[smsm42]

But do they really need to "operate" under these harsh conditions? They need to preserve the recorded data (which AFAIK with a suitable magnetic storage requires no processing power and no energy, just ability to stay mechanically together) and to do something to be found - like send GPS coordinates out on exceptional event and/or a loud radio ping that can be located by search teams after the crash. That shouldn't be that hard to do? Or am I missing something here?

[yardie]

A plane can be on fire and in flight simultaneously. If the compartment the blackbox is kept in is on fire or near the hotspot you don't want it cutting out too soon.

Blackboxes are equipped with a sonic and radio location beacon. Because of the remote locations they have to work in battery life is measured in days and hours since they have to send out a fairly powerful signal using the weakest antenna configuration.

GPS is out of the question for the moment. It requires a power hungry DSP and signal amplifier. Even now, most smart phones use the GPS occasionally then supplement that information with the accelerometer (ie, dead reckoning for smartphones).

[smsm42]

>>> battery life is measured in days and hours since they have to send out a fairly powerful signal using the weakest antenna configuration.

They don't need to send it continuously, so I wonder why it is only hours. Sending a loud short ping once an hour shouldn't consume too much energy. Of course, I don't know enough about radio physics to know if it'd be enough, say, if it is 1km underwater - that may be a problem. Maybe supplement it with acoustic ping too?

GPS is not needed continuously too - it can record last reading, say, before high-g acceleration event and then let the GPS unit be destroyed, burned, starved of power or whatever happens to it. I.e. continuous GPS is needed only when everything is OK and the device is connected to the plane's powerplant - once it is disconnected, record last known GPS and shut down everything - we're in trouble, so the only task for it now is to scream loudly until it is found.