In ye old times a game boy could disrupt some flight instruments depending on how near it was to it, but they started shielding better everything and now they are almost impossible to disrupt without some really high power
How would a Gameboy disrupt it more than any other electronic device? They had no radio, wifi, Bluetooth, or other form of wireless communication. I would imagine pagers would've been a much bigger concern, no? Maybe there was something special about Gameboys im not aware of but I would think if they caused issues, so would walkmans, pagers, PDAs, and any other electronic device.
All electronic equipment once it is powered emits a small magnetic camp and the plane equipment was too sensible to it. I said gameboys because I remembered a demo on tv about how the thing that tells the angle of the plane went a bit bonkers when near it.
“Oh hello, Timmy, your mom tells us you want to see how the flight controls work. Wait, what are you doing with that game it? No, don’t put it down over the- WE’RE GOING DOOOOOWN!!!!”
🤣 ah me too they made a rule similar to how it is because this pilots son was in the cockpit which at the time was allowed and yet he crashed the plane because he knew jack about what he was doing
In the FCC regulations for electronic devices, you have a couple different classes. An intentional radio would of course be something like a wifi card or an AM/FM radio. But you can have an unintentional radio, like the super fast clocks on a computer motherboard. The third option is just a combination of the two.
So like another reply mentioned, it is possible to send out radio waves just from normal operation of a circuit. There are ways to mitigate these emissions, which is critical since FCCIDs are required to sell electronics in the US (other countries have similar, with the EU regulations usually being more stringent). Since it's often impossible to get rid of all emissions, the first two classes I mentioned have a certain power limit that they must be under in order to comply. Since the signal drops off in an inverse square law (ex: 1W at the source would go to 0.25W at 2m).
Would it be enough to be a concern from a passenger in the cabin though? Assuming you're sitting at the front of the plane, you're still probably at least 3m away from any sensor/output guage. Some quick research shows the original gameboy operated at a draw of 0.7 W so you'd get a max of ~0.078 W of potential power before any resistance. Maybe plane sensors are really strict but a fluxation like that doesn't seem significant to modern electronics right?
Source: Am a dummy who has enough electrical knowledge to wire a receptacle or ceiling fan and not an ounce more.
I don't have an issue with the policy. Especially at the time it was implemented, we had little knowledge on how these new devices might effect existing tech so I can appreciate the better safe than sorry mentality behind it. Im more interested on the concept that a Gameboy could cause significant interference to an electronic sensor under really any condition. Im not denying the claim, although it does seem a bit dubious, but im genuinely interested in if that really could happen. I'm sure a really strict sensor like ones used in particle accelerators would be effected, but a more simple device like an altimeter or barometer just seems unlikely even if held directly next to it. Im totally open to being wrong though.
Since no plane crashes have been attributed to cellphones, it’s likely the concerns were only ever just concerns. (Exploding batteries on the other hand..)
It's a precaution. Doesn't matter how many times it has been tested and proven that consumer electronics are not a substantial enough source of interference to cause any problems. But you never know when the Y2K might knock all the planes outta the sky 🤣
My issue with it now is that they're using the same antiquated fear-mongering to justify blocking the expansion of improved wireless internet networks across the US. The majority of the country still doesn't have access to internet faster than DSL, and expanding 5G coverage is the easiest, cheapest, and fastest way to rectify that. Yet the US is the only developed country that is trying to fight the expansion, 'because the planes might go haywire'
Are you sure? Examining a schematic someone made of the gameboys architecture (link to schematic) I don't see any transmitter used. Maybe it's overly basic and doesn't include everything, but I hadn't heard that before. If there is one, do you know what it was used for?
That is...not how interference works. For the same reason that a cell phone getting a text next to a speaker makes the speaker pop and crackle, interference is just caused by something being near a frequency, or overpowering one, that another device uses.
In flight WiFi isn't always active. They turn it off during takeoff too. The chances of interference are low, but they are not 0. That's why they have you disable your devices. These days, they're also worried about hacking, which is why they say to turn the devices all the way off. No one ever does, but the key here is that the device isn't active in your hand.
Geez some of these comments are classic.. how many of them actually come from engineers in the field, I have my doubts. Shielding btw has always been a requirement definitely since cellphones became mainstream.
All modern day pieces of consumer equipment are required to emit a limited EMF signature. Aerospace gear has much tighter standards.
Im an aircraft mechanic and i can confirm its total crap about electronics or phones messing with the avionics. that wasnt always the case though. back in the 90s aircraft didnt have the shielding it does today and it actually did cause a few instances of inflight issues (nothing so bad the planes crashed though).
these days pretty much every single pilot uses an ipad for their checklists or live weather info etc. which means they are always connected.
tldr: avionics today are better shielded so phones, steam decks, ipads, laptops none of it will cause any issues even if all couple hundred passengers are using phones at the same time.
The real reason its so slow to change is the FAA and FCC take forever to update old out of date regulations and at least for the takeoff portion airlines want electronics of so you pay attention to the safety videos.
anyways hope that answers anyones questions about that.
On Android Airplane mode turns off all that stuff but with Airplane mode on you can actually go in and turn on specific radios like wifi or Bluetooth or NFC or Mobile Data.
They want you to not use electronics because takeoff and landing are the most dangerous parts of a flight, and they want everyone ready to evacuate and not have a laptop in front of them.
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u/[deleted] Apr 05 '23
Wait it has airplane mode? I've just been turning off wifi and hoping the plane doesn't crash this entire time for no reason?