Rants and Stupid shit in Orange County

[Grimmy23]

The mirrors aren't that difficult to cover on and off using soft Faraday bags or paper / cloth bags on copper tape. The reason that the antennas are out in the mirrors in the first place is that a steel pan with a steel cover is excellent for blocking any signals. Putting the mirrors in bags as far as they go may work. I doubt if cars use cell signals and wifi to get locations because you have to pay for cell signals. You can also opt not paying for wifi in a Tesla.

It's not far-fetched to cover the whole car with a car cover. Either you use soft materials for the Faraday bags. A car cover and a roll of copper tape don't cost that much. The satellite GPS signals will certainly have trouble penetrating the ground. Park your car in a paid place to avoid people taking the cover off.

Tesla uses LTE for navigation, live maps, music streaming, and internet connectivity. That is all part of the premium connectivity package that you pay $9. 99/ month for. You can of course skip that, but the car is virtually freaking worthless without it. Well ok, you can live with out it, but that big nav screen without connectivity is just wasted space, and if you're taking longer road trips that navigation is essential since it knows the state of your vehicle in real time and where the superchargers are.

Driving with faraday bags over the mirrors isn't very practical, especially if you're trying to do something on the sly. The only real solution is to disable the mobile connectivity when you're on one of your special field trips, but then again anyone with access to the app can see that you disabled it.

Best solution IMO is to just not take the car anywhere that would be incriminating if someone with access to your app found you there. If that means parking somewhere innocuous and taking an uber, so be it.

[James D 2004]

In a lot of modern vehicles, finding the antenna isn't that easy, much less wrapping them in foil. Teslas use a combination of GPs, cellular, and WiFi for their navigation and location sharing. The cellular antennas are in the side mirror housings. The GPS antenna is in the front camera assembly which is in the rear view mirror on the windshield. WiFi antennas are also embedded in the side view mirrors. You'd pretty much have to wrap the whole car in foil to block anything, or use an illegal signal jammer. I'm not even sure how well those signal jammers actually work. I've never actually tried one.

The mirrors aren't that difficult to cover on and off using soft Faraday bags or paper / cloth bags on copper tape. The reason that the antennas are out in the mirrors in the first place is that a steel pan with a steel cover is excellent for blocking any signals. Putting the mirrors in bags as far as they go may work. I doubt if cars use cell signals and wifi to get locations because you have to pay for cell signals. You can also opt not paying for wifi in a Tesla.

It's not far-fetched to cover the whole car with a car cover. Either you use soft materials for the Faraday bags. A car cover and a roll of copper tape don't cost that much. The satellite GPS signals will certainly have trouble penetrating the ground. Park your car in a paid place to avoid people taking the cover off.

[Grimmy23]

Seems like a simple matter. If you can locate the antenna just wrap it in some tin foil.

Another idea is to go to a gym and lock your phone in the locker, then take off for recreation and come back. Possibly with a scooter or bike kept in the trunk.

In a lot of modern vehicles, finding the antenna isn't that easy, much less wrapping them in foil. Teslas use a combination of GPs, cellular, and WiFi for their navigation and location sharing. The cellular antennas are in the side mirror housings. The GPS antenna is in the front camera assembly which is in the rear view mirror on the windshield. WiFi antennas are also embedded in the side view mirrors. You'd pretty much have to wrap the whole car in foil to block anything, or use an illegal signal jammer. I'm not even sure how well those signal jammers actually work. I've never actually tried one.

[DarkRoomDaddy]

I've not heard that before (outside of Farrari), why would it be illegal to make any modifications to property you own? Especially if you own it outright (no finance, you have pinkslip).

People modify their cars all the time, it's a multimillion dollar industry. Engine, suspension, interior, electronics, if you can dream it, there is likely products out there to make it happen, why would modification of the GPS be any different?

Not trying to be an asshat, just curious as it's a new one on me.

Seems like a simple matter. If you can locate the antenna just wrap it in some tin foil.

Another idea is to go to a gym and lock your phone in the locker, then take off for recreation and come back. Possibly with a scooter or bike kept in the trunk.

