Signalling

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reginaldon

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Is this a lost or redundant art?
In the Andrew is the Yeoman of Signals as defunct as the Sailmaker?
As matter of interest how many boatowners :-
a) Know or use Semaphore?
b) Know or use Morse Code (other than B, D, M, O, S & T)?
c) Know or use the International Code of Signals (other than A, B, C, O & Q or dress overall)?
d) Know or use the current Phonetic Alphabet -(Ah joy!) or maybe still use Able, Baker, Charlie, Dog, Easy.

Maybe someone with appropriate skills might devise a survey
 
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Apart from the phoenetic alphabet, I've had no reason to use any of this on a yacht in 30 years plus.

I suppose I could re-learn morse code pretty quickly if necessary, but who would understand it at the receiving end?
 
Able, Baker, Charlie, Dog,
Have you seen my chocolate frog?

Not sure if there are bunting tossers in the Grey Funnel Line these days.
Morse has gone the same way as the steam engine - Kept alive by a few old pharts.
Phonetic alphabet still has a place though.
 
Alphabet I know from Signals in the Cadets. I've never known Morse, semaphore or flag signals apart from the obvious ones. I did inherit my great-aunt's flag bag, containing a full set of code flags (possibly multiples), various club burgees and ensigns, and courtesy flags from all over the place. So I suppose I have the wherewithall if necessary.

Pete
 
It is all very well knowing semaphore and International Code of Signals.
However, I seem to think that standing on deck waving flags around would probably end up with a visit from a lifeboat these days .... as nobody else would have a clue what you were trying to achieve and would probably dial 999 to report a man standing on the deck of his boat waving madly! :D
 
a) Know or use Semaphore?

I failed the signals test in the YM exam in 1974 at 4 wpm. Since then I have not attempted to improve my skills and have never seen anyone, even in the grey funnel fleet, using it.

b) Know or use Morse Code (other than B, D, M, O, S & T)?

Used to be reasonably proficient with morse by hand lamp but have had a reason to use it maybe half a dozen times in 30+ years and only for single letter codes. We all used to identify RDF beacons by their morse call letters but I dumped my last Seafix set in 1978.

c) Know or use the International Code of Signals (other than A, B, C, O & Q or dress overall)?

I Know all the single-letter codes and a few of the 2-letter ones but Don't use them to send as so few people would even know they were code flags, let alone what they mean.

The odd flags on nearby ships need to be recognised, e.g. B and RY

d) Know or use the current Phonetic Alphabet -(Ah joy!) or maybe still use Able, Baker, Charlie, Dog, Easy.

I know and regularly use the current phonetic alphabet as should anyone who claims to be competent with VHF or SSB. I pride myself on being able to spell any word instantly and have been asked to slow down by professionals.
 
puddock said:
With all due respect, I can't see that semaphore or morse still has a place in these modern times (as far as leisure boating is concerned)., given the various (more reliable) technology available.
Phonetics on the other hand most certainly do.
Click to expand...

My radio instructor claimed that the last time he saw semaphore in use was by a pink-trousered british yachtie, signaling "T O N I C" to his wife at the other end of a crowded french supermarket ;-)
 
I don't know semaphore.

I do know morse - (and for those who wonder, yes the Navy does still use morse for flashing light comms) Not very much - but it is still learned and practiced.

I know most of the flags - I knew them all once, but I get a bit rusty and I was revising them using an App on the i-phone only last week.

Phonetics - like lots of others I use it all the time and am therefore fairly proficient...

I once knew a very funny version that started "A is for 'orses..."
 
john_morris_uk said:
Phonetics - like lots of others I use it all the time and am therefore fairly proficient...

I once knew a very funny version that started "A is for 'orses..."
Click to expand...

There used to be several of these "anti-phonetic" alphabets. Strangely, the one letter that everyone seemed to agree with was "P" ..............



........."for relief!"
 
Yes to a, b,c & d. All skills used regularly at sea in big ships- showing my age.

On board my boat I do keep flags "D" & "W" in large size. The "D" flag is largely to keep the insurance company on-side, to be used if manouvering with difficulty and that includes whilst towing other boats. The use for the "W" is self evident.
 
peterb said:
There used to be several of these "anti-phonetic" alphabets. Strangely, the one letter that everyone seemed to agree with was "P" ..............



