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Post by Jaga on Sept 7, 2015 13:42:23 GMT -7
I really did not understand its origin until I watched a movie about the history of telecommunication
do you know what does SOS stand for?
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Post by karl on Sept 7, 2015 14:02:41 GMT -7
Yes, most any seaman present or past would know, it is the universal emergency signal of distress at sea. It is easly remembered under stress and easly recognized by the three dots-three dashes-three dots, these without spaces between the morse code letters.
This was adopted at the year 1906 2nd Berlin radiotelegraphic conference. It needs be remembered in this time, the radio transmitters were of the spark transmittance only but worked well with the code of mores used.
Karl
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jeanne
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Post by jeanne on Sept 7, 2015 14:53:43 GMT -7
I'm sure Karl is more knowledgeable about this than I am, but I was always told that it is the distress call: "Save Our Ship."
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Post by Jaga on Sept 7, 2015 20:31:36 GMT -7
Karl and Jane, thank for your replies. I actually have heard that it means "save our soul".... which is cure but kind of archaic language
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Post by JustJohn or JJ on Sept 7, 2015 20:41:05 GMT -7
I'm sure Karl is more knowledgeable about this than I am, but I was always told that it is the distress call: "Save Our Ship." Jeanne, you are correct. ...---... is the morse code for SOS or Save our Ship. I was a CW operator in the Marine Corps. (CW is Continuous Wave or Morse Code) We used to use knee keys with portable radios and generators. But in garrison we used speed keys. At one time I was able to decipher and send 34 words a minute. When ever I came home for a visit every sign I saw was interpreted in my head in morse code. That really was strange.
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jeanne
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Post by jeanne on Sept 8, 2015 6:34:24 GMT -7
We used to use knee keys with portable radios and generators. "Knee keys"?? That conjures up visions of you working the key with your knees...explanation, please! Wow! Impressive! (Better than my typing rate!) Ever catch yourself doing that now?? Jeanne
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Post by Jaga on Sept 8, 2015 9:23:09 GMT -7
John,
yes, probably Jane is right. "Save Our Ship" makes more sense than "Save Our Soul".
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Post by JustJohn or JJ on Sept 8, 2015 9:32:07 GMT -7
Jeanne, the image here shows the parts of a AN/GRC-9 Radio System which was portable and produced AM, Amplitude Modulation (voice) or CW, Continuous Wave (Morse Code). Used to sit and crank a hand generator to power it. The item in at the bottom center is a knee key. You would clip it on to your leg and use the CW key. When we were doing words in the 30's per minute we were a lot more experienced and used what was known as speed keys. They were primarily used aboard ships by the US Navy. Reading everything in CW is a blight unless you are actually using it. I still do it on occasion and find it very distracting. However I have a first Class Radio license and am going to go for my ham license. Knowing Morse Code will help enormously. Each operator used to have their own sign off. Sort of an identifier. Mine was: ...- ...- ...- .- .-.
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jeanne
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Post by jeanne on Sept 8, 2015 10:28:35 GMT -7
Dear ...-...-...-.-.-.
Thanks for the explanation... the visual helped a lot, and now it makes much more sense.
I think it's great that you still remember the code; it's kind of like speaking another language!
Jeanne
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Post by JustJohn or JJ on Sept 8, 2015 10:34:24 GMT -7
Dear ...-...-...-.-.-. Thanks for the explanation... the visual helped a lot, and now it makes much more sense. I think it's great that you still remember the code; it's kind of like speaking another language! Jeanne ...- ...- ...- .- .-. stands for V V V AR
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jeanne
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Post by jeanne on Sept 8, 2015 11:40:34 GMT -7
...- ...- ...- .- .-. stands for V V V AR Is that a random selection...or does it have some significance you'd like to share?
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Post by karl on Sept 9, 2015 11:33:42 GMT -7
Dear Friends, Jaga, Jeanne and J.J.
It is interesting of our discussion with SOS. Not so much as the question and content, but to look beyond the obvious. The obvious is a cultural difference in language and customs. For us, it is the simplicity in emergency terms, to keep it simple for the radio operator under extreme stress.
For the Americans, it is to use related terms to keep the letters: SOS separated from common usage, to say: Save our Ship or Save Our Soul. There is nothing wrong with both, just simply a difference in operational details.
Our specific procedure in SOS signal broadcast is for transmitting the emergency code three times in sequence, this then followed by the identifier transmitting code. For each ship has this registered identifier in as well as aircraft have on the vertical tail stabilizer, the specific registered identifier number.
Karl
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jeanne
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Post by jeanne on Sept 9, 2015 12:57:50 GMT -7
Karl,
Plus, it's pretty obvious that S, O, and S would not be the initial letters of "Save Our Ship" in languages other than English, yet it is a universal code!
Jeanne
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Post by karl on Sept 9, 2015 14:17:36 GMT -7
jeanne
Yes, I think I understand your meaning. English is a bit tricky in real life. Although under the British occupational forces in Denmark, we as children were by mandate to learn English in our school. The solders brought us our books, we received each, one pencil, one tablet. We each treasured those two things as if they were gold, the Americans have the wrong idea if to say rubber that was on the end of each pencil, they say erasure in this stead. {see how Engish becomes tricky...}
Then once again under the British Occupational Authority, in my mid teens, to change into the German school system in Cuxhaven, to continue studies in English and this time to better learn German. With those years under the English language that was forced upon us to know {this was a good thing}, to hear English spoken by the American GIs visiting our sector, was a bit strange. For one, the black American GIs spoke a strange type of English that was very difficult to understand, if this was not difficult enough, they had a side language they named: Slang..
At least, the British spoke a proper English or, so we thought, for some times they also spoke a very difficult English they named: Cockney
In later years whilst attending University studies in Bonn, to then take courses in English with specialty of North America {Canada and USA}. After all those years, still English must be listend to carefully for proper understanding.
Karl
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jeanne
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Post by jeanne on Sept 9, 2015 15:52:52 GMT -7
Hi Karl,
I follow what you are saying, but what I am saying is that SOS may stand for Save Our Ship in English, but then things get a little cloudy in other languages. For example, in French, Save Our Ship is "Sauvez Notre Navire" and the acronym would be SNN...but the universal code is SOS, which might make it confusing.(I'm just playing the devil's advocate here...I realize sailors/others would recognize the SOS no matter what language they speak!)
Jeanne
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