Bluetooth on an Airplane? 145
bblazer asks: "Since I travel quite a lot, I am very familiar with the warnings about cell phone use on an airplane (could be bunk, but I still respect it and those around me). But what about using Bluetooth? I just got off an Alaska Airlines flight where the flight attendant said that we were not permitted to use any device that sends or receives a radio signal. I often use the bluetooth features of my PowerBook and Treo while onboard a plane (you can have the Treo on without having the cell phone on), or I set up a mini-network with others I may be traveling with. Could Bluetooth cause any problems, or is this something I need not worry about?"
Are you (Score:3, Interesting)
Phones and other devices.... (Score:2, Interesting)
Hell, I've even used my cell phone (with headset) to check voicemail. The things simply do not interfere with flight information systems etc.
It took me by surprise, but everything from a JetBlue flight to a jumbojet, anything by delta or the like have no problems. I'm not sure why they say such things.
They say it will interfere, but then again they're using industry grade devices that state by the FCC that it has to accept interference, even unintended or otherwise and blah blah blah. Everyone's read the warnings, they're just being overly cautious in my opinion. It simply won't take out a plane, no matter how hard they may argue.
And my roommate is a pilot, so argue with him. He says they "could", but there's that plausible factor that scares people into submission. But once again, IT WILL NOT TAKE OUT AN AIRPLANE SYSTEM!
~z
They used to.. (Score:2, Interesting)
Also AFAIK (dredging through my old basic electronics training and sometimes dodgy memory) RF interferance needs to be at the same or a harmonic of the broadcast frequency to generate problems.
This last part is only things I have heard, and isn't verified truth, however I have been told that the reason they don't like you using mobile phones in aircraft is less about affecting instumentation, and more about the signal "footprint" you leave on the ground as your phone tries to access the nearest phone tower. This apparantly ties up channels on multiple towers. Do take this with a grain of salt however, as I am unable to verify it as fact.
Maybe you've just been lucky... (Score:4, Interesting)
But it CAN happen.
The worst place for it to happen is when you're in the weather, flying on instruments, and the plane already has some kind of problem. Then you're going to crash and die. Or burn to death in the wreckage.
You can quote your own ancedotal evidence, but again, I used to test those systems for a living. I'd rather not put a million to one chance against the lives of a plane full of people, or myself.
Re:Yes it could cause problems. (Score:4, Interesting)
Honestly, if a consumer wireless device can interfere with critical airplane functionality, we've got serious problems. It would be fairly trivial for a terrorist to boost the signal comming out of their cell phone or whatever was necessary to cause problems, yet we haven't seen anything like that.
Well. (Score:5, Interesting)
Casual Pilot: "Good evening everyone, we're ready to taxi, estimated flight time to Sydney is 8 hours, (blah
Plane begins to taxi.
Plane abruptly stops taxiing.
Grumpy Pilot: "Whoever's using their cellphone, please turn it *off*. Crew, search the cabin."
After a pause of a few minutes, Plane begins taxiing again.
So, hell, maybe they've got a few blinkenlights that blink when someone's got the phone on. As for bluetooth, yes, the power is miniscule. But as a pilot, you'd be pissed off if the plane you're flying lost some crucial function, because of eg. an overload of some very sensitive preamp that happens to be in the roof just above some passenger using bluetooth.
So, I think they (and I!) would rather just leave the unknown variables out of the whole flying equation as much as possible, thanks very much.
Re:Yes it could cause problems. (Score:3, Interesting)
What industry? Airlines? Baggage handlers also work "in the industry" but I wouldn't think of them especially suited to answer questions about RF interference.
Fly by wire isn't, fly by RF, there are actual wires, and these wires wont pick up RF from a device as you say.
So if by "in the industry" you mean have actuall experience testing for interference then you surely know wires are antennas. They *will* pick up RF signals. Chances are small that your RF unit will cause any malfunction in some instrument, but it has happened.
Several years ago, my EE prof was returning on a flight from his vacation when he observed a guy talking on his cell well into the taxi. Sure enough the flight attendant comes over and tells him to shut it off. He ends the call but doesn't shut the phone off. Long story short, his cell phone was interfering with some instrument needed for take-offs. The pilots repeatedly asked everybody to make *sure* they turned everything off. A stewardess heard his phone make a beep from an incomming message or something and turned it off. After it shut down, everything returned to normal.
Now, I've heard anacdotes about how cell phones and airplane cabins have been redesigned since then, so I wouldn't expect it to happen nowadays.
To the OP, yes it can happen, and if it happens at all it'll be at takeoff or landing when all of the instruments are being used. I prolly wouldn't worry about using Bluetooth stuff en route.
I used to think it was stupid that they made you turn off everythink too, but after taking RF theory and learning about all the different ways RF can interfere with electronics, I make damn sure everything is off at takeoff and landing..
Comment removed (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Real info from a pilot. (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:The Real Reason Why Phones Are Banned On Planes (Score:3, Interesting)
You got modded up funny, and do seem to have put a largely humorous slant on it, but I think you do kinda have a serious point there. At least when it comes to the "700 mobiles all..." idea.
It may not be so much the message-alert tone, but there is that annoying buzz that can affect radios and stuff. Now one phone putting out interference as it searches for a signal then gets a backlog of messages may not pose too much of a risk... (Yes, I know that sometimes it can just be the one small signal in the wrong place in the wrong time)
...but 700 mobiles all making those connections at the one time could put out a hell of a lot of that damned buzzing. (Or possibly swamp out a small but vital device somewhere)
And maybe, compared to hardware failure, the buzzing noise might not seem like such a dangerous thing (personally I've found it little more than an irritation on my headphones) but do we really want a plane full of mobiles to result in the pilot getting a burst of buzzing on his headset when he's either trying to concentrate on something or get vital information over the radio?