"Mike Beede" wrote in message
...

The only time it really makes a difference is if you accidentally
switch it to the 7500+ neighborhood. A good rule of thumb is to roll in
the first number (which at least in the Minneapolis area is never 7) and
then do the rest.

Do people get 7xxx codes elsewhere in the United States?

FWIW, in most of the rest of the world the conspicuity code ("VFR", in
effect) is 7000 rather than 1200. There's rather more room for error of the
sort you're thinking of.

Moreover, when the question is asked on forums in Europe, controllers
suggest that *any* random code can cause problems because if you happen upon
one that has been assigned to IFR traffic, the radar system picks up the
squawk and labels you as that airways flight, which is time-consuming for
ATC to fix. Is there no similar issue in the US because of different ATC
systems? The issue is less about momentary selection as you pass through the
digits and more about cockpit distraction meaning that the wrong code gets
left on for a while.

Julian Scarfe