My understanding of the device:
It is a variant of standard infrared remote control, therefore IR remote
limitations (like direct line of sight) apply.
When activated, it transmits a sequence of "OFF" commands for various
different television manufacturers, in an endless loop. As the IR remote
protocol is rather slow, and there are many vendors, the entire loop takes
up to 60 seconds. I am not aware if the commands are sorted by statistical
share of the individual models on the market, so the most popular TV
brands are switched off first.
A degree of power and covertness may be added by modifying the device in
terms of putting its electronics into a different package, and perhaps by
adding a power switch for a cluster of IR LEDs and a beefed-up battery
(eg. AA cells). Proper packaging may allow hiding of the device eg. in a
handbag, or in a pocket under a sweater woven in a way it is transparent
for point IR sources. It will be visible on security cameras, but not for
human eyes.
A do-it-yourself construction should be easy, using a microcontroller and
a database of remote control codes obtained eg. from the LIRC project,
<
http://www.lirc.org/>. I would be entirely unsurprised if this would be
the source used by the original device developers.
On Tue, 21 Feb 2006, Jay wrote:
>
> Has anyone experimented with this device in various
> environments/applications from covert to overt use?
>
> This is an interesting concept, but after reading one
> of the reviews on Amazon.com for this product, I
> remain quite skeptical:
>
> "Great Idea, But a Piece of Crap, January 26, 2006
> Reviewer: Shambalagala - See all my reviews
>
> What a great idea. I've been annoyed by TVs in public
> places for a long time. Too bad it's a worthless piece
> of crap.
>
> In testing it on my own TV at home, it was unable to
> affect the TV when anything was in the way- so I
> couldnt turn it off with it in the pocket of my pants
> or jacket. Second, it wont turn off the TV unless it's
> directly facing the TV, and finally, you have to be
> directly in front of the TV. That's right - there's no
> way to be surreptitious about it - you need to stand
> directly in front of the TV, extend your arm with the
> TV-B-Gone in it towards the TV, and hold down the
> button for 60 seconds. Then you get to answer
> questions about why you turned off a TV in a public
> place. Nice.
>
> And that's IF it works. I went to the doctor's office
> yesterday and was 5 feet from a TV showing some awful
> show, and no matter what I tried, the TV would not
> turn off.
>
> It's a great idea, but a piece of crap. Dont buy it."
>
> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006GD9CE/ref=nosim/002-9917592-2562436?n=172282
>
>
> --- d..._at_geer.org wrote:
>
> >
> >
> > "mr black" writes:
> > |
> > | now I do have to bring my PDA....to turn off TV`s
> > |
> > | http://www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/001135.php
> > |
> > | sweet
> > |
> >
> > have one. it works.
> >
> > --dan
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
> http://mail.yahoo.com
>
>
Received on Sat Mar 02 2024 - 00:57:29 CST