bookworm wrote-
The power required to meet regulatory requirements is determined by ceiling and max speed. Lower power is permitted only on aircraft not capable of operating above 15,000 ft and with a maximum crusing speed of 175 kt or less. If you exceed either restriction, the transponder doesn't stop working, it just ceases to meet regulatory requirements.
Indeed. I didn’t suggest otherwise.
But the CAA replied to Martin Breen-
There are a number of transponders on the market which produce a peak pulse power of 70W and appear to be suitable for use in many types of glider.
So what are these 70W transponders for high-flying gliders? Who makes them?
Are they even technically feasible?
Incidentally, the only study of the potential radiological effects of Mode S transponders cited by the CAA related to ‘an 80 Watt transponder with typical antenna’ (para. 10.3 of the consultation). And it only used a ‘generic computer model’.
So no one really knows what the radiological effects of, say, a 125W transponder in a glider will be.