Biografia di S.Morse

Samuel Finley Breese Morse, l'inventore della telegrafia, nacque il 27 aprile 1791 a Charlestown Massachusetts e morì di polmonite a quasi ottant'anni il 2 aprile 1872 a Poughkeepsie (New York). Uomo dal multiforme ingegno, tanto da essere anche pittore, è stato però paradossalmente anche uno studente pigro e privo di volontà, i cui interessi convergevano solo nell'elettricità e nella pittura di ritratti in miniatura. 

Malgrado la svogliatezza di fondo, Morse si laureò comunque presso il collegio di Yale nel 1810, mentre l'anno dopo si recò a Londra dove intraprese sempre più seriamente lo studio della pittura. Tornato negli Stati Uniti nel 1815, una decina di anni dopo fondò con altri artisti la "Società di belle arti" e successivamente la "National Accademy of Design". Attirato dall'arte italiana e dall'immenso patrimonio artistico celato sul suolo italico, tornò nel Bel Paese nel 1829 dove visitò molte città. Con l'occasione, volle visitare anche la Francia, dove rimase affascinato dalle molte bellezze di quella nazione. 

Ad ogni modo, il soggiorno italiano risvegliò la sua vena creativa, tanto che arrivò a dipingere una gran quantità di tele. Ma anche la sua curiosità scientifica era tutt'altro che assopita. E' proprio mentre rientrava negli Stati Uniti nel 1832 a bordo della nave bastimento Sully che, durante la traversata, si interrogò su di un metodo efficace per comunicare anche in condizioni difficili.

Una soluzione la intravide nell'elettromagnetismo e ne fu tanto persuaso che alcune settimane dopo si mise a costruire il primo apparato telegrafico, composto inizialmente dalla sola cornice di un quadro recuperata dal suo studio di pittura, alcune ruote in legno ricavate da un vecchio orologio e un'elettrocalamita (dono di un suo vecchio professore).

Ma è solamente nel 1835 che questo rudimentale telegrafo, dopo innumerevoli tentativi, fu ultimato e sperimentato.

Nello stesso anno Morse entrò a far parte del corpo insegnante dell'Università di New York come professore di storia dell'arte, andando ad abitare in una casa a Washington Square. Qui installò un laboratorio e progettò un trasmettitore automatico con il quale sperimentò il prototipo del codice che poi prese il suo nome. Due anni dopo Morse trovò due soci che lo aiutarono a perfezionare il telegrafo di sua invenzione: Leonard Gale, un professore di scienze dell'Università di New York, e Alfred Vail. Con l'aiuto dei suoi nuovi soci, Morse nel 1837 richiese un brevetto per il nuovo apparecchio, a cui si aggiunse successivamente l'invenzione di un codice punto-linea che sostituiva le lettere e che rendeva più fulminea la comunicazione. Tranne alcune successive modifiche di dettaglio, era infatti nato il codice Morse.

Il 24 Maggio 1844 fu inaugurata la prima linea telegrafica che collegava Washington con Baltimora. In quell'anno il caso volle che proprio a Baltimora si tenesse la Convenzione del Partito Whig e fu proprio in quelle circostanze che la sua invenzione ebbe una risonanza straordinaria, tale da renderlo finalmente famoso, grazie al fatto che telegrafando a Washington, i risultati della Convenzione arrivarono due ore prima del treno che ne portava le notizie.

In breve, l'uso della telegrafia, in parallelo con la quasi coetanea invenzione della radio da parte di Marconi,  si diffuse in tutto il mondo con un successo incontrastato, grazie al fatto che con essa era possibile comunicare a grandi distanze con mezzi tutto sommato semplici. In Italia la prima linea telegrafica fu realizzata nel 1847 e collegava Livorno con Pisa. L'invenzione dell'alfabeto Morse, poi, ha rappresentato una svolta nella storia dell'umanità, nella sicurezza, nelle comunicazioni in tempo reale. La storia della marineria, civile e militare, è piena di esempi di grandi salvataggi realizzati grazie al Telegrafo senza fili.

Biography of S. Morse

Samuel Finley Breese Morse, inventor of the telegraph, was born April 27, 1791 in Charlestown, Massachusetts, and died of pneumonia at nearly eighty April 2, 1872 in Poughkeepsie (New York). Men multiform talent, so much so that even a painter, but was paradoxically also a lazy student and free will, whose interests converged into electricity and only in the painting of miniature portraits.

