Comments on: SOS is 100 years old: ...---...---...---...--- http://boingboing.net/2008/07/02/sos-is-100-years-old.html Brain candy for Happy Mutants Sat, 25 May 2013 11:36:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 By: mekrod http://boingboing.net/2008/07/02/sos-is-100-years-old.html#comment-225305 mekrod Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-225305 Going for my license test next month after listening to everyone else over the airwaves for a year or so. Honestly, I'm kinda glad I don't have to deal with it but I think I'll at least try. If nothing else a nice note card of Morse on the wall of my shack will hopefully suffice if I ever run into it. Keep on keepin' on to the rest of ya on the airwaves. Going for my license test next month after listening to everyone else over the airwaves for a year or so. Honestly, I’m kinda glad I don’t have to deal with it but I think I’ll at least try. If nothing else a nice note card of Morse on the wall of my shack will hopefully suffice if I ever run into it. Keep on keepin’ on to the rest of ya on the airwaves.

]]> By: cubey http://boingboing.net/2008/07/02/sos-is-100-years-old.html#comment-224794 cubey Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-224794 I am not a Morse code operator (IANAMCO?), but I think the Morse code in the post title actually says SOSOSO. :) If you want to repeat an SOS three times, I think it would be: ...---... ...---... ...---... I am not a Morse code operator (IANAMCO?), but I think the Morse code in the post title actually says SOSOSO. :) If you want to repeat an SOS three times, I think it would be:

…—… …—… …—…

]]> By: trr http://boingboing.net/2008/07/02/sos-is-100-years-old.html#comment-225057 trr Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-225057 So which is it??? SOSOSO or SOS SOS SOS I had to pass the 5 WPM test for my Novice class amateur radio license I got back in like 1985 and never really used. Couldn't pass it again now without some review and practice. KA7WWZ. So which is it??? SOSOSO or SOS SOS SOS

I had to pass the 5 WPM test for my Novice class amateur radio license I got back in like 1985 and never really used.
Couldn’t pass it again now without some review and practice.
KA7WWZ.

]]> By: royaltrux http://boingboing.net/2008/07/02/sos-is-100-years-old.html#comment-224805 royaltrux Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-224805 CUBEY, you are correct, that's what I was going to say. (I actually am an amateur Morse Code, or 'CW' as we like to call it, op). CUBEY, you are correct, that’s what I was going to say. (I actually am an amateur Morse Code, or ‘CW’ as we like to call it, op).

]]> By: phillamb168 http://boingboing.net/2008/07/02/sos-is-100-years-old.html#comment-224812 phillamb168 Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-224812 @Cubey got there before me. SOSOSOSO sounds like you've got a stutter. @Cubey got there before me. SOSOSOSO sounds like you’ve got a stutter.

]]> By: Munkcy http://boingboing.net/2008/07/02/sos-is-100-years-old.html#comment-224823 Munkcy Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-224823 @PHILLAMB168: Someone who has a stutter only while typing morse code sounds like the premise for a sketch on an SNL style show. @PHILLAMB168: Someone who has a stutter only while typing morse code sounds like the premise for a sketch on an SNL style show.

]]> By: larf http://boingboing.net/2008/07/02/sos-is-100-years-old.html#comment-224829 larf Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-224829 Happy birthday! Happy birthday!

]]> By: manicbassman http://boingboing.net/2008/07/02/sos-is-100-years-old.html#comment-224842 manicbassman Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-224842 .... .- .--. .--. -.-- .---- ----- - .... -... .. .-. - .... -.. .- -.-- ... --- ... …. .- .–. .–. -.– .—- —– – …. -… .. .-. – …. -.. .- -.– … — …

]]> By: ab3a http://boingboing.net/2008/07/02/sos-is-100-years-old.html#comment-225378 ab3a Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-225378 Yes, I actually do use morse code. I'm one of those geezers who really did pass the 20 word per minute test in morse code to get my Amateur Extra Class license. I still copy the 18 WPM W1AW morse bulletins for fun. I have a funny story to tell in this regard. I was taking my code test at the FCC offices in Washington DC. I had planned to take the written exam on the same day. In my pocket were my keys and a spare battery for my calculator. It was a nine volt battery. I guess most of you can figure out what happened next. There I was in the middle of my five minute code test and I began to feel a burning sensation on my leg. This was a comprehension test. In earlier days you had to copy exactly one minute of the five error free. However this test was a multiple choice test that would give you several different spellings of each thing such as the other station's location, their exact call sign, and other such things. You had to pay attention for the whole thing. And there I was with a very strong burning sensation in my pocket as my fresh 9 volt battery was shorting out. Mercifully, before the battery gave me a second degree burn, the test ended. I jumped out of my seat, and carefully extracted the sizzling battery out of my pocket. I passed the tests. And I didn't even need the calculator. :-) CW OPS DT DIE, QSB DE AB3A Yes, I actually do use morse code. I’m one of those geezers who really did pass the 20 word per minute test in morse code to get my Amateur Extra Class license. I still copy the 18 WPM W1AW morse bulletins for fun.

