Howdy,
On Fri, 14 Oct 2011, John Innis wrote:
> I work for a company that designs and builds the computers and displays
> that pilots use to fly aircraft. I can tell you that they have been two
> confirmed incidents of a PED (personal electronic device) causing
> interference with these systems. One was a CD player with no wireless
> capability at all (just a really noisy local oscillator in exactly the
> wrong frequency range), the other was a laptop PC with an operating
> wireless card. The problem is that all electronic devices produce RF
> noise. Most of the consumer grade stuff is so poorly made that while
> the prototype MIGHT have passed FCC testing, the actual units that
> people buy are often out of compliance in terms of the amount of noise
> the produce. A lot of the computer systems used to keep airplanes in
> the air are hardened against this noise as best we can, but we still
> depend on being able to receive good RF signal from GPS, VOR, ILS, and a
> host of other systems that allow the plane to navigate and communicate.
> Until we get serious about testing consumer products for noise
> radiation, it is a good idea to ban them from airliners. Just because it
> has only happen twice, doesn't mean that the next time won't involve a
> life threatening situation for someone you love.
Here's the thing. There should be two options here:
1) Devices aren't an issue. Use them.
2) Devices are an issue. In which case I don't want to trust Joe Pork
Belly Salesman with my life.
This current "solution" seems _completely_ stupid.
Mark
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