........."for relief!"
Click to expand...
A quick google and I found a version...

A for 'orses (hay for horses)
B for mutton (beef or mutton)
C for 'th highlanders (Seaforth Highlanders)
D for 'ential (deferential)
E for Adam (Eve or Adam)
F for 'vescence (effervescence)
G for police (Chief of police)
H for respect (age for respect)
I for Novello (Ivor Novello)
J for oranges (Jaffa oranges)
K for 'ancis, (Kay Francis), or K for undressing
L for leather (Hell for leather)
M for 'sis (emphasis)
N for 'adig (in for a dig, or infradig)
O for the garden wall (over the garden wall)
P for a penny (pee for a penny)
Q for a song (cue for a song), or Q for billiards (cue for billiards)
R for mo' (half a mo')
S for you (it's for you)
T for two (tea for two)
U for films (UFA films)
V for La France (Vive La France)
W for a bob (double you for a bob)
X for breakfast (eggs for breakfast)
Y for Gawd's sake (why, for God's sake)
Z for breezes (zephyr breezes)

I think they said it was from wiki, but as I refuse to use the site unless pressed (too many things wrong on it quoted as fact - and too many students quoting wiki as if its a definitive or authoritative source) I haven't checked.
 
I like it,

The demise of Morse is almost complete, during WW11 the airwaves were full of Morse - often high speed, that, the Home & Forces progs, martial music & Lord HawHaw from the Bosch and after the war, colleagues, often ex RAF would communicate in da di da language ie. di da, da di di di, da di da di, et al.
 
Its still done....

.... over lunch, for fun.:D

dit dah dah dit, dit dah, dit dit dit , dit dit dit, dah, dit dit dit dit, dit, dit dit dit, dit dah, dit dah dit dit, day.....dit dah dah dit, dit dah dit dit , dit, dit dah, dit dit dit, dit.:D

Reply:~

dit dit dit dit , dit, dit dah dit, dit, :D
 
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reginaldon said:
Is this a lost or redundant art?
In the Andrew is the Yeoman of Signals as defunct as the Sailmaker?
As matter of interest how many boatowners :-
a) Know or use Semaphore?
b) Know or use Morse Code (other than B, D, M, O, S & T)?
c) Know or use the International Code of Signals (other than A, B, C, O & Q or dress overall)?
d) Know or use the current Phonetic Alphabet -(Ah joy!) or maybe still use Able, Baker, Charlie, Dog, Easy.

Maybe someone with appropriate skills might devise a survey
Click to expand...

a) No
b) No
c) No (except for little bits)
d) Yes, of course - you have to know it to use a VHF legally. And I use it a lot - even when doing things like giving my post-code (NB, the last part of my postcode, sounds awfully like MB, so I nearly always have to say November Bravo)

However, I'd seriously consider learning Morse. It may not be a skill needed every day, but there are situations where it might come in handy:

1) Morse can break through where there is insufficient signal strength or signal to noise ratio for voice communications.
2) Morse can be used with other media besides radio - for example, flashes of a torch. You can even use it with flags.
3) Morse is still a requirement (I think) for commercial radio operators. Maybe someone else can comment on the requirements for HF radio licensing?
 
All these signalling skills are skills every sailor should acquire and keep up, all of them regardless as to what the nanny state decrees.

My favourite is Morse Semaphore, done either with smaller flags or by alternating hand shaking and stillness. It draws an audience who smile, but remain in the dark about what actually is being exchanged by way of communication, even if they themselves (because they smile or their persistent smiling) are criticised or discussed in code they cannot understand.:D

The very best one is Tap Code. Unless you have been in the services and taught it it is very rare to find anyone else who can understand it. Very useful when you want to communicate something out of earshot but in full view of everyone. Really cryptic.

Funny.:D
 
peterb said:
the one letter that everyone seemed to agree with was "P" ..............



QUOTE]



"P" for Ptolomey is a good one, to distinguish from "T" for Tsar.


It was always said that a top rate morse-coder could distinguish the "handwrighting" of an individual transmitter, so could spot if an agent had been caught but the enemy was impersonating him.
Click to expand...
 
Incredible as it seems, this was so - I struggle just to decode, however I do try to keep it up, as stated already, there are many situations when it could be useful, if not vital.
 
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