OK, this is going to sound loopier than the usual stuff I write=20 about. If you keep your modern GSM cell phone off during all phases of= =20 flight then you can skip reading this. On the other hand, if you do ha= ve a=20 fancy GSM cell "transmitter," powered on in your pocket during flight, read=20 on.

The older I get, the less I know for sure - I can only try to deduce=20 meaning out of seemingly random events and then try to find others that have= had=20 similar experiences. So, bear with me. About 6 months ago my wife and=20= I=20 switched to GSM style cell phones, me to a Motorola RAZR and her to a bite s= ized=20 Nokia. We have experienced Star-Trek like noises emanating from certai= n=20 audio equipment around the house and, occasionally, in the car (although the= car=20 is usually near good cell towers). With the RAZR within 3 feet of= my=20 desktop computer (and its sound system) and, during cell tower searches (poo= r=20 coverage in my house), unique sounds come from the audio - but, what yo= u=20 should really hear is the Wookie warbles should someone actually call m= e on=20 the cell while it is so located. Generally, I turn the phone off when I= fly=20 because it has been making occasional occult noises thru the radio whil= st I=20 am still on the ground. Yesterday was an exception.

So, in a steepish turn at 8500 MSL over an interstate in SW Wisconsin (= good=20 place for cell towers), my ACK ELT (with panel mounted remote switch) fired=20= off.=20 Staying in the area (smooth air, level flight), I could not get the "reset"=20= to=20 keep it off. I had to hold the button in until I was some distance fro= m=20 the problem area. Remember that some of us had problems with ACK ELTs=20= when=20 a stronger radio was installed - there was a mod level to resist it bei= ng=20 triggered by a comm transmission and I have that mod. After I turned o= ff=20 my RAZR, no further problems were encountered. I am not sure if a call=20= was=20 coming in during that experience since my brother had tried me twice bu= t=20 the cell only remembers the time of the last call.

The question is whether any of you have had exotic events occur whilst=20 flying with GSM phones powered up?

OK, I've got my tin foil hat on now.=20

Scott Krueger=20 AKA Grayhawk
Lancair N92EX IO320 SB 89/96
Aurora, IL (KARR)

BTW= ,=20 ever walked by a plasma tv screen carrying an active AM radio? - it's=20 scary!