[taukarrie]

The jammer in the gear section states that a standard jammer emits a jamming field equal to its rating that drops off by 1 for every 10 meters from the center of its spherical area. It also states that if used with a wireless bonus it can allow devices and personas (presumably any number of them) to be unaffected by the jamming field.

The description of noise in the matrix section of the books states, "If noise is greater than the device rating, the device cannot access the Matrix or provide wireless bonuses."

So.. im a rigger locked in a van using my RCC to control a drone army and Ive got my rating 6 jammer strapped to my chair and going wirelessly with my own persona and each drone as exceptions to the jamming field. A decker in the area has been tasked with bricking my RCC to eliminate the drones.

first off, can he even see me in the matrix, or does he just see a bubble of noise? Secondly, if he sees me or not does it even matter? RAW is suggesting that a rating 6 jammer is an impenetrable digital wall for a decker of any skill level even equipped with an Excalibur paired with a max rating cyberjack.

high end jammers are super easy to acquire. Why wouldnt every runner just always have a rating 6 jammer with the wireless bonus going? Everyone on the team makes each other and their gear exceptions to their jammers and you now have multiple layered noise bubbles going. Suddenly every enemy decker becomes a non-issue.

There must be something that limits the effectiveness of this thing   

[Stainless Steel Devil Rat]

If the Decker is not within the area of your Jammer, he's unaffected by it.

@61 meters away, it's possible he can't even SEE your bubble of noise much less be affected by it.

[CigarSmoker]

....and the Noise has to be higher than Device Rating so with  Renraku Kitsune (DR4) + Signal Scrubber program the Hacker is free to crack.

[taukarrie]

so what happens if someone is in VR and someone else throws a jammer into the room that exceeds their commlink's device rating? Are they immediate taken offline and dumpshocked without any rolling?

[CigarSmoker]

so what happens if someone is in VR and someone else throws a jammer into the room that exceeds their commlink's device rating? Are they immediate taken offline and dumpshocked without any rolling?

Yeah but he could as well shoot you in the head while you are distracted it would only make 5P+ net hits (average Pistol with Called shot), the Dumpshock from ColdSim would be 3S.

[taukarrie]

so what happens if someone is in VR and someone else throws a jammer into the room that exceeds their commlink's device rating? Are they immediate taken offline and dumpshocked without any rolling?

Yeah but he could as well shoot you in the head while you are distracted it would only make 5P+ net hits (average Pistol with Called shot), the Dumpshock from ColdSim would be 3S.

So then what youre saying is that the jammer maneuver in this scenario is a legit prank between chummers.

[CigarSmoker]

The shooting in the head with a pistol part might be a hilarious prank amongst Troll Chummers too 

But the dumpshock description says you get 10-Willpower minutes a negative condition, from the description it seems to be "Dazed". So the chummer might get some Pizzas he didnt order later ^^

For a Cyberjack/Deck/Resonance user it might be possible to use "Signal Scream" for 2 Edge ignoring Noise for one Matrix Action to Jackout Change Mode to AR in the Matrix before the Noise kicks him out.

[Stainless Steel Devil Rat]

Maybe?

It's easy enough for any hacker who relies on the Matrix to have enough Noise reduction to survive Rating 6 Noise, and that's the maximum rating on a Jammer.  If they re-introduce the Fresnel fabric for 6we, you likely be unable to jam a hacker or rigger offline as an attack much less a prank.

[Michael Chandra]

Eh, Jammers are better to block commlinks and gear, to cut people off. Or the other way around, jam your own surroundings to give a decker a dice penalty, since it should count as interference then.

[Stainless Steel Devil Rat]

Maybe it should, but down the path of "add up noise penalties for where YOU are, where the TARGET is, AND for distance" lies madness.  Especially with regards to Hosts, which have no (known!) physical location.

[taukarrie]

Eh, Jammers are better to block commlinks and gear, to cut people off. Or the other way around, jam your own surroundings to give a decker a dice penalty, since it should count as interference then.

So this is back to my original example then. if wearing an active jammer creates a dice penalty of its rating for any hacker trying to mess with you or your devices it would be prudent for any runner using tech to always have a jammer going.

[Stainless Steel Devil Rat]

Well...

A) Michael wasn't saying it DOES, but that it "should".

B) Why don't shadowrunners ALWAYS carry around active jammers?  Imagine knocking out every camera in the area!  Ok, imagine it again, from a Security goon's perspective. "Huh, all the cameras just went out in C block. I wonder if that means anything's going on there, or if they all just suddenly broke at the same time in a miraculous coincidence?"  And again, from the perspective of a crowded scene where you knock every civilian's commlink offline.  Think anyone will notice?   If you want to be SUBTLE, Jamming isn't it.  (tho sometimes subtlety isn't what you care about, granted...)

[CigarSmoker]

Jammers are rated as "Avail(L)" so you need a License to use and carry them. In real life using a Jammer is usually forbidden. I ve seen people online brag with their jammers they use to block their kids Mobile Devices or whatever, but thats clearly illegal where i live. (reason: you block Emergency calls)
In that case they probably where lucky enough no one cares/noticed and they where not brought to court (yet).

If you transfer that to Shadowrun, yes Jammers are very good. They have no Device rating listed tough that could mean their Device Rating is 1 and when the Opposition has a Jammer too they cancel their Wireless of each other and you are standing in 6 Noise both ... (presuming they dont stack then)

But having an active Jammer in the wrong area should draw much Attention to you. (Law Enforcement) Like it would in real life if you start Jamming in a crowded area.

[Michael Chandra]

Noise represents any interference between a
user and their target. Noise can be created by sheer
distance or other factors, such as jamming or obstructions.

I would consider a jammer at the spot of the device you're trying to hack to count as active interference, just like you can't easily reach a device that's underwater or behind wireless negating wallpaper. Or for that matter, a device in a faraday cage.

And yes, you're not constantly wearing an active jammer because those things don't discriminate. Plus usually you need that wireless connection yourself, so no point in jamming yourself. Again, a jammer is an offensive tool, which only in the worst case can be used defensively.

As for Hosts:

Some hosts exist entirely virtually and appear
as floating above the black plane of the Matrix,
while others are attached to physical hardware at
a specific location.

[Stainless Steel Devil Rat]

As for Hosts:

Some hosts exist entirely virtually and appear
as floating above the black plane of the Matrix,
while others are attached to physical hardware at
a specific location.

Ah, but is the physical hardware generating a hotel's host in the hotel, or is it a life support system somewhere in the PCC desert that's keeping a dead technomancer's brain going, which is what's linking the Host to the Foundation?