The Story of the First Ultra Modern Phone Cable Ship - AT&T Archives

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  • Опубліковано 3 січ 2025

КОМЕНТАРІ • 120

  • @radiofun232
    @radiofun232 5 років тому +24

    So good that AT&T has made so many documentary films in the past! They knew the importance of what they made and it is a great fun to watch all these films.

  • @bruceryba5740
    @bruceryba5740 10 місяців тому +4

    Had the pleasure and misery to do a lot of this same work on the Eastern Test Range in the 1980's, dirty, exciting, seasick, sunburned, not enough sleep, adventure, I still talk about. Worse was the cables covered in creosote and jute. The stuff dried and we worked in a cloud of dust that stung. An ocean squall off Grand Bahama broke the cable one time during splicing and we had to search for the end. Another time off Antigua a co worker was flipped on his head and we had to cut the new splice and run for shore for a doctor. Another time we got back to Cape Canaveral after repeater training and when we unloaded the davit used to load and unload those giant buoys, the davit was found to have only one bolt holding it together-three bolts sheared during rough water. On Ascension Island, we had to place those iron protectors on the cable in the surf zone and up to the building. Another time on Antigua, I was cutting the balloons from the cable we had just moved--my hand was on the rope to get a steady cut, and suddenly the rope broke and before I could let go, I was instantly drug to the surface, seeing sunlight and clouds and through my regulator said Hol%%%%% am I dead? And dove for the bottom and sat 30' underwater not sure what was going to happen. Another time on Ascension, I heard a pop in my ear while diving and tasted salt water wtf? Wow that adventure had some good and bad days.

    • @delvindoodles2182
      @delvindoodles2182 4 місяці тому

      I appreciate so much when people leave comments like this on UA-cam videos. Its just cool to me hearing from people who were there and their experience. On top of that I appreciate and thank your part in this project that is definitely a part of why why have all of this. Thanks again for sharing

    • @christiancompiles
      @christiancompiles 24 дні тому

      Wow! Thank you for sharing!

    • @absolutely1337
      @absolutely1337 22 дні тому

      broke myself falling down a couple decks on ship. marine engineer is an awful job. ended my career. can't walk now.

  • @robozstarrr8930
    @robozstarrr8930 3 роки тому +4

    ....man with the most important job in this entire documentary and made this all possible... is that young fella in the ship that walks around in a circle loading the cable on board!

  • @badcompany-w6s
    @badcompany-w6s Рік тому +4

    I remember when one of those cables washed on on Gilligan's Island. They used it to try to call for help. :)

  • @zelphx
    @zelphx 5 років тому +7

    I don't know why, but this old tech is fascinating... especially at the mid-point of this video.

    • @foureyedchick
      @foureyedchick 4 роки тому +2

      These old timers that designed all this high-tech stuff were not stupid!

  • @sbalogh53
    @sbalogh53 3 роки тому +3

    29:23 .... Little did they know how true and underestimated this statement would be.

    • @leonarddavies288
      @leonarddavies288 2 роки тому

      Hmm Ukraine flag 😳 virtue signalling are we?

    • @sbalogh53
      @sbalogh53 2 роки тому +1

      @@leonarddavies288 ... Hop back under your rock Leonard

    • @leonarddavies288
      @leonarddavies288 2 роки тому

      Ukraine is the most corrupt country in Europe by a country mile.. Run by the Azov nazis they've been killing ethnic Russians since 2014, whatever the MSM tell you then you know they are lying scum

  • @MattRiding
    @MattRiding Рік тому +2

    It was only one coax cable?! Quite amazing how they used valves in the repeaters, I didn't think they lasted all that long and required relatively frequent replacement.

  • @ut4321
    @ut4321 3 роки тому +1

    Fantastic achievement!

  • @Alprazolam
    @Alprazolam 12 років тому +31

    This was when the US was a booming economic juggernaut unparalleled in its innovation and craftsmanship. Now I feel as though we're not a powerful as we once were. We've peaked in economic testosterone like a middle aged man.

    • @Solocat1
      @Solocat1 5 років тому +8

      @Jeffery Amherst We just need the Democratics to get cancer.

    • @cloneNK1124
      @cloneNK1124 5 років тому +1

      You shouldn't wish that on anyone. Only wish Gods wisdom for all.

    • @dadillen5902
      @dadillen5902 5 років тому

      @Gilded Chamber I am, but that big black domino like thing still scares the hell out of me. What are you doing?

