MetaChat - Ask MeCha: Cell phones and speakers

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27 November 2005

Ask MeCha: Cell phones and speakers →[More:]If I set my phone close to my computer speakers, periodically it they will issue a kind of stuttering buzzy sound. This sound always precedes an incoming call or text message, but never an outgoing call or tm. However, a call or tm doesn't always follow the sound on my speakers and it seems to happen fairly frequently, though I haven't been able to nail down if it's on an exact schedule (for example, every half hour.) This also takes place around different speakers using different service providers and different phones.

Can anyone tell me what causes this?

post by: Frisbee Girl at: 15:07 | 5 comments

Mine does that, too.
Sometimes my monitor will go all wonky for a second or two at the same time.

posted by kellydamnit 27 November | 15:17

This happens to me when I'm wearing my headphones and I walk past people on their cell phones. I remember it being discussed on askme (at least a couple of times...).

posted by Uncle Glendinning 27 November | 15:17

Weirdly enough i was reading about this just the other day. There's some info on askME here.

posted by urbanwhaleshark 27 November | 15:22

Thanks, guys! That was exactly what I was looking for. It came to my attention again because yesterday I noticed that when I'm sending photos via my cell, the speakers issue an entirely different noise, in this case which appears to not only be directional, but whose strength/range is much more pronounced. Yes, thank you, I did take things apart as child, too.

Usually, I'm good to go with Google, but a few searches returned several pages of links to hands free sets and speaker phones. User error + cold meds = dumb bunny.

posted by Frisbee Girl 27 November | 15:32

Speakers can pick up electromagnetic radiation; radio signals are one form if electromagnetic radiation; cell phones send radio signals.

posted by orthogonality 27 November | 17:50

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