Weather and wireless., Wanting to spread the "joy" Options Track this topic Email this topic Print this topic Download this topic Subscribe to this forum Display Modes Switch to: Outline Standard Switch to: Linear+

[LilithTaveril]

Okay, I'm working on a system that reflects the true joys of weather interacting with wireless systems. I'm trying to come up with something that truly represents it.

I was thinking of having weather act as natural jamming. Thus, an extremely thick fog bank would be a rating 6 jammer.

[Samaels Ghost]

Is that fog magical? That would have to be pretty thick. Does fog do that in RL?

[hobgoblin]

depends on the frequency used i guess.

the digital satelite feed i have here at home starts to fail on heavy rain or snow, or the equivalent cloud cover.

wifi signals can have trouble getting past forests...

but that fog would be seriously thick to have that jamming effect.
i would guess it to be so dense you could maybe cut it with a knife, for real...

[laughingowl]

Modern it really depends on the frequency.

But considering they solved the bandwidth, I would have to say the have pretty much solved the 'normal' interference issues.


Anything short of a very active lighting storm or the like should have little effect. (or non-natural effects (possibly spirit powers, 'metallic smoke', etc)

[Charon]

I've never heard of fog interfering with any kind of wavelenght. There is many a ship captain who would have crashed their ships if it were the case.

I'd say weather interference (And by that I mean thunderstorm, solar flare and whatnot) is only an issue if you are in the wilderness and you need to connect to a sattellite. In a 2070 city there is probably too many nearby relay station to bounce your signal for that kind of thing to happen.

I don't see how wireless would have become so widespread if it were stopped by fog, at any rate. In Seattle, no less! It's non sense IMO.

[Aaron]

The only time I've seen wireless signal interference in nature was during thunderstorms. One particularly exciting instance was when I was when I was configuring a WLAN, and the signal strength on the machine I was working on went from strong to low in under a second. Just as I was starting to consider the implications of this event, lightning struck about a block away.

I shut everything down and waited for the storm to pass. I trust modern surge protection, but better safe than stupid.

[Butterblume]

[Charon]

[LilithTaveril]

I find that the wireless wavelengths specifically dealing with computers is very easily interrupted. I mean, my own has been interrupted by leaves, clouds, rain, snow, a helicopter... In 2070, where everything is computerized, I can see an entire city being shut down during a rainstorm. The problem is the medium by which the signals travel.

But, I can drop this if it doesn't seem reasonable.

[Butterblume]

[Backgammon]

SR reduced Flux by 1 point (or even .5 i think) if there was a severe thuder storm, and nothing less. I also think it'd take a severe thunder storm to visibly affect wireless devices.

[hobgoblin]

reading up on wireless datatraffic:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cdma

and maybe allso these two:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_division...multiple_access
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FDMA

oh, and this one to understand how (some) jammers and thunderstoms can affect transmissions:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near-far_problem

heh, i guess only the last one is realy relevant to the original post.

but i guess atleast two of the three ways of handling data traffic will be used in SR (alltho i guess that a quantom computer could in theory pull a poem out of random noice or something).

[cx2]

At any rate I don't think a jamming level of more than maybe 3 would be appropriate for the heavier end of normal weather. If you look at the signal ratings table it shows that rating 6 is incredibly strong. Myself I'd lean more towards level 2 jamming for an intense storm, with 3 for a extremely strong one to the point of being extraordinary.

[Frag-o Delux]

I think you will have more trouble with signal attenuation. The air thick with moisture and other interference will slow your singals, then cause packet loss. Your signal isnt being jammed per say. It is just having a really tough time getting through. Youll still be connected and what not but you may not get a strong connection, with intermitent singal dropping.

Id like clearification on exactally what broadcasts signals. From reading the fluff and reading this forum everything does. If I remember the SR4 fluff correctlly and the way people are describign it here, I think the writers have misdescribed what RFID tags are adn how they really work.

The way routers work today they have 11 channels most in America, 13 in Europe, 14 I think in France. In those channels there is a range, very minute, of frequencies. And in my experience too many wireless devices trying to get on teh same network causes issues. You can add repeaters and access points, but the more devices you add the less bandwidth you get. Eventually no one will get on.

I know bigger more powerful routers can handle more connections. But if everything is broadcasting continously you would need ass loads of frequencies. I dont see more frequencies becoming availible in the future either, in fact it maybe more restrictive.

You will need tons of frequencies for Simsense to be broadcast first, then more to make everything wireless. Weather will really play a role in all those signals bouncing around. Man I could see everyone losing or at least getting very low signal at places like stadiums or concerts.