from the IEEE: SOS does not stand for "Save our Ship"

[Andre Kesteloot]

*MORSE CODE 'SOS'*
The "SOS" in Morse code does not, as is popularly believed, stand for 
"save our ship." The letters S-O-S were chosen in 1910 as the distress 
call to replace the previously used C-Q-D because the pattern of three 
short, three long, three short letters was more easily distinguishable 
against background noise. CQ originated from the "sécu" in the French 
word "sécurité" (security) followed by D, which signaled distress.
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*/TITANIC'/**S DISTRESS CALLS*
The sinking ship's distress calls were not received by ham radio 
<http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/Amateur_Radio> operators in the 
United States, as is commonly believed, because the /Titanic's 
/transmitter range did not extend that far. What ham radio operators did 
pick up was the radio traffic relayed from ship to ship, and from 
ship-to-shore stations.

The ship's state-of-the-art transmitter had an 800-kilometer range 
during the day, extending to 4800 km at night when the reflective 
character of the atmosphere changed. But that range constantly varied 
with the location of the ship, along with the atmospheric conditions. 
Although a ham radio with a good receiver and antenna could have heard 
/Titanic/'s distress calls on the East Coast of the United States, there 
is no confirmed report that happened. The only amateur radio operator to 
receive a signal directly was Welsh wireless operator Artie Moore.



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