A US federal judge in Virginia has given permission to retrieve the ill-fated RMS Titanic’s Marconi wireless gear, which transmitted distress calls from the sinking ocean liner during its maiden voyage. Judge Rebecca Beach Smith of the US District Court in Norfolk ruled that the radio gear is historically and culturally important and could soon be lost within the rapidly decaying wreck. The Titanic sank after striking an iceberg some 370 miles off the coast of Newfoundland in 1912.
“The Marconi device has significant historical, educational, scientific, and cultural value as the device used to make distress calls while the Titanic was sinking,” Judge Smith wrote in her ruling. She said the company would be permitted “minimally to cut into the wreck” to access the radio room.
David Concannon, a lawyer for R.M.S Titanic Inc., which the court has recognized as the steward of the vessel’s artifacts, said the company would try to avoid cutting into the ship, noting that the radio room may be reachable via a skylight that was already open. More legal wrangling may lie ahead. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) contends that the retrieval expedition is still prohibited under US law and under an international agreement between the US and the UK.
R.M.S Titanic has said the radio transmitter could unlock some of the secrets about a missed warning message and distress calls sent from the ship.
“It tells an important story,” Concannon said. “It tells of the heroism of the operators that saved the lives of 705 people. They worked until water was lapping at their feet.”
In an April court filing, NOAA argued against the salvage effort, saying that any benefit to be realized from cutting into the vessel to recover the Marconi equipment would not be “worth the cost to the resource and not in the public interest.”
RMS Titanic sought permission to carry out what it called a “surgical removal and retrieval” of the Marconi radio equipment. As might be expected, the deteriorating Marconi equipment is in poor shape after more than a century under water. The undersea retrieval would mark the first time an artifact was collected from within the Titanic, which many believe should remain undisturbed as the final resting place of some 1,500 victims of the maritime disaster. The wreck sits on the ocean floor some 2 1/2 miles beneath the surface, and remained undiscovered until 1985. R.M.S. Titanic said it plans to use a manned submarine to reach the wreck and then deploy a remotely controlled sub to retrieve the radio equipment.
Source:ARRL
Recent Posts
Lab599 Discovery TX-500
Today i’m bringing you an update on a very exciting qrp ham radio from Lab599. It’s called the Discovery TX-500. The TX500 is a HF & 6... Read more
RTL-SDR BLOG L-BAND Patch Antenna Version 2 – Inmarsat – Iridium – GPS
Here we take a look at the brand new L-Band Patch antenna from RTL-SDR Blog. This antenna is designed to work with Inmarsat, Iridium and GPS signals. Read more
The Malahit DSP portable SDR receive
A nifty little portable SDR receiver. I still have lots to explore with it, but here’s an overview. 【Frequency Range】50 kHz~2.0GHz (Registered v... Read more
Comparing the Elecraft KX2 and the Icom IC-705. Which should I buy?
Comparing the Elecraft KX2 and the Icom IC-705. Which should I buy? Read more
80M Antenna with HOA Constraints
Welcome to the 400th Ask Dave video! Ken, VE7ZY, is having trouble with an 80m dipole mounted very closely to the roof flashing. He is seeking other a... Read more
The K7RA Solar Update
Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, reports: Sunspots were only visible on 4 days of the current reporting week — on April 3-6 — and now on Friday morning,... Read more
TOP 10 ACCESSORIES FOR IC-705
This week Jonathan goes through his top 10 must-have accessories for the IC-705! Read more
March 2021 Volunteer Monitor Program Report
The Volunteer Monitor (VM) Program is a joint initiative between ARRL and the FCC to enhance compliance in the Amateur Radio Service. This is the Marc... Read more
Traditional Amateur Radio Contesting Faces a Demographic Cliff
Frank Howell, K4FMH, followed up his two-part National Contest Journal (NCJ) series, “The Demographics of Contesting,” with a post to his Social Circu... Read more
ARISS USA Gets IRS 501(c)(3) Recognition
ARISS-USA, a Maryland nonprofit corporation, has earned recognition from the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as a Section 501(c)(3) charitable, scie... Read more
Can I Put One End of a Dipole Next to my VHF Antenna?
Nick, KC3PWJ, has a flagpole and also a pole that holds up his VHF/UHF discone. He’d like to string a 20m dipole between the two poles, but is w... Read more
YOTA Contest 2021
Team YOTA has been working hard over the last few months to establish one whole new project for the ham radio community. Everyone can take part, it ta... Read more
Amateur Radio Community Invited to Take Part in MARS Exercise on 60 Meters
Radio amateurs are invited to take part in the MARS exercise now under way until April 10 in support of the US Department of Defense. The five USB cha... Read more
Yaesu FTDX-10 Menu and Feature Overview with W9FFF Ham Radio Dude
New from Yaesu, the FTDX-10 HF Transceiver – today I’ve invited Sean, W9FFF, from the Ham Radio Dude channel to go though all of the menu... Read more
The RSGB is delighted to launch a new Award
Friendship on the Air Award The Friendship on the Air Award is designed to celebrate the friendship of amateur radio over the airwaves. The main purpo... Read more
Renewing Your Amateur Radio License thru FCC Universal Licensing System
Renewing Your Amateur Radio License thru FCC Universal Licensing System Read more
Wideband Antennas for SDR Radios
Flip, W4FLP, asked about options for wideband antennas for the popular RSP-DX software defined radio from SDRPlay. We cover three that should work fin... Read more
A New Sunspot & More Aurora while A Mars Helicopter Preps for Flight | Space Weather News 04.05.2021
A New Sunspot & More Aurora while A Mars Helicopter Preps for Flight | Space Weather News 04.05.2021 Read more
Contests on QO-100 allowed
Updated band plan valid: from 4 April 2021 Contest Zone (CW and SSB) Uplink area 2400.370 – 2400.490 MHz Downlink area 10489.870 – 10489.990 MHz Of co... Read more
NanoVNA-H4 Network Analyzer, $86 Antenna Analyzer Review/Demo
Today we are checking out the NanoVNA-H4 analyzer. This little gem does a lot more than just SWR, so check out this video and other videos on YouTube... Read more