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G4EBT > MORSE 18.12.05 21:34l 75 Lines 2968 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : F01673G4EBT
Read: DO9JPH DH5TA GUEST DF1GG
Subj: CQD, SOE, SOS Distress calls
Path: DB0FHN<DB0MRW<DB0WUE<DK0WUE<DB0RES<ON0AR<GB7FCR
Sent: 051218/1907Z @:GB7FCR.#16.GBR.EU #:18164 [Blackpool] FBB-7.03a $:F01673G4
From: G4EBT@GB7FCR.#16.GBR.EU
To : MORSE@WW
I can't recall who, but unless my memory is playing tricks, I think
someone recently raised a query about CQD v SOS. I'm sure that almost
everyone will know that thanks to wireless and the first SOS in history,
745 people were saved (albeit 1,595 people perished) when the Carpathia
answered a distress call from the Titanic.
It was on Monday, April 15, 1912 at 12:30 AM that the Titanic
struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic near Canada and sank.
Great controversy surrounds the radio aspects of disaster, and it's
been argued that the number of survivors could have been doubled or
even trebled, had there been better wireless regs in effect.
At least three problems appeared slowed down the response of rescuers.
First, the radio operators were only on duty during the "open hours",
thus only at daytime. Any event could thus occurred at
night without warning.
Then, in 1905, the Morse code "SOS" (which doesn't mean Save Our Souls)
was adopted by German ships for signifying distress while British shipping
working with Marconi operators, wanted to keep CQD (General Call Disaster
that some translated as "Come Quick Disaster") as a distress signal.
At first it was decided to use SOE, but the "E" dot can easily be lost
in QRM so was replace with an S, as repeating the dots three times meant
that the operators had much more chance to grab the attention of anyone
hearing it.
Hence, SOS was adopted at the Berlin Radiotelegraphic Convention in 1906
as the official international standard for distress calls. However,
Marconi operators were slow to conform and until 1907 Marconi ops
continued to send "CQD" for the most part.
Why "Mayday"?
Beside CQD and SOS another distress call used since World War I is the
famous "mayday". Nobody knows exactly where it comes from but in French,
a sentence like "Voulez-vous m'aider ?" means "will you help me?".
It's been suggested that American aviators heard the word "m'aider",
pronounced "m'aydayre" as a plea for help and added it to their jargon,
mispronouncing the word, mutating it into "mayday".
In all, some 28 ships were involved in communications with Titanic.
The rescue last 8 hours between the first distress call and the last
passenger rescued. Only the "Carpathia" rescued all the passengers and
processed to New York, a trip that last still two and a half more days.
I've tried to answer the origins of SOS, CQD and Mayday, but if anyone's
interested in a fuller account of the Titanic controversy (some would
say "scandal"), and the shambolic radio aspects of the rescue go to:
http://www.astrosurf.org/lombry/qsl-ham-history-titanic.htm
Hope that's of interest to brass pounders and "nostalgists".
... _._
..
73 - David, G4EBT @ GB7FCR
Eddystone User Group Member
G-QRP Club Member No: 1339
QTH: Cottingham, East Yorkshire.
Message timed: 19:06 on 2005-Dec-18
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