Totally Unrelated to Firefly, for Static or other military folk

POSTED BY: BadgersHat
UPDATED: Thursday, June 3, 2004 01:54
VIEWED: 1620
PAGE 1 of 1

BADGERSHAT

Thursday, May 27, 2004 7:04 PM

Okay guys, I have a military jargon question.

What the hell does "Five by Five" mean???

--Jefé The Hat

***************************
"I like smackin 'em"--Jayne

GEEZER

Thursday, May 27, 2004 7:20 PM

Voice radio signal strength and clarity are rated on a one to five scale with five the best, so "five by five" would be excellent strength and perfect clarity. Same as "loud and clear".

"Keep the Shiny side up"

FINN MAC CUMHAL

Thursday, May 27, 2004 7:20 PM

This phrase refers to military jargon used in radio communication. At one time (about 50 years ago) the radio receiver had two dials with 5-point graduations that marked the strength of incoming signal and clarity of transmission received. If the operator was receiving the transmission at the highest measured values, the operator would tell the pilot that the signal was “five by five.” Less well-received signals could be indicated by variations, e.g. “three by four.”

The phrase “coming in loud and clear” also has its origin with early military communication.

BADGERSHAT

Thursday, May 27, 2004 7:24 PM

[points finger skyward]
Ah ha!!!

Got it... wow, that makes so much more sense now...

Thanks mucho.

--Jefé The Hat

***************************
"I like smackin 'em"--Jayne

FINN MAC CUMHAL

Thursday, May 27, 2004 7:47 PM

I was pretty sure I made a response to this thread. Somehow it disappeared. It’s not important enough for me to rewrite it though. So I’m going to lunch.

JASONZZZ

Thursday, June 3, 2004 1:54 AM

Weird that your post disappeared...

It's right here and I can reply to it...

Quote:
Originally posted by Finn mac Cumhal:
This phrase refers to military jargon used in radio communication. At one time (about 50 years ago) the radio receiver had two dials with 5-point graduations that marked the strength of incoming signal and clarity of transmission received. If the operator was receiving the transmission at the highest measured values, the operator would tell the pilot that the signal was “five by five.” Less well-received signals could be indicated by variations, e.g. “three by four.”

The phrase “coming in loud and clear” also has its origin with early military communication.