Monday, March 19, 2012

Electronic gadgets during flight

For a long time, I have suspected that the announcements to switch off electronic equipment during flight takeoff and landing to be exaggerated. My gut feel seems to be correct.

3 comments:

ron said...

A CD player, or a remote presenter both of which emits radio frequencies, can affect other equipment that is sensitive to such frequencies.

Some other examples would be handphones, laptops, and tablets.

Notice that in hospitals, the intensive care units will have advisories to prohibit the use of any mobile device.

In all cases, they can be switched off or their wireless functions deactivated.
With so many brands in use by the traveling public, it would be difficult to ensure that the user has indeed switched the device off.

In the cockpit, there are many instruments that rely on receiving & transmission of data via radio frequencies. From weather to anti collision avoidance systems, each are manufactured by different companies.

They will not guarantee that their device will not be affected by any other products, and neither will their insurance partners accept such a position.

To mitigate and manage risks, the airlines will take a prudent approach ( in agreement with their insurance partners ) to have a blanket rule:

"Do not use any electronic devices DURING take off & landings"

These are the most sensitive phase for any flight where accurate & timely data is essential.

During the cruise phase, using these devices is perfectly fine.. including turning on the roaming function.. but you will not get any network and your power will drain off quickly since it will actively search for a network.

You wont want a device that has exhausted all its power when you need it most... on the ground.

yujuan said...

Sorry, can't resist giving my humble two cents.
Rather err on the side of caution, and receive angry eye contact from the user, which happens sometimes, than to be jittery all of fifteen minutes before landing on solid ground, remembering the various controversial studies from different sources, still arguing whether radiation from mobile phones would lead to brain cancer.
Maybe being kiasi, getting older.

eKingDom said...

It is very important to take good care of our appliances as well as our gadgets and other electronic items. This is because these electronic products are sensitive and can malfunction due to the effects of the environment. I believe that heat, humidity, and any liquid materials can significantly affects the proper functioning of any electronic items. This is the reason why we need to keep these environmental factors away from our gadgets and appliances. Thank you for sharing your excellently written information. I really learned a lot about electronic topics because of the information you have shared with us.

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