Five by Five.... a question.

POSTED BY: AURaptor
UPDATED: Friday, April 7, 2006 21:17
VIEWED: 8484
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AURAPTOR

Friday, December 30, 2005 2:03 PM

Not so much about the episode, but the phrase. Was that something Faith says, sort of her slang? I know what it means with regards to radio signals, and such, but is it suppose to be a 'Faith' thing ?

Not terribly important, but I always keep wonding 'bout stuff like that. Is there another reference from a Buffy ep that I've not seen?

Just wonderin'.

" They don't like it when you shoot at 'em. I worked that out myself. "

SEP7IMUS

Friday, December 30, 2005 2:07 PM

Yes, "five by five" is a Faith thing. She says it to mean that she's okay. (What DOES it mean in radio terms?)

Anyway, Faith says it a lot (often it indicates that she's in denial about something being wrong, like when she has started to turn bad), and there's one notable episode where Faith takes over Buffy's body and then "Buffy" says it, tipping us all off as to what has happened.

JADEHAND

Friday, December 30, 2005 2:17 PM

I don't know what it means in radio terms. It is a Faith thing meaning she's ok. but, I went too far once and interpreted it for myself. Remember when she's torturing a certain someone? She remarks on the 5 types of torture: Hot, Cold, Sharp, Blunt, Loud.
Faith is all of these things. 5 x 5.

I don't know if this is what Faith (or Joss) meant, but it brings a smile to my face.

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He's losing it. And he knows.
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EMBERS

Friday, December 30, 2005 2:26 PM

I was told that it is a search and rescue phrase,
people walk out, spread out 10 feet apart, and search an area 5x5
if it is okay then that's (evidently) what they say...
5x5 meaning all is okay

actually I should google it and find out if that is true, and if there is more to it, huh?

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JOZEF

Friday, December 30, 2005 3:17 PM

i just googled this is a post i found somewhere.

Signal Strength and Readability: 5x5

Posted by Bruce Kahl on November 17, 2002
In Reply to: Re: "Five by Five" & "Hawaii Five 0" posted by Steve on November 17, 2002

: I did think the 5 by 5 phrase was related to "your coming in loud and clear" but why 5 x 5?

: Why not 6x6 or 7x7?

: Is there something on an old radio where 5 was the strongest signal or something? And why two number?

: Do the two numbers relate to an "x" & "y" axis?

From a number of ham radio sites;

"The term five by five refers to the two measures of signal strength and readability; it is derived from older HAM radio instruments that were scaled from zero to 10 with 10 being the strongest. A five by five would be interpreted as 50 percent signal strength and easily readable, perhaps with some static or band clutter. A 10 by two would have a strong signal, but be broken and hard to understand, while a two by 10 would contain a weak signal, but be perfectly clear. A 10 by 10 would be very strong and crystal clear."

AURAPTOR

Friday, December 30, 2005 10:18 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by jozef:
i just googled this is a post i found somewhere.

Signal Strength and Readability: 5x5

Posted by Bruce Kahl on November 17, 2002
In Reply to: Re: "Five by Five" & "Hawaii Five 0" posted by Steve on November 17, 2002

: I did think the 5 by 5 phrase was related to "your coming in loud and clear" but why 5 x 5?

: Why not 6x6 or 7x7?

: Is there something on an old radio where 5 was the strongest signal or something? And why two number?

: Do the two numbers relate to an "x" & "y" axis?

From a number of ham radio sites;

"The term five by five refers to the two measures of signal strength and readability; it is derived from older HAM radio instruments that were scaled from zero to 10 with 10 being the strongest. A five by five would be interpreted as 50 percent signal strength and easily readable, perhaps with some static or band clutter. A 10 by two would have a strong signal, but be broken and hard to understand, while a two by 10 would contain a weak signal, but be perfectly clear. A 10 by 10 would be very strong and crystal clear."

Thanks for the post. I'm no Ham radio type, but I recall hearing military folks (in movies and shows, etc..) use 5x5 phrase to indicate to the other person they are coming in loud and clear.

I wasn't aware that Faith took over Buffy's body, and that the 5x5 phrase was said. I am really behind in my Buffy viewing, while I've seen every Angel ep at least once.

" They don't like it when you shoot at 'em. I worked that out myself. "

JAK

Saturday, April 1, 2006 8:05 AM

It's from the movie Aliens.

PURPLEBELLY

Saturday, April 1, 2006 8:11 AM

From The Free Dictionary:
http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Five%20by%20five
In Voice procedure (the techniques used to facilitate spoken communication over two-way radios) a station may request a report on the quality and strength of signal they are broadcasting. In the military of the NATO countries, and other organisations, the signal quality is reported on two scales; the first is for signal strength, and the second for signal clarity. Both these scales range from one to five, where one is the worst and five is the best. The listening station reports these numbers separated with the word 'by'. Five by five therefore means a signal which has excellent strength and perfect clarity - the most understandable signal possible.

Five by five by extension has come to mean 'I understand you perfectly' in situations other than radio communication.

THIEFJEHAT

Tuesday, April 4, 2006 3:29 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Jak:
It's from the movie Aliens.

Yup. Corporal Ferro, the drop ship pilot, declares "We're in the pipe, 5 by 5" This was later copied in starcraft for the terran dropship pilots.

Aliens borrowed this phrase and changed it from it's radio meanings and altered it to describe a perfect flight plan.

What I recall from aliens fiction is that the dropship was flying through a specific area of atmo that is on target with the colony they are flying towards. The airspace around the dropship within 5 kilometers is "the pipe" or rather the airspace you need to be flying through to remain on course. By saying "We're 5 by 5" the pilot is refering to the dimentions of the circle of theoritical airspace. If you were slightly off course you'd be 6 by 4. If you were outside the pipe you'd be 10 by 0. If you are 5 by 5 you are perfectly on target.

But again, that was all made up by aliens and has no factual basis in the real world of flight so far as I know. My father pilots small aircraft for fun and one day I asked him about "5 by 5" and he had no clue what I was talking about.

Do not fear me. Ours is a peaceful race, and we must live in harmony.

RMMC

Friday, April 7, 2006 2:38 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by AURaptor:

I wasn't aware that Faith took over Buffy's body, and that the 5x5 phrase was said. I am really behind in my Buffy viewing, while I've seen every Angel ep at least once.
"

Then you'll want to watch This Year's Girl and Who Are You from season 4 of Buffy. Yeah, it's a two-parter.

****
RMMC
"What's a stevedore?"

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