Turn off the Beg-a-thon; no FM chip in our cell phones

[k4kyv]

Pulic radio station KQED in northern California offered a new twist in fund raising during its most recent beg-a-thon.  By donating minimum of $45 by May 5, members receive access to a pledge-free stream via internet that will allow one to listen online without interruption for the duration of the spring beg-a-thon. The live stream carries regular programming without the fund-raising breaks. Once a listener donates, they receive a special access code, which they  can  listen to using up to four browsers.

Meanwhile, NAB is pushing hard for a government mandate to require an FM radio chip in all mobile devices including cell phones, smartphones and tablets. The wireless industry opposes such a mandate.  Some of us just might prefer a simple mobile phone we can carry in our pocket or car that will allow us the basic function of making and receiving phone calls, without the built-in camera, texting and other bloatware and fluff including a broadcast radio receiver.

http://www.radiosurvivor.com/tag/kqed/

[KA0HCP]

Ok, here is a fair compromise:

Every cell phone will have an FM chip.

Every broadcash station will be required to provide 1 continuous hour daily of advertising free content between 7am and 6 pm. 

[WA1GFZ]

How about broadcasters pay for phone time if you listen to their battery discharging crap.

[KA0HCP]

Even better!!!

[K5UJ]

I've been cell phone-free a.k.a. a refusenik for at least 10 years.  I rarely miss having one.   

Yep, I had one once, a Motorola flip phone on a plan with MCI that cost $14/month.  I'd use it about once a month, to call someone to say I'm running late.  Very important calls to the cleaners to tell them to please stay open a minute or two extra. 

Then MCI Worldcom was purchased by Cingular and suddenly I got a new plan, $32 month and "free minutes." 
I called up and said, "I don't want free minutes, I only want to pay for what I use.  I want my old plan back." 
I was told, "You can't have your old plan back.  No one can have that plan; that plan doesn't exist anymore." 
"Why not?" 
"Because everyone gets free minutes whether you like it or not.  We're giving you the cheapest plan we have." 
Me:  "Then cancel my service.  I don't want your plan or any other s*** plan." 

And they did.  And I got rid of that stupid phone and have not had one since.  Now I have watched the change to digital, the crappy customer service, the ever worsening crappy audio quality, and lately, peoples' movements being tracked by Apple and who knows what else.

Most people really don't need them--it's all in their minds.  The solution is to toss the phone.  Most of you have probably lived the majority of your lives without them.   You won't die--trust me on that.  In fact, there are probably a bunch of other gadgets you all blow money on every month in the form of fees you can ditch too.  Add up the monthly fees and multiply by 12 to see what the gadgets cost you per year and think about all the ham gear and parts you could get.

Cell phones are mostly just toys for adults and now, kids.   Something to do to kill time.   It used to be that in those moments with nothing to do folks read newspapers, magazines and even books.   Now they yack like idiots to their idiot friends.

 

[N0WVA]

Pulic radio station KQED in northern California offered a new twist in fund raising during its most recent beg-a-thon.  By donating minimum of $45 by May 5, members receive access to a pledge-free stream via internet that will allow one to listen online without interruption for the duration of the spring beg-a-thon. The live stream carries regular programming without the fund-raising breaks. Once a listener donates, they receive a special access code, which they  can  listen to using up to four browsers.

Meanwhile, NAB is pushing hard for a government mandate to require an FM radio chip in all mobile devices including cell phones, smartphones and tablets. The wireless industry opposes such a mandate.  Some of us just might prefer a simple mobile phone we can carry in our pocket or car that will allow us the basic function of making and receiving phone calls, without the built-in camera, texting and other of bloatware and fluff including a broadcast radio receiver.

http://www.radiosurvivor.com/tag/kqed/

"NAB".....The name says it all.

[flintstone mop]

Something like the NEA

[Jim KF2SY]

Many Cell-phones already have a built in FM radio rcvr.

http://shopping.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=AmnbeFNuicYQ.jmjCjDPhO8bFt0A?p=cell+phones+with+fm+radio&did=0

 

[k4kyv]

My wife and I have service through AT&T wireless because she gets it a discount through her work, and added my name to the account. We used to have verizon, but changed because of the discount.  I don't think the AT&T service is as good, but it serves me adequately and she pays for it.

