Cell Phones and Riding in the RAIN!

[ScorpionNinja]

DONT MIX!!!! GRRR DAMNIT!!!

Lastnite Rage42 and i, went for a cool ride around his area and out to Holly,Mi. for Harvey Lake Rd. (twisties) On my way to our Nav point, i rode throught afew quick rain down pours! I forgot i put my CELL in my left jacket (outter most) Pocket! I wear a Scorpion Hatrick Jacket (Red/Blk Mesh-Textile). Itstead of putting it in the Inner pocket, underneath the 'Airguard Liner' (Wind/Water-Proof liner). I got to Hall rd/Van Dyke, stopped at a gas station to fill up. Checked my CELL to see if Carol or Matt called me. Notice my CELL was alil wet... wiped it off, then put it in my Inner Liner Pocket (like i shouldve done in first place). Matt and i stop for a break and alil Food n drink at B-Dubs in Holly (Buffalo wild wings). Thats when i noticed my CELL DONT WORK!!!!

I had my CELL sit out over nite, battery out,etc... to air dry out... got home from work this morning and... IT STILL DONT WORK!!! ****!!! why didnt i zip it in a Ziplock baggie? Grrrr
My CELL is 4-5 yrs old anyway, time for a New one!

Lets see if Verizon Wireless will give me a New One, like their "New every 2' ad states!
Ill get one with a Camera Phone so i can take Pics of Nate and me!

-Later

[CC Cowboy]

I keep my wallet and cell phone in a plactic zip-lock bag under the passenger seat. I never need it unless I am stopped so it is safe there.

[Strider]

Originally Posted by CC Cowboy

I keep my wallet and cell phone in a plactic zip-lock bag under the passenger seat. I never need it unless I am stopped so it is safe there.

damn good idea, I do the same

[Snake]

I keep mine in a dry place as well. No need to have it on you or on your tank bag as this causes a distraction.

[kkim]

I carry the phone and wallet on me for a couple of reasons. I don't trust it on the bike in case it gets stolen if I'm ever at a rest stop.

On my ride, if I should crash and get separated from my bike, I have the phone with me. There are some severe canyon drops off the road I ride.

[Flashmonkey]

LOL I did this too....now my phone's doing all kinds of weird crap. Luckily it's a piece of garbage anyway and it's not a huge financial loss to me, but it's definitely a lesson learned.

[noche_caliente]

Originally Posted by kkim

On my ride, if I should crash and get separated from my bike, I have the phone with me.

That's the reason I keep mine on me as well - I figure that way I have it on me if I'm unconscious and someone finds me - they may not think to look through the different bags on the bike or under the seat

[dakkerz]

If you're phone is still wet, put it in a jar full of rice for a couple of days then try and put the battery back and turn it on. Rice should absorb any of the moisture in the phone. I've fixed a few friends phones this way after they've been thrown into the pool.

As for riding I've been keeping mine on me for the same reason as a couple others, in case I get separated from my bike.

[ScorpionNinja]

Originally Posted by noche_caliente

That's the reason I keep mine on me as well - I figure that way I have it on me if I'm unconscious and someone finds me - they may not think to look through the different bags on the bike or under the seat

Yep, pretty much the same reason i have mine on me. its not a distraction to me... as ive had it RING like crazy as im riding! i dont feel to need to pull over suddenly and such. I just look at it once i get to my meeting place, or when i stop for Gas/Food n such! I blame ScorpionUSA and not myself!!!

[ScorpionNinja]

Originally Posted by dakkerz

If you're phone is still wet, put it in a jar full of rice for a couple of days then try and put the battery back and turn it on. Rice should absorb any of the moisture in the phone. I've fixed a few friends phones this way after they've been thrown into the pool.

As for riding I've been keeping mine on me for the same reason as a couple others, in case I get separated from my bike.

Just did that, i was thinking of using SALT instead... my Boss said no, use Rice! So my CELL is sittin' in with Rice in a "SNACK TO GO" Teddy Grahams Jar! (dont have a screw on top jar, glass/metal)

Ill post an update if it works/DONT work!




How many days did you wait on yours before?

[dakkerz]

Originally Posted by ScorpionNinja

Just did that, i was thinking of using SALT instead... my Boss said no, use Rice! So my CELL is sittin' in with Rice in a "SNACK TO GO" Teddy Grahams Jar! (dont have a screw on top jar, glass/metal)

Ill post an update if it works/DONT work!




