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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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