I have had the pleasure(!) of finding out from the FAA exactly what "determination" means, and the explanation from them was as I described
So could you give us a pointer to the legislation where this is set forth? In absence of that, any other public document with or without force of law which explains the enforcing agency's interpretation?
Granted, the rules are specifically for IFR at the moment
So for the avoidance of doubt, is it correct to say that nothing you have provided so far substantiates the claim that
"untested transmitting devices such as Spot, Spidertracks, mobile phones, etc are prohibited from use in any aircraft"?
I'm not saying you are wrong, especially since I am not familiar at all with FAA regs, but given what you have posted so far, I think you may be a bit overzealous in your interpretation. Good for you, but please leave the snarky remarks out.
Lastly, in regards to your comment
"similar legislation can be found under each local authority worldwide (JAR-OPS 1.110 for Europe)", allow me to quote the amended JAR-OPS 1.110 (word-for-word identical to EU-OPS 1.110):
Portable electronic devices
JAR-OPS 1.110
An operator shall not permit any person to use, and
take all reasonable measures to ensure that no person
does use, on board an aeroplane, a portable electronic
device that can adversely affect the performance of
the aeroplane’s systems and equipment.
[Ch. 1, 01.03.98]
Disregarding the fact that OPS 1 applies to CAT and if I'm not mistaken we are talking about private flights here, can you please explain where the requirement for DO-160 (or any other) certification emanates from? (You said:
"Any piece of equipment that has not been tested to RTCA DO-160 standards is considered unapproved for aviation use")
Thanks & rgs
/LH2