I have a funny story to tell in this regard. I was taking my code test at the FCC offices in Washington DC. I had planned to take the written exam on the same day. In my pocket were my keys and a spare battery for my calculator.

It was a nine volt battery. I guess most of you can figure out what happened next. There I was in the middle of my five minute code test and I began to feel a burning sensation on my leg. This was a comprehension test. In earlier days you had to copy exactly one minute of the five error free. However this test was a multiple choice test that would give you several different spellings of each thing such as the other station’s location, their exact call sign, and other such things. You had to pay attention for the whole thing.

And there I was with a very strong burning sensation in my pocket as my fresh 9 volt battery was shorting out. Mercifully, before the battery gave me a second degree burn, the test ended. I jumped out of my seat, and carefully extracted the sizzling battery out of my pocket.

I passed the tests. And I didn’t even need the calculator. :-)

CW OPS DT DIE, QSB
DE AB3A

]]> By: MrScience http://boingboing.net/2008/07/02/sos-is-100-years-old.html#comment-225128 MrScience Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-225128 So... will naughty comments posted in Morse be disemvoweled? :) So… will naughty comments posted in Morse be disemvoweled? :)

]]> By: Guysmiley http://boingboing.net/2008/07/02/sos-is-100-years-old.html#comment-224892 Guysmiley Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-224892 -- .. ... ... .. -. --./.-/--.. . .-. --- .---- ----- ----- - .... – .. … … .. -. –./.-/–.. . .-. —

.—- —– —– – ….

]]> By: royaltrux http://boingboing.net/2008/07/02/sos-is-100-years-old.html#comment-224903 royaltrux Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-224903 .... --- .-- .- -... --- ..- - - .... .- - ...- .. --- .-.. . - -... .-.. ..- . ... - ..- ..-. ..-. ..--.. …. — .– .- -… — ..- – – …. .- – …- .. — .-.. . – -… .-.. ..- . … – ..- ..-. ..-. ..–..

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2008/07/02/sos-is-100-years-old.html#comment-225167 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-225167 I'm glad the FCC has dropped the code tests for amateur radio licenses, it would have taken much longer for me to actually get a license or to stay interested long enough to do it. As it is I was able to pass all three tests in one shot and actually get on the air. As far as learning Morse, I'm only about a third of the way through the alphabet, but I think people make a mistake of trying to learn it at low speeds. I have to turn up to 20wpm in order to get anywhere, very much below that and it's like listening to music that's going way too slow, the melody disappears and it's just some independent notes. I keep the inter-character timing at about 8wpm for while learning new characters, then slowly increase that until I'm up to 20/20. I’m glad the FCC has dropped the code tests for amateur radio licenses, it would have taken much longer for me to actually get a license or to stay interested long enough to do it. As it is I was able to pass all three tests in one shot and actually get on the air.

As far as learning Morse, I’m only about a third of the way through the alphabet, but I think people make a mistake of trying to learn it at low speeds. I have to turn up to 20wpm in order to get anywhere, very much below that and it’s like listening to music that’s going way too slow, the melody disappears and it’s just some independent notes. I keep the inter-character timing at about 8wpm for while learning new characters, then slowly increase that until I’m up to 20/20.

]]> By: Kieran O'Neill http://boingboing.net/2008/07/02/sos-is-100-years-old.html#comment-225700 Kieran O'Neill Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-225700 @13: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Don%27t_abbreviate_as_Wiki.png" rel="nofollow">Wikipe-tan says "Don't abbreviate Wikipedia as Wiki!"</a> Seriously. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki" rel="nofollow">A wiki is a collection of web pages designed to enable anyone who accesses it to contribute or modify content, using a simplified markup language.</a> Wikipedia is Wikipedia. You can abbreviate it WP if you like, but people may not know what you're talking about. @13: Wikipe-tan says “Don’t abbreviate Wikipedia as Wiki!”

