Competing codes and a big wrench
I came across a heroic tale, this afternoon. Details of the communications systems on board the Titanic. Not quite as shown/imagined in a famous movie. No matter. The ship sank, and we know most of the story.
This video was presented by a Canadian professor who came prepared for the technical aspects. And after more than an hour, I still want to learn more details. We will never go that way again. No chance of tuning in the melodic rasp of a modulated spark signal. No way to see the workmanship in a system that was every bit as novel as that of a lunar lander, a half century later. When the methods involved clockwork motors, tools to unweld the key points (it’s a Morse thing) and a loose protocol that had lots of listeners and little coherence (look up “coherer”), we have to take note that there has been an evolution in communications between then and now.
So, what to learn here? Well, there won’t be a successful recovery of the radios. You can’t bring rusted rust topside. The courtroom hearings showed the world that reforming protocols can make a difference. We’ll never know what color the walls were painted in the “shack”. A big wrench can defend against a lifejacket hijacker. And yes, it’s time to make a new movie about one of the major marine disasters. Just to keep the rest of us on the edge of our seats.
I have sat through “radio watch” and “radio silence”; the terms describe how we care for those who are over the horizon
