Quoting Bill_s, ref. post #527:
The problem is that you would have to induce some 20 volts of stray RF directly into the relay coil wiring, for a significant period of time, for this scenario to work. This RF would have to penetrate both the acft metal hull and any shielding on the wires. I have no idea how much RF power would have to be delivered to the outside of the hull, but my guess is it would be upwards of tens of kilowatts. This massive amount of RF power would probably disrupt other electronics in the acft long before it acted directly on any relay.
(DC = direct current, RF = radio frequency energy)
and quoting ve3id, ref. post #529:
I think you are barking up the wrong tree here! I just did a quick calculation using 28 Volts across a 1k ohm load (the coil at RF) and used 140dB for space loss beyond the e-field.
I came up with 78 TeraWatts!
If someone was using that kind of RF power, you would know. All the lights in and around the airport would dim!
Bill_s and ve3id: Reading your posts it seems you are assuming the (possible) source originated from outside the aircraft.
The scenario could be considerably different if the (possible) source originated from inside the aircraft.
To my knowledge certain transmitting PEDs can generate electric fields in the order of 20 Volts (or more) in relatively close proximity to the transmitting PED.
Next question is
if something like this had occurred, could it have affected the relays, subject to this discussion? For those "in the know" about where these relays are located and how they "function in the total scheme of things" (Ref. AMM), it would be something to at least take into consideration.
Regards,
Green-dot