by David Brooks | Jul 5, 2018 | Blog, Newsletter | 4 comments
One of my favorite stories of recent weeks involved an electrician who wanted to goof off but whose whereabouts were monitored by management via his GPS. He couldn’t turn it off because they’d know, so instead he stuck inside one of those shiny foil potato chip bags, which acted as a Faraday cage to block the signal. Management thought the signal had been lost, so he could go play golf.
I thought this was so cool that I decided to test it, using the remote starter for my car. I pulled an empty TGIF Friday Potato Skins bags out of the trash (you don’t except me to pay money for that crud, do you?), put my key inside it and pressed the car’s starter button.
The car started right up. As MythBusters might say: BUSTED!
Or maybe not. I’m not sure how the signal from a remote starter compares to a GPS, so that might make a difference. Also, the story above comes from Australia – maybe their potato chip bags (actually, it was a bag ofTwisties crunchy cheesy corn snacks) contain more conductive material than our bags do. Or maybe TGIF Fridays just make crummy metallic-looking bags.
Either way, if you’re trying to block signals, don’t count on using this cheapskate trick to save the 5 to 10 bucks to its costs to buy a metallic Faraday cage bag
Bruce Bottomleyon July 5, 2018 at 9:25 pm
Are you sure the bag was real metal, or was it just metal appearing plastic?
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Shaeon December 2, 2020 at 6:24 am
Yep – I have also experimented with this. Put my phone inside an AUSTRALIAN silver lined chip packet and then called my phone – it rang.
Although – I also have an app that records my GPS at 5 second intervals. Turned that on, returned the phone to the chip packet and the GPS signal went dead. GPS is blocked by the chip packet, but not 4G signals. Not sure if this is to do with frequency or signal strength. Phone towers are much closer than GPS satelites
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Sis Leah Muhammadon December 27, 2022 at 4:48 am
That’s funny because I gave a faraday bag made from a potato bag and it works. Granted I tweaked it, but it’s bad as hell and fits in my mobility scooter.
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Chris Pratton January 16, 2023 at 6:09 pm
They work, stop this trying push this nonsense that it doesn’t work.
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Submit a Comment
As someone deeply immersed in the world of electronic signal manipulation and shielding techniques, I can attest to the fascinating intersection of technology and human ingenuity discussed in David Brooks' article from July 5, 2018. The story involves an electrician who ingeniously outsmarted GPS monitoring by fashioning a Faraday cage out of a shiny foil potato chip bag.
Now, let's delve into the concepts and nuances related to this intriguing tale:
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Faraday Cage Principle: The electrician's use of a shiny foil potato chip bag as a Faraday cage is a practical application of the Faraday cage principle. A Faraday cage is an enclosure made of conductive material, such as metal or metallic foil, that blocks electromagnetic signals. In this case, the bag acted as a shield, preventing the GPS signal from reaching the electrician's monitored device.
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GPS Signal Blocking: The story raises questions about the effectiveness of using such makeshift Faraday cages to block GPS signals. While it worked for the electrician in Australia, the author, inspired by the narrative, conducted a personal experiment using a TGIF Friday Potato Skins bag to shield a car remote starter. The success or failure of signal blocking depends on various factors, including the type of signal and the materials used in the makeshift Faraday cage.
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Signal Transmission Variability: The article touches upon the uncertainty surrounding the comparison between the signal from a remote car starter and a GPS. The effectiveness of a Faraday cage can vary depending on the frequency and strength of the signal it aims to block. This introduces an element of complexity into the practicality of using everyday items as signal blockers.
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Conductive Material Discrepancy: The speculation about whether Australian potato chip bags contain more conductive material than those in the author's location adds another layer to the discussion. The conductivity of materials used in Faraday cages plays a crucial role in their effectiveness. Different brands or regions may use materials with varying conductive properties.
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User Experiments: Comments from readers further enrich the conversation. Experiments conducted by individuals, such as putting a phone inside an Australian silver-lined chip packet, highlight the variability in results. Factors like signal type (GPS or 4G) and signal strength contribute to the effectiveness of the makeshift Faraday cage.
In conclusion, this story not only showcases the inventive ways individuals attempt to manipulate electronic signals but also emphasizes the complexity and variability involved in signal blocking. As an enthusiast in this field, I find these real-world experiments and discussions immensely intriguing.
