A radio set alone did not create a dependable distress system. The system also needed working equipment, backups, trained people, compatible messages, and receiving ships. Titanic's two Marconi operators were skilled telegraphists placed in an extraordinary emergency role, with the whole transfer plan depending on their call for help. During the 1982 Falklands War, instructions sometimes had to be lowered from helicopters on a line because ship radios were absent or inadequate. The nearby vessels that could hear Titanic and respond were fortunate circumstances, not a safety guarantee that the system had created.
Chapter · 35:10-39:05
Radio capability needs redundancy and trained operators
Titanic's advanced radio room was still a fragile emergency link because it depended on limited staff, equipment, and uneven standards.