Re: [NTLK] OT: portable cd player

From: Sushi (Sushi_at_ragingbull.com)
Date: Tue Apr 09 2002 - 13:58:38 EDT


>On 02/04/10 @ 2:11 AM, Thomas Cherry wrote:
>
>Is there really any danger to the plane that a Newton
>can cause? The air line people always have said that
>they don't want the EM radiation to affect the
>interments the pilot uses. I for one don't believe
>that my Newton or a cd player for that matter could
>have an affect on a device that so far away (I can't
>afford first class) and shielded. Can anyone shed
>some light on this?

This is not easy to answer in short.

Does a Newt 2K affect the avionics of an aircraft. Well after personally
flying with one in both helicopters and light planes under Instrument
Flight Rules (IFR) under IMC conditions, based on observation, I would
say no. My Newt was located within about 1 foot of the dashboard, so it
was much closer than someone sitting in first class! :-o ;-)

However, the Newt does emit signals. All you have to do is put it near
an AM radio to see.

And yes, random radio frequencies can affect the navigational instruments
of an airplane. When flying IMC (in the clouds), one cannot cross
reference their instruments with the real world. That is where the
danger lies.

In order to preclude some device (accidentally or on purpose) from
interferring and causing a navigational error which could cause a
catestrophic result, the airlines have simply made it a rule to eliminate
electronic devices during TO and LNDG to ensure this doesn't happen.

Sorry to be brief, but it's 0300 and 0700 comes early.

Sushi

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