QUEBEC-A group of Canadian inventors are hoping to find a U.S. distributor for their radio muting product for cellular phone users.
The Wave Shadow 1000 is a small device containing a microprocessor. It is installed near the car radio and connected to the 12-volt cable.
The Wave Shadow is finely tuned to detect only cellular radio waves at about 836 MHz. That means if a cellular phone rings in the car or the send button is pushed, the car radio will mute. It will remain muted until the end key is punched.
“The first reaction when you receive a call is to lower the radio,” said Michel Dansereau, president of M.G. Development of St. Jean sur Richelieu in Quebec.
M.G. is offering the product to U.S. distributors. The device was invented by MWM Technology Development of Montreal North, Quebec, which holds U.S. and Canadian patents for the invention.
If the cellular user wants to hear the radio while talking on the phone, the user presses the star button and the mute is released. To remute, star is pressed again. If the car antenna is connected to the Wave Shadow, electric antennas will remain up while the radio is muted, M.G. said.
The current device detects only cellular frequencies; a version for 1900 MHz is expected by the end of 1997. The product has been tested for the last year in Canada through limited sales, said M.G.
