Shadowrun Play > Rules and such

Questions about Signal rating

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inca1980:
I have been in several arguments about this and it's an important topic so I'd like to know if a Dev could comment on this. 
1. Can the signal rating of a commlink be lowered like a volume?  For example, does a Fairlight Caliban have a dial or something where you can turn the signal down from it's value of 5 to a signal of 1 say with a free, simple or complex action? 
2. If commlink X wants to detect and know the physical location of commlink Y, be it active, passive or hidden, which of the following needs to be true?:
    A. Y needs to be inside of X's signal range
    B. X needs to be inside of Y's signal range
    C.  They both need to be in mutual signal range.

John Schmidt:
Unofficially...

1) I see no reason why it couldn't. All you are talking about is adding a rheostat.

2) The key word in your question is 'detect'. So I would say that X needs to be within Y's signal range.

inca1980:
But you would probably have to modify the commlink separately ....it doesn't come off the shelf with a rheostat does it?

John Schmidt:
Still unofficially...

I would say that you are right, that it would require modification more than likely.

Catadmin:
I'm going to conditionally disagree with John's answer to question number. To quote SR4 "Signal represents a device’s raw broadcasting power. The higher the Signal, the farther the device can transmit. Though many factors can affect a device’s Signal rating, the most important are antenna size and raw electrical power."

What this tells me is that you cannot functionally turn down a commlink's signal without permanently affecting it's raw / base broadcasting power.

Now, I agree that you don't have to broadcast at full strength and can indeed use it at low power.  But my disagreement lies in this: to alter the actual device's Signal property (lowering it) is tantamount to breaking your commlink.

This is another unofficial interpretation. I'd love to hear everyone else's take on the matter.

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