How many days did you wait on yours before?

I usually wait a couple days.

[Alex]

I hope it comes back to life on you. I soaked an iPod once, and it was dead for 5 days before miraculously coming back to life, and it was good as new.

[ScorpionNinja]

Originally Posted by Alex

I hope it comes back to life on you. I soaked an iPod once, and it was dead for 5 days before miraculously coming back to life, and it was good as new.

aye good.... 5 days? lol

well my CELL is still in its *Rice Rice Baby!!*

a co-worker of mine, said he dropped his phone in the Toilet last yr. Took it apart, let it air dry out 2 days, then brought it to work and used the Air compressor and blew inside the phone. It worked and is still working to this day! lol

"Air compressor? geeez im suprized that you didnt blow the phones Brains out"! is what i told him. lol

He told me that if my CELL is finally RIP, let him know about getting a new one, his younger Bro works at a Verizon wireless store and hell hook me up a good deal on a new phone!

" New every 4... after you've dropped it, got it soaked a few Nights before!"

[dakkerz]

The main goal is to get everything dry before trying to start it up again. The rice helps speed this process up by absorbing the moisture around it if you don't want to completely take apart the phone. Either way, it's good to see you also have a hook up at verizon if things don't work out for you. Best of luck Dave.

[Strider]

Originally Posted by kkim

I carry the phone and wallet on me for a couple of reasons. I don't trust it on the bike in case it gets stolen if I'm ever at a rest stop.

On my ride, if I should crash and get separated from my bike, I have the phone with me. There are some severe canyon drops off the road I ride.

Good point Kelly. Do you have any recommendations as to where to keep the phone, since if it is in a jacket pocket, it could get smashed up in a crash?


ScorpionNinja - I've always heard that a wet phone is trashed, no way to save them.
But then I hear of people who say they used hair dryers to dry their's out and its ok ...

I say call Verizon and see what they recommend ...

[kkim]

I keep mine in an inside chest pocket of the jacket/suit designed for valuables and/or cell phones. If the phone gets smashed in that location, I think you would have bigger problems than an non working phone at that point.

[JaeL]

if its 4-5 years old your contract should be expired right? why bother just cop a new phone. +1 on the B dubbs thats what we call it too. i can understand why you're stressing gettin a new one if ya glue is low, phones are expensive

[ScorpionNinja]

UPDATE! my CELL is a PAPER WEIGHT!!!!!

The air compressor didnt help, nor the 'rice in a jab' trick!

rick - the mechanic at work, said hes trashed afew phones in his day, getting wet. (ie: drop in water, or gettin alil wet like mine did) He asked me, if i tried to TURN ON the phone? yes i did at B-dubbs! he told me that mightve done it.

Well tomorrow at work im asking Neil when his bro will be at work next (verizon wireless tech/sales) to hook me up with a Deal on a new CELL!

My phone i got is.. err WAS a - LG VX3300
i got it like Aug. 1, 2005
had a 2yr contract.
That expired a long time ago lol, all i did was lower my Monthly Min. plan FROM 900/month $69, down to 450/month $39

6 Months after getting teh phone, i dropped the $5/month insurance.

ive gotten soo many JUNK mails and junk emails about ' new every 2' and wondered if they even know my Phones OLD as ****?

i hope Neils bro can still give me the $100 credit from turning in my old phone, towards getting a NEW ONE! lol... i doubt it, but well have to see!

[kkim]

check w/ Verizon... I think you're are still eligible for the new every 2 offer.

[noche_caliente]

you should be eligible, and if not f*** 'em - your contract is up in a week anyway - tell them you're canceling - there's no penalty right now, then go into the store and open a new account - you'll get a better deal on a phone that way anyway

[Nickds7]

Turning it on after you knew it was soaked probably finished the job..

Try soaking it in rubbing alcohol (higher % the better) for like 30 seconds, shake it around a bit. Then let it sit next to a fan in a well ventilated area for a few hours.

I've fixed 2 phones using this method (making sure to either turn off the phone the moment it gets wet, or not turning on if it shut itself off) Make sure the battery is out of it though :P

[ScorpionNinja]

UPDATE! My CELL works!

