I just thought, woulldn't it have been funny if the guest on the show had a
digital celll phone instead of an analog cell phone, and when the producers or
whoever tried to play it through the speakers, all they would get is digital
noise, whatever digital cell phone noise sounds like, and couldn't figure out
why they couldn't recieeve the phone conversation to play through the sstudio
speakers and tv sets at home?

I just thought that it might have been funny IF that would have happened.

I'm not sure what digital cell phone noise sounds like, if anything at all, but
I could imagine it possibly sounding similar to the Emergency Alert Sysyem or
the old Emergency Broadcast System.

I just thought. Wouldn't it have been funny if the guest on the show would have
been using one of those digital cell phones (instead of analog) and when Dr.
Phil's show tried to play it tto the audience throughh the speakers (and at
home) all that would come through the speakers are the digital noise, whatever
digital cell phone noise sounds like.?

and if none of the producers of the show could figure out why?

good god!

You mean there mnight be a way to put that uh individual in jail for a few
months if not years and make loose money big time? Why hasn't someone who
has heard this thing start proceedingins in federal court. I wish I had
heard it. Any FBI types reading this post. How about doing the country a
favor and invite doctor phil to stand before a magistrate and start getting
the lumps he justly and severly deserves.

Bill Carty
"Mediaguy500" wrote in message
...
not that anyone really cares one way or the other *except for the people
who
actually got the ECPA law passed and the people who own and operate the
cell
phone companies),

I usually don't watch Dr. Phil today, but someone else at my house does.
Today,
Dr. Phil said that you should watch his show if you're a tv addict or a
cell
phone addict (always talking on the cell phone).

Well, I I kind of fit into the "tv addict" category, although I'm not
really
addicted to tv. I just used to watch a lot of it. I can stop any time.
Actually, I already have pretty much since my own cable tv no longer comes
in.

So I watched his show today. The first segments dealt with the guy who was
a
cell phone addict always talking on the cell phone and his wife wanted Dr.
Phil
to help her by getting him to stop always talking on the cell phone and to
start talking to her instead.

Well during one of the segments, the guy's cell phone rang,

You could hear the caller talking. At first, the caller seemed to not
know
that what he was saying was being broadcast on national tv intended for
the
general public. until Dr. Phil told the caller that he was talking to Dr.
Phil
(either the guy's wife took the phone away from her husband and gave it to
Dr.
Phil or Dr. Phil took it away himself. I don't remember which).

Anyways, after the call was over, Dr. Phil said that he knew that the cell
phone was going to ring (sometime during the show) (because the guy's wife
said
that he's always on it everywhere) so that he had his (producers??) find
out
the frequency of the cell phone in order to play it through the speakers
(so
that it could be heard on the tv show being watched by the general
public).

Now, what's wrong with this picture?

Remember, federal law forbids the actual monitoring, the actual listening
in
to them no matter what frequency they're on. and the guy from South Dakota
that
posted in this newsgroup said that under South Dakota law, it does not
matter
that my intentions was to watch and listen to a different service that was
a
leegal servicve (regular tv intended for the general public) or that I was
on
frequencies intended for the general public(regular tv broadcast station).
That
under South Dakota law, it's still illegal period (even though I didn't
expect
it) and even though it came over regular tv frequencies.

(I'm sure most of the readers of this newsgroup know which thread I'm
talking
about that was posted in this newsgroup. The guy who claimed that the cops
arrested him while he was listening to business frequencies because an
image of
a cell phone call came acrosss the business frequency.

Of course, Dr. Phil wasn't the only one who ever done this. I seem to
remember
news broadcasts broadcasting cell telephone calls also. although my memory
is
more vague on that since that was a longer time ago.

so what's really wrong with this picture?

just some stuff to think about.

In other words, everyone who was watching that episode of Dr. Phil today
was
violating the ECPA law by listening to the first part of that
conversation. (if
they were watching during that scene).

I'm assuming that it was completely legal as soon as the guy realized he
was
talking to Dr. Phil.

but then the ECPA might see it different as the law says the monitoring of
cell
phones, period, is illegal.

Since Dr. Phil was one of the parties talking on the phone, then under
ECPA
law, he did not break any laws at all,(and it is true, he did not break
any
laws) but his viewers at home watching on tv all did by listening to it!!!

Dr. Phil was indeed helping.

As I said, probably no one really cares one way or the other. (except the
cellular telephone companies who want to assure everyone that their cell
phone
calls are completely safe from eavesdropping.

and by the way, for the people who say to guarantee your phone call can't
be
overheard, use a wired landline telephone. That doesn't work either as
the
other party you call or that called you might be using either a cellular
telephone on their end or a cordless phone on their end even though you're
using a wired landline telephone.