Instead of buying a $250+ phone with camera, e-mail and texting capability and FM radio, I went to Wal 'o China Mart and picked up a $30 Go-Phone, removed the stock chip and inserted the AT&T Simm card, and now I have a phone that I can use for outgoing and incoming telephone calls and it even lists missed calls, but not much else.  I rarely use it except in case of emergency when I am driving (you don't see many pay phones any more), and it comes in handy when I am with other people on a trip or at a hamfest and we can keep in touch with each other. I never bothered to activate the voice-mail feature because I knew I would never check my messages anyway. We still have landline service here. And I don't think the Go Phone has GPS tracking capability.

That's OK if one wants a phone that includes FM radio, GPS and combination butcher block and kitty litter box, and willing to pay extra for all that, but I don't need the FCC mandating that I have a built-in radio whether I want it or not. Just more extra stuff to crap out, add to the cost and make it more of a hassle to use.

[Detroit47]

Big Brother is tracking you.

All cell phones manufactured after 2005 had to have GPS locators in them.  This was a result of legislation in the United States after 9/11.
The U. S. FCC (Federal Communications Commission) has mandated a program called E911. E(nhanced) 911 requires the location of any cell phone used to call 911 can be determined to within 50 to 100 meters. The law took effect at the start of 2005. That means cell phone manufacturers have incorporated a GPS receiver in virtually every cell phone.

Don't ya just feel safer in a nanny society.

N8QPC

 

[N0WVA]

FCC mandating the FM chips in cellphones is probably some kind of scam to say there is so much saturation in the public of "digital" FM in order to kill analog. Since IBOC is a flop, it kinda doesnt set well with the more "educated" group in the FCC that we still have an analog medium.

[K2PG]

The antics of the NAB never cease to amaze me. They get behind one failed technology after another, thinking it will magically improve sagging ratings and plummeting revenue. IBOC is a prime example. Now they want to mandate an FM receiver chip in cell phones! I don't make phone calls on my car radio. Why should I listen to our local crappy FM stations on a cell phone?

The NAB and the corporate media types who populate it have forgotten something: If your programming sucks, nobody will listen to it! Technology won't bring the listeners back, especially with today's news-free, non-local  jukebox FM stations that run voicetracked or satellite programming imported from a distant city. AM radio? That medium committed suicide some years ago and is now a festering crapfest of sports talk, political propaganda, infomercials for quack diet supplements, and paid religion with some brokered foreign language programming thrown in for good measure.

I do not own a cell phone. My company issued one to me because I am on call with my job. It is a bare bones unit, which is all I need. I don't want to text and I don't want to surf the Web on my phone...I just don't need another medium for people to use for trying to sell me little blue pills or timeshares in Florida.

One of the young people at work was riding with me to help with a project at a transmitter site. During the ride, he began texting incessantly. I finally told him to turn off the phone, as that is very rude. Likewise, the people whose cell phones ring in church or at a restaurant.

[k4kyv]

They are still at it. According to the May 4 issue of Radioworld (p.5) "NAB launched a lobbying effort to educate listeners 'about the benefits of radio-enabled mobile devices in providing local news, entertainment and emergency lifeline information'. The initiative uses on-air and online resources to encourage listeners to seek out cell phones with broadcat radio capability."

http://www.radiorocksmyphone.com/

According to info from the link, radio-equipped phones are already available for those who want them.  So what's the big deal? If the providers simply advertise their radio-capable phones, customers who want them will purchase them. No need for a government mandate. I just want a cheap bare-bones no-bells-and-whistles phone that I can use to make a telephone call while away from home, particularly now that pay phones are practically extinct. "The wireless industry, CEA and RIAA support a resolution introduced in the House that opposes government mandates for FM chips...  Reps Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) introduced H. Con. Res. 42..."

While I don't usually have a lot of sympathy for RIAA and their heavy-handed anti-piracy lawsuits, I support them on this issue.

[longle SWL]

I've been cell phone-free a.k.a. a refusenik for at least 10 years.  I rarely miss having one.   

Yep, I had one once, a Motorola flip phone on a plan with MCI that cost $14/month.  I'd use it about once a month, to call someone to say I'm running late.  Very important calls to the cleaners to tell them to please stay open a minute or two extra. 

