Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1922-05-17
Titanic Disaster Proved Value
of Wireless Process.
BY DAVID sARNoFF.

BY DAVID SARNOFF.
General Manager. Radio Corporation of
america.
One Of the most dramatic parts played
by radio telegraphy came with the sink
Ing Of the steamship Titanic, ten years
ago. 1t SO happened that I was then
a wireless operator assigned to the Wana-
maker station in New York. On the
roof Of the building a large plant had
been installed for the purpose Of send
Ing messages between Philadelphia and
New York, and also between other. points.
It will be recalled that for long time
It was impossible to get definite infor-
nation Of what had happened on the
Inflated Titanic. In those days we had
no loud speakers or any Of the re-
fnement Of apparatus Of the present day.
Radio operators were required to wear
headpieces with telephones clamped over
the ears, In which the faint buzz OF
the dots and dashes were heard. For
three days and three nights. on a con-
tinuous stretch Of seventy two hours. |
sat with the headpiece clamped on my
head, straining to hear word or
detail that might come through the air,
Finally I was rewarded. | began to
receive the first details of the disaster
the fact that the Titanic had sunk; that
the Olympic had taken off a number of
passengers. Immediately gave the news
to the press. Then bedlam broke loose.
Reporters and relatives and friends of
passengers on the doomed liner hung
breathlessly over my shoulder while /
copied the names of those who had been
saved. scanning every letter as I placed
1t on paper and hoping that the next
word would spell the name of a loved
one.
But the very tragedy OF the Titanic
disaster crystaliized in the minds Of
every one the value of radio. and the
art was given a new status. One almost
immediate result was the passing Of laws
Of national and international character
to safeguard life at sea by making IL
compulsory for every ship carrying nifty
or more persons to be equipped with
radio telegraph apparatus, with pro
vision for two operators to be constantly
on watch so distress signals might lie
received or sent out In time Of need.
For some little time thereafter the de-
velopment of radio followed the actlvi-
ties Of the sea; installations aboard ship
multiplied and the coastal station sys-
tenn expanded Message traffic from ship
to shore was the principal function OF
a radio telegraph company, and the
manufacture, operation and maintenance
Of apparatus TO give this service was
practically its sole activity. system
OF handling messages was developed.
following the general practice OF .eie-
graphy, a procedure which remains vir
taally unchanged to this day.
An outline OF the process may be Of
interest. for the question Is often asked:
Just how Is message fled for trans
mission to or from ship at sea- II
is not complicated process.
The sender files the message for
vessel at at any telegraph office, Civ
ing the name Of the passenger and the
ship and marking the radlogram "Via
RCA.' II he desires the Radio Corpora
tion OF America to handle his message.
The handling OF the message then Is as
follows. 1t is telegraphed by landline to
the nearest coastal radio station. which.
In turn. calls the ship through the air,
using the call letters which the Govern
mcnt assigns 10 each vessel as an iden-
tifcation. Operators on ships are re-
quired to listen for these messages. They
acknowledge the call for their particular