Yes thats right it works... for how long well have to see... rofl

Lastnite b4 bed after letting it dry out with all those methods... i put in battery turned it on.... NUTIN'. Thinking " F u ck it, either their giving me $100 trade-in Credit wether the phone is Totally broke,busted,cooked... or as it currently sits" ...

I plugged in the CHARGER......

Let it sit on my dresser, covered with a paper junkmail Add in case battery blows up to keep the Acid from 'flying around'. It normally took 1-1.5 hrs to Fully charge the battery. I let it charge for about 2 hrs (when my tv show ened).

the Light was still RED (usually it wouldve been solid GREEN by then)... i un-plugged it. flipped it open... and was SUPRIZED to see the screen actually HAD sumin on it! it showed the charging mode, battery bars (full) and all that stuff. It acted wierd though. the battery bars (shown as full) were BLINKING (like it does when its low and the low battery warning comes on).

the charging mode screen would pop up every 10secs. im like WTF* at this point.... i think to myself "i give up, **** this im gonna leave it turned on, sit on my dresser... and see what happens,time for bed anyways".

(the phone showed the right TIME/DATE during this time, btw)

I woke up today and checked out my CELL. it was still ON. flipped it open, the right TIME/DAY... all my stored numbers, all my missed calls/dialed/etc were all listed.. not missing anything! The Battery was showing '2 bars' (1/2 charged). I called my boss to see if it would dial out, and work as normal. he didnt answer. Anyhow... my CELL totallly seemed normal all day at work. I got home today, called my DAD and talked to him for like 45mins, then battery died and auto-powered Down! I got it on the CHARGER NOW. Ill see if it fully charges this time, and lasts like it normally did b4!

So in short. it seems the phone shorted out from the wetness... but teh battery zapped itself Dead. Batteries do have a type of 'memory' (i used to race 1/10th scale RC stadium trucks/cars (electric)
so i guess the batterys memory was jacked up, and if im lucky, these next 1-2 chargings will restore to normal.... if not i can get a new Battery for $8.99 www.cellphoneshop.com

[tjkamper]

I washed a phone once (actually twice). Took the battery out and took my wifes blow dryer to it for about 20 minutes. It was good as new once I charged the batery again. I still use the phone. I have had it for five years now and I treat it like trash in the hopes under the agreement that when it breaks I will get a new one.

at this rate I will have this phone until 2037 (don't ask how I figured that... It's just gonna be a long time). I have run the thing over with a car twice it has been washed several times and it still keeps working. Even the screen is cracked and it still keeps pluging away...

I REALLY NEED A NEW PHONE.

[dakkerz]

I'm glad everything worked out for you Dave!

[hybridxx]

have u tried the chicken wing eating "challenge" at buffalo wild wings?

intense stuff =/ lol.

[ScorpionNinja]

no i didnt do the wing challenge. lol.

It fully charged up yesterday. thou it acted goofy, it would do the BEEP* as if the battery was low, yet the battery showed FULL. also during a conversation with my mom, the phone cut me off. mom called back and asked what happened? lol. afew times as im just looking at the Time, itll do that ' phone is charging' beep and POP up the 'battery charging' text. no doubt sumin is "OFF" but as long as i can use it, ill keep on.

[addy126]

Dave.. be careful with those $8.00 batteries. They have a tendancy to be bad after 30 days and will only 1/2 charge, then not hold a charge not much longer thereafter. Someone didnt check my jeans one day and popped them into the washin machine. By the time I figured out where my phone was and stopped the cycle it was too late. Dried it out in my bedroom window where sun is the hottest. In 24 hours it came back to life but now I have a soap sud artifact in the display window.. grrrrrr. Everything else is fine and all is well.... spent 35.00 for a battery (Motorola V3 Razer) at TMobile store front and its been perfect on the charging. I saved my old one for a back up just in case... 1/2 charge is better than no charge in an emergency

[istreefitty]

my fam and i are on a family plan through At&t and our contract went out in mar. they have been sooo understanding that when my sis dropped her iPhone they not only replaced it for the price of starting a new contract (199 for 32g) but gave her a brand new 3gs for the price of a reg 3g.......eeerrrrr i wanted to "accidently" break my phone when she told me. Plus my bro took it to a phone shop, they fixed it and jail broke it for <100 dollars. SO now i have an iPhone, my wife does, my mom, my sis, and now my bro, my dad doesnt think he needs one .... we will let him live in the stone age for now (no offense guys). In short At&t has been very forgiving to us.

also: I just hit 100 posts!!!!

