WAMASC Technical Information
Mobile Phones Can Wipe Transmitter Memories
Never, ever carry a mobile phone in your transmitter case.
Mobile phones have become a must-have accessory for most people today. Many of us take one with us everywhere we go for safety, etc. When leaving for the flying field, I used to be in the habit of throwing my mobile phone, wallet, spectacles, etc into my aluminium transmitter case so they were easily accessible at the field. Now the mobile phone goes no closer than my pocket!
Unfortunately keeping a mobile phone in your transmitter case can have severe consequences for aero modellers. Mobile phones can wipe the memory from your transmitter if you do this. Worse still, it is possible for the memory not to be fully wiped but to become corrupted. This could result in a crash with all the safety implications. There is nothing worse than having spent hours setting up your model to perfection at home only to find that all the settings have been wiped when you get to the field. Your first suspicion might be aliens?
The mechanism behind this is similar to that of a microwave oven. A mobile phone is capable of about 1 watt of transmitter power. In order to maximise battery life, a mobile phone dynamically adjusts its output power according to the signal strength it receives from the nearest base station. That is why your battery goes flat more quickly in a low signal area. If you put a mobile phone in your transmitter case and close the lid, the mobile sees a loss of signal and immediately goes to full power output while it tries to connect to the base station. The signals are contained in the case, reflect around and increase in intensity. This high Radio Frequency field is known to wipe the contents of memory in your transmitter, and in extreme instances perhaps cause damage.
Make a practice of never enclosing a mobile phone with electronic equipment and keeping the phone as far from your transmitter or receiver as possible, such as in your pocket or better still, keep it out of the pits altogether.
27 July 2008
Tony Belts
AUS42905
