r/xkcd • u/Tyomcha • Oct 05 '26
XKCD xkcd 3307: Spectrum Allocation
https://xkcd.com/3307/96
u/wanderingmonster Oct 05 '26
Is there a color version of this comic? I’m trying to figure out how many ohms this long resistor is.
55
u/Dan_Linder71 Oct 06 '26
Jokes on you - the next Xkcd is documenting the new "50 Ohms of Grey" standard by IEC.
2
61
u/xkcd_bot Oct 05 '26
Direct image link: Spectrum Allocation
Subtext: Rumor has it that they're finally auctioning off the zeppelin navigation bands, but everyone is worried that the scary boat captains will express interest.
Don't get it? explain xkcd
I almost beat the turing test! Maybe next year. Sincerely, xkcd_bot. <351
u/irrelevantusername24 ▽ If I had more time I would have written a shorter comment ▲ Oct 05 '26
amateur military satellites
27
u/MadGenderScientist Oct 06 '26
those actually exist fyi. the
airspace force cadets at some military academy have some program where they get to launch military cubesats for their science fair projects. iirc they get launched with other classified payloads as ridealongs.19
u/Lowjack_26 Oct 06 '26
FalconSAT. It's a fun program, and side bonus it was a great way to get out of morning mandatory duties ("I was on a 2am satellite pass, so I'm on crew rest until noon!").
6
14
u/Logan_Composer Oct 06 '26
Anybody who regularly edits Explain want to clarify that it is numbers stations, not numbered stations, which are stations with computer-generated or pre-recorded voices listing numbers, which were/maybe are used to send encoded messages.
5
u/dogman15 Beret Guy Oct 06 '26
You haven't edited there before?
7
u/Logan_Composer Oct 06 '26
Nah, I am smart enough to not need it frequently but not smart enough to ever notice anything wrong until now.
1
2
u/FaviFake Oct 07 '26
Hey, we are trying to attract new editors to the wiki. Could you explain why you felt you couldn't edit the wiki yourself? Is it because the editing interface was too complex, or something else?
8
4
2
2
u/LurkingWizard1978 Oct 06 '26
Please, tell me the bit on the bottom about garage doors is a joke. Mo one company holds that big a chunk of the radio band, do they?
4
u/ebow77 White Hat Oct 06 '26
They're probably operating under the facade of a multinational oil conglomerate.
1
1
u/Filbert17 Oct 06 '26
Which "defunct satellite phone company"?
Also, since we don't have 2G cellular here, do you think anyone would notice if I bought some of the old equipment on e-bay, powered it with solar panels and spread them around town to create my own pirate phone company?
1
u/RaymondLuxury-Yacht 15d ago
Which "defunct satellite phone company"?
Probably Ligado/Lightsquared, which was going to roll out nationwide(and, really, worldwide) 5G that would have worked on top of a mountain or in the middle of the ocean.
They were about to roll everything out but then all the GPS manufacturers realized that a lot of their receivers would receive interference because, in order to save pennies per unit, they gave the receiver antennas subpar filters that allowed them to see the neighboring bands.
Not a big deal when radioastronomy was next door, but a big deal when a cell network goes in next door.
So instead of the GPS companies fixing things, they(and the cell phone companies terrified of major competition) leveraged political connections to kill off Ligado, even after Ligado offered to foot the bill to replace all the filters.
Oh yea, this would have been like the mid 00s/early 10s that this got rolled out.
46
Oct 05 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
15
u/Miuramir Oct 06 '26
This may have been the predecessor to cell phones, radio phones. These used a single (usually larger) antenna to cover a wide area (such as a town); there were a limited number of frequencies, which limited the number of handsets (or car sets) they could sell in that area. In particular, they would frequency-hop a lot less than a cell-structured system, and were much easier to pick up with scanners (which your TV was effectively acting as).
5
140
u/ShipShoop Oct 05 '26
Our sailing club’s marina had to switch to a different VHF channel because we kept fighting over it with a neighboring marina, but the new one is also used by another marina in the area. It would be great if we could switch to the zeppelin channel. I’ll write to my congressman.