[QCWA] Fwd: more on the origins of distress signals

[Richard Rucker]

Yesterday, I forwarded a message from Rolan Clark,  W3FDK, that began:

> DISTRESS CALLS
>
> Records indicate that a British vessel used radio as early as 1899  
> to summon aid. The first radio distress call from an American  
> vessel has been traced to 1905. But radio operator Jack Binns made  
> headlines in 1909 when he stuck to his post on the stricken  
> steamship REPUBLIC to send the distress signal then in use, "CQD".  
> In 1912 the ill-fated TITANIC flashed the same call.

In response, a fellow-retiree from The MITRE Corp. and a long-time  
friend wrote this:

===============================
friend Dick,

I once met Jack Binns...he was a big dawg at old Hazeltine  
Electronics on Long Island. I had just returned from taking a 6 man  
team to Korea, Fall '51,  where we installed (then) new mark (X) IFF  
on all the search radars the US had in Korea mainland and China Sea  
islands. HEC bought me a lunch where a passel of biggies was waiting  
to hear how the job went. Nice old guy, quiet, unassuming.
regards,
Bob N.    FireFly 070 Old Kolb
http://www.angelfire.com/rpg/ronoy/
===============================

Curious, I googled on "Jack Binns" and received the following link in  
return:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rescue/peopleevents/pandeAMEX90.html

It begins:

In 1909, "when the American luxury liner, "Republic," collided with  
the Italian cargo ship, "Florida," in the icy waters off Nantucket,  
Jack Binns became a hero. As the "Republic" began to sink, the twenty- 
five-year-old wireless operator sent the distress call that brought  
the rescue ship, "Baltic."

A fascinating story follows.  It ends with this:

"In 1924 he began work for the Hazeltine Co., an electronic  
engineering firm. He became the company's chairman of the board in  
1957. Two years later, he died, at the age of seventy-five."

Thanks to Bob for the input.

73, Dick Rucker, KM4ML
http://homepage.mac.com/rrucker/chapter91/