Kaboom!

June 6, 2006 6:19 AM

"Blasting zone -- turn off two-way radios!!!"

Why?

posted by scratch to Grab Bag (5 answers total)

I've always wondered too, and just found this: Two-Way Radios and Blasting Zones

I guess the money quote is "We've proven to our own satisfaction that you've got to WORK at setting off a fireworks squib with a VHF radio transmitter - that there's a one-in-a-million chance of doing it accidentally. But we don't want anybody at our shows or in our crew to be a victim of that one millionth time - especially when it's so easy to prevent."
posted by ParsonWreck at 6:27 AM on June 6, 2006

Also maybe to prevent the "unauthorized" from using radio channels needed by the blasters. Interesting link, ParsonWreck
posted by exogenous at 7:39 AM on June 6, 2006

Via Google
posted by psyward at 8:17 AM on June 6, 2006

The same reason they don't want you to use cell phones in the hospital or on a plane. Yeah there's a 1/1,000,000 chance of it [unplanned detonation] really happening but do you wanna take the chances..
posted by aeighty at 11:18 AM on June 6, 2006

Possibly because command authority could be inadvertently given to set off the explosives? Such as if two people were working over the radio and need to know when everyone was cleared away so they could detonate them, some stray transmission of "ok go ahead" might be intercepted and misinterpreted and kill someone?
posted by vanoakenfold at 2:35 AM on June 10, 2006