Repairing the Titanic's wireless set.

[Shangas]

I read somewhere on these forums that at one point during the voyage, the Titanic's main wireless set was somehow damaged. Can somebody supply me with a date and time of when this occurred, and when the set was repaired and returned to 'active duty'?

Thanks.

[Dave Gittins]

As so often, the answer is in my book.

All went well in the radio room until the night of 13 April. At about 11-00pm, the radio ceased to function and Phillips and Bride began to seek for the cause. At first Phillips suspected a faulty condenser, but this proved to be intact and he looked further. Eventually he found that a wire leading from the secondary coil of a transformer was in contact with a metal part of its case. The wire was carefully insulated and Titanic was once more back on the air. George Graham’s message was sent to Cape Race, and its receipt was confirmed at about 4-00am Titanic time. Harold Bride took over the equipment, as he normally did during the small hours. As Titanic’s last day dawned, a weary Jack Phillips enjoyed the last brief sleep of his short life. He would be ill-prepared for the ordeal to come.

The New York Times, not being familiar with radio (and possibly English accents) reported the damage as a burned out "secretary". Sounds like a modern office!

[Shangas]

David, you are a lifesaver Thanks!!

[Allie]

Repairing the Titanic's wireless set and the Regulations of the wireless set! (i did not want to start a new thread).

The radio wireless machine broke down,the two Phillips and Bride decided to fix the machine than use the back up generator until they reach New-york.
Was there any regulations on how the two radio operators should have handle this?

first,was Smith ever told about the Radio machine breaking down? If so,why did he not slow down or even come to a complete stop until the machine was fix.
If not told,should there be a regulation on telling Smith that the machine has broke down? and Smith could have done his job more accurately!

second, was not the regulation to use the back- up generator until you reach the port of call,than the machine can be fix before the ship heads back? which the two radio men never did.

or back in 1912, was there no such thing as regulations for the radio machine until after 1912?

[jds88]

Hi Aly--

Parks Stephenson asserts in this discussion that the Marconi maintenance manual discouraged at-sea repairs to the components that Phillips ultimately fixed; apparently there was some kind of work-around that they could have used to keep the transmitter up and running until they made landfall.

However, as I understand it (subject to the corrections of others), the wireless transmitter and wireless receiver were actually two separate and independent pieces of equipment. The receiver was not powered by electricity from the ship's power supply; it was powered by a clockwork-type mechanism. So, until Phillips repaired the radio, Titanic couldn't send anything but should still have been able to receive messages from other ships.

Even if Titanic's ability to receive radio traffic had indeed been lost, radio was still a navigational novelty in 1912. Smith, who had been a seaman for years, wouldn't have missed it anymore than a commuter would miss a GPS that had been snatched out of his car.

[Dave Gittins]

We really need Parks on this, but he has major work on his hands.

For what it's worth, Titanic had two transmitters. The one normally used was a rotary spark transmitter, which produced a more or less musical note, known as the "singing spark". This device needed electricity, both to revolve the mechanism and to provide a rapid succession of sparks. This equipment was in the silent room, to keep down the noise in the radio room.

The other transmitter was a crude spark transmitter, that used a large coil to produce sparks between two electrodes. This device can be seen to the right of Harold Bride in Francis Browne's famous photo. The electrodes are the horizontal rods in front of the coil. This transmitter was no fun to use, as the spark was next to the operator's ear. It was meant for emergencies.

Unless the transformer that Phillips fixed powered both transmitters, which I think unlikely, only the rotary transmitter would have failed due to lack of power. Naturally, Phillips would have wanted to get the superior rotary transmitter going.

I'm not sure about the receiver. Normally a magnetic detector could work without electricity, but Titanic had some kind of valve amplifier as well. I think this would not have been affected by the transformer failure, as it would have had its own power supply.

As jds88 said, Captain Smith would not have worried about the radio going down. As he was asleep at the time, he wouldn't even have known of the problem.

