# Does anyone know Morse Code anymore ??



## Derek Roger

It ocurred to me that there is probably no need for Deck Officers to know the Code anymore ?? I wonder if its still in the tickets as a subject ??

When we lived in Tayport Scotland my late father Charles Braid Roger who had been apprentice and 3rd Mate with Brocks between the wars used to drive his car down to the commons and use his headlights to signal " which ship etc " and always when I was with him he would get an Aldis reply . 

Usually he did it when it was a Brock Ship and would ask for Master etc etc and finish off with a 
" Bon Voyage "

As a youngster I was most impressed !

I also recall him telling me that on a couple of occasions when his ship was leaving Dundee his mother ( My Grannie ) would stand on the front lawn of their Tayport house and wave bedsheets untill the got a " Whistle " acknowlegment and some Aldis "banter " which their neighbor ( A Captain Williamson ) would traslate for the ladies .
Derek


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## K urgess

I think morse can now be considered a dead language.(Sad) 

I wonder if they even consider it worth learning in the Boy Scouts.

Contact by aldis lamp at sea wasn't all that common by the time I left in '77. Mostly the VHF was on all the time and "what ship, where bound" could be accomplished without plugging in the lamp.

I've been working on an old Sony CRF-160 receiver today (as one does) and could find no sources of morse code anywhere on short wave. The receiver doesn't have coverage for the old marine, ham or military bands but you used to be able to hear a bit of breakthrough. Not a sausage.

Morse is dead, long live the internet.


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## mikeg

Marconi Sahib said:


> I think morse can now be considered a dead language.(Sad)
> 
> I wonder if they even consider it worth learning in the Boy Scouts.
> 
> Contact by aldis lamp at sea wasn't all that common by the time I left in '77. Mostly the VHF was on all the time and "what ship, where bound" could be accomplished without plugging in the lamp.
> 
> I've been working on an old Sony CRF-160 receiver today (as one does) and could find no sources of morse code anywhere on short wave. The receiver doesn't have coverage for the old marine, ham or military bands but you used to be able to hear a bit of breakthrough. Not a sausage.
> 
> Morse is dead, long live the internet.


Isn't morse still knocking (tappin') about in aviation circles anymore? What about NDB, DME, VOR, ILS identifier?
(See folk rushing to google to decode the above 

Dit Dit,

Mike


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## Rory

Just a note on present day Morse Code, gentlemen.

In order to get a HAM RADIO License here in the USA you have to know, and pass the test in Morse first. I cannot remember how many words per minute, but not very easy. A friend at work got his last year, and I will check with him on the details.
Cheers,
Rory


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## paul0510

sounds crazy, maybe, but even after 30 years of Aldis withdrawl symptoms I still 'practice' on a regular basis by translating in my head, or when nobody is around dit-da-ing under my breath, such things as logos or adverts that I come across! Mad? Keeps them ol' grey cells busy.


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## docgk

*Whither Morse?*

You all have it about right but there are interesting developments. The latest regulations in Ham radio in most countries ( including US and UK) have now dropped the Morse requirement. However the amateur bands are still very lively. There is a reason of course, and that is communication efficiency with low power. With a bandwidth of 100-150 Hz morse transmissions of sub 100W input power can still be heard world-wide on HF, just as ever.( Noise is proportional to bandwidth, thus signal to noise ratio is better for narrower bandwidths)

There are new modes that are extremely popular. They might be described as 'automated digital telegraphy', and these have replaced teletype largely. These use computers to code/modulate and decode/demodulate ( sound card etc). For the interested listen to 14.070 USB SSB setting - You will hear distinctive warbling tones. Google 'Digipan' or 'Mixware' to download the software - You may need to obtain or build a simple interface between your radio/computer sound card. This has the potential of retaining all the advantages of Morse without having to know the code! This is exclusively used by Hams.(PSK31, QPSK etc)

Another new system is 'Digital Radio Mondiale' This a multi media capable system for HF which is digital but is already being used for HF Broadcast. Google it for more details.

So, it's all change and progress but Morse itself is alive and well with Hams but the narrow band need is spawning developments that might be regarded as in the same spirit. Morse ( or more correctly its rationale) has an honoured place as the starting point.....

I hope I haven't bored you all too much!


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## michael ross

yes morse is still part of the syllabus as well as single flag and hoist meanings and all the procedures, stuff you need everyday !!!


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## John Cassels

Are shore DF stations still identified by their call sign ( in morse ) ?.
Have been ashore since 1981 , so don't laugh at my question !!.

JC


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## K urgess

Yes, I still try to translate any odd right sounding squeak into English. I also practice by translating advertising hoardings.

It's nice to know that the principles still exist and are being adapted but as a "manual" communication language there's not much call anymore.

I haven't really noticed if modern ships have D/F loops. Must admit to only giving them passing glances (bah, humbug) so wouldn't know if there are still D/F stations about that need identifying. I suppose they position themselves by satellite now so no more yells of "where the f*** are we!". Definitely no more yells of "Sparks! get your ass up here and find out where we are!"

As to aircraft. Haven't they all gone automatic with the equipment picking up the next beacon at the right time.

The only morse I see from here and I don't suppose it really counts, is the flash from Flamborough Head lighthouse. That's more a series of identifying dashes rather than a morse character.(Sad)


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## mikeg

Marconi Sahib said:


> