Transponders and such

[aitm]

If you are familiar with transponders for toll roads, florida has a new kind that they are putting out to keep people from transferring them from one vehicle to another, kinda shitty in my mind. Anyway, I got the new kind to replace the old and it says you have to afix it to the window or it won't work, and that it uses the windshield as an "antenna" Now perhaps by pealing the sticky off you actually engage the circuitry so it will work however it does, but the idea that it must be attached to the windshield kinda bemuses me. If I peel off the back and stick it to a piece of glass and laid it on the dashboard how the hell would the sticker know it wasn't on a windshield? Sounds a little fishy to me, any of you higher minds have a thought on this?

[Shiranu]

I don't know anything about how that works, but yeah that's some bullshit.

[SGOS]

You can't transfer it to another car?  WTF???  I suppose next they should make it illegal to transfer goods and services, or god forbid, MONEY to another person.  You buy the thing.  You should be able to do what you want with it, including letting someone else use it.

[Poison Tree]

I ran the idea past my father, an old electronics engineer. He said that glass is an insulator, therefor it doesn't conduct electricity and can't be an antenna. His guess is that you need a specific side pointing out and fairly direct line of sight out, so you'd need to make sure the correct side is pointed out, but he can't see any reason to stick it to any glass.

[PopeyesPappy]

Maybe there is an optical component?

[Johan]

I got the new kind to replace the old and it says you have to afix it to the window or it won't work, and that it uses the windshield as an "antenna"

The windshield as an antenna? That makes absolutely no sense as far as electromagnetic energy goes. This thing wasn't built by the same people that did the voting machines was it?

[aitm]

Yeah, seems like a bullshit component to make people buy one for each vehicle. At first I was thinking by removing the backing that it might somehow connect some linkage that would allow for some type of activation, but after some looking at other sites, its just a ploy to get you to stick it on cause then you can't take it off without fucking it up, but you can just tape it to the window or sticky it to a small piece of glass and stick it on the dashboard. Course I also found out that the actual cost is under 6 bucks so now I just sound like a cheap old fart.