Radio silence
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the album by Russian musician Boris Grebenshikov, see Radio Silence.
In telecommunications, radio silence is a status maintained where all fixed or mobile radio stations in an area stop transmitting. In this sense, "radio station" means anything which is capable of transmitting a radio signal. It is generally applied to the military, where regardless of the content of the transmission a radio transmission may give away a troop's position to the enemy — either audibly from the sound of talking, or by its use as a homing signal.
In the U.S., CONELRAD was also a way of maintaining radio silence, mainly in broadcasting, in the event of an attack. This occurred after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in World War II, having used AM radio station KGU in Honolulu as a homing signal.
Radio silence can also be maintained for other purposes, such as for highly sensitive radio astronomy.
See also: guard band
