Of memory, codes, and Faraday cages.

[phil]

Since we are talking about FOB silencers, I find that an Altoids tin makes a good one.

Too small for our giant key.

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[phil]

The real PSA here needs to be that if you go full-PaaK reliance, you should make sure you set up and remember the door keypad code and the backup start code.

That would be a public disservice announcement, because the codes are unreliable.

 

[dtbaker61]

Could someone break in and find the fob? Sure.. after tearing the car apart.. Am I going to tell you all of my secrets? Nope. Can you find a better Faraday Cage on Amazon? Maybe. Mine is cheap & very effective. If you read up on Faraday Cages.. there is one important thing to remember.. metal is a conductor. Test your cage!

Have fun!

I just rolled my fob up in a couple layers of foil.... no cardboard. I wanted to have the Fob available for the (very occasional) times I valet park, or bring the MME to the dealership for service.

I remember my door pillar code by position/pattern.... only had to use it once so far when I got back from a long hike with a dead phone battery.

 

[dtbaker61]

Or why not skip the faraday cage and just hide the fob in the car somewhere? Obviously not in the glovebox but somewhere less likely to be found. The car can be locked with the fob inside.

because then the car could be driven off just by breaking the window to gain access. You have to hide the Fob from the MME communication.... until you need it.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

Approaching 14,000 miles on the OD and I had my first law of unintended consequences. My iPhone went dead late in the afternoon during a video conference, the car was a 1/4 mile away and the campus was dead quiet. Home being 75 miles a away.. I realized that if I could find a soul with a phone I could call and have the S.O. unlock the car and then I could recharge my phone & drive off. But quickly wising up I hustled over to admissions where a student hauled out a Lightning plug and after a few minutes I was soon on my way.

While driving home I recalled our salesman saying one of the best backup plans is the fob in a Faraday Cage and then hidden in the car. On the weekend I made such a cage out of a small cardboard tube over which a slightly larger cardboard tube fit. I assembled such using 4 wraps of aluminum foil (including ends), then completely covered the foil with duct tape. I then custom fit the larger tube over the completed small one and repeated the process. The fob 1st goes in a plastic ziplock bag (avoiding incidental metal-metal contact) and that gets stuffed in the tube which is hidden in the car. I tested mine for two weeks and it never blinked.

The real trick is the door-code. The S.O. And I discussed this a bit and we memorized it in two ways: The first as a straight number broken up into meaningful number segments. Ours are essentially random and not tied to anniversaries, birthdays, etc.

The second as a mnemonic device in which the segments are also described as a phrase. Example: “Moonwalk Indy 1st” could be “69501”. You are far more likely to remember both a phrase and a number. Do I’ve a backup to the backup? Of course.
Hilarity results. Now we can’t forget the damn door code and all I have to do is walk up, whisper three words, and much laughing happens, and an elbow in the ribs too.

Could someone break in and find the fob? Sure.. after tearing the car apart.. Am I going to tell you all of my secrets? Nope. Can you find a better Faraday Cage on Amazon? Maybe. Mine is cheap & very effective. If you read up on Faraday Cages.. there is one important thing to remember.. metal is a conductor. Test your cage!

Have fun!

@JSeis If you're so inclined, how about posting a picture of your faraday cage for those who might like to do something similar.

 

[JSeis]

It’s pretty ugly looking as I was going for effective.. not looks lol. I will.

I spent an inordinate amount of time shopping for a Faraday Cage and read a lot of reviews including the “didn’t work”, “not effective”, “junk”, “waste of money”. Thus my simple 4 layers of aluminum foil around cardboard (“structure”) as a trial. A better and smaller one could easily made as a “pouch” or “envelope” by creating a folded sheet paper/card stock covered with aluminum into a smaller container. I use the duct tape as the outrr “protective fabric”. The inside of mine is cardboard of course and the fob in the plastic ziploc slides easily in and out. I ended up with 4 layers of foil.

The easiest way to make one is wrap the fob in plastic, then wrap in foil and call it good. A tin is a good idea though the metal parts of the fob should be insulated from the foil/metal as a savvy Faraday Cage expert said “metal in contact with a device acts like an antenna”.

 

[JSeis]

Here’s a picture

 

[yngwenli]

Hi, old thread. I've wrapped my key in a few layers of foil and can't get the car opened at all from that. I have PaaK, but still carry the FOB and don't really mind. Are folks sure the key even works when wrapped in foil since it doesn't in my case. (maybe different types of foil?)

 

[Ghost Ryder]

If you want to hide the key, in the car, just don't put a battery in it. The key fob will still work to start the car if you put in the special key spot in the center armrest.

 

[JohnFoxeSheets]

What I used. Cons: No duct tape involved.

Hmmm, I guess I know what to look for next time I'm in your neck of the woods! ?

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

Hmmm, I guess I know what to look for next time I'm in your neck of the woods! ?

Good luck finding the car let alone where a fob may or may not be hidden.

 

[ripperAZ]

I don’t know if I need to become MacGyver just to enter and turn on my car but I am thinking a faraday cage might be useful for my mother-in-law
Jes sayin….

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

Hmmm, I guess I know what to look for next time I'm in your neck of the woods! ?

Btw, on a serious note, I stopped using that particular faraday bag. After 8 months or so it stopped working. The copper thread is fairly thin and it wasn’t consistently blocking signals. I switched to a metal case instead.

 

[dtbaker61]

Hi, old thread. I've wrapped my key in a few layers of foil and can't get the car opened at all from that. I have PaaK, but still carry the FOB and don't really mind. Are folks sure the key even works when wrapped in foil since it doesn't in my case. (maybe different types of foil?)

a couple layers of foil work just fine, the car won't be able to 'see' it until you unwrap it.

I have mine (hidden) inside the cabin, and have only used it a couple times:
- once when my phone battery died on a long hike
- once when I left the car at the dealers and they needed to move it from entrance to Service
- twice given to Valet parking at a couple events where Valet was required.....

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