COCOM Limits — Remains of the Day (original) (raw)

In GPS technology, the term "COCOM Limits" also refers to a limit placed on GPS tracking devices that disables tracking when the device calculates that it is moving faster than 1,000 knots (1,900 km/h; 1,200 mph) at an altitude higher than 60,000 feet (18,000 m).[2] This was intended to prevent the use of GPS in intercontinental ballistic missile-like applications.

Some manufacturers apply this limit only when both speed and altitude limits are reached, while other manufacturers disable tracking when either limit is reached. In the latter case, this causes some devices to refuse to operate in very high altitude balloons.[3]

Next time you bring your GPS into outer space and wonder why it isn't working, you'll know why.

Via reddit, which, after all the recent outcry and pronunciations of doom, seems to be trucking along the same as usual, for all its good and bad (and awful, hiding in plain sight). It strengthens my suspicion that most of the people predicting its doom weren't regular users of the service. It may not be a great business, or maybe it chooses not to be, but it still commands a whole lot of eyeballs.