On April 15, 2012 it will be exactly 100 years since the Titanic collided with an iceberg and sank. It is not necessary to tell you the whole story once again; others did this at length, even with a movie.
You should also know that there were Flemish passengers on board and some of them did not survive this disaster.
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| Jack Philips |
As radio amateurs we pay special tribute to wireless operator Jack Philips who acquitted himself of his task until the very last gasp and continued broadcasting the distress signal “CQD” (predecessor of SOS) as long as he could. 704 people (including 7 Flemings) were rescued. 1504 people lost their life (including 14 Flemings). Jack Philips himself went down with the ship.
In the logbook of wireless operator Cottam of the ‘Carpatia’, which was in the area at that time, we read the following:
April 14, 1912:
23:20 PM – CQD SOS TITANIC – collided on iceberg
23:30 Carpatia changes direction
April 15, 1912:
00:10 Titanic calls CQD, transmitting power weakens
00:20 Titanic sends series of V’s, signals irregular
00:25 Calling Titanic, no answer
00:28 Titanic calls CQD, broken signals, stops suddenly
00:30 Repeated calling Titanic, no answer
01:25 Calling Titanic, flares fired, no answer.
To honor this brave wireless operator and to commemorate this disaster, V.R.A.vzw (Vlaamse RadioAmateurs, which means Flemish Radio Amateurs) will put special callsigns on the air from April 1, 2012 until April 30, 2012.:
OO100MGY by our section RACD in Deurne (Antwerp)
OR100MGY by our section KUST in Knokke-Heist
OT100MGY by our section PRAC in Londerzeel
During the weekend of Saturday April 14 until Sunday April 15, all three stations will be active during a marathon transmission, from Saturday 14:00 local time until Sunday 18:00 local time (UTC from 12:00 Saturday until 16:00 Sunday) Each of these stations has a special and unique QSL-card available. So, 3 (three) different qsl-cards can be acquired, one for each participating station.
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The only
known photograph of Titanic's Marconi
room.
Taken by passenger Fr.
Browne, who
disembarked in Queenstown.
Operator is probably
Harold Bride.
Photograph from the
Fr. Browne collection.
THE RMS TITANIC RADIO PAGE Titanic's radio callsign Titanic was assigned the callsign MUC in January 1912. Some time after January, Titanic's callsign was changed to MGY - this was previously assigned to the As the dominant marine radio company of the time, Marconi allocated their own callsigns, most of which began with the letter M - these basically identified a Marconi installation, regardless of its location or the country of registration of the vessel in which it was installed. Callsign allocation was eventually standardised at the Trials and commissioning The Marconi equipment was delivered to the vessel in time for sea trials on April 2. Phillips and Bride spent the day completing the installation and adjusting the equipment. They exchanged test calls with coast stations at Malin Head (Nth coast of By this stage the "wireless" was in almost constant use, with sea trial reports flowing from Captain Smith to Bruce Ismay (Managing Director) at the company offices in By April 3, the equipment was adjusted and working correctly - Phillips and Bride exchanged messages with coast stations at Teneriffe (2000 miles away) and even Port Said (more than 3000 miles distant). Both Radio Officers left the ship at Watch hours Both men were up early on sailing day, April 10, conducting final testing of the equipment. They arranged watches by personal agreement: Phillips, the chief, took the 2000 - 0200 watch, whilst Bride was on duty between 0200 - 0800. There were no fixed watch hours during the day: the men relieved each other to suit mutual convenience, however a continuous watch was maintained. Location of the radio room The "Marconi room" was situated on the boat deck (ie: the same deck as the bridge), at the after end of the superstructure containing the bridge and officer's accommodation - it was about 40 feet aft from the bridge, connected via the corridor which ran down the port side of the officer's quarters. The operating room was in the centre of the accommodation - it did not have an outside facing porthole. Natural light was provided via a skylight in the deckhead (ceiling). The R/O's sleeping accommodation was in a separate room to starboard of the operating room - connected to the operating room by an interconnecting door. The R/O's shared the officer's toilet/washroom facilities across the corridor. The Silent Room, containing the main transmitter, was immediately to port of the operating room. The operating room was connected to the ship's 50 line telephone exchange. However, it appears that there was no direct telephone connection to the bridge. This problem was rectified on Titanic's sister ships Olympic and Britanic after the disaster - a speaking tube was installed which connected the operating room to the bridge.. Passenger traffic As the liner's departure preparations were completed, both R/O's prepared for the daily onslaught of passenger communications directed to and from "ADVISELUM", the wireless code word assigned to Titanic for passenger's personal traffic. Passengers sent their telegrams at the inquiry office, on the starboard side of the forward first class entrance. The handwritten messages were paid for at the desk, at the rate of 12 shillings and sixpence for the first 10 words, and 9 pence per word thereafter (a substantial sum in 1912, although not for a first class passenger…). Telegrams were sent to the radio room by pneumatic tube. At the end of the day, a balance was struck between the purser's clerk and the R/O's regarding the number of chargeable words sent. Incoming passenger messages were received by hand by the duty R/O, and typed on a telegram form by the other R/O. Passenger traffic was sent from the radio room to the inquiry desk using the pneumatic tube. Messages concerning navigation were delivered directly to the bridge. Similarly, messages for the Captain were delivered by the R/O's to the Captain's cabin, down the starboard passage of the officer's quarters. In the 36 hours between leaving |
