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Fidd · 04-01-25, 07:06 AM

203. Better attenuation in radio and hydrophone rooms with doors shut, and microphone switches and lamps for "voice tubes" to tower.

I've had a few goes on the hydrophones, and have noticed that the chatter from voices in the control room is relatively loud relative to the hydrophone sounds, and if the sound is carried via the tower "electric voice-tube" to radio/hydrophone compartment is particularly loud. I think it very likely that in order to use those electric voice tubes, a mic button had to be used at both ends of the line. Similar to the way the telephones operate. This would remove a lot of the passively heard sounds, giving the radio and hydrophone operators a quieter working environment. I think it's also likely that there was some form of signalling lamp that could be employed to tell the radioman/hydrophone operator that the tower is trying to contact them, before two way speech is conducted.

Such an arrangement would enable either role to be less distracted by speech in the tower and control room, when using morse or simple radio, when decrypting or encrypting signals on Enigma, or whilst taking hydrophone readings. With the doors open, speech would be possible with both the control room and tower. Another wrinkle could be use of the head-phones to suppress exterior noises, including voice tubes, with the additional ability to put the output of the hydrophones onto electric speakers in the tower and control room?

Another way of doing this, would be for the hydrophone operator when he puts on his headset, to suppress exterior sounds, and when he doesn't have his head-set on, then, as now, he hears a mixture of hydrophone sound, and the out-put of the hydrophone is played, at a volume audible in radio compartments, control-room and tower, from the speaker above the helm position, and, (if fitted) a speaker in the tower? This would allow most of the control room to hear the hydrophone, but also permit the hydrophone operator to better listen to noises untroubled by chatter in the control room. It might also serve, when the hydrophone is on, to suppress non-essential chatter in the control room, which would add a little immersion.

04-01-25, 07:06 AM	#258
Fidd Captain Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Blighty! Posts: 542 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	203. Better attenuation in radio and hydrophone rooms with doors shut, and microphone switches and lamps for "voice tubes" to tower. I've had a few goes on the hydrophones, and have noticed that the chatter from voices in the control room is relatively loud relative to the hydrophone sounds, and if the sound is carried via the tower "electric voice-tube" to radio/hydrophone compartment is particularly loud. I think it very likely that in order to use those electric voice tubes, a mic button had to be used at both ends of the line. Similar to the way the telephones operate. This would remove a lot of the passively heard sounds, giving the radio and hydrophone operators a quieter working environment. I think it's also likely that there was some form of signalling lamp that could be employed to tell the radioman/hydrophone operator that the tower is trying to contact them, before two way speech is conducted. Such an arrangement would enable either role to be less distracted by speech in the tower and control room, when using morse or simple radio, when decrypting or encrypting signals on Enigma, or whilst taking hydrophone readings. With the doors open, speech would be possible with both the control room and tower. Another wrinkle could be use of the head-phones to suppress exterior noises, including voice tubes, with the additional ability to put the output of the hydrophones onto electric speakers in the tower and control room? Another way of doing this, would be for the hydrophone operator when he puts on his headset, to suppress exterior sounds, and when he doesn't have his head-set on, then, as now, he hears a mixture of hydrophone sound, and the out-put of the hydrophone is played, at a volume audible in radio compartments, control-room and tower, from the speaker above the helm position, and, (if fitted) a speaker in the tower? This would allow most of the control room to hear the hydrophone, but also permit the hydrophone operator to better listen to noises untroubled by chatter in the control room. It might also serve, when the hydrophone is on, to suppress non-essential chatter in the control room, which would add a little immersion. Last edited by Fidd; 04-05-25 at 11:46 AM. Reason: Addition of paragraph 3.