So I've been thinking about the implication of the wirless bonus on datajacks, the ability to reduce noise. My question to folks is would you apply noise reduction before or after the noise would knock out the wireless bonus on the datajacks themselves.

Lets presume for the sake of the argument that the character in question is close to the source of the noise. Just for the sake of outlining the scenario lets assume that it's a rating 4 area jammer vs an alphaware datajack (device rating 3) who wins (and therefore applies) in this situation.

Bonus round, thoughts on stacking multiple datajacks. There's no rule against it and conceptually I like it a lot.

The action the Datajack is being used for wirelessly would just be at a base -3 noise modifier for the action, as far as I can tell.

i would say the device's own noise reduction could be used to avoid being completely shut down.

i would also allow noise reduction from any device that is not shut down on it's own to help, provided it was plausible (so for example if you had a rating 4 cyberdeck with noise reduction 2 due to a program, and you were attempting to use the cyberdeck to access the matrix, i would also let the cyberdeck help your datajack resist the jammer). and of course, if you had the datajack connected by cable to the cyberdeck, you could stack them together even if neither individually could resist the jammer.

Quick question concerning this though:

Can you use the following Matrix action on an Area Jammer, enhancing its jamming capabilities? Eg. Area Jammer 4 boosted to Area Jammer 9 (with 5 successes)...

Jam Signals
(complex Action)
Marks Required: Owner
Test: Electronic Warfare + Logic [Attack]
This action turns the wireless device you are using
into a local jammer. As long as you do not use the device
for any further Matrix actions, the device adds any
hits you get on the test to the noise rating for all Matrix
actions conducted by or targeting any devices within
100 meters. If you want selective jamming or directional
jamming, buy a jammer—that’s what they’re for.

RAW, as far as i can tell... yes. it does stack, since it just adds to the noise rating.

I dunno. It says the action "turns your device into a local jammer." That implies that you're not using the device's normal functionality, so it wouldn't stack.

The thing is i can't find anythign that says noise reduction is device specific, so i presume it's a pool. This makes a certain amount of sense in my head. More datajacks broadcasting = more signal strength to cut through the crap. It also means with a modest investment of capacity or essence and money you can be effectively immune to noise, which is something any hacker worth their salt should be pursuing.

Ooh. Nasty combo. It looks like you could use the jammer's wireless bonus of avoiding jamming specified devices only on the base noise rating of the jammer. The "bonus" noise of the jamming action, however, applies to everything.