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Re: wearable necessity?

From: Eric Laforest <>
Date: Fri, 1 Dec 2000 16:34:36 -0500

On Fri, Dec 01, 2000 at 10:44:22AM -0800, Doug Sutherland thus spake:
> the plane. When I held my GPS antenna up to the aircraft window
> it read accurately a speed of 550 mph and altiutude of 35,000 feet!
> By the way GPS is "receive only" (not transmit) and cannot affect
> the aircraft nav systems, so don't flame me. I even showed my GPS
> in operation to both flight attendants and the pilot himself and 
> they were not concerned ... 
> 
>   -- Doug

I though so too....

I brought my radio setup with me on a trip to British Columbia so
I'd have emergency radio and so the guys at work would have a laugh
tracking me over APRS...so naturally I want to try the GPS on the plane.
Being sometimes a really moral person <grin> I asked the stewardess if
she could ask the pilot if a GPS receiver was OK to operate.
She came back with the reply, looking very serious, that I shouldn't
ever operate such a thing in a plane.

This left me *totally* puzzled.
Next time I'll ask again anyway, for I suspect either miscommunication
or genuine misinformation on the part of the pilot/stewardess.
I just can't stand absolute statements without underlying explanation.

As for getting a wearable through airport security: not many hassles.
The guards just wanted to see it boot up and assured that the battery
was not containing liquid acid. (I use gel-cells)
...and this was for a totally jury rigged, aluminium case, wires all over,
duct-taped first attempt at a wearcomp. :)

The only thing that ever really caught security's attention, for some
unknown reason, was a wall wart with the cable wrapped around it.
Must look suspicious under X-Ray.

Fortunately/unfortunately, airport security tends to be totally ignorant
(and uncomprehending) of anything computerese beyond a laptop running 
DOS/Windows.

Eric LaForest

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