# My neighbor just told me he heard my phone call!!! WTF! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 14, 2010, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbor-just-told-me-he-heard-my-phone-call-wtf/564096 "2010-12-14T07:13:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbor-just-told-me-he-heard-my-phone-call-wtf/564096/41 "2010-12-17T00:59:28Z")
I don’t see why the analog phone can’t be the problem. Is there any indication that the base would not broadcast the signal whether the handset was in use or not? I could see a phone being set up that way. I also want to point out a weird phenomenon I encountered as a child. My TV in my room used rabbit ears, but I could sometimes pick up the cable signal from the wires. I’m not sure if that sort of thing could be relevant to phone wires, but I thought I’d mention it. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbor-just-told-me-he-heard-my-phone-call-wtf/564096/42 "2010-12-17T01:35:41Z")
Could it be some kind of spurious unintended signal? Maybe the electronics of the phone are unintentionally “leaking” an electromagnetic signal that the baby monitor is picking up. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbor-just-told-me-he-heard-my-phone-call-wtf/564096/43 "2010-12-17T04:57:02Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > If this were television Don’t even get me started with that! ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbor-just-told-me-he-heard-my-phone-call-wtf/564096/44 "2010-12-17T05:01:26Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > I want to know what the heck kind of baby monitor he has, and how long he’s been hearing our phone calls. I didn’t have time to talk with him right then and there. > > I specifically bought this phone because it is supposed to be impervious to this sort of thing. Why are you (and others) assuming he’s been listening for a while? And why did it even occur to you to protect yourself against “this sort of thing”? It wouldn’t even occur to me that people might be listening to my phone calls. I’m curious about what you have to say that’s so interesting…😃 ---
**Author:** ![Rain\_Soaked](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19adc/32.png) [@Rain\_Soaked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rain_Soaked)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbor-just-told-me-he-heard-my-phone-call-wtf/564096/45 "2010-12-17T05:56:16Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I don’t see why the analog phone can’t be the problem. Is there any indication that the base would not broadcast the signal whether the handset was in use or not? I could see a phone being set up that way. In order for the base to be picking up the conversation, it would have to be connected to the telephone circuit (“off-hook”). For enough signal to be available to be broadcast by the base, the analog phone would appear to the telephone circuit as if it was off hook all the time. They would never be able to get an incoming call because the phone line would be tied up continuously. It certainly would not be able to pass the very basic FCC Part 68 testing for on-hook and off-hook compliance. I’ve never seen any cordless phone behave in this way. Certainly many bases for cordless phones will continuously transmit a beacon that the handsets can lock on to for synchronization but there is no audio on this signal at all. I suggest that he reset the base and handset as I mentioned in an earlier post. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbor-just-told-me-he-heard-my-phone-call-wtf/564096/46 "2010-12-17T06:28:04Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > At different levels of power the transmission and decryption suffers. For instance, CB radios can sometimes be heard on the FM band, though CBs do not broadcast on FM, however they sometimes crossover the harmonic side of the FM band and you’ll hear them. a bit of a hijack but I can clearly hear CB transmissions on my computer speakers. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbor-just-told-me-he-heard-my-phone-call-wtf/564096/47 "2010-12-17T12:54:27Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > a bit of a hijack but I can clearly hear CB transmissions on my computer speakers. But CB transmissions are analog on a low frequency. My phone is [supposed to be] digital spread spectrum on a high frequency. Either my phone is crap and the manufacturer is lying, or there is another source to the leak. ---
**Author:** ![Rain\_Soaked](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19adc/32.png) [@Rain\_Soaked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rain_Soaked)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbor-just-told-me-he-heard-my-phone-call-wtf/564096/48 "2010-12-17T16:40:14Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > either my phone is crap and the manufacturer is lying, or there is another source to the leak. [Julian!!!](http://www.boingboing.net/2010/05/31/julian-assange-profi.html) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbor-just-told-me-he-heard-my-phone-call-wtf/564096.md?page=2)