Despite the unwillingness of the end, however, at the Morse graduated from Yale College in 1810 and the year after he went to London and taken more seriously study painting. Back in the United States in 1815, a decade after he founded with other artists 'Society of Fine Arts' and then the 'National Academy of Design'. Attracted by the Italian artistic heritage and the immense hidden on Italian soil, he returned to the Bel Paese in 1829 where he visited many cities.

On this occasion, would also visit France, where he remained fascinated by the many beauties of that country.

However, the Italian stay awakened his creativity, so much that he came to paint a lot of paintings.

But his scientific curiosity was far from dormant. It 'just as he returned to the U.S. in 1832 aboard the ship Sully ship that, during the crossing, he asked about an effective way to communicate even in difficult conditions.

A solution in electromagnetism and the saw was so convinced that a few weeks after he began to build the first telegraph apparatus, composed initially by single frame of a picture recovered from his study of painting, some wooden wheels made from an old clock and electromagnet (a gift from his old professor).

But it was not until 1835 that this rudimentary telegraph, after numerous attempts, it was completed and tested.

That same year, Morse joined the faculty of the University of New York as professor of art history, going to live in a house in Washington Square. You installed a laboratory and designed a transmitter with automatic which experienced the prototype of the code which then took its name. Two years later, Morse found two partners who helped him refine his invention of the telegraph: Leonard Gale, a science professor at the University of New York, and Alfred Vail. With the help of his new partners, Morse took a patent in 1837 for the new unit, to which was added after the invention of a code-point line, which replaced the letters and to make more rapid the communication. Except for a few subsequent amendments, was in fact born on Morse code.

On May 24, 1844 was inaugurated the first telegraph line linking Washington and Baltimore. In the year that just so happened to be held the Baltimore Convention of the Whig Party and it was in those circumstances that his invention had an extraordinary resonance, that made it famous at last, thanks to the fact that telegraphed to Washington, the results of Convention came two hours before the train which carried the news.

In short, the use of telegraphy, in parallel with almost the same age invention of radio by Marconi, spread all over the world with an undisputed success, thanks to the fact that it was possible to communicate over long distances means after all simple. In Italy, the first telegraph line was built in 1847 and linked with Livorno Pisa. The invention of Morse, then, was a turning point in human history, security, communications in real time. The history of the navy, civil and military, is full of examples of great saves made through the wireless telegraph.

                     BIOGRAFIA  DI MARCONI

Premio Nobel per la fisica nel 1909, Guglielmo Marconi nasce il 25 aprile 1874. Trascorre l'infanzia a Pontecchio, Villa Griffone, cittadina vicino a Bologna, dove sviluppa le prime curiosità scientifiche e matura la sua grande scoperta, l'invenzione della radio. E' proprio qui infatti che lo scienziato lancia da una finestra, tramite l'invenzione di un'antenna trasmittente, il primo segnale di telegrafia senza fili, nell'anno 1895, attraverso quella che diverrà poi "la collina della radio".

Marconi dedicherà tutta la sua vita allo sviluppo e perfezionamento delle radiocomunicazioni. Studia privatamente; ha vent'anni quando muore il fisico tedesco Heinrich Rudolf Hertz: dalla lettura delle sue esperienze Marconi prenderà ispirazione per quei lavori sulle onde elettromagnetiche che l'occuperanno per tutta la vita.

Forte delle sue scoperte e galvanizzato dalla prospettive (anche commerciali) che potevano aprirsi, nel 1897 fonda in Inghilterra la "Marconi's wireless Telegraph Companie", non prima di aver depositato, a soli ventidue anni, il suo primo brevetto. I benefici della sua invenzione si fanno subito apprezzare da tutti; vi è un caso in particolare che lo dimostra in modo clamoroso: il primo salvataggio, a mezzo appello radio, che avvenne in quegli anni di una nave perduta sulla Manica.

Nel 1901 vengono trasmessi i primi segnali telegrafici senza fili tra Poldhu (Cornovaglia) e l'isola di Terranova (America settentrionale). La stazione trasmittente della potenza di 25 kW posta a Poldhu Cove in Cornovaglia, come antenna dispone di un insieme di fili sospesi a ventaglio fra due alberi a 45 metri d'altezza, mentre la stazione ricevente, posta a St. Johns di Terranova, è composta solo da un aquilone che porta un'antenna di 120 metri.

Il 12 dicembre 1901 per mezzo di una cuffia e di un coherer vengono ricevuti i primi SOS attraverso l'Atlantico. Così Marconi, non ancora trentenne, è carico di gloria e il suo nome già famoso. Queste sono state le prime trasmissioni transatlantiche.

