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Wow Quoting (the late) Barney Fife, "Gosh, I love that kind'a talk!" Where else can you find a place for all this sort of techno-jive, all frames of reference tied into a single subject matter thread? Grins, Dave Winters N2797H -----Original Message----- From: John Stevens [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, March 08, 2006 8:49 AM To: Ercoupe Hangar Flying Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Digest list: Ercoupe Hangar Flying Sorry, my formula assumed statute miles and the 1.23 rule which gave me ~~ 97 SM which works out to ~~ 84 NM. Reading further the definition of microwave starts at 3Ghz - cellphones being commonly in bands at 800, 900, and 1900 Mhz (with uncommon networks at 850, 900 and 1800 internationally) the 1.144 rule would apply. But even using those numbers you still see a possibility of accessing or confusing potentially dozens of cellsites with a phone at altitude. See the map(s) at http://www.arcx.com/sites/Cantel-Downtown.htm - I can, without difficulty fly down the entire north shore of Lake Ontario and within less than a mile of the shoreline (at the bottom of the map is a hint of Toronto Island airport) - potentially I have access from less than 2000 ft (using the 1.144 rule) of accessing (conservatively) cell sites within 30 miles (the actual number is 47.8 miles). Again, I'ts not about the guy in his Ercoupe or SuperCub using his cellphone through a headset adapter to call his wife or FBO on the way back from the fly in breakfast out in the sticks - but the (potential) for problems with a multitude of users in a concentrated area or even 2 or 3 users in an urban area. I am watching with interest the develoments of allowing internet access via WiFi inside commercial airliners. That may be the catalyst for allowing and provisioning cellphone access via local "cell sites" within the aircraft itself. Now of course we will be going back to the days of expensive "air phone" type scenarios as the roaming charges with a company like the fictitious "Aircell International" will probably cost consumers dearly at first. On the note of GPS style tracking it will be interesting to see how the public reacts as they know that more and more "tracking" technologies are available to the cellphone companies and to their "partners" (read the FBI / CBP / CIA) with the right to spy domestically being hotly debated at the moment. In the UK tracking is already available to employers and 3rd parties (see http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1035_22-6035317.html). Now Pikes Peak - I would have expected there to be at least something available there. It is a popular destination and a perfect place to put a remote cell site. Anyway - thanks for the correction and the further input. Regs, John > ---------------------------- >From: "David Douglas Winters" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "'John Stevens'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,<[email protected]> > Reply-To: "David Douglas Winters" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: RE: [COUPERS-FLYIN] AIRBORNE CELL PHONE USE > > Hmmmm, > So, we should not use cell phones on mountain tops? > > Last time I was on Pikes Peak, I couldn't get one decent connection. > > Im not sure this is working out for me, logically. > > After a bunch of year in communications...and specifically > communications security...introducing the new upper-end freq > technologies, I surmise more bureaucratically centered issues here. > See, at altitude, you MAY have access to distant cells beyond those in > your immediate area. This makes you much more difficult to > localize....until the law mandates GPS data transmission from every > phone. > > Anyway, as I recall, the equation for line of sight horizon is 1.144 * > sqr rt (height of eye in feet) = distance to the horizon in nautical > miles. (This assumes the horizon is at sea-level...which, of course, it > ain't, as a rule.) > >For radar freqs, substitute a multiplicand of 1.23. > > How do we get such different numbers? > > Grins, > Dave Winters > N2797H ============================================================================== To leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm
