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In safety industries, particularly aviation, "alarm fatigue" is a really big deal. You recognize that pilots have limited situational bandwidth, and you REALLY

In safety industries, particularly aviation, "alarm fatigue" is a really big deal. You recognize that pilots have limited situational bandwidth, and you REALLY don't want to be bugging them about things you can avoid. I worked in collision avoidance systems (TAS/TCASI/TCASII), and spent nearly a whole year just working on figuring out when and how we could avoid warning pilots in cases where "we're not sure exactly what is going on, so tell the pilot just in case" could potentially annoy pilots in cases like take off and landing (where they have important OTHER things to be doing!) It's a fun balance between "possibly don't warn the pilot about something they should know about", and "don't warn them if they are busy doing something important". More devices should have a "squelch" switch!

tayloramurphy 1y ago
What does a squelch switch do?
- polishdude20 1y ago
  Silence
- etrautmann 1y ago
  Squelch is a dial that changes a threshold below which analog radio signals are silenced so you can ignore noise. The dial allows you to dig into the noise when you want or be more conservative and only pass strong signals through.
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]
- bruce343434 1y ago
  Sets a minimum on the incoming signal to be amplified. For instance, only amplify stuff above x dB, silence stuff below x dB (noise).
  - Aerroon 1y ago
    A noise gate?
    - beAbU 1y ago
      Not quite. More like signal-to-noise-ratio gate. In radio transmissions, there is white noise when no active signal is received. Radios mute themselves when there is white noise, as to not annoy the user. On 2 way radios this is very important otherwise the radio will be hissing at you most of the time. The squelch setting determines the threshold of signal to noise allowed through. If the incoming transmission signal strength is really bad, the radio might not unmute itself. So you turn down the squelch, which might completely open the radio bringing in white noise, but you can then receive the transmission.
      - Aerroon 1y ago
        Isn't they exactly what a noise gate does? You set a level of loudness below which it mutes all sound. If sounds levels go above that then it plays whatever sounds goes above it.
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
rzzzt 1y ago
Which one contributes more to alarm fatigue, spoken announcements like "bank angle" or beeps and buzzes like the autopilot disengage theme tune? Why is the latter so prominent?
- marcosdumay 1y ago
  If it's something that happens often (like on every trip or most days), a spoken announcement is more tiresome. If it happens rarely, the beep-encoded one is way more tiresome and can reduce situation awareness.
- _moof 1y ago
  Curious if there's research - I'm sure there's tons, I just don't know that literature - but personally, in my experience as a professional aviator and as a spacecraft operator, the fatiguing alarms are the ones that are triggered in normal situations. If you start blinking red and squawking at me when I'm doing something nominal, you are training me to ignore you.
- inoffensivename 1y ago
  Autopilot disengage is heard every single flight and is completely benign... unless neither pilot was expecting it in which case it is very effective at getting our attention.
xg15 1y ago
Reminds me of the issue of "bullshit NOTAMS" in aviation: https://ops.group/story/a-field-guide-to-notams/ https://ops.group/story/a-field-guide-to-notams/
- maest 1y ago
  Funnily enough, that PDF reader makes a very loud (and useless) noise whenever I turn the page.
mhitza 1y ago
> More devices should have a "squelch" switch! Android phone, do not disturb enabled... "learn what new things Android has to offer!". System notification from Android/Google (probably some new Gemini highlight).
- archargelod 1y ago
  That's why the first thing I do on my new phone is disable the Google app. It does absolutely nothing useful for me, but never sleeps, eats resources and shows you advertisements. I also hate the mobile apps that designed to be always on, always listening or nagging. So, I have the policy: if the app is only useful occasionally and it is active but I didn't start it - I disable it. And I'll enable an app when I need it, not whenever it wants me to use it.
  - userbinator 1y ago
    and shows you advertisements Is this a recent change? The last time I used an Android was many years ago and I did not experience anything like that.
    - krige 1y ago
      I think it's recent. Yeah it's goddamn Gemini.
    - const_cast 1y ago
      Depends on what you consider ads. I consider any notification for something I did not explicitly sign up for an ad. So if I get a notification like "use Gemini" or "heres a tip:", that's an ad. Unfortunately that makes, like, half the default notifications on Android ads. But you can disable all of it.
m463 1y ago
But alarms drive engagement. Also, display a company logo and complete product name™ More seriously, I have a garmin watch that displays notifications for things, but they automatically disappear and you cannot figure out what they were. I think being overwhelmed by alarms should be matched with the confidence that you can find the alarm if you accidentally dismiss it or something important comes up.
- nerdsniper 1y ago
  Chemical companies could allow vendors to sponsor various alarms in their plants: "the Flowserve(tm) High-Level alarm on T102 is active!"..."the Flowserve(tm) High-Level alarm on T102 is active!". Then there could be a contractual minimum for the number of times that ad needs to be served to operators and engineers, otherwise the chemical plant would need to refund Flowserve for the unused ad campaign credits. Lowering the threshold of the high-level alarm would optimize ad revenue!
- watwut 1y ago
  But like, do my washing machine or microwave needs an engagement? It is not displaying ads.
  - pjc50 1y ago
    Everything is an advertisement for itself. Good or bad.
  - canpan 1y ago
    Uhm, my recent washing machine purchase involved actively looking for not needing an app. They did try hard though, for example by offering 3 more years of warranty when you install the app.
    - Am4TIfIsER0ppos 1y ago
      Either the cost or repair/replacement during those extra 3 years is really low or your data is really valuable. Adds flavor to the challenge in designing it to last just long enough to leave warranty.

tayloramurphy 1y ago

What does a squelch switch do?

polishdude20 1y ago
Silence
etrautmann 1y ago
Squelch is a dial that changes a threshold below which analog radio signals are silenced so you can ignore noise. The dial allows you to dig into the noise when you want or be more conservative and only pass strong signals through.
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
bruce343434 1y ago
Sets a minimum on the incoming signal to be amplified. For instance, only amplify stuff above x dB, silence stuff below x dB (noise).
- Aerroon 1y ago
  A noise gate?
  - beAbU 1y ago
    Not quite. More like signal-to-noise-ratio gate. In radio transmissions, there is white noise when no active signal is received. Radios mute themselves when there is white noise, as to not annoy the user. On 2 way radios this is very important otherwise the radio will be hissing at you most of the time. The squelch setting determines the threshold of signal to noise allowed through. If the incoming transmission signal strength is really bad, the radio might not unmute itself. So you turn down the squelch, which might completely open the radio bringing in white noise, but you can then receive the transmission.
    - Aerroon 1y ago
      Isn't they exactly what a noise gate does? You set a level of loudness below which it mutes all sound. If sounds levels go above that then it plays whatever sounds goes above it.
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]

rzzzt 1y ago

Which one contributes more to alarm fatigue, spoken announcements like "bank angle" or beeps and buzzes like the autopilot disengage theme tune? Why is the latter so prominent?

marcosdumay 1y ago
If it's something that happens often (like on every trip or most days), a spoken announcement is more tiresome. If it happens rarely, the beep-encoded one is way more tiresome and can reduce situation awareness.
_moof 1y ago
Curious if there's research - I'm sure there's tons, I just don't know that literature - but personally, in my experience as a professional aviator and as a spacecraft operator, the fatiguing alarms are the ones that are triggered in normal situations. If you start blinking red and squawking at me when I'm doing something nominal, you are training me to ignore you.
inoffensivename 1y ago
Autopilot disengage is heard every single flight and is completely benign... unless neither pilot was expecting it in which case it is very effective at getting our attention.

xg15 1y ago

Reminds me of the issue of "bullshit NOTAMS" in aviation: https://ops.group/story/a-field-guide-to-notams/ https://ops.group/story/a-field-guide-to-notams/

maest 1y ago
Funnily enough, that PDF reader makes a very loud (and useless) noise whenever I turn the page.

mhitza 1y ago

> More devices should have a "squelch" switch! Android phone, do not disturb enabled... "learn what new things Android has to offer!". System notification from Android/Google (probably some new Gemini highlight).

archargelod 1y ago
That's why the first thing I do on my new phone is disable the Google app. It does absolutely nothing useful for me, but never sleeps, eats resources and shows you advertisements. I also hate the mobile apps that designed to be always on, always listening or nagging. So, I have the policy: if the app is only useful occasionally and it is active but I didn't start it - I disable it. And I'll enable an app when I need it, not whenever it wants me to use it.
- userbinator 1y ago
  and shows you advertisements Is this a recent change? The last time I used an Android was many years ago and I did not experience anything like that.
  - krige 1y ago
    I think it's recent. Yeah it's goddamn Gemini.
  - const_cast 1y ago
    Depends on what you consider ads. I consider any notification for something I did not explicitly sign up for an ad. So if I get a notification like "use Gemini" or "heres a tip:", that's an ad. Unfortunately that makes, like, half the default notifications on Android ads. But you can disable all of it.

m463 1y ago

But alarms drive engagement. Also, display a company logo and complete product name™ More seriously, I have a garmin watch that displays notifications for things, but they automatically disappear and you cannot figure out what they were. I think being overwhelmed by alarms should be matched with the confidence that you can find the alarm if you accidentally dismiss it or something important comes up.

nerdsniper 1y ago
Chemical companies could allow vendors to sponsor various alarms in their plants: "the Flowserve(tm) High-Level alarm on T102 is active!"..."the Flowserve(tm) High-Level alarm on T102 is active!". Then there could be a contractual minimum for the number of times that ad needs to be served to operators and engineers, otherwise the chemical plant would need to refund Flowserve for the unused ad campaign credits. Lowering the threshold of the high-level alarm would optimize ad revenue!
watwut 1y ago
But like, do my washing machine or microwave needs an engagement? It is not displaying ads.
- pjc50 1y ago
  Everything is an advertisement for itself. Good or bad.
- canpan 1y ago
  Uhm, my recent washing machine purchase involved actively looking for not needing an app. They did try hard though, for example by offering 3 more years of warranty when you install the app.
  - Am4TIfIsER0ppos 1y ago
    Either the cost or repair/replacement during those extra 3 years is really low or your data is really valuable. Adds flavor to the challenge in designing it to last just long enough to leave warranty.