MERCANTILE MARINE

Hokitika Guardian, 21 June 1932, Page 6

MERCANTILE MARINE

RADICAL ALTERATIONS,

NEW SIGNALLING CODE

Considerable Hag signal practice will take place among ships -trading 011 the .New Zealand coast and among Brit’-'di ships in general after January 1 next, when the. new internationa/1 code of signals will be available for use. The codes does not come into official operation until the beginning of 1934, but it lute been suggested tlha't, in order that masters or officers should become familiar with it, they should use it next year. Radical alterations have been made for visual, sound and radio communications The British edition of the new code has bfeefi published, and masters and officers have been urged to familiarise themselves with it. Many of the difficulties encountered in handling the old code, especially in communication's between ships of different nationalities, have been overcome by tlhe new system.

The new code, while maiuly for the use of ships, provides also a considerable number of .signals 'suitable for the use of aircraft. It consists of two volumes, Vol. 1, for visual and sound .signalling and Vol. 11, for radio signalling.

The new visual code makes use ot twenty-six alphabetical hags, ten numeral flags and three flags known as “substitutes,” in place of the twentysix alphabetical flags of the existing code. It thus enables numbers to be signalled directly. Further, by means of the ’’substitutes,” signals can be made in which there are repeated letters or numbers. Such signals cannot, as a rule, be made by the present code unless a ship has two or more complete sets of the existing signalling flags. In the new code, new square flags have been introduced for the letters C. D, E, 'F and G; and the pendants (or pennants). which in the existing code represent these letters, 'are toed to denote the numerals 1 to 5 respectively, new pendants having been introduced to denote the remaining numerals 0 and •6 to 9.

RADIO SIGNALLING

Certain alterations lin the meanings of the •single-letter signals Ibave been made in the new code', and the twoletter signals have been completely revised, though certain important twoletter signals, such as NO, JD and PT> retain their old N and well established meanings. The ’three-letter signals have been completely revised and brought up to date. The geographical section has been entirely rewritten. Vol. II (for radio signalling) is the first official internation,ail wireless telegraph code issued 'specially for (Hie use of the merchant and air sen' ces. It contains full instructions for use, including advice as to the best methods of, compiling code messages so a* to avoid difficulties of transl-Lon, a t b 1 . for correcting corrupt groups, a general vocabulary and a geograph’-cal sectl'O An interesting feature of this voiinne is the case-skating system embodied in 1 the medical section. The object oi tht; system is to enable ships which do not j carry a doctor to send code messaga j to other ships or coast station; ask'ng j for medical advice or resistance. The : system is complete in ikso’f, and is so arranged that, wlhen all the edit ions of the code are in operation, it will enab'e com muni cations regarding medical matters to be made between ships of dif-j ferent nationalities, thus avoiding difficulties of language. 1

The British edition of the nqw code will bo followed by the issue of s'x other 'standard editions in French, German, Itarian, Japanese, Norwegian and Spanish.