    • @Janet_scribbles
      @Janet_scribbles 4 роки тому

      Greed gave away our edge

    • @sonus289
      @sonus289 3 роки тому +1

      that's because our politicians don't have vision and are concerned with all the wrong things. Even business and civilians are concerned about all the wrong things..we can never be the way were then if ALOT of PEOPLE and goings on don't change FAST!

  • @Pisti846
    @Pisti846 8 років тому +11

    I wish they would leave the original Bell System/Western Electric opening intact.

  • @wezite1983
    @wezite1983 Рік тому +2

    7:37 Wait, so the guy walking around the centre core literally has to walk 3,000 miles! I'm guessing the other 3 guys who are sat there making sure the cable is in place, will at some point take it in turns. But still, that's 750 miles of walking each!

  • @hamsidoroff7056
    @hamsidoroff7056 4 роки тому +1

    So great job! So great project!

  • @anthonylappin6657
    @anthonylappin6657 6 місяців тому

    I love this guy.

  • @christiancompiles
    @christiancompiles 24 дні тому

    I grew up on Modern Marvels and How Its Made--I'll make sure this is what my children grow up on!

  • @deepbludude4697
    @deepbludude4697 10 місяців тому

    Very cool!

  • @MrXminus1
    @MrXminus1 Рік тому +1

    Who services and maintains and lays cables now that ATT is no more?

  • @NewsBroadcasting
    @NewsBroadcasting 4 роки тому +2

    18:25 the Japanese repeaters and equipment still work today

  • @tomharris8263
    @tomharris8263 5 років тому +4

    This is a huge project. Very interesting operation. Is this cable still in use?

    • @Leftplayer1
      @Leftplayer1 3 роки тому +2

      Probably not. It’s a copper cable and the Repeaters were using vacuum tubes.

  • @foureyedchick
    @foureyedchick 4 роки тому +1

    Excellent video! ☻ Very educational and entertaining as well! 👍

  • @brandonbarr2784
    @brandonbarr2784 2 роки тому +1

    They were probably the first boat crew that everyone got to call home every day

  • @spankyharland9845
    @spankyharland9845 Рік тому

    leave it up to Bell Lab AT&T to make cable laying fun and exciting....

  • @judd_s5643
    @judd_s5643 3 роки тому +1

    Does anyone know where I can find the names of the “officer” crew that served on board CS LONG Lines?

  • @RonJohn63
    @RonJohn63 9 років тому +10

    13:10 A "small" computer...

    • @zelphx
      @zelphx 5 років тому +1

      That got a chuckle from me, too :)

  • @jmd1743
    @jmd1743 2 роки тому

    So did AT&T name their long line network after a ship?

  • @RyanMcAndrews
    @RyanMcAndrews 12 років тому +1

    is there more information available from AT&t about how at&t determined that there was a demand for these undersea cables?

    • @VideoNOLA
      @VideoNOLA 5 років тому +5

      One of their earlier (1950s) news reels showed a graph of the exponential growth in telephony since 1905, to the point where line multiplexing became necessary. After WW2, long distance communications grow so rapidly that AT&T's line-of-sight microwave beaming became taxed, and they soon looked skyward (with Telstar 1) for sending messages and television signals around the globe via satellite. Coincidentally, with the invention of the maser/laser in 1957, optical methods quickly grew into being and copper lines replaced with fiber optics.

  • @mb4lunch
    @mb4lunch 5 років тому +3

    Funny how they had to lay all this cable after the triumph of Telstar and other satellites! And still to this day we use almost exclusively undersea cables!

    • @brianarbenz7206
      @brianarbenz7206 5 років тому

      The sharks can't eat Telstar! :)

    • @sleeptyper
      @sleeptyper 5 років тому +2

      Capacity and lag...

    • @Leftplayer1
      @Leftplayer1 3 роки тому

      @Paul Morley Starlink has entered the chat...

  • @tanello2
    @tanello2 3 роки тому

    i wunder how mutch did that US-Japan line cost and what was its lifespan ?

  • @seanjuth
    @seanjuth 4 роки тому +1

    From New Jersey to ice cream heaven

  • @georgeshadrick640
    @georgeshadrick640 5 років тому +1

    Very informative thank you for your video on your service

  • @cindytepper8878
    @cindytepper8878 5 років тому +2

    It's a bit more modern than The Great Eastern :O

  • @dshmechanic
    @dshmechanic 10 місяців тому

    They should have just named this ship the "C.S. DMV" and called it a day.

  • @MikeKoss
    @MikeKoss 3 роки тому +4

    The first trans-oceanic cable was laid in 1858, NOT 1956 as stated here!

  • @nandanm3826
    @nandanm3826 5 років тому

    Great.