[Gordon Simpson]

WAS THERE ONLY ONE CHANNEL IN 1911

Present day emergency marine radio is left open on one particular channel. When an operator is using a Marine Radio, for communication, the operator switches to another channel to leave the emergency channel free.
Anyone can tune to any channel and listen or speak on that transmission.
After using a channel for communication, then an operator will switch his set tuned back on the emergency channel.
I have been away from the maritime world for many years, I think the call channel was 16 ?

In 1912 I doubt if Marconi operators had the option to tune to different channels. I am of the opinion that it was a one only, and anyone using the set would be depriving others of it use. The nearest or strongest transmitter would jam all others.
Am I correct in this one channel assumption ?
If this is so, that would explain Philip's temporary loss of control when his call for help was interrupted by what he considered a time consuming morse message, from Frankfurt.
I thank all who provide valid inormation. GORDON.

[WB0QQK]

In the early days of wireless communications, the method used to create a radio wave was with a spark gap transmitter.
They were a circuit that consisted of an inductor and a capacitor and a power source which was a battery. The only way
to create a radio oscillation signal was to use a high voltage spark that was oscillated by the rising and falling of an
inductive coil coupled with a capacitor. The spark gap discharged the capacitor when the voltage reached sufficient level
to jump the gap. The resonance of the induction coil used in combination with the capacitor determined the frequency but
the spark created a wide sideband of interference taking up large portion of bandwidth. The spark gap transmitters were
very low in frequency and generated RF between 400 kHz and 800 kHz. Because of the wide bandwidth, only a few stations
could transmit on the band at a time without interfering with one another.

[Gordon Simpson]

WBOQQK,
Thankyou for the detailed account. It appears that in general terms that to receive an uninterrupted message, it was " One at a time".
Then upon a transmission of CQD, or the more distinct set of three's SOS, then the air wave would be kept clear.
Thanking all who provide valid information. GORDON.

[Gordon Simpson]

POWER SUPPLY TO TRANSMITTER.

It appears that the more I know, the more I find to question, in search of knowledge.
I do have Dave Gittin's E-Book, which is a disc of knowledge, however the disadvantage I find with an E- book is a method of reference. With a paged book I can put an A4 sheet folded in the back and make ref to pages which contain the appropriate information. Dave provides too much information to remember it all.
I highly recommend Dave's E-Book.

WBOQQK states Nov 6, above that the power source was a battery.

JDS88 states above April 3 09, That the receiver was not powered by the ships power supply; it was powered by a clockwork-type mechanism.

It has been suggested to me by a Steam Engineer ( not a Radio Engineer ) that as Captain Lord's engineers had drawn the fires on " Californian", there could be a situation of no source of power for the receiver. The Carpathia was under way, with a full head of steam.

So I am now down to three suggestions. HELP !

I thank all who provide valid information. GORDON.

[WB0QQK]

In 1912 a "state of the art" spark gap transmitter generated a signal having a wavelength between 250 meters (1.2 MHz) and 550 meters (545 kHz). 600 meters
or 500 kHz became the International distress frequency. Titanic had two transmitters: the spark gap and the newer rotary spark gap.

While spark gap transmitters used battery power, rotary spark gap transmitters on shipboard installations used a DC motor (usually run off the ship's direct current
lighting supply) to drive an alternator whose output was then stepped up to 10,000–14,000 volts by a transformer. I believe the Titanic’s lighting supply was one
hundred volts DC.

Spark gaps used in early radio transmitters varied in construction, depending on the power to be handled. Some were fairly simple, consisting of one or more
fixed gaps connected in series, while others were significantly more complex. Because sparks were quite hot and erosive, electrode wear and cooling were
constant problems. As transmitter power was increased, the problem of quenching also arose.

Quenching refers to the act of extinguishing the previously established arc within the spark gap. This is considerably more difficult than initiating spark
breakdown in the gap. A cold, non-firing spark gap contains no ionized gases. Once the voltage across the gap reaches its breakdown voltage, gas molecules
in the gap are very quickly ionized along a path, creating a hot electric arc.