[CrazyOrc]

On Kenneth Martin's website, the Ohio-based attorney advertises that he represents clients in prostitution and solicitation cases. Now, 72-year-old Martin, of Macedonia, has been caught in a sex sting, according to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. "It's sometimes the people you'd least expect who drive the demand for human trafficking," Yost said in a news release. Martin responded to an advertisement set up by undercover agents on a human trafficking website, the attorney general said. He agreed to pay $180 for sex and arrived at "the agreed-upon location" with the cash in hand, Yost said. He was arrested and charged with engaging in prostitution and possessing criminal tools on Feb. 22, according to court records. "A lawyer should know better – don't buy sex in Ohio," Yost said.

Read more at: https://www.sacbee.com/news/nationwo...285943886.html#storylink=cpy.

[James D 2004]

There are gps spoofing apps on both iPhones and Android.

You can setup call and message forwarding if you leave the phone somewhere you are not. There are legit apps like teamwork to control the phone remotely like sending a message.

[Grimmy23]

I've not heard that before (outside of Farrari), why would it be illegal to make any modifications to property you own? Especially if you own it outright (no finance, you have pinkslip).

People modify their cars all the time, it's a multimillion dollar industry. Engine, suspension, interior, electronics, if you can dream it, there is likely products out there to make it happen, why would modification of the GPS be any different?

Not trying to be an asshat, just curious as it's a new one on me.

I think it has more to do with jamming signals than modifying the vehicle. Signal jammers are illegal as hell. Modifying a vehicle may void the warranty but isn't illegal.

[Taws6]

The GPS signal is rather easy to jam. But it's highly illegal. You can buy from overseas but you have to find one supplier to trust.

I've not heard that before (outside of Farrari), why would it be illegal to make any modifications to property you own? Especially if you own it outright (no finance, you have pinkslip).

People modify their cars all the time, it's a multimillion dollar industry. Engine, suspension, interior, electronics, if you can dream it, there is likely products out there to make it happen, why would modification of the GPS be any different?

Not trying to be an asshat, just curious as it's a new one on me.

[Oc Amper]

We have family location tracking on our iphones turned on as well. When I go on a field trip I turn that off and it's easy to explain that away as a glitch, but it wouldn't be easy to explain both the phone and the car tracking having glitches at the same time. This is the downside of technology. The benefits greatly outweigh the downsides though, at least in my situation. I'm not missing gas stations, oil changes, or any other engine maintenance one bit.

One idea on the family tracking on the iPhones, get another burner iphone, no service, just wifi. With that burner, use that for location services. If you're at the office, just leave the burner there, and nothing to explain.

I work from home, so have no place to leave a burner, hmmm, maybe the gym. You get the idea, make the burner the locatable phone, then just blame Apple for the glitch.

[Grimmy23]

You can also just use the keycard to unlock and drive the car.

Last week Tesla had an outage and Maps w / traffic updates was disabled, also I wasn't able to remotely turn on the climate control or check the cameras remotely. I spent some time troubleshooting the car, rebooted, etc. Finally submitted a service request as advised by the troubleshooting steps. Got a message later letting me know there was an outage. I mentioned that they should have broadcasted a text message so we don't waste our time trying to figure out what's wrong.

Wow, I didn't even know that. I've owned one Tesla for a year and a half and just got the second one this month and have never seen an outage like that. I was in Europe last week so I missed it.

Once again, the thing with turning off mobile access is that the app indicates that mobile access has been disabled. If your SO looks at the app she might wonder why access has been disabled and try to figure out where you are. We have family location tracking on our iphones turned on as well. When I go on a field trip I turn that off and it's easy to explain that away as a glitch, but it wouldn't be easy to explain both the phone and the car tracking having glitches at the same time. This is the downside of technology. The benefits greatly outweigh the downsides though, at least in my situation. I'm not missing gas stations, oil changes, or any other engine maintenance one bit.

[SCJohn]

Mobile data access is disabled but you can still use phone as a key via bluetooth. It's only when the phone is out of bluetooth range, is the mobile data access unable to remotely control and open the car.

You can also just use the keycard to unlock and drive the car.

Last week Tesla had an outage and Maps w / traffic updates was disabled, also I wasn't able to remotely turn on the climate control or check the cameras remotely. I spent some time troubleshooting the car, rebooted, etc. Finally submitted a service request as advised by the troubleshooting steps. Got a message later letting me know there was an outage. I mentioned that they should have broadcasted a text message so we don't waste our time trying to figure out what's wrong.

[IAmTheQ]

From what I read, Go to Controls / Settings / Safety & Security and turn off Mobile Access. The issue with this is you disable tracking AND all Mobile Access to all devices, including your phone. You'll need to use the Tesla Key Card to start the car. Not sure if this is all that useful. Seems like this is a real issue for guys with SO's.

Any other ideas?

Mobile data access is disabled but you can still use phone as a key via bluetooth. It's only when the phone is out of bluetooth range, is the mobile data access unable to remotely control and open the car.

[FarFarAway]

I found a potential solution. There are some car sharing apps out there where you can rent cars from other people for a couple hours. The two most prominent ones are Zipcar and Getaround. Zipcar isn't very prominent in SoCal. It's huge in the Bay Area but not so much down here, but there are a few areas that have Zipcar nearby. Getaround seems to be a little more prominent down here. There is a location (a private house) within walking distance of my work where I can rent a vehicle for 3 hours for $15-20. They are "remote rentals" where the app unlocks the car for you, so you don't have to interact with anybody. It's just pay the fee via the app and return the car with the same amount of fuel that you picked it up with. It's of course an additional step to throw up a smoke screen, but in the instances where I have to drive to areas that I just can't risk getting caught in it should do the trick.

Of course there's always Uber, but Uber to most locations that I have historically frequented would add $75-80 to the cost of the field trip, which makes it not worth it. The car share thing might be just what the doctor ordered.

You do have to give your accurate personal info to do this, of course. And it bills onto your personal credit card? Or can you use a prepaid debit?

[James D 2004]

The beater car that I was driving around town finally bit the dust. It needs $3000 in repairs and it's only worth $1600 KBB value so I'm not fixing it. Ironically it broke down just as I was pulling into my neighborhood after some hobby fun. If it had broken down 20-30 minutes earlier I would have had a fun time explaining to family why I needed to be towed from Little Saigon, so dodged a bullet there. Wife and I already knew we were on borrowed time with that car (15 years and 200 k miles) and decided a long time ago that we would replace it with a second Tesla when the time came. Well the time has come and we're abojt to become a completely gas free household.

Awesome, except Teslas are trackable. The last thing I need is for my wife to open the app and see that the other car is in Little Saigon or at some random hotel. It's possible to turn that off, but when you turn it off the app shows that you turned it off. That throws a bit of a wrench into this hobby for me. I haven't figured what my workaround is going to be yet. Maybe I turn it off and call it a "glitch. " But then we have location sharing on our phones too, which I turn off when I'm hobbying. The phone and the car can't both have glitches at the same time.

The GPS receiver of the M3 is in the rearview mirror. There are instructions on the internet to remove it. You should be able to block it with a faraday bag. Or tape the whole thing temporarily with copper tape. Aluminum tape needs a lot more layers. Test that and then find out if the car uses cell signals to triangulate. You should be able to block the antennas too.

The GPS signal is rather easy to jam. But it's highly illegal. You can buy from overseas but you have to find one supplier to trust.

[Grimmy23]

I found a potential solution. There are some car sharing apps out there where you can rent cars from other people for a couple hours. The two most prominent ones are Zipcar and Getaround. Zipcar isn't very prominent in SoCal. It's huge in the Bay Area but not so much down here, but there are a few areas that have Zipcar nearby. Getaround seems to be a little more prominent down here. There is a location (a private house) within walking distance of my work where I can rent a vehicle for 3 hours for $15-20. They are "remote rentals" where the app unlocks the car for you, so you don't have to interact with anybody. It's just pay the fee via the app and return the car with the same amount of fuel that you picked it up with. It's of course an additional step to throw up a smoke screen, but in the instances where I have to drive to areas that I just can't risk getting caught in it should do the trick.

Of course there's always Uber, but Uber to most locations that I have historically frequented would add $75-80 to the cost of the field trip, which makes it not worth it. The car share thing might be just what the doctor ordered.