.. ..-. / -.-- --- ..- / -.-. .- -. / .-. . .- -.. / - .... .. ... then a US Navy fondleslab just put you out of a job For over a hundred years, navies around the world have messaged each other at the speed of light – signal lamp light. Communicating using Morse code and lamps has been outpaced by modern radio and satellite transmissions, although every US Navy ship still carries one of these lights. The problem, however, is that no one is …
However, it can be superior to other methods because it limits electronic emissions and can be used in an emergency systems crash or after an electromagnetic pulse event.
So what happens when the EMP takes out the fondleslab? A working hand/arm combination and Mk 1 eyeball coordinated with a human brain can still get something to work even after that.
" or after an electromagnetic pulse event" leaves the mechanical monster with the ability to flash; but no power.
Perhaps the USN should invest in some hand generators for the device. All they need then is a hardened set of tablets. Sort of like Very Integrated 'And Generator Running it's Apps
"All ratings should be trained in semaphore"
semaphore - we used to call those guys "skivvy wavers"
I'd say all DECK ratings could learn the basics, and they still use flags to communicate on occasion. but yeah, it's not going to help someone in the engine room or a radar operator or a gunner or missile operator.
That and all officers qualifying Officer of the Deck should know basic semaphore and morse. Just because. And how to use a sextant. If they don't know already.
How much carbide do the ships carry for the acetylene lamps? Id imagine if the ship has been subjected to a sufficient blast for an EMP to take out the electronics the lightbulb will be quite dickered and electricity may not be available.
Im not even going to look as is sounds like the sort of stupid thing someone would have made but id be stunned if you cant find a mobile app on google play that does the same thing with the camera on the phone and the led flash to let you send pointless messages at night over distances you could just shout, just add some local bluetooth/wifi sync so one phone acts as master and the rest slaves and have all the sailors line up on deck pointing their phones at the other ship and marvel at them all flickering in sync.
If this doesnt exist im relying on you good reg readers to make it a thing, the world needs a mobile phone based clacks terminal.
How much carbide do the ships carry for the acetylene lamps? Id imagine if the ship has been subjected to a sufficient blast for an EMP to take out the electronics the lightbulb will be quite dickered and electricity may not be available.
I have an older style "emergency torch". It no longer has any storage capacity (though I expect a couple of minutes with a screwdriver and a fresh set of AA rechargeables will fix that!) but it still functions as an emergency light. So long as I keep working the winder, the small spinning coil next to the small magnet acts as a generator, and basic wire carries that power to an ancient incandescent bulb that only requires electricity to work. That Edison could make such a bulb with the technology available at the time shows it is relatively easy to do.
A small hand-cranked generator, a small 12v lead acid battery as Eltonga mentions, and you're done. So long as the shutters on the lamps still move (they used louvres rather than turning the light on/off), you have an EMP-proof system that can let you communicate over more than shouting distances reliably. So long as the person at the other end can understand the flashes!
.-- .... . .-. . / .. - / -. --- - / ..-. --- .-. / - .... . / -- --- .-. ... . / -.-. --- -.. . / - .-. .- -. ... .-.. .- - --- .-. / .. / .-- --- ..- .-.. -.. -. .----. - / ..- -. -.. . .-. ... - .- -. -.. / .- -. -.-- / --- ..-. / - .... .. ... / ... .... .. - .-.-.-
o_0
"Odds are that the lamp and the person who knows morse code don't survive whatever kills a ruggedized tablet computer."
Back in the day (circa 1975/76) a colleague of mine needed to learn Morse Code for his Radio Amateur Exam. Another colleague wrote a simple programme to use the beep sound on a Dec VT52 or VT05 terminal to play text for him to practice listening and understanding the message.
Worked pretty well and he passed his exam.
An EMP pulse isn't magic. It will be unpredictable, but probably won't kill most small electronics. Especially small devices inside a big tin can that aren't attached to anything (e.g. a charger) when it happens.
It's hard to foresee the communications speed needed after such an event, but I doubt that there is much of a difference between the 4-5 WPM possible by manual transcription and double that with an experienced operator (I'm don't expect a signal light will support 20WPM.. not that anyone will be sending a lengthy missive.)
That would make sense, not only for EMPs, but also for Carrington events. With our present level of readiness a Carrington even would kill as many people as a total(ish) nuclear war, although with several measures similar to this one we could minimize the casualties a lot.
Alas, I'm afraid our level of preparedness in the future will remain mostly as it's now, this is, NULL. Or it will get even worse, like will all those plans by governments to exclusively use plastic money, so on top of the loss of comms and energy and most transport, we also lose the currency. Sigh...
It's a good question, why not go to some kind of infra-red laser system or something else that would support higher bandwidth. I suspect the reason is that while bolting a servo motor and an off-the-shelf tablet to an existing signal lamp can be done quite cheaply, commissioning a new communication system would inevitably become a billion-dollar boondoggle, out of all proportion to its utility.
The wife & I use it for short messages when we don't want to be "overheard". If we're in contact physically, nobody knows we're talking ... and even across a crowded room it's easy to get a message across without notice. Granted, it's usually along the lines of:
--. . - -- . - .... . .... . .-.. .-.. --- ..- - --- ..-. .... . .-. .
Archaic maybe, but it works without embarrassing anybody.
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