UKC

Myself and my two daughters (14 and 16) decided to learn Morse code yesterday just for the hell of it. In just one day we have learnt all 26 letters and the 10 numbers.

I'm pretty impressed how easy it was to learn and now we can send each other secret messages and signal for help if we get stuck down a well..

Do many people have this skill still or is it dead in the water?

In reply to WaterMonkey:

.-- .... .- - .- .-- .- ... - . --- ..-. - .. -- . .-.-.-

Required text

In reply to WaterMonkey:

Many people listen to Morse code without even realising it - usually whenever a text message arrives.

...--... = SMS

In reply to John Andrew-Andrew John:

Good to see you back John but baffled by why you consider Morse very important.
jk

In reply to Greasy Prusiks:



--. --- --- -.. / ..-. ..- -. / - .... --- ..- --. ....

required text

In reply to LastBoyScout:



I never knew that!

In reply to WaterMonkey:

- .-. ..- . .-.-.-

Required text

In reply to WaterMonkey:
Well done.
What speeds are you sending/receiving at?

In reply to jkarran:


Have you seen the murder rate in Oxford? Without him the unresolved crimes would be skyhigh.

In reply to KevinD:


There's a message in the the title music in Morse.

In reply to baron:



hahaha very slowly and just reading/ writing it at the moment!

In reply to Greasy Prusiks:



What is the .-.-.- at the end?

In reply to WaterMonkey:

It was meant to say "True." but I'm not very good at morse code!

In reply to John Andrew-Andrew John:

International distress signal for that. No point starting huge messages with aircrew who have more important stuff to worry about. As long as they can locate you. Then they will do the rest, that's their job. Plus I don't think Civvie Pilots have been required to know Morse code for some time, if at all. military pilots used to have to, but I think it might have been binned for some time now. I would imagine it's most useful in the nautical side of things, I am sure it's required by the Royal Navy in certain trades and ranks to learn it.

But it's an interesting skill to have, I used to know it but think I have forgotten most of it. Might brush up on it.

In reply to Greasy Prusiks:


It did say "true" but at the end you put .-.-.- you also put it at the end of your "What a waste of time" message!
I saw it yesterday too so was wondering if it was an exclamation mark or something?

In reply to Bootrock:


The idents for aeronautical nav aids(VOR, NDB, ILS) are presumably still transmitted in Morse so a knowledge would still be required surely.

In reply to John Andrew-Andrew John:


Very true, 2 is 1 and 1 is none and all that.

In reply to FesteringSore:


Good point! I didn't think of that. I was only thinking of Morse as a way to communicate with people. One of my best mates is a pilot, I might drop him a message.

In reply to WaterMonkey:

I thought it was a full stop? Might be mistaken it's been a while.

In reply to WaterMonkey:

There's now a Geordie version know as Lewis code - but it's nowhere near as good.

In reply to FesteringSore:

The morse code is written on the approach procedure or nav chart next to the beacon ident details so no one really learns morse anymore.

In reply to Hugh J:


I will endeavour to master it.

In reply to Phil4000:
Yes, morse code still reqd for commercial pilots. Yes it's displayed on the chart but it's not very practical to use that all the time, especially whilst doing something else, in the dark etc etc

In reply to WaterMonkey:

What about Braille, you could learn that too, but it might take you more than a day ?

In reply to WaterMonkey:

There's a scene in an Iain Banks novel, the Crow Road I think but could be wrong, where a couple use it to communicate words not yet ready to be spoken - ... .--. . .-.. .-.. .. -. --. / .. / .-.. --- ...- . / -.-- --- ..- / ...- .. .- / .--. --- ... - / ... . -..- / -.-. .-.. . -. -.-. .... .. -. --.

In reply to WaterMonkey:
AAA means full stop.

Morse was the original Texting, going back to the 19th century


did your source tell you how to pronounce it as dit and dahs? Good way of picking up the rhythm of the sounds

In reply to WaterMonkey:

We used to have to transmit and receive at 26 words per minute by Aldis Lamp when I was a Nav cadet.
dot dot dot, dot dot dot dot, dot dot, da.
It was shit

In reply to johnjohn:


Spelling I love you via post sex clenching??

In reply to birdie num num:

I'm afraid your memory is poor. Maximum possible speed by light is 14wpm!

In reply to Dave Perry:

You're undoubtedly right. We used to have a bunfight in signals classes. But we passed! It was a long time ago

In reply to WaterMonkey:
-.-. --.-

My recollection is that Morse Code fell from use in marine wireless telegraphy in February 1999, to be replaced by Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) as directed by IMO Convention. However, listening stations across the world had been closing down all through the 1990s.

The wireless telegraphy distress frequency was 500kHz. Only the simplest classes of emission were permitted with 10kHz of the distress frequency and all vessels were required to be able to receive the simplest A2A class that is essentially just on and off keying of a modulated tone that can be heard on any AM receiver. Some lifeboat radios also transmitted on 8364kHz so that airliners could pick them up although for years there had been confusion between the maritime and aeronautical users about that.


(If my mobile phone rings in a crowded room you can spot the old morse guys twitching as CQCQ rings out across the room!)

In reply to WaterMonkey:

Morse code is still widely used by radio amateurs - I am one !! I was also a radio operator in the RN.

Elsewhere its use commercially was discontinued in 1999 as mentioned by Jim Frazer.

You have done really well! I hear many amateurs who struggle to learn /memorise the alphabet, let alone ever send/receive it properly. The secret is plenty of practise of course.

Good luck!

In reply to FesteringSore:


The morse code is shown visually as dots and dashes on VFR charts at least, no interpretation required.
jk