Nel 1902, onorato e celebrato in ogni dove, Marconi compie alcune esperienze sulla Regia nave Carlo Alberto, provando inoltre la possibilità dei radiocollegamenti tra le navi e con la terra.
Pochi anni dopo, i 706 superstiti del noto disastro del Titanic devono la salvezza alla radio e anche per questo l'Inghilterra insignisce Marconi del titolo di Sir, mentre l'Italia lo fa Senatore (1914) e Marchese (1929).

Nel 1914, sempre più ossessionato dal desiderio di allargare le potenzialità degli strumenti partoriti dal suo genio, perfeziona i primi apparecchi radiotelefonici. Inizia poi lo studio dei sistemi a fascio a onde corte, che gli permettono ulteriori passi in avanti oltre alla possibilità di proseguire quegli esperimenti che non si stancava mai di compiere. In questo periodo si interessa anche al problema dei radio-echi.

Nel 1930 viene nominato presidente della Real Accademia d'Italia. Nello stesso anno inizia a studiare le microonde, preludio all'invenzione del radar.

Guglielmo Marconi muore a Roma all'età di 63 anni, il 20 luglio 1937, dopo essere stato nominato dottore honoris causa dalle università di Bologna, di Oxford, di Cambridge, e di altre università italiane, senza dimenticare che all'Università di Roma è stato professore di radiocomunicazioni.

BIOGRAPHY OF MARCONI

Nobel Prize for Physics in 1909, Guglielmo Marconi was born April 25, 1874. He spent his childhood in Pontecchio, Grifone, a town near Bologna, where he developed the first scientific curiosity and ages of his great discovery, the invention of radio. And 'here because the scientist launches a window, through the invention of a transmitting antenna, the first sign of wireless telegraphy, in 1895, through that which was to become' the hill of the radio '.

Marconi will dedicate his life to the development and improvement of radio communications. He studied privately, is twenty years old when he died, the German physicist Heinrich Rudolf Hertz: from a reading of his experiences Marconi take inspiration for these works on electromagnetic waves which occupy a lifetime.

The strength of its findings and galvanized by the prospects (even commercial) that could open up, founded in 1897 in England the 'Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Companie', but not before making a deposit, only twenty-two, his first patent. The benefits of his invention become immediately appreciated by all and there is a particular case that proves so sensational: the first rescue by radio call, which occurred in those years of a lost ship on the Channel.

In 1901 the first telegraph signals are transmitted wirelessly Poldhu (Cornwall) and the island of Newfoundland (North America). The station's transmitter power of 25 kW mail to Poldhu Cove in Cornwall, as the antenna has a set of fan wires suspended between two trees to 45 meters high, while the receiving station, located in St. Johns Newfoundland, is containing only a kite that carries an antenna of 120 meters.

On December 12, 1901 using a headphone and a coherer are received the first SOS across the Atlantic. So Marconi, not yet thirty years old, is full of glory and his name already famous.These were the first transatlantic transmission.

In 1902, honored and celebrated everywhere, Marconi makes some experience on the ship Royal Charles Albert, proving the possibility of the radio link between ships and land.

A few years later, the 706 known survivors of the Titanic disaster are the salvation for this on the radio and Marconi England bestowed the title of Sir, while Italy does Senator (1914) and Marquis (1929).

In 1914, more and more obsessed by the desire to broaden the potential of the instruments born from his genius, he completed the first CB radios. Then begins the study of short-wave beam systems, which enable further progress and the ability to continue those experiments that never tired of doing. This period is also interested in the problem of radio-echoes.

In 1930 he was appointed president of the Royal Academy of Italy. In the same year he began to study the microwave, a prelude to the invention of radar.

Guglielmo Marconi died in Rome at the age of 63 years, July 20, 1937, after he was appointed doctor honoris causa from the University of Bologna, Oxford, Cambridge, and other Italian universities, without forgetting that the University of Rome was a professor of radio communications.

                                                                   ----000----

In the field of amateur radio to communicate in CW "CW (Continuous Wave English = continuous waves, telegraphy), is fascinating, exciting, the signal penetrates cw or, better said, boring interference better than any other type of emission, enabling even connections with very low power.

It 's like music, because each signal Morse, as every musical note has its own sound and its own harmony.

Reading the letters of the alphabet, numbers or punctuations, you can play locally syllables TI for points and for lines such as TA. letter A = TI-TA, N = TA-TI, R = TI-TA-TI, and so on, in fact, the CW must be learned in the musical sense, because they learn by heart the system of points and lines touch, being listening, very tiring and a double, that is the visual image of the musical signal lines and points and then mentally count points and lines up to identify the letter received, this would create a beautiful mess pupil, however the system reports MUSIC = letter (or number ..) is probably more effective.

