Posted on 01/21/2011 8:34:06 AM PST by markomalley
You know who you are. You leave your phone on during flights, maybe do a little text messaging and otherwise break rules about cell phone use on planes once the doors close for departure.
"This is an absurd rule. I never turn (mine) off. I may text or browse the Web, but I never talk on the phone," one CNN.com reader commented recently.
On the other side of the aisle are passengers who abide by the safety instructions and warnings, worried that cellular signals may indeed interfere with cockpit instruments.
Take those two camps and add passengers who say either way, listening to fellow travelers chatter on the phone would be annoying, and you have a heated debate -- sometimes literally in the airplane aisles.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Does someone know if it is dangerous to use cell phones in hospitals? Surgery coming up and have been told I can’t use my cell phone.
But a few years ago, a pair of family members were the donor and recipient in a liver transplant and the rest of the family all used our cell phones in the hospital for days. The two patients did too once they recovered enough.
The hospital that did NOT make an issue of cell phones is much more advanced in technology etc.
Who here wants to be stuck in a cramped tube for hours listening to obnoxious cell phone users? Maybe if you’re lucky they’ll be really loud like they’re walking down the street.
The rule has nothing to do with safety.
The origional rule was issued by the FCC to everyone having an aircraft radio license.
The reason is that at altitude your cellphone signal is received by as many as 100 cell towers and they are all fighting for your signal wiping out many other ground calls.
“Think Ron Brown....................”
That was murder and had nothing to do with radio communication!
Known as a transceiver.
GA aircraft, of course. I follow the rules on commercial even if I think the rules are BS.
“So just to be on the safe side, the FAA mandated restricting all electronic devices that could possibly produce electronic signals that might affect the avionics on board during climb out or approach.”
The FAA didn’t issue the notice, it was from the FCC, did you forget to notice who sent it to you!!!
If this comes from a long-ago case, it definitely needs a re-look. Modern cell phones have lower wattage than the old analog ones.
“...did you forget to notice who sent it to you!!!”
After battling both in the past, I’ve decided that one federal alphabet agency is just as bad as the next. It doesn’t really matter which one designed the rule, and which one enforces it, or even if the carrier makes it stick.
The results are the same: when the government engages in overreaching regulations, common sense is abandoned.
me too. It pisses ‘em off, but what are they going to do??? Pass a law that says you can’t have earplugs in during take off and landing or must keep your eyes open. Its all about control and power.
I love how they show us what to do during an emergency water landing on our flight from Seattle to St Louis. Statistically, there have been zero of those. This makes the rundown a complete waste of time. It didn’t help the folks on the Alaska MD80 that lawn darted into the ocean off the California coast either. I understand that they have to do it, but I don’t need to listen every single time they go over it.
Not very high, I couldn’t give you a specific.
Low enough to read the runway numbers.
I’ve had to call airports when the tower operator wasn’t there (out in the boonies) or his radio didn’t work.
I will say that texts do work (eventually) at pretty high altitudes in my single engine (a Mooney Ovation3). There’s a lag.
Fast forward this to a tube with windows in the air (your plane). Ponder this...how many towers in a city near the airport you're at can you see? A buttload....How does this make a difference? It's called bandwidth/time overhead. Somebody gots to see "who's on first, etc." So what? Okay, up in the air about 5K MSL, those normal one or two towers become a hundred or two. Multiply that by 100 or so people on that same airplane and, VYOLA!.....what happens.
Nice airplane.
Thanks for the data point. I'm looking for a reliable report of getting a usable voice connection above 6000 AGL. I don't think I'll get one; I've tried it. I'm also trying to get a handle on max altitude for data connections.
“Nice airplane”
Yeah, the wife demanded cupholders, and I was spoiled to chart view display from the IAF. I want my heads up and missles back, though.
I don’t think you will get voice -— at least not with cell.
Sat phones do work, if you really,really, need a phone.
I don't. I'm curious as to the system's performance envelope.
If I really need to talk to somebody on the ground, I have radios.
I will say you can surf Freerepublic on an iPhone while stuck in pattern around Phoenix.
Hypothetically.
Hypothetically ...
At about what altitude would that be?
Hypothetically, of course.
Because nobody would ever actually do that ...
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