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Old 26th Feb 2017, 3:30 am   #1
Osiris69
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Default Atlantic Telegraph Cable.

Just thought I'd show you all something I picked up a year or two ago, a mounted section of cable from the 1881 cable from England to Newfoundland, the ship that laid it in 1881 and the ship that recovered it for repair in 1909.
The coordinates are virtually mid Atlantic with a mean depth of around 3 miles (16000 feet)
Upon looking this up on the net I discovered a great site all about cables laid at sea. Very interesting.
Check it out www.Atlantic-cable.com
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Old 26th Feb 2017, 8:30 am   #2
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Default Re: Atlantic Telegraph Cable.

An excellent find.

Well, you know where it's been for 28 years of its life, the mystery is where it's been since.

Yours was a much more successful cable than the 1858 one, the tale of which resembles a Marx brothers performance and discouraged investors for many years. A certain Mr Thomson was the only one to come out of that debacle with any respect.

David
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Old 26th Feb 2017, 10:15 am   #3
Pellseinydd
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Default Re: Atlantic Telegraph Cable.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Osiris69 View Post
Just thought I'd show you all something I picked up a year or two ago, a mounted section of cable from the 1881 cable from England to Newfoundland, the ship that laid it in 1881 and the ship that recovered it for repair in 1909.
The coordinates are virtually mid Atlantic with a mean depth of around 3 miles (16000 feet)
Upon looking this up on the net I discovered a great site all about cables laid at sea. Very interesting.
Check it out www.Atlantic-cable.com
I've got a short section of a submarine cable mentioned on that website - the 1859 cable laid between Hilbre Island off the western end of Cheshire and North Wales which replaced the Liverpool/Holyhead optical telegraph system in 1860. http://atlantic-cable.com//Article/Holyhead-Liverpool/
It is the oldest 'telecoms' item I've gathered so far and the cable is listed in a book 'The Electric Telegraph' published in the late 1860's that I have in my collection.
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Old 26th Feb 2017, 12:45 pm   #4
mike_newcomb
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Default Re: Atlantic Telegraph Cable.

Hi Osiris, truly a treasured possesion.

Thanks for sharing.

Hi Pell, any chance of some photos of yours?

Regards - Mike
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Old 26th Feb 2017, 6:10 pm   #5
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Default Re: Atlantic Telegraph Cable.

I've just read through the somewhat hair raising description of the Agamemnon's battle with the North Atlantic weather. Real "Boy's Own" ripping yarn stuff!
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Old 26th Feb 2017, 9:36 pm   #6
mark_in_manc
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Default Re: Atlantic Telegraph Cable.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pellseinydd View Post
I've got a short section of a submarine cable mentioned on that website - the 1859 cable laid between Hilbre Island off the western end of Cheshire and North Wales which replaced the Liverpool/Holyhead optical telegraph system in 1860. http://atlantic-cable.com//Article/Holyhead-Liverpool/
I have a mate who lives in one of the surviving semaphore houses from that optical system, on Anglesey near the Wylfa power station. It's on top of a hill (obviously) and called Craig-y-Gwynt, which might mean 'castle of the wind'. It's extremely breezy - bits blow off his barn regularly. No remnants of the tower etc remain - just a stone plaque identifying the house as part of the system. He showed me a copy of the code book once, which from memory may be a bunch of 4 digit codes which correspond to a great long list of random statements, one of which I seem to remember was 'I have plague on board'...
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Old 26th Feb 2017, 10:04 pm   #7
Dave Moll
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Default Re: Atlantic Telegraph Cable.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mark_in_manc View Post
... a bunch of 4 digit codes which correspond to a great long list of random statements...
If it's only four digits, the list can't be very long - with only sixteen distinct combinations!
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Old 26th Feb 2017, 10:21 pm   #8
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Default Re: Atlantic Telegraph Cable.

The semaphore telegraphs could indicate 9 distinct symbols plus "blank" and the positions were fixed, so allowing for 9 999 codes (0000 would be indistinguible from the idle condition).
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Old 27th Feb 2017, 9:30 am   #9
mark_in_manc
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Default Re: Atlantic Telegraph Cable.

I was going to be cheeky and suggest the system may have used 4 bit hex words - but getting back on-topic (phew) the atlantic cable website referred to above has a nice explanation of the coding system

http://atlantic-cable.com/Article/Holyhead-Liverpool/

- you have to read down a bit.

My mate's house looks just like the ones in the pictures, though it has been extended several times - they're an odd square plan, 4 equal square rooms, with a single square chimney up the middle and a distinctive kind of roof gable which you can make out in the pictures.
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Old 27th Feb 2017, 10:38 am   #10
lesmw0sec
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Default Re: Atlantic Telegraph Cable.

I live near Cable bay on Anglesey, where a cable once came ashore from Ireland. I have several times scoured the area in the hope of a find of some sort, but zilch. Even the old keeper's cottage has long gone, without even a trace of the footings.
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Old 27th Feb 2017, 5:41 pm   #11
mark_in_manc
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Default Re: Atlantic Telegraph Cable.

My mate's place is on a hill behind church bay, near LLanrhuddlad (sp?). If you study the pictures on the link and then go looking for it, you'll find it.
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Old 27th Feb 2017, 5:54 pm   #12
lesmw0sec
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Default Re: Atlantic Telegraph Cable.

I think you may be thinking of another place. Cable Bay is close to Rhosneigr - Chruch Bay is quite a way off.

Les.
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