Good points, Doug. I would tend to agree that two people who were not qualified, experienced Morse code operators, using equipment for an unintended use, more than likely transmitted God knows what, and the transmissions should not be accepted at their apparent face value.
Toss in the "Oh my God we're gonna' die if I don't do this right" factor, and it's not surprising to me that the messages didn't make much sense. Heck, I have a hard time doing parts of my job if I'm tired or sick or something else, and that's in the climate-controlled environment of a quiet office.
LTM, who finds dry paint really interesting right now,
Monty Fowler, TIGHAR No. 2189 CER