4 ms·

maybe they're trying to tell their submarine fleet something https://www.businessinsider.com/bbc-radio-show-may-be-preventing-nuclear-apocalypse-2018-8 https:/

maybe they're trying to tell their submarine fleet something https://www.businessinsider.com/bbc-radio-show-may-be-preventing-nuclear-apocalypse-2018-8 https://www.businessinsider.com/bbc-radio-show-may-be-preven... > During their isolated missions, crews watch for signals that the UK still exists — and may launch a counter-attack if they believe their country has been destroyed. One of these signs is whether BBC Radio 4 is still broadcasting the "Today" programme, Britain's flagship news and politics show.

prewett 3y ago
Wow, that is eerily reminiscent of the deterrence in Liu Cixin's _Three Body Problem_ novels.
- pjscott 3y ago
  A lot of the thinking in there is intellectually downstream of ideas invented by Cold War nuclear geostrategists, so that’s not too surprising. The desire to not get blown up drove some people to think deeply about how to deal with foreign civilizations that think differently from you, have conflicting interests, but also don’t want to get blown up.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
Scoundreller 3y ago
Part of the reasoning for that signal in particular is its low frequency: 198khz, so one of the best commercial signals under their control that might penetrate through a bit of water at least.
zh3 3y ago
Not generally known, but Radio 4 on LW is a highly stable frequency reference and also [0] carries a digital time signal (along with other broadcast data, like signals for electricity meters). It's done by phase-modulating the carrier and is pretty easy to extract using analogue techniques or simple SDR (e.g. downmix to audio and extract the phase using a soundcard). Having said all that, looks like it's being turned off next year [1]. Let's hope someone tells the sub commanders! [0] I presume it still does, been a while since I checked. [1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/articles/2023/bbc-radio-4-long-wave-transition https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/articles/2023/bbc-radio-4-...
oldpersonintx 3y ago
Canada's largest sub is in a mall
- SECProto 3y ago
  > Canada's largest sub is in a mall Your joke comment is a quarter century out of date https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_ships_of_the_Royal_Canadian_Navy#Submarines https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_ships_of_the_R... https://www.nsnews.com/local-news/north-van-firm-scraps-west-edmonton-mall-submarine-fleet-2922308 https://www.nsnews.com/local-news/north-van-firm-scraps-west...

prewett 3y ago

Wow, that is eerily reminiscent of the deterrence in Liu Cixin's _Three Body Problem_ novels.

pjscott 3y ago
A lot of the thinking in there is intellectually downstream of ideas invented by Cold War nuclear geostrategists, so that’s not too surprising. The desire to not get blown up drove some people to think deeply about how to deal with foreign civilizations that think differently from you, have conflicting interests, but also don’t want to get blown up.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

Scoundreller 3y ago

Part of the reasoning for that signal in particular is its low frequency: 198khz, so one of the best commercial signals under their control that might penetrate through a bit of water at least.

zh3 3y ago

Not generally known, but Radio 4 on LW is a highly stable frequency reference and also [0] carries a digital time signal (along with other broadcast data, like signals for electricity meters). It's done by phase-modulating the carrier and is pretty easy to extract using analogue techniques or simple SDR (e.g. downmix to audio and extract the phase using a soundcard). Having said all that, looks like it's being turned off next year [1]. Let's hope someone tells the sub commanders! [0] I presume it still does, been a while since I checked. [1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/articles/2023/bbc-radio-4-long-wave-transition https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/articles/2023/bbc-radio-4-...

oldpersonintx 3y ago

Canada's largest sub is in a mall

SECProto 3y ago
> Canada's largest sub is in a mall Your joke comment is a quarter century out of date https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_ships_of_the_Royal_Canadian_Navy#Submarines https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_ships_of_the_R... https://www.nsnews.com/local-news/north-van-firm-scraps-west-edmonton-mall-submarine-fleet-2922308 https://www.nsnews.com/local-news/north-van-firm-scraps-west...