  • @Tuvock1
    @Tuvock1 10 років тому +7

    Fiber optic cables uses light and therefore do not generate any kind of electric field.

    • @RonJohn63
      @RonJohn63 9 років тому +1

      +gobo760 Transmitting electricity 3,000 miles is pretty darned impressive!!
      (Or did they send some from North America and some from England+France? Even if so, transmitting it 1,000 to 1,500 miiles is still impressive.)

    • @tylersheehy3918
      @tylersheehy3918 5 років тому

      True but if you look in to fiber optic cable open it chold cause blindniss

    • @dadillen5902
      @dadillen5902 5 років тому +5

      @@tylersheehy3918 So can playing with yourself.😮😣😆

  • @wiedep
    @wiedep 12 років тому +4

    @ 21:24 the US flag is displayed incorrectly.

    • @rurome2151
      @rurome2151 5 років тому +1

      It’s possible the flags are displayed head to head, representative of the nations coming together on the project. Hard to tell, since the Japanese flag doesn’t appear to distinguish top/bottom. But of course it could be they’re all civilians and unaware of flag protocol.

    • @cedric-johnson4094
      @cedric-johnson4094 3 роки тому

      And no one cares.

  • @fredderf3207
    @fredderf3207 Рік тому

    When Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, he discovered he had missed three calls from Chuck Norris!

    • @dennismarshall6039
      @dennismarshall6039 5 місяців тому +1

      And 17 messages about the Extended Warranty on his home equipment.

  • @RonJohn63
    @RonJohn63 9 років тому +2

    4:22 Why is there are cable from Newfoundland to the northern tip of Scotland?

    • @ftldny
      @ftldny 7 років тому +9

      That is the shortest undersea route

    • @RonJohn63
      @RonJohn63 7 років тому

      FTL Ireland and Cornwall look much closer on this map.
      upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f8/Ocean_dumping_of_radioactive_waste_in_Atlantic_Ocean.png/800px-Ocean_dumping_of_radioactive_waste_in_Atlantic_Ocean.png

    • @ftldny
      @ftldny 3 роки тому +1

      @@RonJohn63 Try looking at the routes on a globe.

  • @BTOverserved
    @BTOverserved 4 роки тому +1

    22:59 They don't grow tomatoes like that anymore.

  • @kf5wt
    @kf5wt 6 років тому +3

    I wonder how many phone conversations each cable could carry at once.

    • @VideoNOLA
      @VideoNOLA 5 років тому +3

      The cable carried 35 simultaneous calls, and 22 telegraph lines (squeezed into a 36th voice line).

    • @ComradePoop
      @ComradePoop Рік тому +1

      ​​@@VideoNOLAseems like a good capacity for when it was $50 a min

  • @billyfulks5587
    @billyfulks5587 5 років тому +3

    The host at the beginning yells and has a lisp.

    • @ggallintribute7142
      @ggallintribute7142 5 років тому +2

      He's so annoying

    • @stanpatterson5033
      @stanpatterson5033 5 років тому +2

      Really glad we didn't hear any more from him after the introduction.

    • @peterweatherley7669
      @peterweatherley7669 4 роки тому +1

      Folks, show respect. Despite the voice, he’s the curator of this collection. We wouldn’t have the opportunity to enjoy all this without his efforts

  • @Cashpots
    @Cashpots 8 років тому +2

    Others may be able to listen to your nasal drawl, personally I think you got the job because you owned the company!

  • @TheEmpowerment1
    @TheEmpowerment1 4 місяці тому

    @7:34 What in tf is going on in this ship

  • @BajaTym
    @BajaTym 10 місяців тому

    Interesting, it appears that the officers on board are US Navy personnel. Hmm.

  • @towedarray7217
    @towedarray7217 6 років тому +1

    Are the 500lb 'repeaters' (voice amplifiers) nuclear-reactor powered? Hard to imagine they'd be passive and I can't imagined what other power could they use at the sea bottom. Reminds me of the magnetic induction tap that the US used during operation Ivy Bells.

    • @bobweiss8682
      @bobweiss8682 6 років тому +16

      The power source was a high DC voltage (~5000 volts) fed into the cable from the shore stations. The telephone signals were superimposed onto this voltage, and separated by the use of blocking capacitors and filters at each end. Inside each repeater, various networks were used to derive filament and plate voltages for the amplifying tubes, which needed considerably less than 5000V to operate. The high voltage was needed to ensure sufficient power along the entire length of the run.

