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I know nothing about flight recorders, but offhand it would make sense to me for them to have some sort of transponder. Maybe the requirement of having a power

by cdr 17y ago

I know nothing about flight recorders, but offhand it would make sense to me for them to have some sort of transponder. Maybe the requirement of having a power source is unrealistic.

JimmyL 17y ago
They do - they've got a pinger that sends out a signal after a crash has been detected to aid in locating the box, similar to an avalanche beacon. Problem is that it's not all that strong, and is likely under a few tons of airplane and a few kilometers of water.
- TriinT 17y ago
  To make things even worse, sea water strongly attenuates electromagnetic radiation at radio frequencies...
  - ars 17y ago
    It uses sonar. Radio would be useless under water.
    - TriinT 17y ago
      I suppose it emits both in radio and sonar, right? What if the airplane crashes over land?
      - kqr2 17y ago
        It only activates the sonar if it is under water: http://trueslant.com/milesobrien/ http://trueslant.com/milesobrien/
- dtf 17y ago
  And it only pings for 30 days.