[HN Gopher] Japanese Slot Machine (XSL)
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       Japanese Slot Machine (XSL)
        
       Author : jim-jim-jim
       Score  : 27 points
       Date   : 2021-09-23 10:16 UTC (1 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.sigidwiki.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.sigidwiki.com)
        
       | dvh wrote:
       | For completely different type of Japanese slot machine, read
       | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachinko
        
         | tonyarkles wrote:
         | This is way OT but I would highly recommend that anyone
         | travelling to Japan should step into a Pachinko parlour for a
         | few minutes just for the absolute sensory overload. I'm not
         | sure if it's still as smoky inside them now but back in 2009 it
         | was An Experience.
         | 
         | I played for a few minutes, maybe 100 yen worth of balls. The
         | whole time I couldn't really even tell if I was winning or
         | losing but eventually my basket was empty!
        
           | quartesixte wrote:
           | As someone sensitive to loud noises, merely passing by an
           | open door to one was enough to overwhelm me. Regulars there
           | must have hearing damage.
        
       | uniqueuid wrote:
       | So this is apparently thought to be a number station (for
       | military cryptography).
       | 
       | A bit of searching leads to
       | 
       | [1] the guy discovering it
       | 
       | [2] a software that can demodulate the signal
       | 
       | [3] that software's manual, which says (from page 28):
       | 
       | > JSM refers to a rather strange signal. The consensus is that it
       | is transmitted by the Japanese navy. When one listens to it in
       | USB mode it normally sounds like a continuous repetitive melody.
       | ...
       | 
       | > With some investigation the symbol rate was determined to be
       | 1500.00 baud. The regular ticking sound was found to be an
       | exactly repeating sequence of symbols. Clearly that serves as a
       | channel probe and frame synchronization pattern.
       | 
       | [1] http://www.ominous-valve.com/mystery.html
       | 
       | [2] https://www.saharlow.com/technology/sigmira/
       | 
       | [3]
       | https://www.saharlow.com/technology/sigmira/sigmira_manual.p...
        
         | TazeTSchnitzel wrote:
         | Does it still count as a number station if it isn't something
         | intelligible to a human with just an ordinary radio?
        
           | uniqueuid wrote:
           | I don't know, this is not my area of expertise. But at least
           | from what I've read about other number stations, not all of
           | them are intelligible (e.g. UVB-76 [1])
           | 
           | [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UVB-76
        
             | TazeTSchnitzel wrote:
             | I should clarify that by "intelligible" I meant that a
             | human can make out the symbols being said (words or
             | numbers) and write them down for later decryption, not that
             | their meaning is readily obvious to people without special
             | knowledge. It sounds like UVB-76's broadcasts (when it's
             | not just buzzing) would be "intelligible" in the sense I
             | was thinking. The Japanese Slot Machine seems like
             | something only machines could work with.
        
               | randombits0 wrote:
               | I could tell the connection speed of a modem by listening
               | to the handshake. Does that count? Serious/not serious.
        
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       (page generated 2021-09-24 23:02 UTC)