Cell Phone at the range

[scottsvillesol]

Hey everybody,

I've been reading alot here recently don't post much(or at all really) but i have a weird question. Every time I go shooting and I have my phone in my pocket the battery always dies in about 2-3 hours as apposed to 12-16 hours of normal use.

Just wondering if this happens to other people and whether or not anyone knows how to keep it from happening short of turning off completely(which I'm okay with, just prefer to have it on)

Just a little extra info the phone i;m using is an Android powered Samsung Galaxy S

Thanks for the replys

 

[The_Next_Generation]

It could be that something is causing the phone to turn on. I know that when I ride my bicycle, sometimes my iTouch will turn on from the heat/contact with my leg. This runs the battery down much quicker. Perhaps something similar is happening with your phone.

I would suggest putting the phone in a pocket that is not on your person, but still within earshot. This might minimize any accidental button-pressing or the like.

- TNG

 

[signalzero]

Is your range near good cell tower coverage? It could be a simple issue with your phone searching for service (and in some cases Wi-Fi) thus using more of the battery.

 

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

I would imagine that something touches the power button and turns the screen on while you're at the range.

 

[alemonkey]

Is your range near good cell tower coverage? It could be a simple issue with your phone searching for service (and in some cases Wi-Fi) thus using more of the battery.

Probably this. Mine does the same thing, and my range is about 5 miles outside of town. I have the same thing happen when I travel.

 

[Mal H]

Yep, I was going to ask the exact same question. If a phone has no signal at all it goes into search mode and will run down a battery rapidly.

 

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Since you have an Android phone, there two apps, Tasker or Locale, that can allow you to turn off phone functions based on location. You can set the area around your range to automatically turn off your data connection (you can leave basic phone access on) and then automatically turn it back on when you leave the range. You can do it a few ways, such as if your battery drops below a certain point, turn off 3/4G and turn it back on when your battery gets raised to another point. Or if you lose connectivity for a certain amount of time, say 10 minutes, to turn of 3/4G and have it only recheck once an hour. Just a few ideas about how you can use Android apps to manage how your battery is spend based on many different conditions. I greatly prefer Tasker as it allows you way more capability, but it does have a greater learning curve. Locale works pretty well to and is much easier to use, though it doesn't have quite the same level of capabilities.

 

[gspn]

HA! I thought this was going to be one of those posts where someone rants about how rude it is to use a cell phone in a certain location because they just can't stand to hear people talking on the phone...which really would have been a good one given that everyone is shooting and wearing ear protection.

 

[scottsvillesol]

Thanks for the replies everyone, i think I'm gonna try the cell phone in a pocket away from me to see if that helps at all. I was thinking that the noise was activating the phone some how as it's always in my pocket and i never have this problem any other time.

I'll let ya know what happens next time I go shooting, which will hopefully be in the next couple of days

 

[MyGreenGuns]

+1 to your cell is "roaming" and lookin for a tower. I turn off my cell at the range. I'm not going to hear it ring anyway.

I thought this was a "How rude it is" thread too. I got a big kick out of the guy who stood behind me yelling, "SPEAK UP! I CANT HEAR YOU!" repeatedly into a phone. You would think he would realize a dozen firearms are louder than his nokia. It didnt help that "we" (everyone at the firing line) were timing our shots to when he wasnt talking.

 

[W.E.G.]

I get no signal at my range.

Kills the phone battery usually if I'm there for more than a couple hours.

I generally just turn it off - if I can remember.

I don't go to the range so I can play with electronic devices.

 

[Doc Savage]

I'd bet on the our of range/searching for signal mentioned earlier. Personally, I turn mine off at the range whether I have signal or not. The Cell signal causes static on my electronic muffs, just like it does on the computer speakers at work when I have it too close.

Robert

 

[Fanky]

I just turn my Droid on airplane mode at the range. It isn't looking for signal then, and if I do need to make a phone call, it takes all of a couple seconds to get service back.

 

[Carter]

Airplane mode is your friend. Allows you to leave your phone on, take pics, video, and tell the time but don't have to worry about calls or texts. It also is very good on the battery life.

 

[SHOOT1SAM]

W.E.G. posted:.....I don't go to the range so I can play with electronic devices.

Neither do I, and I'm sure the OP doesn't either, but as a husband and father I DO like to be available should there be an emergency, and many of us will use the camera on our phone to take a picture of whatever warrants it-an outstanding target, a weird looking piece of brass, a fellow shooter's firearm, a strange stringing of shots, etc.

Sam

 

[Paris]

I don't go to the range so I can play with electronic devices.

I really laughed at this because I think the poster was serious.

Come on, really? I keep my phone with me, on, and charged pretty much 24/7. If my family needs me I'd like to be able to contact them and for them to contact me. The flip side of that, I'd like to be able to call for help if I need to. There's a lot of things I am, and a lot I am not - like a doctor, or a firefighter, etc, etc.

"Playing around" really has nothing to do with it.

 

[Ramone]

I use my Camera phone to take a quick snap of my targets with range/load/weather conditions/etc. to help keep my range books. It's become a much relied on tool for working out my dope as well (and yes, prior to this I kept the targets- a filing cabinet full!- until I could enter the data in my range and reloading note books).

To the OP, If I understand correctly, the phone will boost it's signal in weak reception areas. Boosting the signal burns more power. I can say with certainty that my phones will run flat in hours when I am offshore, as opposed to days when I am in a good coverage area. I'd lay odds that you are either in an indoor range (a steel and concrete building will smack those bars down in a hurry) or outdoors in a rural area with poor coverage.

Since I am more-or-less on call 24/7, and airplane mode is not an option, I just make sure to charge in the car on the way to the range, and charge on the way home as well.

 

[FROGO207]

I was going to tell you to stop taking all those videos of the cute gunnie girls shoot'in up their targets. As this really is a serious thread, airplane mode or shut it off and check it every so often if you do have coverage sounds like your best options so far. Me, I like to relax and shoot interruption free when at the range.

 

[W.E.G.]

I see people at the range with those things.

Doing the same stuff with them at the range that they do at Starbucks.

None of them getting "Honey come home!.... the child has a 106-degree fever!" calls.

...and don't EVEN get me started here on cell-phone pics.
http://smith-wessonforum.com/lounge/222696-crummy-cell-phone-pics-stop-posting-them.html

 

[Mal H]

Since this has turned into more of a cell phone discussion and not a "strange things are happening to my phone at the firing range" thread, I'll close it for now.

If the OP does discover that the range had anything to do with his cell phone mystery he can PM me or any other moderator to open this thread for the update. Until then ...