[BlueRaven]

Wish i would of read this thread last night. Was heading out for a night on the town and put my cell in my back pocket bent down to pick something up and i hear a plop. Cell phone down the toilet. Turned it off right away took the battery out and dried it with a towel right away. Didn't seem like much water got in so didn't worry much about turned it on worked fine until i tried to text at the club. Got home took the battery out again and saw the humidity and figured my phone's a gonner. argggggg.

I'm crossing my fingers that my phone will recover, luckily for me only one button doesn't work which is the one i use the most of course. I once lost a phone in the snow for months let it dry and it was fine. You would think for the price we pay for these phones they would make them waterproof and shatterproof. Cell makers don't realize these things are our lifelines.

I hope i didn't damage it by leaving the phone on as i'm on call 24/7 and is the only i can be reached. Lesson learned.

[CZroe]

I had a Zip-loq bag but I didn't use it and I ruined my iPhone 3G when I crossed the country last December. You can't remove the battery so it fried itself... literally (black charred PCB inside). I didn't use the bag because it was less rain and really just mist thrown from the road by the vehicles ahead and I was still nice and dry (jeans too). Aparantly the fairings were causing the perfect amount of turbulence to deposit it ALL in my jacket pocket, where it pooled nice and deep. When I dipped my hand in, it came out SOAKED. I even had a Bluetooth kit in my helmet and had no reason to handle the phone itself, so I really should have had it in the bag pre-emptively. Oh well... there went ALL my pics and fuel economy numbers for the trip.

[bdavison]

Dont put your cellphone on your bike...EVER.

If you go down and need it, you dont want to have to drag yourself to the bike to make a call for help...and thats IF you can drag yourself.

It should ALWAYS be on you, not the bike.

Also, if your phone is GPS/location equipped turn it ON....If you are off on some road in the middle of nowhere and go down, it can help rescue locate you.

[Cedilla]

I ruined my phone a couple of months ago the same way as the op. The scorpion hat trick jacket has only one pocket in the waterproof liner, and I keep my wallet and registration in there. Anyways I had my cell phone in my outer right pocket when I was riding and it started pouring, the cell phone was the last thing on my mind as my boxer shorts were getting soaked.

I was sitting at this red light forever when my cell phone started vibrating, it vibrated for like 15min until the idiots behind me pulled up far enough to trigger the light to change. As soon as I made it through the intersection I pulled in to a Hardee's parking lot, took off my soaked glove and stuck my hand in my pocket to pull out my cell phone, of course my pocket was filled with water, like it could get in, but not back out. I pulled my battery out of my phone and rode home(which sucked by the way). Long story short my phone never turned back on, even after sitting in rice for a week.

[Flow]

Originally Posted by tjkamper

I washed a phone once (actually twice). Took the battery out and took my wifes blow dryer to it for about 20 minutes. It was good as new once I charged the batery again. I still use the phone. I have had it for five years now and I treat it like trash in the hopes under the agreement that when it breaks I will get a new one.

at this rate I will have this phone until 2037 (don't ask how I figured that... It's just gonna be a long time). I have run the thing over with a car twice it has been washed several times and it still keeps working. Even the screen is cracked and it still keeps pluging away...

I REALLY NEED A NEW PHONE.

What phone do you have? Sounds durable, don't know why you're complaining.

[Obsidian]

Most cell phone companies will replace the cellphone for free every 2 years with a new contract agreement. Every one year if you pay a small amount of the value of the phone.

I've ridden in the rain before and forgot about my phone in the pocket. It lived but acted funny every now and then. That phone has since then lost its life in a fight against the wall.

I ride with my phone in one pocket and my wallet in the other. Zipped up. In the days where rain is possible, I put my phone and wallet in the same pocket in a ziplock baggie.

I MUST keep my phone where I can find it as I am always on recall status and I have a family who depends on me.

if you're in an accident and you get thrown from your bike, the rescuers will need to know who you are and how to get into contact with your family. Cellphone with ANY phone number will probably get them into contact with someone who knows. Wallet will give your name and other valuable information.