banner banner Labrador Racons
A foghorn or fog signal is a device that uses sound to warn mariners of navigational hazards such as rocky coast, rock outcrops, shoals, headlands, or other dangers to shipping in foggy conditions. Audible fog signals have been used in one form or another for hundreds of years, initially simply bells or gongs struck manually. The first automated steam-powered foghorn was invented by Robert Foulis, a Scotsman who emigrated to Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. Foulis is said to have heard his daughter playing the piano in the distance on a foggy night, and noticed the low notes were more audible than the higher notes: he then designed a device to produce a low-frequency sound, as well as a code system for use with it. From the early 20th century an improved device called the diaphone, became the standard foghorn apparatus for new installations. They were powered by compressed air and could emit extremely powerful low-frequency notes. Labrador Racons