wrote in message
...
On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 19:10:47 -0500, "Stefan Wolfe"
wrote:

From Media wires, solars flares could black out GPS in the next few. When
GPS is down, it will be Morse to the rescue for emergency communications
GPS going down will affect the ship's abilty to use Voice?

Voice is not good enough. It cannot punch through when all else fails. It
served us well for many years and can even get through during radio
blackouts. Here is the history (one-sided as it is):
"The invention of radio by Guglielmo Marconi and the use of Morse Code was a
significant development in saving lives at sea after an incident. However,
Morse telegraphy required many years of training and practice. If something
happened to the radio operator, it was unlikely that anyone else on board
would be able to use the telegraphy equipment. GMDSS equipment still
requires training - but systems can automatically send a ship's position,
speed and call sign when a distress button is pressed and advances in
technology mean normal voice communication can be used, for example to speak
to a rescue coordination centre.

Morse Code is therefore not a mandatory requirement under the GMDSS and many
Governments are phasing out Morse Code listening services, if they have not
already done so. "


whe GPS goes if it goes down the ships will be sailing more or less
blind

No, not really. They have the stars to navigate with, and hopefully a bug
and a ham on shore who can copy Morse should they get into trouble. Even you
would know how to send SOS if you had a key.