Answer: DON'T get a cell phone. You CAN live without one.

WOW - what a concept. Call me old-fashioned, but I heartily agree. Cars are for driving, phones are for talking and restaurants are for eating. Only a fool or an American would confuse the three. I go with the Click 'n Clack bumper sticker on this one: HANG UP AND DRIVE!

 

Point is well taken about none of us being an expert in cell phone technology.
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Most of the digital cell phones will "select down" to analog, if they are unable to detect a digital signal after a given period of time. We had the same problem when I was working in one of the fancy new office buildings with "all glass" exterior surfaces. It seems the windows were coated with a metalized vapor deposited "film", and the cell phones were almost useless inside.

That's probably what happened to the cell phone inside Gosharks' MINI; and that "may" be one of the reasons that BMW cautions against using the phones. Can you imagine the law suits: window's down, phone works great; driver rolls the windows up, loses signal, swears, swerves & crashes.... then sues BMW.

I like the idea best about not using the phone, and enjoying the Motoring!

 

Yikes!! I was talking on my cellphone today and my warning sticker came off-- is this made for Twilight Zone script or what??

I think i'm switching back to pre cell phone technology-- the passenger seat. When I want to talk with someone-- i'll drive over, put them in the passenger seat, and drive and talk... and I don't have to recharge the passenger seat-- what a concept..

 

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>>Cheers!
>>Clover

Clover, Thx! Really it's not the driving on the roof that so funny, it's my toes sticking out of those fancy driving gloves.... also have tried to play patty-cake with the windshield wipers when it rains....
Steve
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Don't worry about it. I am a RF Engineer for ATT Wireless. That's what I do is test phones and design the tower placements here in Dallas. The uplink signal on all new handhelds is less than 1 dBm when you have good downlink signal and if you have a GSM phone it's even less. I have heard that today in automotive design or electronic circuitry schools they no longer teach RF shielding which is bad but that was in the early 90s and I think they have stepped things up since then since we are in this UHF to MicroWave age..

 

Seems my MINI turns the power off on my cell phone occasionally. (or did I push th e wrong button) hmmmmmmmm!!