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Please turn off all personal electronic devices

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on an interesting note

i was flying from logan to lax recently, and about when i was over colorodo, around 37 thoughsand feet, my cell phone started to ring, i was very suprised needless to say, but i picked it up, and started talking to my friend. I was so amazed that this worked, i will never doubt verizon again. yes, it may be dangerous, but wow, that is pretty impressive. should be a commercial
andreas
 
About Mythbusters:

They proved that in tests and mock cockpits they could cause interference. But when they finally got access to a real plane, there was absolutely NO interference at all. The instruments where way too shielded. They declared the myth BUSTED, but they said something about being safe rather than sorry.
 
While some electronics might cause more problems then others, it is so much easier just to say "turn it all off". Can't imagine a flight attendent going down the isle saying, "That one's oaky, but you have to turn that one off. Is that a flash or a hard drive based MP3 player? Oh, you can leave it on." They have enough to do...
 
ejb190 said:
While some electronics might cause more problems then others, it is so much easier just to say "turn it all off". Can't imagine a flight attendent going down the isle saying, "That one's oaky, but you have to turn that one off. Is that a flash or a hard drive based MP3 player? Oh, you can leave it on." They have enough to do...
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True, I do suppose that they have enough on their plate as it is without having to ask people what kind of iPod/MP3 player they are using.
 
Last time I flew, during takeoff, there was a screaming baby a few seats down from me, so I had no choice but to listen to my iPod :D


Yeah, yeah, I know I could have killed everyone, but at least I didn't have to hear the kid :D
 
blueflame said:
i was flying from logan to lax recently, and about when i was over colorodo, around 37 thoughsand feet, my cell phone started to ring, i was very suprised needless to say, but i picked it up, and started talking to my friend. I was so amazed that this worked, i will never doubt verizon again. yes, it may be dangerous, but wow, that is pretty impressive. should be a commercial
andreas
Click to expand...
Weired...according to research at that altitude you have a .006 (or .0006, I can't remember) chance of completing a call Guess you got lucky!
 
Felldownthewell said:
Weired...according to research at that altitude you have a .006 (or .0006, I can't remember) chance of completing a call Guess you got lucky!
Click to expand...


I have a .0006 chance of completeing a call while on the ground. "More bars in more places" my ass.
 
Haha

this should also be a verizon commercial... classic, and almost as funny as anti-microsoft ads
andreas

yg17 said:
I have a .0006 chance of completeing a call while on the ground. "More bars in more places" my ass.
Click to expand...
 
Felldownthewell said:
Weired...according to research at that altitude you have a .006 (or .0006, I can't remember) chance of completing a call Guess you got lucky!
Click to expand...
I've heard of people getting lucky at 37,000 ft., but never with a cell phone.
 
yg17 said:
I have a .0006 chance of completeing a call while on the ground. "More bars in more places" my ass.
Click to expand...

LOL :D Thanks for the laugh yg17! :D

xsedrinam said:
I've heard of people getting lucky at 37,000 ft., but never with a cell phone.
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And what would the odds be on that happening? Higher than .0006? ;) :D
 
Yeah how would cell phones work at that high of an altitude anyway?

I turned mine on one time to see if I had any bars, and I didn't... so if the FAA makes it ok to use cell phones during a flight, how would this work?
 
MacFan782040 said:
Yeah how would cell phones work at that high of an altitude anyway?

I turned mine on one time to see if I had any bars, and I didn't... so if the FAA makes it ok to use cell phones during a flight, how would this work?
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I think there would be transmitters installed in the aircraft. But, I don't know for sure how they would guarantee reception.

I do know that in the instances that I have forgotten to turn off my cell phone (usually a result of tossing it in my bag for security and forgetting to take it out after, but sometimes not thinking), I have always had reception. My crappy Moto720 (with Verizon) and my SE637 (with Cingular) both seem to be ok. They struggle in the middle of the city, but they don't have problems at 30k feet...

If the signal would affect the electronics in the cockpit, I wonder if the already mentioned cockpit shielding plus my being stuck in the back of the plane combine to make me undetectable. Coming soon...premium fares to sit in the back of the plane and make cell phone calls!:D
 
Another good reason to turn off electronics and stow them is so they don't go flying out of your hands and slam into someone's head behind you. Take-off and landing is the most dangerous time and also the most unpredictable.

I certainly wouldn't be happy about a blackberry/iPod/DVD player to the teeth because some putz in front of me couldn't put it away for twenty minutes.

People take the seriousness of flying way too lightly these days. I recently saw someone actually stand up seconds before the plane was going to touch-down, so he could put his coat on. This rube was on his feet as the plane made contact with the ground. Real bright.
 
RugoseCone said:
Another good reason to turn off electronics and stow them is so they don't go flying out of your hands and slam into someone's head behind you. Take-off and landing is the most dangerous time and also the most unpredictable.

I certainly wouldn't be happy about a blackberry/iPod/DVD player to the teeth because some putz in front of me couldn't put it away for twenty minutes.

People take the seriousness of flying way too lightly these days. I recently saw someone actually stand up seconds before the plane was going to touch-down, so he could put his coat on. This rube was on his feet as the plane made contact with the ground. Real bright.
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That guy was a moron, but I don't see how turning them off eleiminated the projectile chances. My iPod is either in my lap or the magazine section the whole time, but location has nothing to do with it being on or off - just with whatever I happen to be doing at the moment. So, I guess I am a threat during landing/TO when it is on my lap.

Maybe it would be better if they told people to put the item away instead of just turning them off. Of course, books are projectiles too....
 
MacFan782040 said:
Yeah how would cell phones work at that high of an altitude anyway?

I turned mine on one time to see if I had any bars, and I didn't... so if the FAA makes it ok to use cell phones during a flight, how would this work?
Click to expand...

At altitude you'll often have line-of-sight to numerous cell towers at one time. This is one reason why conventional cell phones aren't approved for use in airplanes, even private airplanes -- they cause confusion in the system.

As for other electronic devices, I believe the rationale for not allowing their use during landing and takeoff phases of the flight is the same as not allowing you to keep your briefcase on your lap.
 
If I remember right, the Mythbusters found that in the lab experiment, there was one frequency on either TDMA (old AT&T...phased out since the Cingular buyout) or CDMA (Verizon) that caused the old-style (non-electronic gauges) to act crazy. There were no other signals that effected the lab instruments besides this single frequency, and it is true that when they tested it on a plane (with a modern glass cockpit) there was no interferance at all. They ultimately busted it (but, as someone else mentioned, said it is better to be safe than sorry).
 
pinto32 said:
If I remember right, the Mythbusters found that in the lab experiment, there was one frequency on either TDMA (old AT&T...phased out since the Cingular buyout) or CDMA (Verizon) that caused the old-style (non-electronic gauges) to act crazy. There were no other signals that effected the lab instruments besides this single frequency, and it is true that when they tested it on a plane (with a modern glass cockpit) there was no interferance at all. They ultimately busted it (but, as someone else mentioned, said it is better to be safe than sorry).
Click to expand...

Surely the problem is that no one has tested (or probably ever will test) every PED with every cockpit device on every plane. And all it takes is one conflict to cause significant disruption, delays or worse.

I've no problem with the 'better safe than sorry' regime; though I still wonder why some carriers don't allow devices like iPods to be used at any stage in the flight.
 
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