Then MCI Worldcom was purchased by Cingular and suddenly I got a new plan, $32 month and "free minutes." 
I called up and said, "I don't want free minutes, I only want to pay for what I use.  I want my old plan back." 
I was told, "You can't have your old plan back.  No one can have that plan; that plan doesn't exist anymore." 
"Why not?" 
"Because everyone gets free minutes whether you like it or not.  We're giving you the cheapest plan we have." 
Me:  "Then cancel my service.  I don't want your plan or any other s*** plan." 

And they did.  And I got rid of that stupid phone and have not had one since.  Now I have watched the change to digital, the crappy customer service, the ever worsening crappy audio quality, and lately, peoples' movements being tracked by Apple and who knows what else.

Most people really don't need them--it's all in their minds.  The solution is to toss the phone.  Most of you have probably lived the majority of your lives without them.   You won't die--trust me on that.  In fact, there are probably a bunch of other gadgets you all blow money on every month in the form of fees you can ditch too.  Add up the monthly fees and multiply by 12 to see what the gadgets cost you per year and think about all the ham gear and parts you could get.

There is an even cheaper alternative. I have an AT&T Go-Phone for my wife. I buy the $100 card once a year which activates the phone for one year and includes approx 400 minutes. That's just over $8 a month with no "features" or fees. It's not for yakking but is great for emergencies and occasional use.

[W2VW]

Many places don't have public phones anymore so a standby phone is good.

[KG6TJU]

I live in KQED broadcast range (don't listen to it though) and I can offer a cheaper alternative. Turn the channel during their fundraising broadcasts.

 A year or two ago I was contacted by PBS for one of their shows (I think it was Hugh Downs who hosted the show) because "they were interested" in doing a show featuring my farm. I spent an hour on the phone with the PBS people describing our operation and all before they dropped the bomb on me. I would have to pay $100K for them to do the interview. I just exploded! They then offered that they could do a "segment" instead of a "feature" on the farm and that would only cost me $30K. It was a sales call from the get-go and they wasted over an hour of my time before they got to the point. Had I known it was going to cost me anything I would have hung up on them right then. So much for public television being publicly funded. All of my liberal friends have been astonished at my experience. I must admit I was more than a little surprised and not a little pissed off.

 On the other hand I will be doing an interview with the California Report this fall which is the TV arm of the California Farm Bureau Federation (cfbf.org) and they don't charge a nickel. It is supposed to be aired on the RFD network. The gal who contacted me actually laughed when I asked how much they were asking me to pay for the privelege right off the bat (because of my earlier experience).   

[k4kyv]

A year or two ago I was contacted by PBS for one of their shows (I think it was Hugh Downs who hosted the show) because "they were interested" in doing a show featuring my farm. I spent an hour on the phone with the PBS people describing our operation and all before they dropped the bomb on me. I would have to pay $100K for them to do the interview.

Assuming this was not intended to promote a money-making enterprise on your part, shouldn't they be the ones to pay you for the privilege of featuring your farm and interviewing you for their program?

$100K is probably more than it would cost you to purchase time and run one of those 30-minute "informercials" on a commercial station.

[K2PG]

$100K is probably more than it would cost you to purchase time and run one of those 30-minute "informercials" on a commercial station.

Hey, for $100K, you could BUY a small commercial AM station! Two of them recently sold for that amount in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, PA area. Think of it...KTJU, The Voice of Agriculture!

[Opcom]

It's really time to add hard switches to the things in a phone like the GPS.. Who's to say that even though you turned it off, they can not turn it on over the air? It is 100% possible, and easy to implement such a control. just consider all the 'spy' software out there for phones. It's a crime. If my phone was not supplied by work and necessary for it, I would not pay for one for everyday use. I had a choice on the corporate phone ordering site and picked the simplest model with the biggest numerical keypad.

[k4kyv]

Store the phone in a metal enclosure when not in use, or else physically remove the battery.  I have seen containers offered for sale to shield the data strips on DLs and passports, and most likely you can purchase shielded cell phone cases somewhere online.

[steve_qix]

I've been cell phone-free a.k.a. a refusenik for at least 10 years.  I rarely miss having one.   

Yep, I had one once, a Motorola flip phone on a plan with MCI that cost $14/month.  I'd use it about once a month, to call someone to say I'm running late.  Very important calls to the cleaners to tell them to please stay open a minute or two extra. 

