Whether you declare “ SOS ” in Morse code or spell it out in seashells on a desert island , a huge absolute majority of the world will empathise that you ’re in demand of help . But before “ SOS ” was the outside distress symbol , “ CQD ” did the job .
The signaling “ CQD ” wasderived froman early code , “ CQ , ” commonly used by telegraphers and wireless operators to address all stations at once . It was so common , in fact , that it became overused and lost the gumption of urging it was stand for to convey .
As the Marconi Company became the leader in wireless telegraph in the early 1900s , they decided a newfangled signal was needed . They keep “ CQ ” for its familiarity but modified it with the extra “ 500 ” to denote distress . Though some have retroactively applied the phrase “ Come Quick Danger ” to the letters , Marconi himselfonce saidthat the letters were n’t meant to be an acronym : “ It [ CQD ] is a conventional sign which was insert in the first place by my party to give tongue to a Department of State of danger or endangerment of a ship that sends it . "
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Despite Marconi ’s get-up-and-go for “ CQD , ” not all Carry Amelia Moore Nation were on board . The British used it , but Americans kept “ NC , ” which entail “ call for help without delay . ” Meanwhile , the Germans used “ SOE , ” while Italians like the unmistakable “ SSSDDD . ”
By 1906 , delegates at the 2d International Radio Telegraphic Conference earn that an international signal was desperately postulate , and suggest “ SOS ” for its informality of contagion ; the normal ” … — … ” in Morse code was simple and immediately placeable . It was officially ratify by all conference members by 1908 — except for the United States , which fill a bit longer to adopt the practice .
Still , it take some time for “ CQD ” to leave the vernacular . In fact , the dark theTitanicwent down in 1912 , the wireless operators werestill using it . They also tried “ SOS ” afterjunior wireless operator Harold Bridejoked to senior operator Jack Phillips that it might be his last opportunity to use the new distress call . Sadly , it was — Phillips went down with the ship . Not long after that , the U.S. adopted " SOS " as its official distraint sign .
Though “ CQD ” is long give out , “ CQ ” is still democratic with ham actor radio operator — and it’sstill usedto launch contact , just as British operators used it more than a century ago .
