This afternoon I got a chance to see how well a cellphone works as a signal mirror. It is something I've never tried before.

My son, a friend and I went deer hunting today on our farm. My son and the friend were on one side of a deep valley and I was on the other. I could see them but they could not see me even though they had a good idea of where I was and I was waving my hunter-orange cap and wearing a hunter-orange vest. They were sitting along a tree line about 800 feet away from my location n heavy woods and brush.

Using the cellphone (which is covered in a protective case that's got a layer of plastic that protects the glass) I went to work.

Once I found a patch of sun not filtered by branches, I lined up the reflection to go between two fingers on my outstretched left had. I quickly found that holding the corner of the phone just under my eye was considerably more accurate. I also noticed that I could see the flash on the tree I was sitting against, so I lined up so that I could see the flash on the tree right next to where they were across the valley.

"Wow" was my son's first text message. The friend asked my son "What did he do THAT with?" He was amazed it was a cellphone and said he never would have thought of that. So, not only did I find out it works, I shared the knowledge I've learned from this forum.

My son said it was amazingly bright and very obvious. He flashed me back and he was right: Even thought it was not a mirror it reflected enough light to draw attention if someone is looking for you.

We proceeded to hunt -- but I was sure to keep the oak between me and them.

It is nice to know that it works.

good improv. What type of cell do you carry?

Nice!

Thanks!

Cool, that's a decent backup then.

Signaling without an aiming hole takes some practice and skill. Even if you know what you're doing, how can you be sure the signal is hitting the target? (That's NOT a rhetorical question.) I bought the Vector 1 because I'm not that skilled in mirror signaling.

MDinana, it is an iPhone. I plan on taking my wife's much smaller phone out one weekend to see how bright it is.

ireckon, other than in Boy Scouts a few years ago (ok, 3 decades ago) I've not actually done it. However, I've done it dozens and dozens of times -- in my mind. I learned mental practice from a youth football coach. He had the boys sit, close their eyes, then imagine themselves executing a play. His reasoning (which he learned from his college football coach) was that if your mind has done whatever it is over and over, it's almost as good as actually doing it over and over. I'm sure there's some fancypants term for it.

I've taken that lesson and applied it to many things. I mentally practiced the technique while reading threads on this forum and following links to videos.

As I wrote, I was able to see the flash hitting the tree trunk next to me so I was pretty sure I was hitting the mark. The text message from my son confirmed it. Of course, in a rescue situation, the text message won't be coming. I had the benefit of hitting a stationary target. Having high confidence in hitting a moving target -- such as an airplane -- would be difficult.

Last year a guy got rescued in Scotland by using his Cellphone Camera Flash to signal a helicopter in very poor weather. I think it was from another thread on the forum that I found that newspaper article.

Also in Wales they used the back light from a Cellphone to allow the helicopter to get closer in poor visibility to rescue an entire group stranded in a bog.

http://www.northwaleschronicle.co.uk/new...m-hillside.aspx

So it really does work, improvisation will keep you alive in the wilderness.

Newsman... sports visualization... the classic reference is "The Inner Game of Tennis" by Timothy Gallwey.... just cross out "tennis" and insert your sport in the narrative... also an excellent video by Lanny Basham (Olympic shooter), Practice Doesn't Make Perfect, Perfect Practice Makes Perfect..

Good job Newsman!



I've got a great little app on my Droid 2 that lights up the phone's camera flash LEDs as a pretty bright flashlight. Of course I have many other options I'd use first but it's a nice backup.