Newton's Radio
- Thread starter cerebus
- Start date
I dunno. Take Canada and the rest falls into place, no?
I imagine that some one like Wolfe would be quick to figure out the abilities of misdirection.
"Army of ten thousand marching on Montreal! Send reinforcements from Quebec!"
Anyone using them for anything like textile mills yet? is that even useful at this point?
I'm not sure I follow. How is it easier to get a message from Boston to London than Boston to NY?
Spanish America, ISTM, could really use something like this.
Right, this is good stuff.
I must admit, the references to semaphore messages travelling hundreds of miles were confusing me until I read the first few posts again, and realised what you meant by 'electric semaphore'. It should have been blindingly obvious from the title of the thread, I suppose...
Damn. I thought this was going to turn into real-life Discworld.
I must admit, the references to semaphore messages travelling hundreds of miles were confusing me until I read the first few posts again, and realised what you meant by 'electric semaphore'. It should have been blindingly obvious from the title of the thread, I suppose...
Damn. I thought this was going to turn into real-life Discworld.
NY does not have a semaphore station yet, Boston does. Remember Franklin's company failed.
The French have the best codes at this point and are much more proffessional in North America. They are just out numbered.
Incidently ISTM?
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The use of the word semaphore is a coincidence. The devices we think of as semaphores were not invented when Bratton sent a signal using electic corpuscles. At this time Greek & Latin were the obvious roots to use when inventing words hence Semaphore.
In this world language has changed in several ways.
Yeah, I know the language is different. I just missed the important bit.
A knowledge of science is as vital to a well rounded Lady of quality as one of Italian or Drawing. A wife must be a helpmeet to her spouse and no modern household can be run without an understanding of Mathematics, Horticulture, Cyphers, Hydraulics and Electrics. In addition a wife who can not understand her husband’s work is deprived of one of her most important roles, that of confidant and sympathiser.
{Science for Gentle Women by A Lady }
The recent fashion for electriks among young ladies will result in the disgrace and ruination of more than one if the practice is not checked urgently by their husbands and fathers. For example on Thursday last while walking in Millsom Street I observed Miss S___ of W___ H___ standing in a first floor window and using her fan to Sullivan to Major B___ of the ___shire Foot who replied using his newspaper. The lack of propriety in such an action is only matched by the crudity of the silent conversation which was completely comprehensible to many Gentlemen there present.
{Letter to the Bath Gazette by Admiral Connors (rtd)}
{Science for Gentle Women by A Lady }
The recent fashion for electriks among young ladies will result in the disgrace and ruination of more than one if the practice is not checked urgently by their husbands and fathers. For example on Thursday last while walking in Millsom Street I observed Miss S___ of W___ H___ standing in a first floor window and using her fan to Sullivan to Major B___ of the ___shire Foot who replied using his newspaper. The lack of propriety in such an action is only matched by the crudity of the silent conversation which was completely comprehensible to many Gentlemen there present.
{Letter to the Bath Gazette by Admiral Connors (rtd)}
State of the art in 1780
Improvements in transmission, particularly the use of steam engines for power and better designs for masts along with improved sensitivity for receiving has pushed the maximum range over 2500 miles. The Howard Directional Mast allows the direction of a semaphore station to be determined and is a significant navigational aid. All Royal Navy stations send out a time signal at Greenwich noon and midnight, determined by local chronometers corrected by signal from Admiralty House. This is an enormous help in determining Longitude and with improved chronometers is producing a navigation revolution (in the Atlantic, North Sea, Baltic, Mediterranean and Indian ocean at least).
The Royal Navy leases several bases from the Portuguese government and has purchased the land known as Table Station from The Dutch East Indies Company. With the islands that have been annexed to the crown these form a chain connecting Bombay to London via Seychelles, Handover (Juan de Nova),Table, Saint Helena, Ascension, Principe, Brava and Gibraltar. Add in Newfoundland, the North American stations, Peacoe, Bermuda, Barbados, Jamaica, Macapa, Riogrand ( Brazil) and the Falklands. This gives a coverage of the Atlantic and Indian ocean no other power can hope to match.