Then MCI Worldcom was purchased by Cingular and suddenly I got a new plan, $32 month and "free minutes." 
I called up and said, "I don't want free minutes, I only want to pay for what I use.  I want my old plan back." 
I was told, "You can't have your old plan back.  No one can have that plan; that plan doesn't exist anymore." 
"Why not?" 
"Because everyone gets free minutes whether you like it or not.  We're giving you the cheapest plan we have." 
Me:  "Then cancel my service.  I don't want your plan or any other s*** plan." 

And they did.  And I got rid of that stupid phone and have not had one since.  Now I have watched the change to digital, the crappy customer service, the ever worsening crappy audio quality, and lately, peoples' movements being tracked by Apple and who knows what else.

Most people really don't need them--it's all in their minds.  The solution is to toss the phone.  Most of you have probably lived the majority of your lives without them.   You won't die--trust me on that.  In fact, there are probably a bunch of other gadgets you all blow money on every month in the form of fees you can ditch too.  Add up the monthly fees and multiply by 12 to see what the gadgets cost you per year and think about all the ham gear and parts you could get.

Cell phones are mostly just toys for adults and now, kids.   Something to do to kill time.   It used to be that in those moments with nothing to do folks read newspapers, magazines and even books.   Now they yack like idiots to their idiot friends.

 

I suppose if I didn't have things in my life like children (now young adult children in their early 20s) or a wife who commutes 20 miles each way or a job where I am on call 24/7 or a lake place on an island with no phone service or..... I might be able to have no cell phone!!

In the old days, many hams had mobile equipment of some kind in their cars.  I have a class E rig at the lake.  On the boat, people had (and many still have) 2 way marine radios in case there is trouble on the water.  But, the cell phone will conveniently replace much of this, and for folks such as my wife, it is sure a LOT easier for her than using a ham radio or walkie-talkie in her car.  We technocrats have generators and complete communications systems in our homes and we can use them when the cellular system dies.

True, many people overuse their cell phones.  Mine is strictly utilitarian - no droids or i-phones here - basic communications which is what I want.  When my 23 year old runs out of gas out in the middle of nowhere and can call me for help on his cell phone, it is sure nice to have it!!!  Otherwise, I would have configured a mobile rig in all of the cars.

I resisted getting a cell phone for a long, long time, but when the kids starting driving it just made so much sense, and has indeed been a good thing.

[KA3EKH]

I have two teen age girls, if there I phones were removed from them they would die! Or at least that’s how it appears to me, at the university where I work the last two years we are starting to get the generation that’s plugged in 24/7. It's inconceivable to me but these kids will sit in a class and text or when in a lab environment will be using a computer for class work and also have a social network or twitter going at the same time. The tell me it’s the ability to multitask but that’s all a load of crap, just because you think you can do something don't mean you can.
Ray F

[steve_qix]

I have two teen age girls, if there I phones were removed from them they would die! Or at least that’s how it appears to me, at the university where I work the last two years we are starting to get the generation that’s plugged in 24/7. It's inconceivable to me but these kids will sit in a class and text or when in a lab environment will be using a computer for class work and also have a social network or twitter going at the same time. The tell me it’s the ability to multitask but that’s all a load of crap, just because you think you can do something don't mean you can.
Ray F

Isn't that something! 

My younger son attends UMaine Ororno, and the profs insist on no phone or text usage during classes/labs, etc.  Particularly during a lecture, it would be quite distracting.

[KA3EKH]

Couple years back if a phone rang it was a big deal and phone calls still are but last year and particular this last semester have seen more and more texting in class. Some have tried to stop it but it's becoming more and of a problem every year, many faculty members don’t care, some try to stop it but the kids are good at hiding their phones. What you may have seen two or five years ago is nothing compared to today and have to wonder what it will be like in five years. Texting appears to be more addictive then crack.

[WB2EMS]

Some of the profs here have asked about cell phone jammers, and have been disappointed to find out they are illegal. And more than one has been known to unplug the wireless access point in the lecture hall to cut down on the facebooking/IMing/online poker sessions during class. 

Personally, I find folks who are constantly buried in their phones and not 'present' when they are with you annoying. OTOH, having a portal to the world pretty much wherever you go is pretty amazing tech, when you need it. DroidX here.