Anybody know anything about cell phone antenna lights?

Ken Robbins · Post by **Ken Robbins** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 12:33 am

Hi Folks!

I've been noticing these little flashing blinky lights at mall cell phone accessories carts... some of them look neat, there is one that would look good in a 1/1000 PL 1701 nacelle as a warp engine dome effect... I've looked at them and they are small enough to fit.

I've taken a quick look around the 'net and found plenty of sites that sell them but no info on how to adapt them to hobby use. It is apparent they attach to a cell phone by replacing the antenna... would it be as simple as scavenging antenna connectors from dead cell phones and hooking them up or is there some trick needed to get them to operate? The reason I ask is these lights flash when the phone recieves a call, would there be a complication to installing them in a model?

I know they can run continuously... the displays in the mall do!

Roger and Out,

Ken "Sees real possibilities in this" Robbins

Sparky · Post by **Sparky** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 2:04 am

Depends on how they get their power, I'm gusseing right off the RF, unless they have batteries in them and just detect the sustained RF signal (in coming call) with an RF diode.

There are some little manget clip on LED bling bling things, these take 2 pen cell batteries, I belive, maybe 3, cells are usually 1.5 volt. You can check the voltage on the new pen cells to be sure. Then you would wire, wires to the button without the pen cells in there. Power would route from your battery through the ship to the nacell. That's about it.

Ken Robbins · Post by **Ken Robbins** » Sun Dec 03, 2006 12:09 pm

Thanks, Sparky. I'll find some of these little blikies and try your suggestion.

If that doesn't work, I know you can turn these things on without a cell phone:

I went to a mall and picked up a few of the antenna lights... the folks that sell them have this little device for testing them, you set the light on a copper piece that's about 1/4" diameter and push the test button... the young lady that was selling them let me open the battery door, inside was three AA cells, a microchip, and a transistor... I'm kicking myself for not writing down the number on the chip.

All I have to do now is track down that driver circuit and I'm good to go.

Roger and Out,

Ken "Surprised others haven't thought of this" Robbins

Digger1 · Post by **Digger1** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 3:11 pm

Sparky is correct. They are powered right from the cellular signal and won't blink without it. Well, I'm sure they have batteries but they need the cellular signal to operate.

dekesdragon · Post by **dekesdragon** » Thu Jan 25, 2007 7:40 pm

I maybe off base but I think the copper piece was a ground radiator
off some sort, and may not be important to your application., different from the ground we think of in circuitry.
I am ME and remember the Antenna Eng having a large metal
screen to use as a ground. something about antennas........
I know any good antenna eng will set me straight about this...