Mobile Phone detectors
 

Does such a device exist? Mobiles operate within a known frequency range, and will transmit regularly even when not in use (on a smaller band of frequencies too) to keep contact with the network. Surely it's not beyond us to produce a device which can detect transmissions and illuminate a warning in the cockpit? Or is it just that it's a non-problem in reality, so it's not worth investing any money in? I've no axe to grind here either way, just interested.

I remember seeing such a device at the CeBIT trade show in Hannover, Germany a few years ago. As I recall, it has been designed by an Israeli company.
Detection was one aspect (and one of their target markets was the airline industry). Jamming was another.
Not sure what happened to them or to the device.

There such a device,

Full details are:

Securicor Cellphone Detector can detect use of a mobile or SRBR within a pre-set range and will give out a pre-recorded announcement to switch of all padio equipment immediately.

* Detection range adjustable from 2m to 30m
* Emits an audible warning
* 12 months battery life
* Dims: (w)200 x (h) 112 x (d) 50mm

Cost is £149.95 plus VAT

Part Code: 17997

Can be bought from a company in Manchester called Nimans Ltd
Tele 0870 444 3101
Technical Support No. 0870 444 3104

but all receivers also emit radiation too, after all that's how radar detector detectors used by police (in some Oz states anyway) work.

To be fitted in aircraft, then they would have to undergo testing to ensure that their frequency emissions were not causing interference/

I don’t think this gadget will be a hit, as authorities and airlines are softening on their mobile polices. For example, SAS CDRs can allow the usage of cell phones onboard ACFT as long as it doesn't conflict with local regulations. In Sweden and Denmark there are no local restrictions against the usage of cell phones onboard an ACFT.

I am very curious about this one.

I am a radio engineer working within GSM/PCS and also a qualified helicopter pilot.

Why you cannot use mobile phones while flying is beyond me? I had first assumed that if you have 100 mobiles all transmitting at once then the RF energy could create problems for the FBW or such like. After some research and reflection I thought that if it is that easy to screw up FBW or navigation systems in modern AC then I definitely don’t want to be flying in one! So what is the reason? I don’t know.

So is anyone out there who can give me a good well rounded scientific argument for banning the use of mobile phones on aircraft? And while we are at it why on BMI, for example, can you use your phone until doors closed but on easyjet you cannot use it at all once boarded?

I am genuinely curious for the answers to these ones.

This subject regularly does the rounds on the rec.aviation.piloting newsgroup (go to www.deja.com if you want to read it).
Anyway, there are a couple of reasons that are usually given:

1. Mobiles were designed for land use, and the speed at which an aircraft flies together with the large number of cells that the phone can see conspire to "confuse" the cellular network and reduce capacity (allegedly). As a GSM engineer, you are more qualified to comment on this.

2. Electronic equipment for aviation use undergoes certification. It is possible (and I stress the word possible) that a mobile could interfere with equipment on the aircraft. The mere possibility results in a prohibition. Professional airline folk in this forum are more qualified than me to comment on this one.

Interesting, here in the US, the FAA prohibits portable electronic devices from being used during takeoff and landing, but it is the FCC that prohibits mobiles in flight. However, the FCC regs specifically mention certain frequencies and US GSM only phones (operating in the 1900MHz frequency band) are not specifically mentioned in those regs.

Well sitting here on my desk is a perspex mobile phone stand with some cute toys frogs and green gloop inside. It flashes when my phone is about to ring and at regular intervals when the phone is close to it. I assume the chip in the base cost no more than 10p so I suppose for a tenner you could knock one up with a bit more range!

Just happened to see this rather interesting article on www.news.com today. The original link is http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1004-200...html?tag=tp_pr

Will technology spawn cell phone backlash?
By Ben Charny
Special to CNET News.com
July 26, 2001, 8:00 a.m. PT
Image Sensing Systems was quietly going about its business making roadway traffic-management devices about two months ago when the king of Jordan called to complain about cell phones ringing in mosques while he prayed.

King Abdullah was beside himself. He knew someone at the Minnesota-based company and called to suggest creating a product that could block cell phones from ringing.

Within two weeks, the company had a working prototype for King Abdullah. Word got out about its product. This week, Image Sensing Systems said it had taken orders to ship about 5,000 of these devices to customers around the world.
With the rise in the number of cell phones on the planet, there is a parallel increase in frustration over where people use them. While cell-phone jamming is illegal in the United States and elsewhere, some countries, most notably Canada, are considering laws that would let people bar cell phones from being used on their property.

Other signs of a backlash against mobile phones have emerged elsewhere. Although banned for their potential effects on safety rather than as an annoyance, handheld cell phones are illegal to use while driving in New York.

But from the mosques in Jordan to the boardrooms of a giant U.S. entertainment company, businesspeople and private citizens aren't waiting for governments to act. A variety of new technologies are being developed to address what some contend are mobile annoyances. Although the rest of the telecommunications sector is sinking like a stone, the business of cell-phone jamming is booming.

By some estimates, this small industry has seen at least a tripling in sales this year.

"Ten years ago, if someone was on a cell phone, you figured it must have been an important call because only doctors or big businessmen had them," said Mary Beth Griffin, vice president of North Carolina-based BlueLinx, which is creating a device that would automatically turn off the ringers of cell phones. "But now they are so light, so portable, that everyone has one. It's less that people are trying to be rude, but that they forgot they are carrying this five-ounce thing in their pockets."

BlueLinx expects to sell about a million of its devices once they are released, she said. At least two movie chains, plus many theaters where live plays are presented, are among those clamoring for orders, she said.

Redmond, Wash.-based Zetron is celebrating the fourth anniversary of the introduction of a device that detects cell phones within 100 feet and can be programmed to alert officials or trigger a recorded message requesting that the owner leave the phone outside. Business for the device is picking up, a company spokesman said.

One high-profile owner of these types of devices is actor Christopher Reeve of "Superman" fame. Reeve is paralyzed and his breathing is assisted by a respirator. His voice is faint as a result. Mobile phones sometimes drown out his speech.

Other companies also are cashing in. NetLine Communications Technologies, an Israeli company, says it is selling record numbers of its C-Guard Cellular FireWall mobile-phone jamming equipment, especially in the United States, where jamming cell phones is illegal.

The Federal Communications Commission has made cell phone jamming punishable by an $11,000-per-day fine. Yet, despite the possibility of a huge financial punishment, NetLine executive Gil Israeli said the United States remains one of the company's strongest markets.

The company's list of U.S. clients includes a major entertainment company, a recording studio in New Jersey and one state's House of Representatives, he claims.

"Although there is no official approval, they want to do it," Israeli said.

In Canada, lawmakers are mulling whether to lift a ban on cell phone jamming. A recent survey of Canadian citizens found 43 percent in favor of allowing cell phone jammers in theaters, hospitals and other public places. A decision on lifting the ban is expected in the fall.

The North American Free Trade Agreement mandates that the FCC review its policy about banning cell-phone blocking equipment if Canada changes its law, said Bill Sowell, vice president of business development for Image Sensing Systems.

"I don't think the FCC will overturn the law. It's difficult to legislate common courtesy. If people would put their phones on vibrate, then that's a different story," he said. "The problem we really have is that everybody now wants information immediately. They feel that it's their God-given right."

They don't want you using them because all those rich phone companies that spent billions installing phone systems in airplanes will go broke. Worked better with analog, digital phones are hard to get signal above 10,000 ft anyway. Analog goes 50 miles.