Boost Your Car's Key Fob Range (by Pointing It at Your Head)
Tech urban legend says that you can increase your car's key fob by strategically pointing it at your head--something to do with the shape of your skull acting as a directional antenna of sorts. Skeptical? So were we--until we tested it with PCWorld Editorial Director Steve Fox's car in our parking lot.
First, we tried to establish the key fob's maximum range with a standard grip while maintaining a line-of-sight connection--which turned out to be about 100 feet from the car. At that distance, we found, the car responded to 1 of every 20 to 30 button presses. Then we had four different staffers lock and unlock the car while pointing the key fob at our heads, either holding it up against the bottom of our chins or pointing it at our temples (as though we were playing Russian Roulette). To our surprise, this method enabled us to move an additional 40 feet or so away from the car and still get effective performance from the key fob; at that point we reached the wall of the parking lot, putting an end to the experiment. Different people achieved their best results by holding the key fob at different parts of their head--presumably because the shapes of their skulls differed--but the trick clearly was effective.
The verdict: Well, it worked for us. Try it yourself if you don't believe us.
