fuses v circuit breakers

[Sprig]

Hail VAF members!

Yea yea yea, I got a little excited, my first post and all.

Anyways, I understand some of you didn't like my sentence that sounded like "My Doubletalk Emitter was way into the yellow here!".

Take a looky here:
http://www.dra73.org/intermod101.html
"Anytime two or more RF signals are brought together in a mixer, sum and difference frequencies are produced."

And of course, I can link to a site with a more laymans approach, larger RF engery source lacking the second RF signal for intermod in the circuit:

http://hamjudo.com/notes/cdrom.html

The Science:

The aluminum layer in a CD-ROM is very thin. The microwave oven induces large currents in the

aluminum. This makes enough heat to vaporize the aluminum. You then see a very small lightning storm

as electric arcs go through the vaporized aluminum. Within a few seconds there will be many paths

etched through the aluminum, leaving behind little metalic islands. Some of the islands will be

shaped so that they make very good microwave antennas. These spots will focus the microwave energy,

and get very hot. Now you will see just a few bright spots spewing a lot of smoke. The good part of

the light show is over, turn off the oven.

Note: The above light show could have just happened on the traces to your GPS reciever; since it was

enclosed in it's case, you couldn't see it. (You MIGHT have seen the smoke... )

Wait, there is more!

I certainly have ZERO desire to write a 5 page article on the subjet when one silly sentence gets

the point across. Read just ONE article that mentions SOME of the issues here:

http://www.issues.org/19.2/strauss.htm

The article above referenced electronic equipment, many that are manufactured under compliance with Part 15 FCC regulations. Of course there ARE devices INTENDED to transmit ... ( NOT FCC Part 15 compliant )

YES, this means Cell Phones.

And of course, here is a link of what can happen with cell phone useage, dispite their very low

power output:

http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,41177-0.html

An indepth read on further Cell Phone useage here:

http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/print/3069

And, if you still think I just write silly sentences, you can read about flight issues with the devices NOT intended to transmit. And, a very many of you use THESE "IN FLIGHT" for navigation.

http://gpsinformation.net/airgps/gpsrfi.htm

So, maybe I wrote a sentence that sounded "silly" and came across as "My Doubletalk Detector was way into the yellow here".

Maybe I was right. And, maybe I was just trying to help educate (without writing my own 50 page post ... er book).

Sprig

[jcoloccia]

Originally Posted by szicree

My Doubletalk Detector is way into the yellow here!

Mine's in the red now...

There is some valuble information we can take from here, though. If you ever build an airplane out of old CD-ROMS, don't fly it through a giant microwave oven. Words to live by...

[mlw450802]

Originally Posted by jcoloccia

Mine's in the red now...

There is some valuble information we can take from here, though. If you ever build an airplane out of old CD-ROMS, don't fly it through a giant microwave oven. Words to live by...

AMEN!
This is the significant quote that I got from the articles:

"Airlines generally abide by the FAA's recommendation, but what they don't tell passengers is that no agency -- not even the RTCA -- has come up with definitive evidence of portable electronic devices interfering with a plane's instruments. "


-mike

[szicree]

Originally Posted by jcoloccia

If you ever build an airplane out of old CD-ROMS, don't fly it through a giant microwave oven

There goes my plan to get on the cover of Sport Aviation.