Neo1973 "Car kit" - some pittfalls due laws possible?

[Robert Michel]

Salve Joe!

Joe Pfeiffer schrieb am Dienstag, den 23. Januar 2007 um 09:00h:

> Robert Michel writes:
> >but I have some doubts about the "Car Kit" because I heard that most
> >of cars sold the last 10 years have a "gerneal aproval" (Allgemeine
> >Betriebserlaubnis) that would expires when a radio transmitter 
> >(e.g. of a GSM mobil) is used inside during driving without using
> >an external antenna.
> 
> Speaking as a bit of a car nut, it's hard for me to imagine how a cell
> phone could affect the car's electronics...

Well, put a mobile close to a speaker or AM radio...

I haven't heard about any misfunction (of an Airbag or...) due a
mobil inside a car but that not the counting point.
When it is true, that the cars only have a "general aproval" when
there is no mobile phone without an external antenna used inside
then there is the danger, that some day it this fact is not only
sleeping in the law papers, it could used someday from some mobil
producers with external antenna connectors to boost their business
by lobbing that this point has to be controlled by the police.

So I haven't found a right source for this, the adac.de link hasn't
an official law text and isn't about the point "general aproval" and
mobiles without external antenna - it is only about the official
requirements to free speak systems.
 
> >A German car driver club (BTW the association/NGO with the most members
> >in Germany) has an overview about law pittfalls in Germany around using
> >a mobil in a car:
> >http://www.adac.de/Recht_und_Rat/verkehrsrecht/verkehrsvorschriften_deutschland/handyverbot/default.asp
> 
> I don't speak German (in spite of my last name); is there an English
> translation for this?

AFAIK no. I posted this topic and link to this list, that some
electrical engineer (who could speak German) would start to care
about this point.

So again - at the moment the police react only when people phoning
without a free speak unit and sometimes when the people using a PDA
during driving.

> >Since last Dezember it is forbidden for the driver to touch a PDA/mobil 
> >computer with a radio(GSM)modul during driving with his fingers:
> >http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/81970
> >The law which forbit using your fingers to pick up a call or dial a
> >inumber in a mobil phone is no expand to a gernal touch forbiddance 
> >due a judgement.
> 
> As a matter of safety, it turns out that the major problem with using
> cell phones is the distraction, not having your hands unavailable to
> drive (even with a manual transmission).  Car kits do very, very
> little to help.

This is a general ban we have life with - I could imagine a touch
GUI on a Neo1973 which to use would be more safe than using normal 
car radios.... but there is the general ban (thanks to the unsafe
GUI of normal phones.. and PDAs....)

But to be precice - it is still allowed in Germany to use a PDA 
during driving with your fingers - but not a PDA with a GSM module 
- even when the PDA with GSM module is used only for navigation 
or music entertainment.

Lawyers could find out if there is a chance when OpenMoko would have
the power of a vserver and a "car modus" that intaction with the GSM
part is blocked in the "car modus"....

IMHO this doesn't worth to deal with a beside laws or not it is better
to take care themself and never touch a PDA/Phone/Navigation system
while driving. So halt your car befor touching the screen.
Beside voice commands the Neo1973 could offer a new function via GPRS
- call your partner/your office/your secretary and please her/him to
change your route remotly :))

> >While it has become allowed to use a mobil and GSM transmitter
> >during flying a plain I fear that the laws could be be missused
> 
> When has this become allowed?

About last year?
News from today:
http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/84079
(Sorry German again)

in short:
The airline "Emirates" will allow cellular phone calls from february
2007 on. [my comment: AFAIK will these modificated plains a micro GSM cell inside
and route this call to the outside - so the mobile doesn't start to
swith to burst with full power to find a cell.]
Ryanair will modificate 50 plains till summer 2007 

Use this link:
http://www.about-electronics.eu/2007/01/16/this-is-your-captain-calling-emirates-allows-cellphone/
But there isn't a gereral permission to use such systems....



BTW micro cell - I saw some weeks ago a finish or swedish website
of a university build their own UMTS station - is that allowed 
with UMTS beside GSM to run their own micro station? Something
for Neo1973 version UMTS?


Ok, I wanted only to stress, that there are some action to use mobil phones
in plains and in opposide there could be a sleeping law about mobils inside cars.....
what someone should check before producing and selling the Neo1973 v1.

Greetings,
rob