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TIWhy is Morse code designed the way it is?
The first distress signal sent by the Titanic was a CQD at around 12:27 a.m (April 15, 1912). It was sent by the ship's wireless operators, Jack Phillips and Harold Bride.
12:27 a.m. Titanic sends: "I require assistance immediately. Struck by iceberg in 41.46 N., 50.14 W."
CQD was a general distress signal used before SOS became the standard. It stands for "Come Quick, Danger," though it wasn’t widely known by that name at the time. (Colloquially among operators "Come Quick Damn it").
1:30 a.m. Titanic tells Olympic, "We are putting passengers off in small boats."
1:35 a.m. Baltic hears Titanic say "Engine room getting flooded."
2:17 a.m. Virginian hears Titanic call C.Q., but unable to read him. Titanic's signals end very abruptly as power suddenly switched off. His spark rather blurred or ragged. Called M.G.Y. (Titanic) and suggested he should try emergency set, but heard no response.
•••
The distress signal "SOS" in Morse code is "... --- ..." (three short signals, three long signals, and three short signals).
As Titanic was sinking it sent out SOS distress signals, her wireless operators used Morse code to transmit this, and it was one of the first times SOS was used in a real emergency, as the distress signal had only been introduced a few years earlier (in 1905).
In Morse code, it would look like this:
SOS: ... --- ...
Titanic: - .. - .- -. .. -.-.
So, "SOS Titanic" in Morse code would be:
... --- ... / - .. - .- -. .. -.-.
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