Posted by Ed Kiser on June 23, 2004 at 02:24:27 from 149.174.164.6 user Kisered.
In Reply to: Re: Signals-the TAPTAP for DASH posted by A on June 22, 2004 at 20:58:17:
Of course the telegram was instrumental in getting things started in SA, and it put a kink in the plans at the beginning of PM. I did include the telegram in my list of communication methods; it is the very last, listed along with the telephone.
The GLARING omission is the POST (mail), serving to bring the GA's bad news letter to Nancy in PM, and for the postcard when on voyage in CC as a kind of "wish you were here" which alarmed the adults who thought the twins were with the others. There were other posts as well, so this method should have been included.
That Woolworth plate is still a remarkable "make do with what you've got" kind of adaptation. Too bad they did not also have a green plate and another torch to shine through that one as well.
The misunderstood signal certainly was needed to make the plot go, as in WH, the flag at Beckfoot had two meanings. What was not followed through on was that the rockets in SW might have been misunderstood by the authorities, as being possibly a distress signal from a ship at sea, as all they see is the sudden display high in the sky, with not much indication as to where it came from. That could have caused some serious problem if the life-saving services had been called out to investigatge.
One very unusual message was a KEY in a tobacco Tin, with the label "FRAM" tied to it. It seems that Nancy is very deliberate in making the meaning of her messages a bit obscure, yet with the hope that her friends will have the moxie to figure out her meaning, yet not be interpreted by the natives that handle the message during its delivery. This hidden meaning did make the receiving group have to do some serious puzzle solving to make out the intended meaning, but that just adds to the drama of the situation.
One of the problems with signaling over a distance is that a sender is not necessarily really talking to anyone. It takes some planning and coordination to be sure a sender and a receiver are properly in position at the proper time to make things happen. When the D's were in the North Pole, they just blindly sent "N P" out into the night, in the hope that somebody would see and understand, but with no real knowledge that such communication had been made. It really was a stroke of luck that Nancy just happened to be out for an exercise stroll and happened to look to the north to see that flashing light.
In my flashing Morse to my friend from my bedroom window while properly I was asleep, there were those times that the tedious signalling over and over again remained unseen, perhaps because he had fallen asleep and did not receive my signal. On the other hand, it was such a delight to be lying there in the bed, and to suddenly notice a faint flicker on my wall to cause me to climb out and leap to the window to verify that it was my good buddy patiently signaling over and over again, hoping I would respond. How great was the joy when I returned his signal. We had connected. Such a satisfaction that success brought to us both.
The "Dancing Men" concept was used by Doyle in the Sherlock Holmes series.
Ed Kiser, South Florida