SOS
SOS (… — …) is the most famous international Morse code distress signal used worldwide in emergencies.
What is SOS in Morse Code?
The SOS is a quite popular distress signal that is utilized during emergency situations. Through SOS, people seek instant help or rescue during life-threatening situations. In radio and maritime communications, its usage increases massively to send alerts when someone is in trouble and get assistance right away.
What Does SOS Sound Like?
The most crucial thing to understand is that SOS is not all about sending S, O, and then S because SOS is the signal that is transmitted in the form of dashes and dots. These are three dots and three dashes, and then three dots without using any space between letters.
Experience the SOS distress signal in Morse code with sound. You may also feel the vibration, and if you are using a phone.
Why SOS?
As I have discussed earlier, SOS is simply a pattern of dots and dashes rather than SOS letters directly. However, there are certain meanings associated with the SOS in order to remember the code, such as “Save our Souls”, “Save our Ships”, etc. It is a fact of the matter that the first American Morse code was still in use when SOS was launched. In the American system, the code with the three dashes is the denotation of the letter 5, hence it is S5S.
The SOS was commonly used to memorize the symmetrical signals. Furthermore, the most impressive benefit of SOS is that it is now widely accepted for use in diverse situations rather than only being utilized for radio alerts in emergency situations.
Regardless of the SOS, there are many other signals used in the Mose code. The SOS is accepted widely, but before its invention, there was a signal “CQD” operated by Marconi Wireless Radio. In the CQD sequence, the CQ are the general representatives of any call; in contrast, the letter D is mentioned to show the distress or any emergency alert. The code CQD works totally opposite to the SOS since CQD uses three letters with spaces to send any message. Nowadays, CQ is still working in amateur radios, whereas the CQD pattern is no longer available.
The History of SOS
The German government first launched the SOS sequence of distress signals on 1st April 1905. However, it became globally popular in 1906 under the second Radiotelegraphic convention, and later that became operational on 1st July 1908.
Other Ways to Send SOS
Today, the most commonly known method of SOS is that it is used in radio transmission in Morse code. In contrast, there are multiple methods that can be utilized to send it. For instance,
Flashlight Signals
One of the most effective and typical methods that is also used to send signals is the flashlight method. You can send signals via flashlight by turning it on/off in the same sequence as the Morse Code’s three dots and dashes. This method is quite convenient, especially at night when the light remains visible clearly. A light button is given on the top; you can press it and experience the simple Morse code patterns through lightning.
Whistle Blowing
There is another scenario to utilize the SOS signals that involves blowing a whistle. There are certain parts of the country or remote areas where typical devices refrain from providing signals; the SOS signals are the best method to use in that particular situation or while exploring the remote areas.
Final Words
The SOS is a globally accepted signal transmitter available in the form of three dots, three dashes, and three dots. The SOS is not limited to only Morse Code since it was connected with CQD earlier, but a common pattern that is considered now is SOS. There are diverse ways to send distress messages other than the direct method, such as whistling and flashlight signal transmission.
Important Note: the SOS signals are not meant to be sent for fun or any unnecessary activity; rather, it was designed to be used specifically in emergencies.