The April 14, 1912 sinking of the Titanic may have resulted
in the tragic loss of life on a mass scale, but did it also initiate the birth
of our modern wireless world?
By: Ringo Bones
The tragic sinking of the cruise liner titanic back in April
14, 1912 had placed the single side band wireless telegraphy onto the center
stage where previously it has been seen as a mere scientific curiosity hastily
pressed into service due to “telecommunications necessity”. Before the
establishment of our modern day social networks like Facebook and Twitter, back
before microphones with fidelity that allows the un-garbled human voice to be
transmitted wirelessly, single side band wireless using Morse Code messages was
the only way to go back in the tail end of the 19th Century.
Due to the “confusion” by amateur wireless enthusiasts
relaying Morse Code messages that all of the Titanic’s passengers were safely
rescued hours after the Titanic tragedy and adding that the liner Titanic
suffered only minor damage after a collision with an iceberg, amateur radio /
wireless enthusiasts were relegated to the short wave and short-ranged amateur
radio band, while the longer wavelengths capable of longer range transmission
were reserved to “professionals”. This very incident thus established the
amateur CB radio band of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Morse Code and International Morse Code may not be as
articulate in comparison to modern day Facebook, Twitter and other photo sharing
social media sites, but it did get the intended job done. And by the way, it
eventually paved the way to our modern wireless world of the internet that’s
easy to use even by “civilians” with only their Humanities Courses to fall back
on when things get a tad “too technical” for them.