    • @davidjames666
      @davidjames666 5 років тому +1

      Bob Weiss your explanation is nothing more than science fiction. I think the repeaters are nuclear powered as that solution makes sense

    • @VideoNOLA
      @VideoNOLA 5 років тому +3

      @@bobweiss8682 What's more, the comparatively recent invention (by AT&T scientists) of the transistor allowed for efficient and compact signal amplification that earlier would have required bulky, hot vacuum tubes, hardly suited to undersea deployment. Funny how so many factors (plastics, shielding, multiplexing, coaxial cables, peace time, etc.) arose in rapid succession to make this entire process possible as well as economically viable.

    • @bobweiss8682
      @bobweiss8682 5 років тому +5

      You can read the Bell System Technical Journal article for yourself. No mention of a miniaturized reactor for power...
      www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Bell-System-Technical-Journal/60s/Bell-System-Technical-Journal-1964-4-Complete.pdf

    • @Solocat1
      @Solocat1 5 років тому +6

      @@davidjames666 What? You sound like a confused troll. Hmm.

  • @bobcole612
    @bobcole612 3 роки тому

    Residential fiber to the prem drops also emit a high frequency tone that can drive dogs crazy. Dogs will dig up these drops on occasion.

  • @GmanMilli
    @GmanMilli 4 роки тому

    12:00 Pre-GPS era?

    • @peterweatherley7669
      @peterweatherley7669 4 роки тому +3

      A couple of things here: 1) GPS’ first launch came a good fifteen years or so after this was recorded and 2) ships have been navigating by the sun and Pole star for centuries. The device that sailor is holding is what’s known as a sextant

  • @absolutely1337
    @absolutely1337 22 дні тому

    jfc no wonder if costs to phone more than 25km up the road. so much resources for these cables. all rotting on the sea floor.

  • @rogerheathcote3062
    @rogerheathcote3062 7 років тому +1

    Erm first transoceanic cable was 1858 surely? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transatlantic_telegraph_cable

    • @peterweatherley7669
      @peterweatherley7669 4 роки тому +3

      Telegraph, not telephone

    • @rogerheathcote3062
      @rogerheathcote3062 4 роки тому

      @@peterweatherley7669 You and I know that Peter, but our host doesn't make the distinction and I think they probably ought to. I know I was pretty shocked when I found out we had transatlantic cable laying ships 20 years before the invention of the internal combustion engine.

  • @billp4
    @billp4 5 років тому

    This was pretty good but they should have hit a gong a couple of times when they were in Japan.

  • @JohnSmith-mz3ny
    @JohnSmith-mz3ny 5 років тому +1

    Notice the magenta colour, no green, eastman kodak....ha ha.

    • @funnyyylock
      @funnyyylock 5 років тому

      Is that a type of camera? Interesting

    • @JohnSmith-mz3ny
      @JohnSmith-mz3ny 5 років тому +3

      @@funnyyylock it's a film process that disintegrates with age, and finally becomes opaque, many classics are lost by this process, unlike technicolor.

  • @irgski
    @irgski 5 років тому +1

    fiber optic cable does not emit any kind of signal that would “drive sharks wild”.

    • @laurencepollen1456
      @laurencepollen1456 5 років тому +3

      the electric current for the repeaters does

    • @dadillen5902
      @dadillen5902 5 років тому

      Is that the latest girls go wild DVD, sharks gone wild?

    • @Leftplayer1
      @Leftplayer1 3 роки тому

      This wasn’t fiber optic, it was coaxial. All electrons

  • @johneygd
    @johneygd 8 років тому +3

    While those cables were put into the ocean for worl wide telephone communication, but thanks today's smart compression technics,it is and can be now also used for internet,digital tv & digital radio,if they dit not had invented such smart compression technic, they had to start all over again for layed down cables under the ocean flour!!!

    • @rampagerick
      @rampagerick 5 років тому +3

      TPC-1 only had 384kHz bandwidth in each direction. That's about 1/4 of a 1.5Mbps T1 line, or about 7 dial-up modems.
      They essentially did start over and lay new lines. All of the original cables were abandoned and only 4-5th gen cables and newer are used for modern communications.

  • @jasonrohrssen3394
    @jasonrohrssen3394 Рік тому

    Who tf picked this narrator. Social programming much???

  • @goldenboy5500
    @goldenboy5500 5 років тому

    all obsolete now

    • @cloneNK1124
      @cloneNK1124 5 років тому

      Just like 4G will be very soon.

    • @user2C47
      @user2C47 4 роки тому +1

      @@cloneNK1124 This is unlikely to happen in rural areas due to the limited range of 5G.

  • @patton303
    @patton303 3 роки тому

    18:34: Cue racist Asian music.