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Signal processing algorithms can pull out a signal from well below the noise floor these days. Even the small and nondirectional antennas on your phone are good

by WJW 3y ago

Signal processing algorithms can pull out a signal from well below the noise floor these days. Even the small and nondirectional antennas on your phone are good enough to receive GPS signals even all the way down at -125 dBm, which is WAY less than your phone receives in interference from random radio stations and faulty LED bulbs nearby. The tech used to receive Voyager signals is not really different, just more sensitive and sophisticated (and expensive).

lima 3y ago
Slightly larger antennas, too.
- kQq9oHeAz6wLLS 3y ago
  You mean you don't have a 70 meter dish attached to your iPhone?
  - I_Am_Nous 3y ago
    I did but the FCC had some words to say to me
    - jamala1 3y ago
      Do you really need to be certified if you only use it for receiving?
      - I_Am_Nous 3y ago
        I think that would fall under the "must accept interference" portion of FCC Part 15, my phone communicating back to the tower might raise some alarms if I tried amplifying it at all though!
  - giantrobot 3y ago
    For that you'll need the iPhone 16 Pro Plus Max.
lagrange77 3y ago
Interesting! Why faulty LED bulbs in particular, does it have to do with their PWM frequency?
- unnouinceput 3y ago
  Because their power supply is shitty and it's easy to transform the chopper that is used in the switching power supply to behave as an oscillator instead, which will start to emit harmonics (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switched-mode_power_supply https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switched-mode_power_supply)
- jacquesm 3y ago
  Electromagnetic radiation power roughly equivalent to the amount of light they output. I wished I was kidding, some of them are so bad they should qualify as jammers.