FLARM Technology for the US Gliding Community

"John Smith" wrote in message ...
Andy wrote:
You should also note that the documentation for current FLARM units
includes a very clear prohibition against use in the USA. One way to
enforce that probibition would be to make the units inoperable in USA

I guess the FLARM people don't care a lot whether you use the device in
the USA or not. The prohibition is purely a protection against liability
lawsuits. So if a pilot or one of his relatives should be insolent
enough and tries to start a lawsuit, they can simply point to that
prohibition and state that it's not their business.

Or if US authorized users of RF frequency of the European FLARM report to the FCC that the units interfere with their systems. There are parts of the RF spectrum that are controlled by international treaty and other parts that are allocated by country or region. The frequency allocation between countries was also an issue for the early in the cell phone industry.

On Sep 17, 6:28*am, "Wayne Paul" wrote:

Or if US authorized users of RF frequency of the European FLARM report to the FCC that the units interfere with their systems. *There are parts of the RF spectrum that are controlled by international treaty and other parts that are allocated by country or region. *The frequency allocation between countries was also an issue for the early in the cell phone industry..

If a "European" FLARM is brought to US, and auto frequency selection
has not been defeated, it should be expected to switch to the same
frequency as used for US PowerFLARM.

There would be no point at all in bringing a "European" FLARM to US
unless it did operate on the same frequency.

Andy

On Fri, 17 Sep 2010 08:06:34 -0700 (PDT), Andy
wrote:

If a "European" FLARM is brought to US, and auto frequency selection
has not been defeated, it should be expected to switch to the same
frequency as used for US PowerFLARM.

Or still, you can select the geographic area, and the associated
frequency, by fiddling in the setup menu (using the "flarmtool" pc
interface).

Aldo

On 9/17/2010 8:45 AM, cernauta wrote:
On Fri, 17 Sep 2010 08:06:34 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:


If a "European" FLARM is brought to US, and auto frequency selection
has not been defeated, it should be expected to switch to the same
frequency as used for US PowerFLARM.

Or still, you can select the geographic area, and the associated
frequency, by fiddling in the setup menu (using the "flarmtool" pc
interface).

Does anyone really know that Flarm actually selects a frequency and
transmits while in the USA? Since they prohibit it's use in the USA, it
seems more logical to shut off the transmitter when in the USA. If it's
legal reasons that are the basis for the prohibition, I would think
shutting it off gives far more protection from lawsuits or the FCC
regulations, when they clearly have the ability to disable it as desired.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (netto to net to email me)

- "Transponders in Sailplanes - Feb/2010" also ADS-B, PCAS, Flarm http://tinyurl.com/yb3xywl

- "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation Mar/2004" Much of what you need to know tinyurl.com/yfs7tnz

On 9/17/2010 11:17 AM, Eric Greenwell wrote:
On 9/17/2010 8:45 AM, cernauta wrote:
On Fri, 17 Sep 2010 08:06:34 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

If a "European" FLARM is brought to US, and auto frequency selection
has not been defeated, it should be expected to switch to the same
frequency as used for US PowerFLARM.
Or still, you can select the geographic area, and the associated
frequency, by fiddling in the setup menu (using the "flarmtool" pc
interface).
Does anyone really know that Flarm actually selects a frequency and
transmits while in the USA? Since they prohibit it's use in the USA,
it seems more logical to shut off the transmitter when in the USA. If
it's legal reasons that are the basis for the prohibition, I would
think shutting it off gives far more protection from lawsuits or the
FCC regulations, when they clearly have the ability to disable it as
desired.
Perhaps they could get an FCC waiver to use Flarm in the Worlds task
area, and allow Flarm to work in the task area (and nowhere else in the
USA) and only during the contest period, and only during the day. The
trick is getting the waiver, not the minor Flarm firmware additions.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (netto to net to email me)

- "Transponders in Sailplanes - Feb/2010" also ADS-B, PCAS, Flarm http://tinyurl.com/yb3xywl

- "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation Mar/2004" Much of what you need to know tinyurl.com/yfs7tnz

Eric Greenwell wrote:
Perhaps they could get an FCC waiver to use Flarm in the Worlds task
area, and allow Flarm to work in the task area (and nowhere else in the
USA) and only during the contest period, and only during the day.

I'm not sure they would consider this, as the problem isn't the FCC but
definitely their fear of those insane US liability lawsuits. Why else
would they prohibit the use of FLARM not only in the USA but worldwide
when there is a US citizen on board?

On 9/17/2010 12:02 PM, John Smith wrote:
Eric Greenwell wrote:
Perhaps they could get an FCC waiver to use Flarm in the Worlds task
area, and allow Flarm to work in the task area (and nowhere else in the
USA) and only during the contest period, and only during the day.

I'm not sure they would consider this, as the problem isn't the FCC
but definitely their fear of those insane US liability lawsuits.
Do you know this from speaking with a principal in the Flarm company? Or
is that an assumption?
Why else would they prohibit the use of FLARM not only in the USA but
worldwide when there is a US citizen on board?

If "insane US liability lawsuits" are a problem, how will they avoid the
problem for PowerFlarm?

For that matter, how does Zaon avoid the same problem for their PCAS units?

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (netto to net to email me)