Code 21 : Morse Code

Morse code is a method for transmitting information, using standardized sequences of short and long marks or pulses - commonly known as "dots" and "dashes" - for the letters, numerals, punctuation and special characters of a message.
Originally created for Samuel Morse's electric telegraph in the mid-1830s, it was also extensively used for early radio communication beginning in the 1890s. However, with the development of more advanced communications technologies, the widespread use of Morse code is now largely obsolete.
When using morse code, a dash is equal to three dots. A space between parts of the same letter is equal to one dot. A space between two letters is equal to three dots and a space between two words is equal to five dots.

 Morse Code Tip #1: Slow and Steady Wins the Race
You can listen and watch all of the Morse Code letters here in this video:

Begin to learn Morse Code by starting out with the easiest and simplest letters in the alphabet.

Some of the easiest letters are:

    E (. or dit)
    T (- or dah)
    M (– 0r dah dah)
    I (.. or dit dit)

These Morse Code letters are the only letters in Morse Code that use one or two dits and dahs and do not combine the dits and dahs.

From there, the next easiest step is to move onto the simple dit and dah combinations, those using only 2 or 3 dits and dahs.

Here are the next Morse Code letters to learn:

    A (.- or dit dah)
    D (-.. or dah dit dit)
    G (–. or dah dah dit)
    (H) (…. or dit dit dit dit)
    K (-.- or dah dit dah)
    N (-. or dah dit)
    O (dah dah dah)
    R (.-. or dit dah dit)
    S (… or dit dit dit dit)
    U (..- or dit dit dah)
    W (.– or dit dah dah)

Finally, ending with the more difficult letters like “C”, “L”, “Q”, and “X”, that combine 4 dits and dahs in no particular “order”.

Here are the more difficult Morse Code letters:

    B (-… or dah dit dit dit)
    C (-.-. or dah dit dah dit)
    J (.— or dit dah dah dah)
    L (.-.. or dit dah dit dit)
    F (..-. or dit dit dah dit)
    Q (–.- or dah dah dit dah)
    P (.–. dit dah dah dit)
    V (…- or dit dit dit dah)
    X (-..- or dah dit dit dah)
    Y (-.– or dah dit dah dah)
    Z (–.. or dah dah dit dit)

Morse Code Tip #2: If at all possible, try to avoid visualization.
The reason that we recommend you learn Morse Code without visualizing is simple – if you learn Morse Code visually, your brain will have the following steps in order to translate the Morse Code you’re listening to:

    Your ears hear the code
    Your mind says, “Hey, that’s Morse Code!”
    Your brain tries to bring up an IMAGE of the Morse Code letter or number you’ve heard
    Your brain tries to match the IMAGE to the SOUND
    Finally, you decide on a sound, or you miss the letter, and try to go on to the next letter

That’s how a typical brain works when trying to learn Morse Code visually – trust me, I know. I learned Morse Code via memorization from an Encyclopedia, and it will forever affect the way I hear and interpret Morse Code.
However, for people who are visual learners, learning visually may be the only way you learn.
If that’s the case, print out or( hand write) a copy of the Morse Code alphabet with each letter written out alongside its roman alphabet counterpart. Then, grab a notebook and copy each letter multiple times each day.
Even though many people think of Morse Code as a primarily audible language as it is most commonly used over the radio, don’t forget that it is also a visual language with its own written alphabet. Being able to visualize the letters as someone tries to learn Morse Code may be able to help speed up the learning process.
Here’s a great image to help if you are a visual learner:
- See more at: http://www.learnmorsecode.info

 Morse Code Tip #3: Listen to Morse Code as often as you can.

Thanks to modern technology, you can find recordings of Morse Code just about anywhere – and you can find versions that are played back slower than what would be considered “normal” conversation.

Take advantage of these options to listen to More Code and use these recordings and videos as tools to test your learning progress.

This is especially important for learning the timing and spacing between letters and between words, as well as being able to instantly and effortlessly tell the difference between a dit and dah length of time.

Morse Code Tip #4: Use Your Own Voice!

Like most languages, Morse Code is both a written and auditory language. To prepare for listening to and translating dits and dahs, many people find it helpful to use their own voices to sound out letters and sentences as they practice.

Another way of incorporating the learners voice is to translate a short story, children’s book, or paragraph while recording. This is a great way of creating a simple test that can be “graded” without any outside assistance later.

Morse Code Tip #5: Have Fun!

As with learning anything, the more personal, entertaining, and a part of everyday life the new skill becomes, the quicker it is learned and the better it “sticks”. This can easily be applied to Morse Code. Emails, texting, grocery lists, notes to loved ones, and journaling are all great options for incorporating Morse Code into everyday life for a little bit of fun practicing as well as getting others around you interested in a new hobby as well!

 Morse Code History  

In 1836, Samuel Morse demonstrated the ability of a telegraph system to transmit information over wires. The information was sent as a series of electrical signals. Short signals are referred to as dits (represented as dots). Long signals are referred to as dahs (represented as dashes). With the advent of radio communications, an international version of Morse code became widely used.
 The most well-known usage of Morse code is for sending the distress signal: SOS. The SOS signal is sent as:

Morse code relies on precise intervals of time between dits and dahs, between letters, and between words. Here's a chart that shows these relationships:

 
words. Here's a chart that shows these relationships:

dit	1 unit of time
dah	3 units of time		Click Here To Use A Morse Code Tranlator
pause between letters	3 units of time
pause between words	7 units of time

The speed of transmitting Morse code is measured in WPM (words per minute). The word "Paris" is used as the standard length of a word. To transmit the word "Paris" requires 50 units of time. If you transmitted the word "Paris" 5 times, you would be transmitting at 5 WPM. An experienced Morse code operator can transmit and receive information at 20-30 WPM.

Samuel Morse
Samuel Finley Breese Morse, (1791-1872), was a famous American inventor and painter. Morse graduated from Yale in 1810 and went on to study painting in England. In 1815, he took up portrait painting and was quite successful in this field. Morse helped to found the National Academy of Design and served as its first president.

In 1827, Morse became interested in electricity. In 1832, he began a 12-year period perfecting his version of an electric telegraph, for which he subsequently received the first patent for this type of device.

Samuel F. B. Morse (1791 - 1872)

In 1844, Morse demonstrated to Congress the practicality of the telegraph by transmitting the famous message "What hath God wrought" over a wire from Washington to Baltimore. He later experimented with submarine cable telegraphy.

Samuel  Morse Telegraph Receiver
Used to receive the message, "What hath God wrought"
during the demonstration to Congress in 1844.
Smithsonian National Museum of American History

Electric Telegraph

The telegraph was the first device to send messages using electricity. Telegraph messages were sent by tapping out a special code for each letter of the message with a telegraph key. The telegraph changed the dots and dashes of this code into electrical impulses and transmitted them over telegraph wires. A telegraph receiver on the other end of the wire converted the electrical impulses to dots and dashes on a paper tape. Later, this code became universal and is now known as Morse Code.

Telegraph Key Set Before electric telegraphy, most messages that traveled long distances were entrusted to messengers who memorized them or carried them in writing. These messages could be delivered no faster than the fastest horse.In the United States, the Morse telegraph was successful for a number of reasons, including its simple operation and its relatively low cost. By 1851, the country had over 50 telegraph companies though most telegraph business was controlled by the Magnetic Telegraph Company, which held the Morse patents.

Source : http://www.learnmorsecode.info/,  http://www.braingle.com, http://www.wrvmuseum.org