Those who know something they have learned (so to speak) with this system, perhaps the result of a wrong method of teaching.

Why use Telegraphy today? The reasons are different.

In the first place because a few watts are achieved considerable distances and this helps a lot who does not have the option of installing large antenna systems and then there is no need to get them.

But once in possession of this art continues in a steady improvement.

It is not important where you can get but it is the path that matters.

It is a secure system, requires few resources even sophisticated, ensures exceptional performance compared to other systems, perhaps more rapid exchange of information, but under certain conditions, less reliable.

Rarely it can be found on the market a much improved decoder and sensitive as the human brain, which the ear and a transducer.

These, however, are susceptible to fatigue, but not easy to damage of some very sophisticated machines.

Morse signals penetrate a distance while between static and interference, on the contrary, for voice transmission are impenetrable barriers. It 's the reason why the equipment operating in this activity at low power (QRP), and prevail with enthusiasm by far the radiotelephone equipment.

This allows low power consumption, greater simplicity in equipment, in case of emergency, may be self-built with components readily available. In addition, a restricted use of bandwidth and better performance in signal to noise ratio. In short, the balance of pros and cons, the Telegraphy "holds" well, despite everything.

When there was still examining ministerial telegraphy this was considered an obstacle to be overcome (sometimes very seriously ...) anzinchè a point of pride. It is no mystery about how it was possible to cheat shamelessly to some exam times, cloning and even take advantage of illegal benefits.

This kind of 'amateur' was certainly a burden, a tare that do not serve other amateurs, who competed with passion for telegraphy revel and making the main, if not the only means of their distance communications.

Each year there are events dedicated to telegraphy, real world speed championships they take on the best global players.

To get an idea of what it means to "go strong" enough to think that the record is still held by Ted McElroy on 2 July 1939, the tournament held in Asheville, North Carolina (USA), came to receive well-72.5 words per minute. If we consider that each word consists of 5 characters come to better speed of 376 characters per minute, equivalent to 17 signals per second. It 's something impressive.

The average speed of between QSO OM varies from 50 to 70 characters per minute, but there are OM-speed traffic that usually more than 150 characters, some will make it a point of honor to progress and several more are on the roof of 200 and beyond.

In many countries there are museums dedicated to telegraph keys and collectors of the old "Straight Key" constantly increasing.

Talk to them of old glories like "Family Guy", "London No. 423, Mk3 1914" old "pump-handle" of the first "Vibroplex" can hold many surprises and it is certainly a cultural thing not to be underestimated.

Horace Martin in 1890 made several searches in order to avoid being hurt be the typical age of the telegraph, imaginatively called "glass arm" or arm of a glass. Pressing buttons for hours on the vertical weight required considerable skill and strength and in the long run be adversely affected.

Horace Martin developed the first key with the contacts in a horizontal position thus inventing the first semi-automatic key. Because of the brand was already well-known manufacturer of keys Vibroplex ", representing an insect (bug in English) the key was actually called BUG. Even today the design basis on which Martin worked is the one used by the most famous and well-known bug in the world.

Before the fully automatic electronic keys become masters of the "square" were invented and produced many different versions of semi-mechanical keys.

In addition to the well-known key that mechanically produces points automatically, leaving the line operator, saw the light of keys that were also the lines in the same way, then others who rely on the task of producing a motor elinee points at will, also called "Key equable, with much friction and different gearing. They require an outstanding ability to synchronize his line operator with the cadence of their generation the characters of the same key, so it was soon abandoned.

After the war came the first bug electronic valves, then, is modern history, with its semiconductors, transistors, integrated circuits CMOS integrated circuits to the specially made (Curtis 8044). The old key has evolved into the modern key which only serves to close two contacts, the rest is electronics, including memory.

Complex key with error correction, compensation of any unwanted rebounds, fit to work at very high speeds with almost absolute perfection that rivals the keyboards of the computer systems. The latter, while these are very easy to use, are poorly regarded by the telegraph, however, are used with good profit from the new OM, which prefer to use the most modern technology rather than learning to use the traditional bug a good memory.

A choice that cheapens the figure of the telegraph and is independent of the skill personnel.

