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Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal

riedel.wtf

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Re: Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal

#101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Ordinance" is legislation. "Ordnance" is the explosive stuff. Old ordinance can also be troublesome, but is rarely deadly.

And just to confuse things a little more we have in the UK: https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/ Which is not a survey of explosive devices.

But it is (or was, originally, when it was named) a survey for directing military ordnance.

Re: Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal

#102
post #16

I’m surprised to hear that bluetooth, GPS, and cellular don’t work in water. I wonder what’s the science behind this.

Radio is part of the EM spectrum. EM waves (including light) decay under water at an exponential rate due to absorption by the medium. So data transmission underwater must rely instead on mechanical waves (sound). This is why underwater robots mostly use tethers, otherwise you couldn't control them very well (RC control would stop working at a very shallow depth). Note: why are folks downvoting an honest question?

"Note: why are folks downvoting an honest question?"

I suppose because of Friday.

Re: Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal

#103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Ordinance" is legislation. "Ordnance" is the explosive stuff. Old ordinance can also be troublesome, but is rarely deadly.

And just to confuse things a little more we have in the UK: https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/ Which is not a survey of explosive devices.

Huh, and I've been pronouncing that ordinance. I guess those two words are pretty similar.

Re: Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal

#104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I would have just given up and bought a new iPhone If people didn't already realize that most of people hanging around on HN have the top 10% of the world's wealth, this made things clearer than ever (the phone in question costs around 1000 EUR) Makes all the conversations around finance here make so much more sense.

I wouldn't expect many in the 90% to buy an expensive iPhone in the first place. It's a narrow range that would buy one but not a replacement. Regardless, kudos to them for persevering. As another user said, many people would assume the device to be inoperable, even if findable, so not try.

There are a lot of people in the US who buy iPhones (or comparable Android equivalents) on 2-year payment plans with carrier lock-in. Many can afford an extra $40 per month, but don't have the savings to drop $1000 in one go.

> In 2018, the median earnings for full-time, year-round cashiers were $22,109, compared with $35,301 for retail salespersons and $42,421 for first-line supervisors of retail salespersons. > In contrast, the median earnings for all full-time, year-round workers was $48,565 in 2018.

I've spent ten years working retail here in California, and I'll offer my anecdata: a great number of even those cashiers own iPhones! Ten million people work retail in the US making no more than ~$40k, and that's a population that demonstrably owns iPhones but is hard-pressed to replace them on short notice.

https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2020/09/profile-of-th...

Re: Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal

#105
Interestingly enough, when I lived in Brussels people used magnets to fish stuff out of the canals on a regular basis :-) lots of "interesting" things are attracted to magnets.

That they could snag an iPhone was pretty amazing. I would be inclined to fish for other phones, perhaps the folks who live on canal boats could 'trawl' a magnet line :-) (It's Friday, okay?)

Re: Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal

#106
post #90
post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An iPhone 12 weighs 164g [1], so, through the magic of the metric system, it needs to displace a minimum of 164ml of water to float. The iPhone has an external volume of 14.67cm * 7.15cm * 0.74cm = 77.62cm^3 = 77.62ml. So it would need to be about 2x the volume to float. [1] https://www.apple.com/iphone-12/specs/

Time to roll back this innovation and release the new iphone with 2x volume so that it'd float.

Meet the new iPhone Air...

Re: Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal

#107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I would have just given up and bought a new iPhone If people didn't already realize that most of people hanging around on HN have the top 10% of the world's wealth, this made things clearer than ever (the phone in question costs around 1000 EUR) Makes all the conversations around finance here make so much more sense.

If you are making €200,000 per year, your time is worth around €100 per hour. Thus if this is going to take more than 10 hours, it is not worth your time.

Is going to the toilet worth your time? Or would you pay someone to do it for you?

Re: Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal

#108
post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

water absorbs 2.4GHz readily. this is why microwaves use that frequency to heat your food. microwaves are why that frequency band is unlicensed, too. so that's Bluetooth and wi-fi ruled out. GPS is a lower frequency, ~1.5GHz I think, and GPS is already an extremely low power signal. I don't know about 4g or 5g though.

4G and 5G are going to depend on the mobile carrier. In the US, at least, that's usually going to be somewhere between 850MHz and 2100MHz. I recall reading something more recent about 700MHz being opened up in some areas. Looks like Germany is 700-2600MHz for 4G, with 5G up at 3500MHz[0]. For underwater stuff it looks like you need something much lower in the kHz range[1], at least for distances of up to a couple hun…

Verizon has used 700MHz for a long time, its their primary band. T-mobile uses 700MHz and 600MHz in many areas (generally as range extension, not a primary band).

Re: Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal

#110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn't expect many in the 90% to buy an expensive iPhone in the first place. It's a narrow range that would buy one but not a replacement. Regardless, kudos to them for persevering. As another user said, many people would assume the device to be inoperable, even if findable, so not try.

There are a lot of people in the US who buy iPhones (or comparable Android equivalents) on 2-year payment plans with carrier lock-in. Many can afford an extra $40 per month, but don't have the savings to drop $1000 in one go. > In 2018, the median earnings for full-time, year-round cashiers were $22,109, compared with $35,301 for retail salespersons and $42,421 for first-line supervisors of retail salespersons. > In…

That's less common in Europe (and Berlin specifically). I'm guessing even less so for something like the 12 Pro.
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