wzeros.com w0s.org One would have to wonder on the night of April 14, 1912, what the weather conditions were on the deck of the “unsinkable” Titanic. We know from history, on April 14th, it was a clear, crisp, cold night, with the Titanic full speed ahead towards an ice field, disregarding all the warnings of trouble that lay in her path, with passengers on deck as the cold wind blew in their faces on her maiden voyage. For the second year in a row, ham operators who operated the Special Event Station “WØS” faced the same weather conditions. The weather was beautiful two weeks prior to the event. The trees were starting to bloom with all the signs of spring in the air. Then, out of the North, an Artic front blew in, dropping temperatures twenty-five degrees below normal. Light rain turning to sleet, with winds blowing up to 35 miles per hour, this surely made the event memorable. The lost souls of the Titanic have spoken again. People of all ages, from grade school kids on up, knows something of this tragic event. People all over the world are students of history, historians of the Titanic, or just know two facts about the Titanic. Those two facts are that it hit an iceberg and sank, or that it was the first time “SOS” was used in a distress situation. The latter of the two is not exactly correct In fact, “SOS” was not enacted for use until in 1908. It was “CQD” that was required to be used by Mr. Marconi on all his transmitters. On board the Titanic was a Marconi Spark Gap transmitter, and the Chief Radio Operator “Jack” Phillips was a die-hard for sending the CQD during her time of distress. It was Harold Bride, the second operator, who harped on Phillips to send the “SOS” call. “Send SOS, its the new call, and it may be your last chance it send it, Bride said. So this Special Event Station was born on the idea that since the Worlds Largest Titanic Museum was located in Branson, MO it would be good to honor the two brave radio operators, John George “Jack” Phillips and Harold Bride. These two radio operators stayed to the final minutes, before being relieved by Captain Smith who said, “You have performed your job very well, its every man for himself.” Both operators jumped into the chilly waters of the North Atlantic. Jack Phillips almost made it to one of the lifeboats, but hypothermia had a major effect on his ability to save himself, and was lost at sea. Harold Bride successfully made it to a lifeboat. He lived until October of 1960. Captain Smith went down with his ship, which ironically was to be his last command for the White Star Line. Please check this website often for updates, as well as QSL information. This is a “multi-mode” event, meaning all hams from around the world, or any class license, can contact the WØS station via SSB HF, CW, DSTAR, 2 METERS , ECHOLINK, IRLP or even webcam video chat. Always click on the BLOG page for late breaking news. http://www.titanicbranson.com/http://www.titanicbranson.com/shapeimage_1_link_0shapeimage_1_link_1