Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site fortune.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!cca!decvax!harpo!seismo!hao!hplabs!hpda!fortune!wall
From: wall@fortune.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.micro
Subject: Portables on Airplanes
Message-ID: <1100@fortune.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 8-Jun-83 14:00:13 EDT
Article-I.D.: fortune.1100
Posted: Wed Jun  8 14:00:13 1983
Date-Received: Sat, 11-Jun-83 13:05:30 EDT
Organization: Fortune Systems, San Carlos, CA
Lines: 24


  A friend of mine is one of the designers of the new Gavilan Portable
computer (3  1/4 inch floppy, 64k ram, touch mouse, 300 baud modem,
completely battery powered, and only weighs 9 pounds) anyway,
I know that they are trying to get their unit approved for airplanes by
the FAA. The problem is that the FAA doesn't know what to do about
the portable computers. They admit that there is a level of radiated
emmissions that would be acceptable on airplanes, but they don't
know what it is. Some of the FAA officials are even saying that it will 
be up to the indivigual airlines to specify the limits. The airlines
are saying that they don't understand the question. Unfortunately,
knowing federal agencies, the FAA will want to establish their own
limits, and their own testing agencies, their own enforcement,....
it will never end. The funny thing is that most all battery powered
CMOS computers that use LCD displays have very little radiated
noise due to slow rise times and slow clocks. It will be nice when
some standards are established, but untill then....

					!fortune!wall

P.S. I understand that the HP is allowed due to some very heavy 
political action by David Packard when he was Secretary of Defense
to get that inclusion in the FAA guidelines.