Q: Honk: A reader recently told you about Bluetooth dropouts along the 405 Freeway near Beach Boulevard. Exactly the same thing happens to me when I drive in that area. I listen to Apple Carplay for music, and there’s always a dropout as I pass Beach. Every time. It reconnects quickly, but your reader is not alone. I stopped at Old World Village yesterday to pick up some Oktoberfest food, and Carplay stopped working as I was exiting.
– Frank Parth, Mission Viejo
A: Villa Park’s James Nissenberg brought the problem to the attention of Honk, and two weeks ago the self-proclaimed roads scholar explained here that the Orange County Transportation Authority said the company that maintains the high-resolution cameras and license-plate readers for the 23-month-old 405 Express Lanes explained that they shouldn’t be causing the problem.
Honk asked readers if they had suffered similar troubles, and a dozen answered back — yes.
Some readers have had the problem elsewhere on the highway system.
Honk has made more calls on this than Maxwell Smart collectively did on his shoe phone, albeit with a standard cellphone, to cities, state and federal agencies and Southern California Edison.
So far, none has provided an answer to the problem’s cause.
Dan Kalmick, a former Huntington Beach councilman who holds an expertise in electrical and computer engineering, suspects the frequencies used by Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are getting interrupted by wireless internet service providers.
“I’ve been researching this issue for a while now and even filed an informal complaint with the FCC,” he said.
Honk tried to reach the Federal Communications Commission, which Kalmick thought could be helpful — but the government shutdown has put a long pause to that.
“The operations of the Federal Communications Commission will be limited,” the agency told Honk in an email. “Messages will not be checked and routine press inquiries will not be responded to during this time.”
Stay tuned, Honkland.
Q: Hi Honk: Regarding last week’s column about getting cataract surgery but still having “need corrective lenses” on your driver’s license – well, I had it done last year on both eyes and my doctor’s office gave me a small card for each eye saying that I had it done. The cards should be carried in your wallet, and then in case you were pulled over and an officer questioned your license, you just show these cards saying you had it done. Hope this little bit of info helps.
– Michele Cruz, Cypress
A: Great advice, Michele.
Someone doing this could still get cited if the license isn’t up to speed, of course.
They certainly seem like a solid bridge until the driver can get into a Department of Motor Vehicles office to update the driver’s license.
Ken Godbold, both a Prescott, Arizona, and Honkland resident, had that surgery and carried the cards until license renewal. He was with the Phoenix Police Department for 25 years, and worked a decade in the traffic bureau.
“I did not run into this when I was still on the job, but I would have accepted it,” he said.
To ask Honk questions, reach him at honk@ocregister.com. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk