Out of curiosity, is there a technical reason, with DCS's two way communication being a major bullet point of the system, that DCS engines couldn't be programed to send out a "I'm here!" signal when they are powered on. The TIU could then be watching for this signal and if received send out a watchdog signal?
In other words, assuming an update to the TIU software, to provide for this capability, and an update to the software running on newly produced engines to provide for the "I'm here" signal, would the system allow for this without a redesign?
JGL