Stan Gosnell wrote:

Scott Moore wrote in news:dn293r$i4k$2
@news1nwk.SFbay.Sun.COM:


Hell, someday they are going to put ADS-B transmitters ontop of
radio towers. It will happen.


There is already a system in existence that does a good job, and the FAA
has, or maybe still is, evaluated it. It was designed in Sweden, IIRC, and
can be installed at any tower, wire crossing, or other obstacle, and
receives transponder transmissions, determines if an aircraft is likely to
hit the obstacle, and transmits a warning on all VHF frequencies. All that
is required in the aircraft is a transponder and a VHF radio turned on. It
operates on solar cells and batteries, as well as AC if available. It's
relatively cheap, and looks like a great system.


ADS-B is going to be the ATC separation system. The movement is
probably irreversible. Austrialia (spelling?) is already a big player.

Avoidance of passive obstacle in airspace not suitable for IFR
navigation will become more and more a cockpit responsibility as
technology advances. My Garmin 296 already does an awesome job, at
least in the U.S., where all the NACO-recorded obstacles are in the
database.