903 PB903 on a plane

[paola]

Hi All, a quick question: if I travel on a plane with a PB903, of course I can switch off the G3 manually (plus, I have no sim). But could the wireless create problems?

I thought not, as it seems to me that the device does not go looking autonomously for wireless connections as a computer would, but as I am rather computer illiterate, I hope you can illuminate me on this.

Many thanks!

[wongdong]

Originally Posted by paolamanzini

Hi All, a quick question: if I travel on a plane with a PB903, of course I can switch off the G3 manually (plus, I have no sim). But could the wireless create problems?

I thought not, as it seems to me that the device does not go looking autonomously for wireless connections as a computer would, but as I am rather computer illiterate, I hope you can illuminate me on this.

Many thanks!

No, bot Bluetooth and Wireless are off unless you activate it. But the flight attendants will never believe you. They never do.

[paola]

Originally Posted by wongdong

No, bot Bluetooth and Wireless are off unless you activate it. But the flight attendants will never believe you. They never do.

Thanks wongdong! And they won't ever know it has wifi

[fishNco]

My girlfriend's used her 3G Kindle on flights, and didn't have a problem. Nobody came around to ask about wireless modems etc. I think generally nobody turns on the wifi / 3G modem on a plane - it's assumed that the wifi/3G will be off, plus it also affects the battery life.

Only thing is that the regular rules apply - no electronics during take-off and landing, so hopefully you have something else to do while the plane is taking off or landing!

[SkyDream]

Originally Posted by fishNco

My girlfriend's used her 3G Kindle on flights, and didn't have a problem. Nobody came around to ask about wireless modems etc.

Unless the planes crashes...and many people died....your girlfriend was irresponsible.

Hopefully i'm never on the same plane as your girlfriend.

[LoneTech]

Never going to happen, SkyDream. The thing with planes crashing from radio devices is a myth. Specifically cellphones are disliked because the networks don't want to hand them from cell to cell at aircraft speeds, and as far as radios go they're a great source of interference (which, in a worst case plane, can possibly be noticeable instrument noise but certainly not disabling). And there's no mention here of actually using the radio onboard.

The main reason to keep your electronics switched off and out of reach/view is because of ignorance driven panic and regulations. The main reason to keep your radios off is because they won't be useful, so you may as well save the energy. That's how you normally keep it on an ereader anyway.

[paola]

I am one of the panicky types, so thanks Lonetech for clarifying this, as this way I will stop harassing my partner
As for FishNco, though, I think his implication was that though 3G/Wifi are possible, his girlfriend was not using them (nor had I intention of using them, I only want to read my books )

[fishNco]

yup. i do apologise to @SkyDream because i didn't make myself clear - i meant that she was using her 3G kindle on offline mode only. the battery keeps a lot longer that way, too. @LoneTech and @paolamanzini understood what i meant though!

[kacir]

Originally Posted by SkyDream

Unless the planes crashes...and many people died....your girlfriend was irresponsible.

Hopefully i'm never on the same plane as your girlfriend.

Are you an engineer?
Do you know anything about planes, electrical interference, ...?

There was similar discussion several times here. I won't go into technical details, because I do not think you would appreciate them.

Do you think that during recent TERRORIST scare, when over-eager, badly trained, TSA goons confiscate just about *anything*, from bottles of clear water, nail clippers, nail files to small penknives, they would let you enter airplane with a mobile phone, bluetooth wireless handsfree, wifi-enabled netbook, PDAs ... if said electronic components could cause malfunction of an airplane?

Do you think that NTSB would let an airplane to be used for transport if it could be badly affected by electronics that virtually every passenger uses?

[patrik]

Don't you guys know any pilots? It happens they use their GSM phones from the cockpit...

[fjtorres]

Mythbusters did an episode on Cellphones aboard planes years ago.
http://kwc.org/mythbusters/2006/04/e..._on_plane.html

Answer:

The final explanation is that, even though the airplanes appear to be well-shielded against cellphone interference, there are so many different electronics in a cockpit, as well as so many different cellphones constantly coming out, the FAA doesn't want to do the necessary testing.

[SkyDream]

Originally Posted by fishNco

yup. i do apologise to @SkyDream because i didn't make myself clear - i meant that she was using her 3G kindle on offline mode only. the battery keeps a lot longer that way, too. @LoneTech and @paolamanzini understood what i meant though!

Sorry for that, just misunderstood.

[SkyDream]

Originally Posted by kacir

Are you an engineer?
Do you know anything about planes, electrical interference, ...?

There was similar discussion several times here. I won't go into technical details, because I do not think you would appreciate them.

Do you think that during recent TERRORIST scare, when over-eager, badly trained, TSA goons confiscate just about *anything*, from bottles of clear water, nail clippers, nail files to small penknives, they would let you enter airplane with a mobile phone, bluetooth wireless handsfree, wifi-enabled netbook, PDAs ... if said electronic components could cause malfunction of an airplane?

Do you think that NTSB would let an airplane to be used for transport if it could be badly affected by electronics that virtually every passenger uses?

So, you are one of those guys who said "Regulations are not for me 'cause i know better" ? Speed limits are not for you when you know you can handle to drive faster ?

Basically it doesn't matter if 3G usage on the plane could crash it, or not (you may right about that). If it's forbidden where's the point to ignore it ?

[kacir]

Originally Posted by SkyDream

So, you are one of those guys who said "Regulations are not for me 'cause i know better" ? Speed limits are not for you when you know you can handle to drive faster ?

No. I am not one of those guys.
I do adhere to speed limits and other regulations. My friends even make fun of me for this.

Originally Posted by SkyDream

Basically it doesn't matter if 3G usage on the plane could crash it, or not (you may right about that). If it's forbidden where's the point to ignore it ?

3G usage doesn't crash the plane. 3G usage on plane is discouraged because mobile operators to not like it. From plane you see many towers, and you "move" from tower to tower very fast, and ...

Use of electronics is forbidden for different reasons. Like they want you to pay attention to things that flight assistants say to you. It would be difficult to follow instructions for lifejacket use, or listen to emergency instructions during landing when you are listening to a walkman. All electronics use is forbidden, because it would be complicated to make rules for those few instances where the use of electronics is undesirable.
I do put away my ebook rader (non-wifi, non-3G version) during landing and takeoff and I switch my mobile phone to "Airplane mode" when I am on plane.

I was reacting to

Unless the planes crashes...and many people died....your girlfriend was irresponsible.

Hopefully i'm never on the same plane as your girlfriend.

3G use will *not* crash plane. If it could, they would never let you enter plane with a 3G device in your hand.

If you said "oh - that is irresponsible to 3G network operators and besides, you are supposed to listen to flight attendant", I wouldn't have reacted at all.

[SkyDream]

Ok, point taken.