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Submitted via IRC for SoyCow4408
Buried on page 25 of the 2019 budget proposal for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), under the heading "Fundamental Measurement, Quantum Science, and Measurement Dissemination", there's a short entry that has caused plenty of debate and even a fair deal of anger among those in the amateur radio scene:
NIST will discontinue the dissemination of the U.S. time and frequency via the NIST radio stations in Hawaii and Ft. Collins, CO. These radio stations transmit signals that are used to synchronize consumer electronic products like wall clocks, clock radios, and wristwatches, and may be used in other applications like appliances, cameras, and irrigation controllers.
The NIST stations in Hawaii and Colorado are the home of WWV, WWVH, and WWVB. The oldest of these stations, WWV, has been broadcasting in some form or another since 1920; making it the longest continually operating radio station in the United States. Yet in order to save approximately $6.3 million, these time and frequency standard stations are potentially on the chopping block.
Source: https://hackaday.com/2018/08/20/what-will-you-do-if-wwvb-goes-silent/
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Monday August 27 2018, @07:41PM (4 children)
Contrary to popular opinion, nobody can track you when you're using GPS.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 3, Informative) by fyngyrz on Monday August 27 2018, @09:09PM (2 children)
...but they can track you using a GPS stuck to your whatever. Just saying.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by DannyB on Monday August 27 2018, @09:47PM
Even if you stick GPS to a different part of your body they can still track you.
Isn't GPS receive only? You would actually need GPS stuck to a device that then transmits your GPS location -- such as a cell phone. Or a module with both Iridium satellite transceiver AND GPS receiver, for instance.
Others here made a couple excellent points. Even a pure-GPS receiver may not work well or at all indoors, such as a household clock. A GPS receiver, even minimalist, is likely to not be capable of running for long periods, let alone skipping and jumping, on only a single AA battery.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Monday August 27 2018, @09:50PM
While true, in practice this is a lot less accurate than you would wish. If you've got an unlimited power source, then it can be pretty accurate most of the time, but the low power solutions have some serious granularity issues. Even "high accuracy" mode on a cellphone isn't much to brag about - you know the general area the person is in, but it's not like you could actually catch them on foot (at least not quickly or directly) with the info given by phone trackers.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 28 2018, @01:06AM
I would not make it so sure. I was reviewing datasheets and modern GPS chips are falling into these 3 categories:
1. Blatantly informing about GSM modems in it,
2. Being versions of chips from point 1 with modem functions "reduced" what is marked in datasheet.
3. Being GPS-only for first sight, but then you find that company makes a very similar chip with point 1.
So, generally, I would assume that someone who knows what is in these chips and how to launch it, can track.