FT emergency call
The British Marconi International Marine Communication Company introduced the letter group CQD in Morse code as the first spark telegraphic emergency signal ( FT emergency call ) in the history of seafaring . The subsidiary of Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Company defined the CQD, which came into effect on February 1, 1904, as a distress signal (“signal of distress”) or a general call for help at sea. In English, CQ is also interpreted as a homonymous homophone for “Seek you” (to all) and the D stood for “distress” (need). CQD was or is also interpreted as a backronym for "Come quick, Danger", "Come Quickly: Distress" or "Come Quick — Drowning". The Morse code of CQD is: - • - • −− • - - •• .
First use of the CQD in the wreck of the RMS Republic in January 1909
The emergency call CQD was sent out for the first time on January 23, 1909 by the British passenger ship RMS Republic , which was rammed amidships by the Italian steamer Florida in the fog off Nantucket . The radio message read in full: “CQD! To all! Distress! 'Republic' rammed by an unknown steamer 26 nautical miles southwest of Nantucket. [Position information]. "Shortly afterwards the addition:" Need urgent help. "
The Republic was damaged on the port side up to the level of the passenger cabins and the engine and boiler rooms were full. Three people were killed on both ships. The Republic remained afloat for 39 hours; During this time, all the people on board the two wrecked ships were transferred to the ships called by radio. To this day, this person transfer on the open sea is one of the largest rescue operations that have ever taken place. While the Republic sank in tow on the evening of the next day, the Florida was able to reach New York City with the help of two tugs and be repaired there.
Introduction of the SOS emergency call to the Imperial Navy in 1904
In April 1904, the SOS Morse Code ( · · · - - - · · · ) was introduced as an emergency signal for the German Imperial Navy and was also required for German merchant shipping with effect from April 1, 1905 . The combination of letters was chosen because it was easy to recognize and only subsequently interpreted as an abbreviation for “ save our souls ” or “ save our ship ”. The conspicuous SOS should be sent alone until all other stations had stopped radio and were receiving. Only then did you have to transmit your own call sign , position and reason for the emergency call.
International emergency number SOS from July 1, 1908
Shortly after the turn of the century, the two duopoly Marconi in Great Britain and the German Telefunken company founded in 1903 (from 1911 in the form of DEBEG; German operating company for wireless telegraphy ) competed in the new communication technology of the telegraph - marine radio using pop-spark transmitters (from 1908 also extinguishing spark transmitters ) so violently that ship radio operators - at that time not employees of the shipping company , but always of the radio company - were not allowed to accept calls from other radio stations. This could lead to non-compliance with emergency calls. In order to end this illegal state of affairs, it was decided at the international radio conference in Berlin on October 3, 1906 to adopt the German emergency signal internationally; it was officially introduced on July 1, 1908, following confirmation by all seafaring nations. The USA did not recognize the new SOS symbol until 1912.
The German emergency signal was memorable and easy to hear from other signals, even for inexperienced radio operators, but it was only slowly taking hold. After the Titanic collided with an iceberg on April 14, 1912, almost four years after the official SOS introduction, radio operator Jack Phillips , a Marconi employee like his colleague Harold Bride , first sent the old CQD emergency number before Bride suggested to use the new SOS symbol, it might be your last chance.
With advances in communication technology and the creation of the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS), the obligation to eavesdrop on the Morse SOS on 500 kHz was abolished in 1999 . Mored SOS in any type of signal is still an emergency signal of the collision prevention rules and must be treated as such if it is detected.
Emergency call "Mayday" on the radio
Unlike the Morsezeichen- telegraphy is the voice of the traffic maritime and aeronautical radio the word " Mayday used".
Individual evidence
- ^ A b The Yearbook of Wireless Telegraphy and Telephony, 1913, pp. 318-322 : Distress signaling
- ↑ Broder-Jürgen Trede: 100 years of the distress call: Morse code until the sinking - one day. In: Spiegel Online . January 23, 2009, accessed December 30, 2016 .
- ↑ a b Saved by wireless ( memento of the original from August 20, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on eandt.theiet.org of April 21, 2009.
- ^ Regulations for the use of spark telegraphy in public transport, Official Gazette of the Reichs-Postamt, Berlin, March 30, 1905.
- ↑ Alexandra Eul: 100 years of SOS: three short, three long ... In: Spiegel Online . July 2, 2008, accessed December 30, 2016 .
- ↑ Bernd Januschke, Karl-Friedrich Warner: 1900–1909. The new century . In: Chronicle of the 20th Century , 1983. p. 96.
- ↑ Collision prevention rules of June 13, 1977, Part E, Annex IV, Emergency Sign, Sentence 1d) ( Memento of the original of March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ( BGBl. I p. 813, 816 ), last amended by the ordinance of January 15, 2012 ( BGBl. I p. 112 )
