Question on Titanic's Marconi radio

[DiscJocularity]

Could regular home shortwave radios in Atlantic Canada and Northeast USA have picked up Titanic's radio transmissions from its departure from Southampton to its location after hitting the iceberg? Was their range transatlantic? I am curious because their transmitter was the length of the ship. I know their signal was received at the the Marconi station in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. Does anyone know how powerful their transmitter was and what frequencies they used to get such long range? Also did day and night affect their range?

 

[KeithE4]

Could regular home shortwave radios in Atlantic Canada and Northeast USA have picked up Titanic's radio transmissions from its departure from Southampton to its location after hitting the iceberg? Was their range transatlantic? I am curious because their transmitter was the length of the ship. I know their signal was received at the the Marconi station in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. Does anyone know how powerful their transmitter was and what frequencies they used to get such long range? Also did day and night affect their range?

There was no such thing as "shortwave" in 1912. Shortwave as we know it today was developed by hams after World War I. They were given "200 meters and down," or frequencies above 1500 kHz, but it took many years to discover their benefits.

Everything in the early days was 300 meters (as 1000 kHz was called) and up, and was measured in terms of wavelength. The Titanic operated on 600 meters (500 kHz), but could switch to 300 meters. It ran 5000 watts, and its callsign was MGY. The antenna was the length of the ship because that is how the spark transmitter was tuned to that frequency.

The history of amateur radio

(Despite the title, this is an article about the Titanic.)

 

[CTListener]

There was no such thing as "shortwave" in 1912.

Nor, I'd imagine, were there any sort of "regular home radios," there being no broadcasting of voice or music.