Days ago I happened to read something that telegraph 'was' a sign of a RT Profession: Alfredo De Cristofaro IK6IJF.
As always nostalgic, and sometimes they are written poignant that I report in full:

Some years the merchant ships from around the world have left the service in Morse telegraphy, only a very few non-SOLAS Carretta (not approved according to international standards for the Safety of Life at Sea adopted by the IMO - the UN body) CW continues to play in traffic, almost all these vessels are of Russian nationality and Asian ... but so few that count does not take herself sleep.
In conjunction to the entry into force of the system GMDSS (Global Maritime Distress Safety System - Security System for World Relief at sea), almost all the coastal stations of the globe have ceased their service and have closed their doors forever, the ones that radiotelephone traffic have been held exclusively in a much reduced since the now dominant use of the satellite, on which the new system and the phone when it is at sea near the coast.
The new maritime communications system is very interesting and has many advantages especially for the large capacity of data that can be transmitted and received in a very short time, it also achieves, without intermediaries, the final destination to which the user wants to board connect. On board, today, there is even the possibility of exchanging messages via e-mail even if the shipping lines that seem to have limited the 'use only ship to the management to avoid the costs of connection to the satellite rises above the thresholds ... in practice you can not tax dependents of the crew of the cost of sending a flaw ... but not everything can be perfect.
As a former radio officer there are some doubts that haunt me when I pass the free time in my amateur radio station. By tuning the receiver to my medium-wave band between 415 and 525 kHz, here I go again, listen to the dissemination of weather forecasts in telegraphy and abolished, it seems that virtually nothing has changed ... I live near Ancona and the station IPA continues to pound as if the CW telegraphy was still a means of transmission allowed MYSTERY ... ... but why now consume more electricity when there is nobody to receive these long messages on board ships? Some will say that there are non-SOLAS vessels that use the W ... yes ... but it is an absurdity that messages irradiated by IPA as all other Italian coastal stations are in our language, certainly unknown to the Chinese, Korean and Russian, the only still using Morse telegraphy. And if the system is now active in FEC NAVTEX-B and traditional Italian merchant ship ... who can ever get on board such messages radiotelegraphic missing the radio operator and the new MF and HF equipment that only have the USB mode as expected?
I am a nostalgic and I loved my job but I think it's time to put an end to mock a group of workers - the Marconi - that our leaders have been willing to take away from your feet as people nDo you want ... but the question to reveal is whether the current management of the network of Italian coastal stations are informed about the abolition of the CW mode is an issue ... that no longer exists in the maritime sector ... Who will respond to this dilemma? I do not forget to occasionally take my typewriter and I get the notices to mariners and Meteomar, so as not to miss the year, but ... I do not have a commander in which to present your messages ... but I have an idea, one day gather received messages and send them, as the ratio of reception, Telecom Services Radiomaritime drop me a nice QSL confirmation HI!
And if this whole situation there is, you never know, 'a cat to roost' I do all my best regards.

 We were these ... please do not insult us more ..

Dear friend, what to say, you're right! Beyond the technological progress and wrong there was the way he took leave of a category worthy.
 

One thing is certain:

               WE will never forget!

But it is inevitable, we can not stop progress. Sometimes I think with regret of how many things we lost with the advance of so-called Progress Technology. Just think of the sounds, types of environmental noise or the result of specific human activities that over time have been lost forever. Who among those who are born
now know how to recognize the sound of the teletype, typewriter, the telegraph key. Who among them can imagine the atmosphere heavy and cumbersome full of ticking these machines. No one can imagine it. Who can remember and how many people even now recall the sound of the drill program that transferred on cards and then the noise of the machine that can read in one of the computers from the 50 and 60 whose memory lived on punched cards. This too is a lost sound. But Fortunately we can still enjoy the unique music that I hope will never lost.

Maritime Radio Communications of the second millennium.
I highly recommend reading the book 'ISLAND BOAT AND THE MEMORY OF LAST Marconi' where the author, a radio operator, covering all the stages of  RT profession until his retirement.
After reading it's hard not to be pervaded by an infinite sadness and a lot of emotion.
With the opportunity to point out another piece of history, the stories lived a RT of Trade 'THE tramp steamers' written by Lino IZ0DDD Pappalardo.

Speaking about feelings and everything I remember the last'anno I was in zone 7 (Taranto) to spend the Christmas period.
Strangely, born in this seaside town, my professional life took place in Air Force.
Despite this, when this city are very often step in front of a very fascinating site of the Navy. This site is alternated several generations who attended the course RT. OM often college friend telling me that I did the course at the School in Taranto RT CEMM. In fact just yesterday I connected I0PAB John of Latin America with his vertical he alumnus RT CEMM schools. And then Stephen I7MZN (SK) and to the instructor did CEMM RT for many years and I have personally known and connected. Today, and for some time, the site has changed its name to the task, the RT course there are no more. But I still go here, and every time I stop, look, look, but I hear nothing, absolute silence, not even a note, no CQ. Maybe spend more often, who knows. But how sad!

                                                                   ---000---