Radio History: Signal Corps 1860-1976 Communications Technology, Radar, Electronics Training

Today we explore a bit of Communications Technology: 1976 film “Get the Message Through" the Story of the Signal Corps. A film and pictorial history of the origin and contributions of the Army Signal Corps. The Signal Corps has long been a leader in communications technologies from early days of wireless, radio, telecommunications, cryptology and early computing. This educational film covers some of the early highlights and including contributions by both women and men, covering the 1860 to 1976 period.
Historical material includes machines, electronics, vehicles, military combat, telecommunications, telephone switchboards, telegraph units, early radio and more modern advancements (to the 1970's).
Color and black & white, runtime: 20 mins.
For More Information:
Keeping the Lines Open: The United States Army Signal Corps
www.armyherita...
Signal Soldiers Impact Mission Success
www.army.mil/a...
National Archives - Records
www.archives.g...

[@0neIntangible]

A very well put together historical documentary of the signal corp, with unbelievable rare footage of the events as they unfold. Bravo !

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

Hi Loupy, thank you for the kind words. We were lucky to find this vintage film and happy to share it. I am sure it just touches the surface of what the Signal Corps has done for the past 160 years. ~ Victor, CHAP

[@wrightmf]

When Galvin (Motorola) Corp introduced a 2-way radio small enough to be handheld in WW2, it was called the Handie-Talkiem (tm). Soldiers referred to the larger radios in backpack style "breakie backies."

[@sethlopato4702]

My grandfather was a civilian engineer for the signal corp at ft Monmouth he worked on project Diana when they bounced the radio waves off the moon

[@thequickbrownfox7289]

Thank you for posting this. Even though this was more of an over view than I was hoping for, it was still nice to watch. The footage of Ft. Gordon at the end brought back many memories, Signal Towers on the left and Barton Field in the center esp. so. One of the 3 story barracks in the foreground may well have been my home (A-2-2) for my AIT training (32G - Fixed Cryptographic Equipment Repairer). I spent more time there than I care to remember through the years. One note about the comments at the end. I am afraid the Signal Corps has fallen well behind civilian communications technologies. Whether or not that was true at the time this film was made I don't know, but I suspect not. When I went through starting in 1979 we were still training to maintain equipment that used magnetic cores for memory. Magnetic cores were first widely used in 1955. That equipment was still being used well into the 80's.

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

Hi William, thank you very much for your comments and sharing the info about your experiences. It sounds like you have some great first hand knowledge of some of this tech. There are probably films out there that go into much greater depth regarding Signal Corps work, and I hope to find some suitable for posting here also. Your comments about the Corps falling behind civilian tech sound plausible, based on my experience with both civilian and gov't tech work I have done in the past. Sometimes private sector tech moves ahead so darn fast it is hard to keep up too. Still, I'd like to learn more about what the Corps is doing today. I suspect much of it would not be public knowledge. ~ Thanks again! ~ Victor, at CHAP

[@jerryhuisman7716]

Hey! what about Fort Monmouth New Jersey 1968 1969 I was the first classes of pulse code modulation. Binary logic. I went to vietnam and worked on tropo.

[@russg1999]

Hey man, would love to hear about your experience working Tropo in Vietnam

[@interrogateme]

Thank you for the content, very interesting

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

Hi Jonathan, thank you. Glad you enjoyed it. : )

[@prabhakarv4193]

Very nice

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

Thank you for your feecback!

[@afnDavid]

Interesting that they included footage of WW2 Japan zero planes taking off, and German Panzers

[@shericontrary2535]

why is there music at the same time as narration?

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

Hi @shericontrary2535, that is actually the way the film was made, back in 1976.

[@ukpunk1]

31M & 31D (1988-94 ) Signal Corps - D Co. 442nd Signal Bn/Ft Gordon, Georgia, USA and B Co 8th Signal Bn, Bad Kreuznach, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany.

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

Twelve Gates, sounds like a good time to be involved. Wasn't that during the time of the wall coming down too?

[@franzkoviakalak6981]

What is the title of the intro music, please? It's beautiful and strange and I'd absolutely love to hear the rest. Thank you.

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

Glad you liked it. The music clip is called "On the Island" by Godmode, from KZbin audio files (slightly speed-ed up).

[@franzkoviakalak6981]

@@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject thank you! It suits the film very well, and though I'm still a fan, I have to admit I was more enamored with if believing it was simply very far ahead of it's time as part of the original score.

[@jmd1743]

The Signal of Canada.

[@frankowalker4662]

Great documentary. Typical though, as soon as you set up the telegraph, some bozo in a tank rips up the wires. LOL.