[CW] Fwd: [BrassPounders] Interesting subject!!

[David J. Ring, Jr.]

Ed, you might want to post this to the NOGA reflector for me as it will help 
end the spread of wrong information.

CQD was the Marconi Wireless Company's signal for Distress which was adopted
in 1904.

SOS was adopted at the Berlin Telegraphic Conference as the International 
Distress signal in 1906.  (German wireless regulations had adopted SOS a 
year earlier in 1905, the German equivalent of CQ was SOE)

The signal "CQ" was used preceeding broadcast messages such as time signals 
on the telegraph landlines.

Use of the Marconi CQD lingered on with the British ships and Chief Radio 
Officer of the "Titanic" (Callsign: MGY) Jack Phillips sent out CQD first, 
then at the suggestion of 2nd R/O Harold Bride, he sent out the 
international distress signal.

Neither CQD or SOS have any meaning, they are simply signals.  They stand 
for nothing else.  They do NOT stand for "Come Quick Danger" or "Save Our 
Souls" - these cute associations were made up and have NO basis in 
historical fact.

SOS is simply a signal consisting of three dots three dashes three dots.

According to international radio regulations, the three dashes are to be 
sent elongated.  Common practice is to elongate the dashes to double to 
triple a normal dash.

SOS is sent as one continuous signal. It is NOT sent as S O S (three 
individual letters) it is sent as
dit-dit-dit-daaaaaaaaah-daaaaaaaaah-daaaaaaaaah-dit-dit-dit.  SOS is 
repeated three times and this group is followed by the signal for "General 
Call" or CQ.

Thus the ship "Prinsendam" (callsign PJTA) sent out her SOS on October 4, 
1980 thus:

SOS SOS SOS CQ CQ CQ DE PJTA PJTA PJTA = PASSENGER SHIP PRINSENDAM/PJTA ON
FIRE IN POSITION ... ... ...

There is an excellent article about this by Neal McEwan, K5RW on the 
internet:
http://www.telegraph-office.com/pages/arc2-2.html

Neal used some great sources, including one of the most knowledgeable men on 
Morse Code and its use, Don de Neuf, WA1STO (SK), a friend of mine who was 
President of Press Wireless, a radio based news transmission service (they 
did what Associated Press did on the Morse wire).  Don was a fabulous morse 
operator.

73

David J. Ring, Jr.
N1EA