Impolite Cell Users, We Will Find You

Who hasn’t been jarred by the electronic jangle of a cell phone at some inopportune moment? Whether during a cousin’s wedding or a performance of “Rigoletto,” it’s a pretty safe bet that some chucklehead’s phone will go off.

Wouldn’t it be nice to head off these nattering nincompoops?

The problem is that no one knows which self-centered moron has left a cell phone turned on--until the thing starts squealing. It’s not just rude. Cellular signals can interfere with equipment in hospitals and nursing homes.

Other countries stop the inappropriate use of mobile phones with blocking devices that jam signals in localized areas.

In this country, the Federal Communications Commission bans such devices because it doesn’t want people interfering with communication willy-nilly.

Some establishments post signs asking customers and guests to turn off their mobile phones, but that largely depends on the honor system. There is a device, though, that scans for cell phones and tells users to shut them off.

It’s a book-size box that goes off if an operating cell phone comes into its sensor area. Once it detects a signal, the detector triggers a recording of a woman’s voice that asks that the device be turned off. The device can be set to operate more quietly, or even remotely, alerting guards in another room that a cell phone is turned on.

If this sounds like spy stuff, that’s not far off the mark. The detector can be used to keep phones out of sensitive meetings, hospitals or prisons where authorities want to make sure inmates aren’t ordering hits on outsiders.

The manufacturer, Zetron Inc., doesn’t really advertise the thing. I’ve been showing one around Los Angeles for the last few weeks, and everybody who saw it was impressed with the technology.

But not everybody thinks it is such a great idea.

As much as people gripe about cell phone use in public places, restaurant managers who were asked to evaluate the device drew back in horror at the concept.

“You never want to offend your customers,” said Neno Pervan, owner of Il Dolce Cafe on Montana Avenue in Santa Monica. “If they want to use a cell, they’re going to use a cell.”

Other restaurant managers agreed, arguing that things really have to be out of control before the cooks come out of the kitchen waving cleavers. “I would never tell someone to not use a cell phone,” restaurateur Will Trimble said. “I want them to come back.”

Because conversations are allowed in restaurants, the folks running them don’t want to be saying certain kinds of conversations are off limits.

Not so for movie theaters. Demonstrate the cell phone detector to people who show films and their eyes light up. “I can definitely see where something like that would be useful,” said Chad Feli, assistant manager at the Laemmle’s Monica Fourplex.

Rick King, a spokesman for AMC Entertainment Inc., which shows movies on 2,576 screens across the country, agreed. “A cell phone detector seems like something we’d definitely want to look into.”

The detector isn’t foolproof. If a call is being made, the detector goes off nearly immediately. While the phone is on, every 30 minutes or so, it will issue a signal checking in with the local cell phone tower, and the detector will pick up that transmission as well. But it’s certainly possible to walk an active cell phone past the detector without it going off initially.

Devices such as the cell phone detector will become more common as the technology used for personal communication interferes with the need for quiet in shared spaces.

When that happens, people will be able to enjoy a little contemplative time in public spaces uninterrupted by the chirping of phones. Shortly after that, we’ll see the birth of stealthy cell phones that can’t be detected. What we really need is something we’ll never get: a jerk detector.

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Dave Wilson is The Times’ personal technology columnist. He can be reached at dave.wilson@latimes.com.