the sensitive equipment at work and they do pick up the "crosstalk" between the mobiles and the networks.
I'm sure people have come across this when listening to the radio just before their mobile starts ringing.

 

[BR]

Rather like the issue of using mobile phones in a petrol station. Highly unlikely to result in an explosion, but would you want to be on the next pump when it does.

The reason they are banned on petrol forecourt is because if you drop it, the battery can come out causing spark onto the petrol vapour which is on the ground being lighter than air.

Ahh, I dontttttt think so

I was told the problem with mobile phone usage in Garages is due to the risk of Induced charges giving rise to a possibility of sparks. Rather akin to the effect of gold rimmed plates in the microwave.

Potentially, the microwaves emitted from a mobile phone could, (theoretically at least), create an induced spark in the circuitry of the pump, between the pump and your car, or whatever.

Highly unlikely, but the theoretical possibility is enough to justify the ban

I believe so. I read an article recently in one of the irish papers on a survey which was carried out in the US on this very issue. Approximately 115 cases of accidents at filling stations caused (supposedly) by mobile phones were examined. So there must be some risk. Interestingly the vast majority of the motorists responsible (using mobiles when filling up) were women.

 

[dingbat]

I read an article recently... on a survey which was carried out in the US on this very issue. Approximately 115 cases of accidents at filling stations caused (supposedly) by mobile phones were examined. So there must be some risk.

When I was last in the US for any length of time (all of 1998) most people just didn't have mobiles, but I did see a hell of a lot of people smoking on forecourts. More than once I saw people smoking whilst actually filling up!!

 

[AdamW]

Mobile phones are far less popular over there. I am not sure if this is the reason, but I know that instead of being charged silly amounts to call a mobile phone, in the states if someone calls YOU then you are responsible for part of the call charge (like when you take your mobile abroad).

 

[ZenStalinist]

More people seem to have bricks over there too... In fact, a lot of people had brick phones until very recently. Obviously it's not the same fashion statement it is in Europe...

I was always told that the hysteria and resulting regulations about 'phones not being used on forcourts was because of one unexplained explosion, and the best thing they could find to explain it was a mobile 'phone.

 

[pipme]

Poorly managed lives --- Mobile phones whilst filling up with petrol ... youngsters crossing the road phone to ear ..... The point being if one is in an important enough conversation that it cannot wait ... Surely taking most of one's concentration ? No room for that where vehicles are moving around ... This is how people get hurt, just not being aware ... two wrongs rarely make a right.

P

 

[AdamW]

More people seem to have bricks over there too... In fact, a lot of people had brick phones until very recently. Obviously it's not the same fashion statement it is in Europe...

No, it's because the US refused to use GSM 900/1800 and decided instead to invent their own inferior standard (can't be seen to use European technology, it must smell of garlic and refuse to go to war!)

So, a few years back when all the mobile phone manufacturers were bringing out nice phones on the GSM standard, they didn't bother to make them for the tiny US market.

Now pretty much all the decent phones over there are tri-band anyways, so they are the same as the ones we get here.

Unless of course, it was just a penance for insisting on calling them "cell phones".

(NB: I do understand why they are referred to as cellular telephones, I just don't like the name, it's a matter of taste)

 

[ban-all-sheds]

the vast majority of the motorists responsible (using mobiles when filling up) were women.

Did they check to see what their underwear was made of? Could have been static from the rubbing of nylon...

But enough of that - if you are still with us, BR, please look at this: //www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=24692

 

[felix]

There's no doubt that mobiles can interfere with electronic equipment. You don't even have to make a call because the things make regular calls to the network to tell it where they are. The police can trace a stolen mobile if they can dummy the thief into switching the thing on.

Try leaving one switched on beside a TV. There's a good chance that sooner or later you'll get some strange chirping noises coming from the TV speaker - and that's with it on standby!

The good news is that electronic equipment manufactures are (mostly) ahead of the game and have designed the stuff to work under such conditions. It's a two pronged approach which aims to limit RF emissions from equipment (EMC test) and also make the equipment immune to such emissions (RFI test).

I'm not at all surprized that medical equipment will keep working in the presence of mobile phones. The nagging question will always be this: "What MIGHT happen if everybody and his dog is wandering around the hospital with a mobile phone?" It's a matter of reducing risks to a minimum. There is of course a trade-off between risk and inconvenience. This hospital's policy is that going outside to use your mobile is no great inconvenience. What did we do before the b****y things existed!

I'm quite sure that the restriction on mobiles at petrol stations stems from the old CB scam. Those in the know (not very many) would set their CBs (with 400 watt afterburners) to transmit then fill the car while the electronic counters remained frozen. The chances of doing this with a low powered mobile are non-existent but try explaining that to a non-technical garage owner on a tight budget.

There's a serious amount of electronic ignorance out there. That's why a major UK bank had all its MECHANICAL combination door locks changed at the end of 1999 and why a well known company (well known for cheap junk) managed to sell kits to eliminate RF emissions from mobile phones!

Petrol vapour lighter than air? That doesn't sound right. Propane is heavier and octane even more so.

We had an accident a few years back involving a cleaner with a floor polishing machine, a supervisor who shouldn't have unlocked a door for her and a large economy sized magnet. Fortunately she was pushing the thing in and not pulling it but the damage was huge and it showed up a large gap in our safety procedures.

Just remembered this one. Somebody at a garage asked me if he could borrow a lighter. Why? His petrol filler cap was frozen on and he wanted to thaw it out! My suggestion that he, very carefully, heat up a rag with steam from his radiator fell on totally deaf ears and he set of in search of a light. I gave up.

 

[masona]

Petrol vapour lighter than air? That doesn't sound right. Propane is heavier and octane even more so.

I may have said that wrong Petrol vapour is lighter and me thinking air is heavier which is pushing the petrol vapour down to the ground. I'm not very good at explaining.

 

[2scoops0406]

I believe that the ban on mobiles in garages is about to be lifted. Due to the fact it was a load of horse sh1t in the first place.

 

[Thermo]

heres a scary thought, all the time your mobile phone is on, it is constantly talking to the various masks for signals and triangulating your position. That means that not only can you be tracked on your mobile phon, but so can your every step in the past!

 

[kendor]

heres a scary thought, all the time your mobile phone is on, it is constantly talking to the various masks for signals and triangulating your position. That means that not only can you be tracked on your mobile phon, but so can your every step in the past!

depends if the collection of this data is actually correlated or not but in theory it's possible

 

[Porker]

There is no adopted standard for position location in this country better than the active cell. ie. the cell currently communicating with the phone. This is not particularly accurate. There have been proposals (particularly in the US) for systems that can triangulate your position down to a few 10's of metres but adoption has been slow. Last time I was involved in this there were 2 competing standards for mobile based systems (EOTD and TOA) and A-GPS (GPS based).

Location based services (LBS) will be here soon though in earnest. Big brother is watching you!

I was recently on a Crown Court jury for a serious case where mobile phone records were used as a substantial part of the evidence. However, location (which was critical in this case) was never determined from any records from the mobile companies.