mobile phones

Tom Gardner wrote:

is that the reason why when from time to time my Motorola GSM phone
pulses (not necessarily for a call) I can hear the pulse through my
computer, car radio etc? If so, that could be an issue for
instruments and radio in the aircraft if I understand this correctly.

I expect so. The GSM interference during call-setup is
"di-di-di, di-di-di, di-di-di, brrr..." duration ~2s.


I've been told that BlackBerry's are notorious for this
interference.

Can one "phone"(/device) interfere with another in this manner?

During the frequent telecons I must attend (since travel budget was
cut), we frequently hear the pesky "di-di-di--brrrr" you've described.

One might extend this conversation to the thousands of PDA's that are
semi-permanent (and unapproved?) additions to glider instrument panels
(yes, I plead guilty as charged). But perhaps only if they have
wireless (e.g. BlueTooth) capability?

For personal/work reasons, I have gravitated to PDA's without wireless
-- and similarly had to hunt for a cell phone withOUT a
camera...trying to stay non-converged (diverged?) in this convergent
world is a pain.

Remember that old saying? "Aircraft fly because of Bernoulli, not
Marconi..."

-Pete
#309

On Mar 7, 3:45 pm, "309" wrote:

I've been told that BlackBerry's are notorious for this
interference.
Can one "phone"(/device) interfere with another in this manner?

I don't know enough about BlackBerries to comment.

One might extend this conversation to the thousands of PDA's that are
semi-permanent (and unapproved?) additions to glider instrument panels
(yes, I plead guilty as charged). But perhaps only if they have
wireless (e.g. BlueTooth) capability?

Bluetooth's tx power is suitable for a few yards only, and so can
be much lower power. This would reduce the probability of
interference
causing problems.

Personally I'd ensure any non-essential radio is completely off
before I'm airborne.

Practical testing is always useful, provided one realises that
testing can only demonstrate problems, not prove the absence
of problems.

309 wrote:

One might extend this conversation to the thousands of PDA's that are
semi-permanent (and unapproved?) additions to glider instrument panels
(yes, I plead guilty as charged).

My understanding is "approval" isn't required for general aviation use,
because PDA's are portable devices (like a handheld radio, GPS, and
oxygen), and the only requirement is the pilot determine they do not
cause interference.

This doesn't mean we can't think of ways to cause ourselves trouble with
some of our mounting methods. I was guilty of mounting a GPS antenna on
the glare shield, which would've affected the canopy jettison. I've
removed the antenna to a better location, and when I mounted my MRX
transponder detector on the glare shield, I used a connector that
releases easily.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
* Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly
* "Transponders in Sailplanes" http://tinyurl.com/y739x4
* "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org

Blackberries definitely cause interference with wired phones in our
conference rooms, but generally only if they're within a foot or two. I
frequently have to remind participants to take them off the table away from
the phones. Then they put them in their briefcases or purses which are
sitting on the phone wire (read: antenna) on the floor... duh!

"309" wrote in message
ups.com...

Tom Gardner wrote:

is that the reason why when from time to time my Motorola GSM phone
pulses (not necessarily for a call) I can hear the pulse through my
computer, car radio etc? If so, that could be an issue for
instruments and radio in the aircraft if I understand this correctly.

I expect so. The GSM interference during call-setup is
"di-di-di, di-di-di, di-di-di, brrr..." duration ~2s.


I've been told that BlackBerry's are notorious for this
interference.

Can one "phone"(/device) interfere with another in this manner?

During the frequent telecons I must attend (since travel budget was
cut), we frequently hear the pesky "di-di-di--brrrr" you've described.

One might extend this conversation to the thousands of PDA's that are
semi-permanent (and unapproved?) additions to glider instrument panels
(yes, I plead guilty as charged). But perhaps only if they have
wireless (e.g. BlueTooth) capability?

For personal/work reasons, I have gravitated to PDA's without wireless
-- and similarly had to hunt for a cell phone withOUT a
camera...trying to stay non-converged (diverged?) in this convergent
world is a pain.

Remember that old saying? "Aircraft fly because of Bernoulli, not
Marconi..."

-Pete
#309