The need to extinguish arcs in increasingly higher power transmitters led to the development of the rotating spark gap. They produced a more regular spark,
and could handle more power than conventional static spark gaps. The inner rotating metal disc typically had a number of studs on its outer edge. A discharge
would take place when two of the studs lined up with the two outer contacts which carried the high voltage. The resulting arcs were rapidly stretched, cooled,
and broken as the disk rotated. However, electrode wear would progressively change the gap's firing point, so synchronous gaps were somewhat temperamental
and difficult to maintain.

Rotary gaps also served to alter the tone of the transmitter since changing either the number of studs or the rotational speed changed the spark discharge
frequency which was audible in receivers with detectors that could detect the modulation on the spark signal. This enabled listeners to distinguish between
different transmitters that were nominally tuned to the same frequency.

This is the "singing spark" that Dave Gittins referred to. A typical high-power multiple spark system as it was also called used a 9 to 24 inch diameter rotating
commutator with six to twelve studs per wheel, typically switching several thousand volts.

The output of a rotary spark gap transmitter was turned on and off by the operator using a special kind of telegraph key that switched power going to the high
voltage power supply. The key was designed with large contacts to carry the heavy current that flowed into the low voltage (primary) side of the high voltage
transformer. The key depicted in my avatar is an exact reproduction of the telegraph key used on Titanic.

In concert with the transmitter; the receivers in those days were simple magnetic detectors or electrolytic detectors. This later gave way to the famous and
more sensitive galena crystal sets. As most of us know, crystal radios require no power supply because they derive power to amplify their audio from the
transmitter they are receiving. The receivers were comprised of a tuner circuit that selected the wavelength of the desired broadcast, followed by the crystal
detector such as a “cat's whisker detector” or diode that converted the radio wave back to the original audio waveform for reproduction by earphones.
Losing ship's power would not necessarily disable this type of receiver.

[Dave Gittins]

Captain Lord ordered his engineer to keep up a head of steam in case Californian had to move. He knew other ships were around. He said ‘We will keep handy in case some of those big fellows come crunching along and get into it.’

At the inquiries and in the press there were misunderstandings about the electricity supply on the ships. Some assumed that is the engines stopped there would be no power.

[Gordon Simpson]

WBOQQK and Dave Gittins.
I wish to thank you both for your detailed and quick response to my question.
WBOQQK, says that he believes that the lighting was one hundred volts DC.
My notes state, 4 dynamos each producing 400Kw, total 1.6 Megawatts.

I note from the schematic, that the input, powers a 5Kw rotary converter, which I presume is to create the waveform of AC to pass through the coils of a transformer, to produce the greatly increased induced voltages stated. That the inductance tuning control is to centre the signal to the input wavelength.

I have listened with great difficulty, and a lot of tuning to headphones connected to a cats whisker set, which was improved by adding to batteries, one LVolt for heater and one HVolt for cathode which with one valve improved reception enormously. Little did I know then some sixty years ago, that I would be telling someone directly in USA, and Australia, about it on email computer.
Avatar ? My dictionary says " Divine incarnation " I presume you mean your picture of the Key transmitter. I wont say "Morse "key , as you will probably correct me.
I have been told that Morse invented the keyboard, and it was someone else who created the four dash/dot system which carried the name of the key inventor and not the code inventor. Hence " Morse Code". Thanks again GORDON

[WB0QQK]

I did some surfing and found this link to a wealth of more information:
http://titanic.marconigraph.com/mgy_wireless.html

[Gordon Simpson]

WBOQQK.
Thanks again. Its all there. Lock, stock and barrel. Main supply from ships 100v DC.Took note within Parks Stephenson, document, of your reference to a battery backup. Noted the reserve chloride accumulators to give emergency range of some 80 miles.
Although there was a pneumatic conveyor to the wheelhouse, I have noted previously that there was no direct telephone connection. " Silent Room to Wheelhouse", there was some dependence on a messenger, should one be available.
Parks Stephenson is a most talented and informed person. His computer generated 3D presentation of the Boiler Room is a masterpiece. I shall try to give the contact but am pretty useless at this.
http://titanic.marconigraph.com/cgi_Imot4.html
If I do not know it, I know a man who does. Sam Halpern.
Thanks again. I am sure you will find Parks, 3D Boiler Room, worth viewing.
I thank you and Parks Stephenson,for your valid information. GORDON.