Scam product for sale in Guardian newspaper, allegedly

[Paul Nutteing]

If something sounds too good to be true then ....

Bottom of page 24 of today's Guardian 16 column inch advert for this product. Previous incarnation of this device , same 'function' and similar wording of ads was a proven scam. Just an empty box. The give away was no power source internal or external - anyone heard of the Law of Conservation of Energy? Anyone aware of this actual variant ? If an internal or external power source then I could be on the wrong tack.

Probably the same as third item down on this file

previous scam, different company, worked because at 5 GBP it was pitched low enough that people did not claim a refund when they found, not surprisingly, it did not work.

What they aren't telling you about DNA profiles and what Special Branch don't want you to know.

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[Mike]

And this has to do with DIY how precisely ?

[bigcat]

Welcome to uk.d-i-y. Unfortunately you seem to have forgotten to tell us what it is youre talking about.

NT

[Lurch]

On Tue, 8 Feb 2005 20:40:14 -0000, "Paul Nutteing" strung together this:

Er, yes. I'm glad it's not just me who has no idea what you're banging on about then.

[zaax]

In article , Lurch writes

I think he's talking about the time you defiantly know you put your screw driver in your tool box. But when you open the box next it's not there.

[Paul Nutteing]

The wording in the Guardian is similar to this

"Crystal clear reception in an instant Many of us suffer with 'snow', 'ghosting' or poor reception, which spoils our favourite programmes. This tiny indoor antenna will help you receive a crystal clear reception on your TV. Not only does this new technology bring you long awaited high quality TV reception but it also works with AM/FM radio. Simply plug into your TV or radio and you will instantly obtain a better picture and sound, without the need for ugly outdoor or clumsy indoor aerials. Only £12.99"

The above quote from the URL

the Guardian does not have electronic access to their adverts. The newspaper has legitamised the possible scam by giving their own contact and order details. Wheras the company originating these, too good to be true devices, operates using a mobile phone number contact , no mail address and a secondary unattributeable internet site in New Zealand apparently. The Guardian is adding 2 GBP for purchasers by acting as agent for this "Guardian reader offer"

A small plastic box about 2 inches square roughly with a wire and plug that you plug into your TV. If any electronic bods know what possible technology can do this with no power consumed I would be most intrigued to discover.

[John]

SNIP

Its a 23rd Century Sub-Space radio remarkable moved back to our time during an encounter with a temporal anomaly. Probably a whole host of similar things hidden away in area 51

[Cynic]

In the case of an aerial it is possible. Aerials can be directional, which provides a stronger signal with no power input. If an existing aerial is not correctly matched to the impdance of the aerial input, it is also possible to improve the signal by putting a matching network (again, unpowered) between the aerial and the input.

I have no idea what the device in question is, I only give examples of how reception can be improved by the use of a passive device.

[s--p--o--n--i--x]

It's not a scam it's simply a TV aerial in a plastic box. The clue is in the phrase "This tiny indoor antenna".

Depending upon how it is designed it *may* have a higher gain than a conventional aerial and therefore provide a better picture.

As with all passive aerials no power supply is required.

sPoNiX

[Max]

People have been selling things like this for decades.

I suspect that they offer "money back if not satisfied" and rely on people not bothering to send it back. Also it *might* be better than some indoor aerial setups, especially FM radios which rely on a piece of wire dangling.

[Andy Wade]

Precisely.

There's one particular magic aerial that's appeared from time to time over the last two decades that just consists of a piece of wire with a solid plastic block moulded on the end. What you get for your money is a piece of wire dangling with a weight on the end :-).

One reason these scams continue to work is that the goods are priced just on the right (or wrong) side of the "I've been conned but I can't be bothered to do anything about it" barrier.

[Paul Nutteing]

The previous definite scam device along these lines

10 years ago was priced at about £5. As you say a cut-off point where a large proportion would not be bothered claiming back their money. But £13, £15 these days if still a scam - seems piched too high even for 10 years inflation. Perhaps someone has done the focus group / psychology and 13 to 15 quid is the current cant be bothered point

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Valid email nutteing@fastmail.....fm (remove 4 of the 5 dots) Ignore any other apparent em address used to post this message - it is defunct due to spam.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

So all those large external aerials are simply unnecessary? ;-)

If they've invented something that works better than conventional techniques, then the mobile phone chappies would bite their hands off for it.

[Cynic]

They certainly may be in some locations. In any case, I don't recall the exact wording of the advert, but if you have a roof-mounted yagi in a high signal strength area, you could be over-driving your TV tuner. Fitting a *lower* gain aerial could in that case improve your reception.

Perhaps you haven't noticed, but the aerials on mobile phones have been getting smaller and smaller until these days they are usually completely hidden inside the phone. So no way would the mobile phone people be interested in an aerial as large as the one advertised.

[Paul Nutteing]

I thought aerial dimensions went to scale with the wavelength I know an indoor FM radio aerial as a squashed loop is 5 foot long Long wave aerials used to be the length of the garden

405 aerial was bigger than 625 aerial etc

This scam thing, 2 inches across, must be for picking up infra-red TV stations

What they aren't telling you about DNA profiles and what Special Branch don't want you to know.

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Valid email nutteing@fastmail.....fm (remove 4 of the 5 dots) Ignore any other apparent em address used to post this message - it is defunct due to spam.

[Mike]

Well one could filter out all frequencies other than the TV channels, rectify them and somehow get enough to run a low gain amplifier at the TV frequencies. But as to it improving things, that is unlikely.

[Mike]

Where's the attenna on your mobile phone ?

[Cynic]

Yes and no. *Some* aerial designs have to be a particular fraction of the wavelength, but you will find that a LW and MW radio works just fine with a 6 inch ferrite rod aerial instead of a 300 meter long dipole.

[davebudd]

metre

sorry, one of the ones that annoys me unreasonably

[Cynic]

Yup, me too, because I *always* get it wrong :-}