1.3 Million Cell Phone Batteries Recalled

Here we go again! Not with laptop batteries, but cell phone batteries this time. Somehow I was expecting this. Fortunately for Sony, they are Sanyo batteries.

NTT DoCoMo Inc., Japan’s top mobile phone operator, said on Thursday it would recall 1.3 million cellphone batteries made by Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. because they may overheat and rupture. Source: Reuters India

Overheat and rupture? Yah know, I generally stick my work cell phone into my pocket. I may have to rethink that, although these batteries are isolated to Asian markets, for now.

Your Choice: Homeland Security or Your Garage Door Remote?

Here’s a real-life example of why the Federal Government wants more spectrum opened up. Just what does your garage door remote have to do with national security? Well, if it happens to run on the same frequence as something the government wants to use, something’s got to give.

A secretive Air Force facility in Colorado Springs tested a radio frequency this past week that it would use to communicate with first responders … the frequency was beamed off Cheyenne Mountain, whose 6,184-foot height likely gave it more range than they anticipated. The signal overwhelmed garage remotes and hundreds of residents in the area had theirs stop working.

David McGuire, whose Overhead Door Co. received more than 400 calls for help, said the Air Force may be able to slightly adjust the transmission frequency to solve the problem. If not, it will cost homeowners about $250 to have new units installed.

“The military has the right to use that frequency. It is a sign of the times,” he said. Source: MSNBC

Security? Garage Door? Garage Door? Security? As I said, another sign of why a larger RF spectrum is wanted by all. Another example you may see in your home: your 2.4 GHz wireless land line phone interfering with your 2.4 GHz 802.11b/g wireless network.