Seriously. A wiki is a collection of web pages designed to enable anyone who accesses it to contribute or modify content, using a simplified markup language. Wikipedia is Wikipedia. You can abbreviate it WP if you like, but people may not know what you’re talking about.

]]> By: lurobi http://boingboing.net/2008/07/02/sos-is-100-years-old.html#comment-225466 lurobi Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-225466 I'd put its age at 102. While SOS was finally internationally adopted in 1908, it was proposed in the Berlin International Radio Conference of 1906 by the Germans as a modification of their SOE signal. Also in the running: 'CQD' (Brits) and 'NC' (Americans). Although the earliest morse distress code comes from the railroad operators: 'QRR'. It also does not stand for Save our Ship or anything like it, and in the document produced from the International Radio Conference, the letters "SOS" aren't even mentioned, just the dots and dashes. See: http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/history.html#sos I also <a href="http://lrobison.wordpress.com/2007/03/26/morse-code-influences-on-ham-radio-lingo/" rel="nofollow"> wrote a paper</a> mentioning some of this last year. I’d put its age at 102. While SOS was finally internationally adopted in 1908, it was proposed in the Berlin International Radio Conference of 1906 by the Germans as a modification of their SOE signal. Also in the running: ‘CQD’ (Brits) and ‘NC’ (Americans). Although the earliest morse distress code comes from the railroad operators: ‘QRR’. It also does not stand for Save our Ship or anything like it, and in the document produced from the International Radio Conference, the letters “SOS” aren’t even mentioned, just the dots and dashes.

See:
http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/history.html#sos

I also wrote a paper mentioning some of this last year.

]]> By: NV0U http://boingboing.net/2008/07/02/sos-is-100-years-old.html#comment-225217 NV0U Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-225217 SOS is still in use. Amateurs use it on CW. Some of the poorer nations of the world still use the 500-510 kHz band on their ships at sea. And yes, it should be SOS SOS SOS, not SOSOSOSOS. Also, the CQD/SOS debate is not quite right when it comes to the Titanic. Yes, the radio ops on the Titanic sent both CQD and SOS. But the other ships in the area did not "think they were having a party" because of the two different signals. They thought they were having a party because of the flares the Titanic was setting off. The radio op on the Californian was not confused by CQD/SOS - he could not have been. He had shut off the radio for the night and gone to bed. Because of the Californian, it was from then on required that there always be a radio op on duty 24/7 - not a change to SOS. SOS is still in use. Amateurs use it on CW. Some of the poorer nations of the world still use the 500-510 kHz band on their ships at sea.

And yes, it should be SOS SOS SOS, not SOSOSOSOS.

Also, the CQD/SOS debate is not quite right when it comes to the Titanic. Yes, the radio ops on the Titanic sent both CQD and SOS. But the other ships in the area did not “think they were having a party” because of the two different signals. They thought they were having a party because of the flares the Titanic was setting off.

The radio op on the Californian was not confused by CQD/SOS – he could not have been. He had shut off the radio for the night and gone to bed.

Because of the Californian, it was from then on required that there always be a radio op on duty 24/7 – not a change to SOS.

]]> By: netik http://boingboing.net/2008/07/02/sos-is-100-years-old.html#comment-224964 netik Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-224964 I'm not sure this is correct. According to: http://www.telegraph-office.com/pages/arc2-2.html The first use was in August 1909, but the standard was developed in 1906 by the Germans. Wired reports the first use in 1904: http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2008/01/dayintech_0107 Additionally, it may have been 100 years since the 1st use of SOS, but SOS is no longer in use. SOS remained the maritime distress signal until 1999, when it was replaced by the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System. I’m not sure this is correct.

According to:
http://www.telegraph-office.com/pages/arc2-2.html

The first use was in August 1909, but the standard was developed in 1906 by the Germans.

Wired reports the first use in 1904:
http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2008/01/dayintech_0107

Additionally, it may have been 100 years since the 1st use of SOS, but SOS is no longer in use. SOS remained the maritime distress signal until 1999, when it was replaced by the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System.

