Anarchy in the Airwaves

By Elspeth Reeve

NBC Universal, which got slammed with a $10,000 fine this month for using unlicensed walkie-talkies on a Law & Order set that interfered with real police radios, is one of the latest casualties in a radio spectrum crowded by an endless array of high-powered wireless products. Here's a look at other recent victims, some unintentional and some not.

THANKS, BUT NO TANKS

Garage doors nationwide started opening this spring--seemingly on their own--as nearby military radios began using the same frequency. Last week the Air Force asked a private company to devise a way to resecure America's airwaves.

SILENCE IS GOLDEN

With the patent-pending Cell-Block-R, all incoming calls in, say, a theater could be routed to voice mail. Foreign firms are e-peddling cell-phone jammers, illegal in the U.S.

TALKING HEADS, BEWARE

Small enough to fit on a key chain, TV-B-Gone can be used to stealthily turn off blaring TVs in airports and bars from as far away as 50 ft. Since its October debut, more than 50,000 of the tube quellers have been sold, proving that 24-hour news is not for everyone.

FLYING THE FRIENDLY CRIES

British air-traffic-control transmissions have been interrupted by wails from a baby monitor, a gadget that can also inadvertently eavesdrop on phone calls.

A HOUSE DIVIDED

It may just be your microwave that's jamming your cell phone. Electronic items can interfere with one another, which means that your dryer could block your cordless-phone signal--and that your amazing new wireless keyboard could be slowing your wi-fi.