Base Signature Strength

Every "Type" of Cosmic Signature has a Base Signature Strength which determines how strongly probes will interact with it. Base Signature Strengths come in a limited set of "bands."

These bands are:

• 1/5 (20.0%)
• 1/10 (10.0%)
• 1/15 (6.67%)
• 1/20 (5.0%)
• 1/25 (4.0%)
• 1/40 (2.5%)
• 1/60 (1.67%)
• 1/80 (1.25%)

Each of the different types of Cosmic Signatures will always have the same base signal strength. This means that a pilot may scan a large group of signatures by setting scanner probes to maximum range and then by comparing the resulting "bands" against known signatures that pilot may discern what each result may be with out having to scan every signature to 100%.

Example

For example, the following scan of the Hasiari system (in high sec) contains 5 unknown signatures.

Scan Signature Signals in the Hasiari System

For this scan, a single Deep Space Scan Probe with 9.8 Base Sensor Strength was used: set to its maximum range of 256 AU and placed near the middle of the system. The strength of a scan signal will decrease with distance. Because most systems tend to be less than 60 AUs wide, a probe set to a 256 AU range will commonly have very little variation in signal strength due to distance, allowing signatures to line up clearly into their respective bands.

9.8 Base Sensor Strength

At this probe's 9.8 sensor strength, a result of .37% is in the 1/5 band, the .19% result is in the 1/10 band, the .12% results are in the 1/15 bands, and the .09% result is in the 1/20 band.

At this point we can break down the possible results for each of the signatures. First we must note that the scan is in high sec, so we can discount a large number of possibilities based on sec status. Further, we note that we are in Amarr Sovereign space, meaning certain types of ores, like omber, are impossible. Also, we are in the Derelik region, meaning any local pirate signatures will belong to the Sansha Faction (see Pirate Faction Occupancy Chart). The 1/5 result could be a drone or a pirate hideout or a small hidden asteroid belt (1/5s never occur in w-space). The 1/10 result could be a number of different things but is most likely to be a K162 wormhole (generic exit), which is the most common 1/10 signature. In high sec, a 1/15 signature could only be an R943 wormhole to class 2 space, and, finally, the 1/20 result could, again be a number of things.

Specifically, the possibilities are as folllows:

Please note: None of the Signatures can be a Grav site, because all 1/5, 1/10 and 1/20 band Grav sites in high sec contain omber and thus do not appear in Amarr territory.

• The 1/5 Signature could be:
  • Unknown (DED Complex, Unrated Complex, Wormhole)
    • Haunted Yard
    • Sansha Hideout of the faction hideouts, it must be Sansha because it is in Derelik

• 1/10
  • Radar
    • Local Sansha Mainframe
  • Magnetometric
    • Crumbling Sansha Antiquated Outpost
    • Crumbling Sansha Excavation
    • Looted Sansha Collision Site
    • Looted Sansha Explosive Debris
  • Unknown (DED Complex, Unrated Complex, Wormhole)
    • Desolate Site
    • Sansha Lookout
    • Rogue Drone Asteroid Infestation
    • Sansha's Command Relay Outpost
    • K162_(Wormhole) to anywhere but class 4 (class 4 systems have no outgoing wormholes to k-space... this is the most likely 1/10 signature)
    • Z971_(Wormhole) to class 1
    • A641_(Wormhole) to high sec

• 1/15
  • Unknown (DED Complex, Unrated Complex, Wormhole)
    • R943_(Wormhole) to class 2 (there are no other possibilities in high sec)

• 1/20
  • Radar
    • Local Sansha Data Processing Center
    • Local Sansha Shattered Life-Support Unit
  • Magnetometric
    • Crumbling Sansha Crystal Quarry
    • Crumbling Sansha Solar Harvesters
    • Looted Sansha Abandoned Station
    • Looted Sansha Battle Remnants
  • Unknown (DED Complex, Unrated Complex, Wormhole)
    • Sansha Watch
    • Chemical Yard
    • Sansha's Nation Occupied Mining Colony
    • X702_(Wormhole) to class 3
    • R051_(Wormhole) to low sec

After a thorough scan of the system, we can see the following results.

The 1/5 result is a Sansha Hideout. File:Scan Band Matching 3.png

The 1/10 result is a K162 wormhole. File:Scan Band Matching 4.png

The 1/15 results are both R943s as expected. File:Scan Band Matching 2.png File:Scan Band Matching 5.png

And finally, the 1/20 result is an X702 wormhole. File:Scan Band Matching 1.png

Clearly, we were able to significantly narrow down the possibilities with the first scan, and, as each signature is raised above 25% signal strength, we can further narrow each Signature's possibilities when its group type (unk, mag, radar,... ect) becomes visible.

Signal Drop-off

Base Sensor Strengths tend to vary with the scanner's skill, and different sensor strengths will give slightly different results, with stronger probes giving stronger results. There is a formula for figuring out what strength results will have, but pilots' experience with their own probes is usually sufficient. For this technique, core scan probes could also be used, but when using core probes the maximum scan distance is 32 AUs, so it should be kept in mind that the observed signal strength will diminish significantly with distance. Thus, signatures on the edge of a scan may appear to belong to a different band. This can be dealt with by taking multiple scans centered at the various groups of planets in a system and using the strongest results for each signature.

Uses

The real power of this technique comes when a pilot is looking for a specific signature who's strength he knows. He may simply scan the whole system once, and ignore any results which do not fit into the band of the signature for which he is looking.

In w-space (a.k.a. Anoikis), this is a particularly powerful technique because signatures fit into a very rigid signature strength scheme:

• All "Perimeter" Ladar and Grav Sites are 1/10
• All "Frontier" Ladar and Grav Sites are 1/20
• All "Core" Ladar and Grav Sites are 1/40
• All w-space Radar and Magnetometric sites are 1/40

Wormholes

For each class of w-space, there is a limited set of wandering wormholes which may appear in it, and every system has only one static wormhole (class 2 systems have 2 statics). Once the Base Signature Strengths of each of these wormholes is known for the given class of w-space a pilot is in, pilots may easily narrow down which signature is their local static or another type of local wormhole. A full listing of nearly all wormhole signature strengths is available under the List of All W-Space Systems.

Wormhole Band List

The following resource lists the bands in which each type of wormhole appears. Pilots who know the possible wormholes which may appear in the system they are currently scouting, can speed their search for exits. Remember, only certain static wormholes will be possible, depending on what constellation the wormhole system lies within, thus, the other statics may be discounted (see List of All W-Space Systems):

Wormhole Signature Bands
Location	10.0% (1/10 Band)	6.67% (1/15 Band)	5.0% (1/20 Band)	4.0% (1/25 Band)	2.5% (1/40 Band)	2.22% (1/45 Band)	1.25% (1/80 Band**)	Unknown Band
all	K162 generic exit
highsec wandering	Z971 high → c1	R943 high → c2	X702 high → c3	? (O128?) high → c4	M555 high → c5	? (B041?) high → c6		B041**** high → c6
	A641 high → high		R051 high → low		V283 high → null			O128 high → c4
lowsec wandering	X702 low → c3	? (O128?) low → c4	Z971 low → c1	R943 low → c2	N432 low → c5	? (U319?) low → c6		O128 c4 U319 c6
	N944 low → low		? (B449?) low → high		? (S199?) low → null			B449 high S199 null
nullsec wandering	N432 null → c5	? (U319?) null → c6	X702 null → c3	? (O128?) null → c4	Z971 null → c1	R943 null → c2		O128 c4 U319 c6
	? (S199?) null → null		N944 null → low		B449 null → high			S199 null → null
class 1 static	N110 c1 → high		J244 c1 → low		Z060 c1 → null
wandering	H121 c1 → c1	C125 c1 → c2	O883 c1 → c3	M609 c1 → c4	L614 c1 → c5		S804 c1 → c6 **
class 2 static	B274 c2 → high		A239 c2 → low		E545 c2 → null
psudo- static*	Z647 c2 → c1	D382 c2 → c2	O477 c2 → c3	Y683 c2 → c4	N062 c2 → c5	R474 c2 → c6
class 3 static	U210 c3 → low		D845 c3 → high		K346 c3 → null
wandering	N968 c3 → c3	T405 c3 → c4	V301 c3 → c1	I182 c3 → c2	N770 c3 → c5	A982 c3 → c6
class 4 static	C247 c4 → c3	X877 c4 → c4	P060 c4 → c1	N766 c4 → c2	H900 c4 → c5		U574 c4 → c6 **
class 5 static	H296 c5 → c5	V753 c5 → c6	E175 c5 → c4 ***		Y790 c5 → c1		D364 c5 → c2 **
							M267 c5 → c3 ***
wandering	Z142 c5 → null		C140 c5 → low		D792 c5 → high
class 6 static	V911 c6 → c5	W237 c6 → c6	L477 c6 → c3	Z457 c6 → c4	Q317 c6 → c1		G024 c6 → c2 **
wandering	Z142 c6 → null		C140 c6 → low		D792 c6 → high
The theoretical wormhole configurations below are all of unknown scope and unknown signature strength.
Not Yet Found	S047  ? → high	B520  ? → high	N290  ? → low	C391  ? → low	C248  ? → null	K329  ? → null
*Publication on psudo-statics to come soon... until then, see this post.
**I suspect there was an error in the original data or the signature strengths have changed: all wormholes in the 1/80 band should probably be in the newly discovered 1/45 band.
***M267 should probably be in the 1/20 band and E175 in the 1/25 band
****B041 might not form in high sec or is exceedingly rare: see Project Snapshot
This is a product of Project Atlas.

Some helpful hints for scanning these bands in Anoikis:
Class 1, 3, 5, and 6 wormhole systems have one static wormhole which is native to that system, and these systems may also see a number of wandering wormholes within various bands.
Class 2 systems have two static wormholes, one to k-space and one to w-space, the combination of which depends on which constellation they belong to. (see List of All W-Space Systems: Class 2 Wormhole Systems)
Class 2 and 4 systems have only static wormholes and K162s.
All classes of wormholes will see many K162s which are always in the 1/10 band.
Keep in mind, that a given system will only commonly see one static type, but from time to time an "extra" static type wormhole might appear (these are currently under study by Project Atlas and are theorized to be Constellation Statics).

Signature Band List

A complete listing of all Cosmic Signatures' Base Signature Strengths is in production, and will hopefully be available soon.