]]> By: IWood http://boingboing.net/2008/07/02/sos-is-100-years-old.html#comment-224966 IWood Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-224966 Sadly, Morse is a dying art...I had to take the CW test when I got my Technician class license, but as of 2007, the <a href="http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2006/12/15/104/?nc=1">FCC has dropped the Morse testing requirement</a> for all license classes. .. / -.. --- -. .----. - / .- -.-. - ..- .- .-.. .-.. -.-- / .-. . -- . -- -... . .-. / -.-. .-- / .- -. -.-- -- --- .-. . / ... --- / .. / -.-. .... . .- - . -.. / .- -. -.. / ..- ... . -.. / .- / - .-. .- -. ... .-.. .- - --- .-. .-.-.- Sadly, Morse is a dying art…I had to take the CW test when I got my Technician class license, but as of 2007, the FCC has dropped the Morse testing requirement for all license classes.

.. / -.. — -. .—-. – / .- -.-. – ..- .- .-.. .-.. -.– / .-. . — . — -… . .-. / -.-. .– / .- -. -.– — — .-. . / … — / .. / -.-. …. . .- – . -.. / .- -. -.. / ..- … . -.. / .- / – .-. .- -. … .-.. .- – — .-. .-.-.-

]]> By: trimeta http://boingboing.net/2008/07/02/sos-is-100-years-old.html#comment-224980 trimeta Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-224980 While you guys are right that the title says SOSOSOSO, this is actually the proper usage: when it's used as a distress signal, you say SOSOSOS, not SOSSOSSOSSOS. It's just in pop culture where people think the S is supposed to be repeated. While you guys are right that the title says SOSOSOSO, this is actually the proper usage: when it’s used as a distress signal, you say SOSOSOS, not SOSSOSSOSSOS. It’s just in pop culture where people think the S is supposed to be repeated.

]]> By: manicbassman http://boingboing.net/2008/07/02/sos-is-100-years-old.html#comment-224985 manicbassman Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-224985 no, you shout SOS SOS SOS... with pauses between each group... no, you shout SOS SOS SOS… with pauses between each group…

]]> By: royaltrux http://boingboing.net/2008/07/02/sos-is-100-years-old.html#comment-224987 royaltrux Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-224987 @11 - I did not know that. Good thing I never had to send it. However, wiki seems to disagree with you - "Here is an example of an SOS signal the portions in brackets are an explanation only. SOS SOS SOS de (this is) GBTT GBTT GBTT (call sign of the QE2 repeated 3 times)Queen Elizabeth 2 (Name of ship) psn (position)49.06.30 North, 04.30.20.west. Ship on fire, crew abandoning ship (Nature of distress) AR (end of transmission) K (invitation to reply)." @11 – I did not know that. Good thing I never had to send it.

However, wiki seems to disagree with you – “Here is an example of an SOS signal the portions in brackets are an explanation only.

SOS SOS SOS de (this is) GBTT GBTT GBTT (call sign of the QE2 repeated 3 times)Queen Elizabeth 2 (Name of ship) psn (position)49.06.30 North, 04.30.20.west. Ship on fire, crew abandoning ship (Nature of distress) AR (end of transmission) K (invitation to reply).”

]]> By: w000t http://boingboing.net/2008/07/02/sos-is-100-years-old.html#comment-225267 w000t Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-225267 Interesting to note the code requirement going away for all classes. I'm General Class, but might now consider testing for Extra since I was always pretty mediocre at retaining Morse. Interesting to note the code requirement going away for all classes. I’m General Class, but might now consider testing for Extra since I was always pretty mediocre at retaining Morse.

]]> By: royaltrux http://boingboing.net/2008/07/02/sos-is-100-years-old.html#comment-225524 royaltrux Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-225524 AB3A - Me, too. I passed the 20 WPM test also. They offered it to me when I went for my General license, and I thought, well, it's paid for, I should at least try it. My copy was pathetic, but I did pass it because I was just able too suss out the multiple choice answers. I felt so guilty that I resolved myself to become proficient at 20 WPM and eventually did. I could pass a real 20 WPM test now, if I had to. But, not then...I had no business passing that test, at the time. AB3A – Me, too. I passed the 20 WPM test also. They offered it to me when I went for my General license, and I thought, well, it’s paid for, I should at least try it. My copy was pathetic, but I did pass it because I was just able too suss out the multiple choice answers. I felt so guilty that I resolved myself to become proficient at 20 WPM and eventually did. I could pass a real 20 WPM test now, if I had to. But, not then…I had no business passing that test, at the time.

]]> By: royaltrux http://boingboing.net/2008/07/02/sos-is-100-years-old.html#comment-225530 royaltrux Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-225530 AB3A - I forgot to mention, great story! AB3A – I forgot to mention, great story!

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