[Boatanchors] Why The Letter "Q" And Who Invented The Code?

Wed Apr 30 00:13:32 EDT 2008

Speaking of boring, sir. We blind folks have to listen to our synthetic 
speech devices say "exclaimation" every time you type one of those symbols. 
One is sufficient. So before you fault others, check the pollution content 
in your own little puddle of life. None of us are perfect, if we were, we 
would not be done her participating in the drama of humanity. We would be up 
yonder calling the plays for the entire Cosmos.

Additionally, the cure for boring is to press the 'delete key' on the 
keyboard. Poof! Boring is gone. Works every time.

Excuse me while I go calibrate the DECTALK PC speech synthesizer so that it 
stops stuttering after saying so many verbal descriptions of the "!" symbol. 
The only thing worse then this $1195 hardware board stuttering, is when it 
tries to say "Chevrolet" and comes up with what sounds like "Shove A ..." 
Can't write that last word here!

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Harold Smith" <w0rihps at sbcglobal.net>
To: "mikea" <mikea at mikea.ath.cx>
Cc: "boatanchors" <boatanchors at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2008 10:23 PM
Subject: Re: [Boatanchors] Why The Letter "Q" And Who Invented The Code?

>
>
> This is so boring ! ! ! ! ! !
> A 99% CW OP.
>
> W0RI
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "mikea" <mikea at mikea.ath.cx>
> To: <boatanchors at mailman.qth.net>
> Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2008 9:18 PM
> Subject: Re: [Boatanchors] Why The Letter "Q" And Who Invented The Code?
>
>
>> On Tue, Apr 29, 2008 at 07:33:25PM -0500, Sandy wrote:
>>
>>> The "Q" signals were NOT meant to be used on radiotelephone.  This was
>>> frowned upon at one time and looked at as incorrect procedure.
>>
>> Still is, if you want to be absolutely pedantic about it. The "Q" sigs
>> were intended as brevity codes for CW operation.
>>
>>> There is a Hydrographic Office puiblication (H.O. 103 I think?) called 
>>> the
>>> "International Code of Signals"  which uses letter groups for all sorts 
>>> of
>>> questions and associated answers being exchanged between ships whose 
>>> crews
>>> did not speak the same language.  It was very comprehensive and more
>>> complicated than the "Q code".  Seems like I remember it having 4-5 
>>> letter
>>> groups.  The book has an "encode" and "Decode" section to make it easier 
>>> to
>>> use.  It's been 20+ years since I saw one and I don't remember much 
>>> more.
>>> This publication could still be sued by ships exchanging telex messages 
>>> or
>>> even voice communication, but it is rather slow.
>>
>> It's H. O. 88. I think H. O. 103 is the 3-volume set of Bowditch's
>> _Navigation_, which I also have. I scored a copy of both volumes of H.
>> O. 88 about 5 years back, and treasure those books. It's a complete
>> codebook, of the sort that the cryptologic types call "one-part": the
>> mapping from plaintext to code groups isn't randomized. The plaintext
>> words and phrases are chosen with great care to maximize their utility
>> in maritime situations. The code groups are constructed so that they
>> can be understood correctly in spite of a one-character error in
>> transmission or reception.
>>
>> H.O. 88, Volume II (Radio) has a lot of codegroups in it for disasters
>> down through mere unpleasantness, but some of the codegroups are just
>> fascinating in a "multum in parvo" sense.
>>
>> As a modest example, the following four group message
>>
>> KILGU KILIN UDGEM IJHOR
>>
>> expands as
>>
>> I HAVE NO WOMEN ON BOARD. HAVE YOU ANY WOMEN ON BOARD? ARE YOU WILLING
>> TO SHARE?
>>
>> The groups
>>
>> AHRAZ   I AM, or VESSEL INDICATED IS, FAMILIAR WITH THE ANCHORAGE
>> AHREM   I AM, or VESSEL INDICATED IS, NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE ANCHORAGE
>> HAMUN   I AM PROCEEDING TO THE ANCHORAGE
>> HAMXE   I AM PROCEEDING TO THE ANCHORAGE OR PLACE INDICATED WITH ALL 
>> SPEED
>> AHRIB   THERE IS NO GOOD ANCHORAGE HERE, or AT PLACE INDICATED
>> HAQUL   YOU SHOULD PROCEED TO THE ANCHORAGE AS SOON AS YOU CAN
>> IZLEQ   YOU SHOULD TOW ME TO THE ANCHORAGE
>> HARUR   ARE YOU, or IS VESSEL INDICATED, FAMILIAR WITH THE ANCHORAGE?
>> AHSEQ   IS IT A DIFFICULT ANCHORAGE TO GET AWAY FROM?
>>
>> are chosen from the list of all the things that can be said or asked
>> about an anchorage. Lots of bad things can happen in, on the way to,
>> or while trying to get out of, an anchorage, it appears.
>>
>> Some lists are bad in and of themselves:
>>
>> ETWEV, ETWGO, ETWLA, ETWOR, and ETWUZ all deal with the ship being
>> somewhat (and progressively more) out of plumb to one side or the
>> other, which usually is A Bad Thing.
>>
>> There are three-quarters of fine type talking about all the things
>> that can go wrong with engines, from DAZAL through DECOO, plus IVLUQ
>> and IDUTH.
>>
>> Some of the code groups are English words in their own right, and a
>> one of those has a marvelous correlation of meaning:
>>
>> COZEN   DISTRUST
>>
>> I'll have to digitize and OCR the book to locate others.
>>
>> Then there are the lists of ways in which assistance can be required,
>> requested, offered, or rendered. Not all of them are for vessels:
>>
>> ALIMK   LIGHTHOUSE, or LIGHTSHIP indicated if neccessary REQUIRES 
>> ASSISTANCE.
>>
>> There are groups dealing with how much water is (or isn't) over the
>> (sand|harbor) bar, and how much is required, with moving sandbars,
>> safe or dangerous sandbars (E.g., the Columbia River Bar, notorious to
>> shiphandlers and small boatmen alike), and what the leading marks are
>> the bar.
>>
>> It mentions, in the geographic section, places I've been:
>>
>> SOJIG   STOCKHOLM
>> SOJLY   STOCKHOLMS SKÄRGARD
>> NUCBA   TURKU
>> TIOCV   VISBY
>> QYBSO   OSLO
>> SYVUN   TOKYO
>> OZIVM   SEOUL
>> TABOM   TORONTO
>> OVPNU   HOUSTON
>> ORBYC   GALVESTON
>> OQKIL   FORT WILLIAM
>> SIJPA   SKYE, ISLE OF
>> QODYN   NYNÄSHAMN
>> QOFEL   OAKLAND
>>
>> and myriads of places I shall see only by proxy, if at all.
>>
>> It is, IOW, a way to communicate about dealing with the mariner's
>> world, which isn't quite the same as ours, and I'm fascinated every
>> time I open this book.
>>
>> And, of course, it was built at a time when radios were all glowbugs.
>>
>> Must scan, PDF, and put up on my website.
>>
>> -- 
>> Mike Andrews, W5EGO
>> mikea at mikea.ath.cx
>> Tired old sysadmin
>> _______________________________________________
>
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