First electric trains are operating at coal and tin mines in Britain. The first proper railway will be the Redruth and District line (later the West of England Railway). While the Pensett and Dudley line is the first to operate pure passenger trains. ( With this early use of railways there will be far fewer canals.)
Improvements in transmission, particularly the use of steam engines for power and better designs for masts along with improved sensitivity for receiving has pushed the maximum range over 2500 miles. The Howard Directional Mast allows the direction of a semaphore station to be determined and is a significant navigational aid. All Royal Navy stations send out a time signal at Greenwich noon and midnight, determined by local chronometers corrected by signal from Admiralty House. This is an enormous help in determining Longitude and with improved chronometers is producing a navigation revolution (in the Atlantic, North Sea, Baltic, Mediterranean and Indian ocean at least).
The Royal Navy leases several bases from the Portuguese government and has purchased the land known as Table Station from The Dutch East Indies Company. With the islands that have been annexed to the crown these form a chain connecting Bombay to London via Seychelles, Handover (Juan de Nova),Table, Saint Helena, Ascension, Principe, Brava and Gibraltar. Add in Newfoundland, the North American stations, Peacoe, Bermuda, Barbados, Jamaica, Macapa, Riogrand ( Brazil) and the Falklands. This gives a coverage of the Atlantic and Indian ocean no other power can hope to match.
First electric trains are operating at coal and tin mines in Britain. The first proper railway will be the Redruth and District line (later the West of England Railway). While the Pensett and Dudley line is the first to operate pure passenger trains. ( With this early use of railways there will be far fewer canals.)
Steam trains equiped with wireless telegraphs would be much better.
Perhaps they could equip signals with broadcast towers for earlier information/warnings/instructions?
Faeelin
No. Steam engines at this point are large and stationary. Remember the Rocket was not built until 1829. In this world there is little incentive to produce small steam engines. Once transmission is sorted out by trial and error then it will be practical to build a large steam engine by a harbour or river landing for easy access to coal and water and run a wire to where you need the power.
The only reason to shrink a steam engine is to put it on a ship. I think steam ships might even be delayed.
Steam would probably be more efficient but electric power got there first.
The QWERTY effect in action.
No. Steam engines at this point are large and stationary. Remember the Rocket was not built until 1829. In this world there is little incentive to produce small steam engines. Once transmission is sorted out by trial and error then it will be practical to build a large steam engine by a harbour or river landing for easy access to coal and water and run a wire to where you need the power.
The only reason to shrink a steam engine is to put it on a ship. I think steam ships might even be delayed.
Steam would probably be more efficient but electric power got there first.
The QWERTY effect in action.
Analytical Engine
I don't think you realise just how big and tempramental a semaphore station is. Remember there is no concept of a seperate transmitter and reciever.
The French are working on a portable semaphore that only fills three carts and can be errected in less than 28 hours
I am sure eventually something approaching a modern Ham radio set will evolve but I suspect it will take another hundred years or more.
I don't think you realise just how big and tempramental a semaphore station is. Remember there is no concept of a seperate transmitter and reciever.
The French are working on a portable semaphore that only fills three carts and can be errected in less than 28 hours
I am sure eventually something approaching a modern Ham radio set will evolve but I suspect it will take another hundred years or more.
Analytical Engine
I don't think you realise just how big and tempramental a semaphore station is. Remember there is no concept of a seperate transmitter and reciever.
The French are working on a portable semaphore that only fills three carts and can be errected in less than 28 hours
I am sure eventually something approaching a modern Ham radio set will evolve but I suspect it will take another hundred years or more.
D'oh!
.....Analytical Engine
I don't think you realise just how big and tempramental a semaphore station is. Remember there is no concept of a seperate transmitter and reciever.
The French are working on a portable semaphore that only fills three carts and can be errected in less than 28 hours
I am sure eventually something approaching a modern Ham radio set will evolve but I suspect it will take another hundred years or more.
Portable semaphore tower? Can be put up in a day?
You have read Going Postal, I take it?
Yes actually, ingenious. Although the trigger for all this was a comment about Royal Navy actions in the 18th C "Its as though they had radio" combined with an article on spark Radio.