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[AV Media Matters] Last Maritime Morse Code Transmission
I had a tough time deciding whether this posting was off topic or not -
but it seems to me that when discussing the issues of obsolete formats,
we should on occassion reflect upon the changes in the WAY in which we
communicate.
.--- .. --
[Yahoo! (Reuters)]
Tuesday July 13 6:54 PM ET
It's Taps For U.S. Telegraph
By Andrew Quinn
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) It's finally taps for U.S. ship-to-shore
telegraph, drowned out by the high-speed chattering of satellite
communications, high frequency radios and e-mail.
Globe Wireless, an 89-year-old California communications company,
Monday sent out what it billed as the last commercial maritime
Morse Code message from North America, a terse sign-off that repeated
The first words transmitted by the telegraph's inventor, Samuel
F.B. Morse, 155 years ago: ``What hath God wrought?''
The message, sent from Globe Wireless' KFS Marine station at Half Moon
Bay south of San Francisco, marked a muffled end to the U.S. tradition
of
commercial radio telegraphy, famous for the dots and dashes of Morse
Code,company official Tim Gorman said Tuesday.
``The satellite started coming in the early 1980s, and there were great
advances in voice radio and radio telex,'' Gorman told Reuters.
``But there was nothing over all those years that could replace Morse
Code for its simplicity and reliability.''
Globe Wireless gathered several old-time telegraph operators for a
Small ceremony marking the event, the gleaming telegraph key now
surrounded by banks of computers and video screens used for more modern
forms of communications.
``It's a sad event for me, but I know it's for the best,'' said Dalton
Bergstedt, 92, a one-time manager of the Half Moon Bay facility. ``It
will improve maritime communications (to be) much better than they ever
were.''
After Morse invented the telegraph, he devised Morse code for use with
His new invention. In 1844, testing the new system, he telegraphed the
Words ``What hath God wrought?'' from Washington D.C. to an assistant in
Baltimore.
The telegraph and Morse Code quickly became the backbone of
long-distance communications around the globe.
Perhaps the most famous single Morse Code message was the distress call
sent by the foundering Titanic in 1912--``Come at once. We have
struck an iceberg''.
As maritime traffic rose and through two World Wars, the simple
telegraph, known as ``continuous wave'' or ``CW'' transmission to the
experts,
remained a spare, cheap and effective means of communicating across
vast distances.
``If there's static and you get only half the letters in a Morse Code
message you can still make it out, but if you only hear half a
conversation, that's no good,'' said Gorman, who began working at KFS
Marine in the late 1970s.
Nevertheless, the last three decades have seen a major shift in
Maritime communication, and the radio telegraph's fate was sealed when
the
International Marine Organization, a U.N. agency, ordered commercial
ships to replace the telegraph with new technology dubbed the Global
Marine Distress and Safety System by February 1, 2000.
Instead of typing out the dots and dashes of the famous ''SOS'' signal,
communications officers on modern ships can simply push a button
indicating a specific problem: sinking, capsizing, dead in the
water.
Morse Code and the radio telegraph are currently used only by smaller
ships from developing countries, as well as certain Russian and
Chinese vessels, Gorman said.
The Globe Wireless station at Half Moon Bay, as well as other former
commercial radio telegraph facilities already taken off line, will
now be used for the company's new communications product--GlobeEmail,
company officials said.
Gorman said that before the final sign-off, KFS Marine did relay one
Last telegram from the National Liberty Ship Memorial, the SS
Jeremiah O'Brien, in San Francisco Bay to President Clinton in the
White House.
``The message was 95 words, and it took me six or eight minutes to copy
it,'' said Gorman, who took down the Morse Code message
from the ship. ``Then I just transmitted it to the White House via
e-mail.''
************************************************************
[Globe Wireless Press Release]
Dawn of a New Era
Globe Wireless leads the way for marine communication as the last
remaining Morse code transmitters and receivers in North America shut
down.
Foster City, California, USA (12 July 1999): A new era begins at 2359
UTC today as modern technology provides reliable, low cost, and
easy-to-use
communication for the marine industry. Leading the way is GlobeEmail
offered by Globe Wireless. GlobeEmail is an electronic messaging
system which provides Email, Fax, and Telex capabilities via a Global
Radio
Network of High Frequency (HF) stations and via satellite. Over the
Last five years there has been a tremendous increase in GlobeEmail usage
Along with a steady decline in wireless Morse code transmission (CW).
This
trend has prompted the company's decision for the closure of CW
operations at radio stations WNU, WCC, KPH and KFS, the last such
remaining
operations in North America.
"We are proud to be a front runner in the modernization of marine
communications, stated Ken Jones, Chief Executive Officer for Globe
Wireless. "The company has been a pioneer in the marine communications
business, and we will continue to develop innovative ideas using modern
technology to enhance communications for ships at sea."
Globe Wireless boasts a worldwide network of sixteen interconnected
High frequency (HF) radio stations with 24-hour, worldwide coverage for
the
marine industry. The Global Radio Network provides a reliable and low
cost means for communications to be sent to and from ships at sea. The
company's GlobeEmail messaging system provides an easy-to-use Windows
based user interface for sending and receiving messages and data files.
In May of 1999, Globe Wireless merged with Marinet Systems a company
specializing in providing Email and data transfer over satellite to
maritime users. This merger has enabled Globe Wireless to provide the
best of both HF and satellite to our customers. Globe Wireless now
offers the Globe Communications Center, a single integrated shipboard
system
that allows the user to send and receive messages and data files via the
Global Radio Network and via satellite. Additionally, the least cost
routing
feature of the Globe Communications Center advises the user on the most
cost-effective means to send the communication. Since all
communications go through one system, the company offers integrated
invoicing.
Shipping companies not only get a reliable system; they get a system
that helps
To manage and control communication costs.
Globe Wireless is a worldwide leader in marine communications. The
company has modernized the use of High Frequency radio with the
development of the Global Radio Network. Over the last five years,
Globe Wireless has expanded its products and features to include: the
Globe
Communications Center, a one-stop shop for communications at sea;
GlobeEmail, an electronic messaging system; GlobeTransfer, an automatic
data transfer capability; GlobeCrew, special accounts for crew members
at sea; GlobeOffshore, a workboat management system.
While today marks the closure of the last remaining CW operations in
North America, thanks to Globe Wireless, there is as reliable,
inexpensive
And easy to use replacement.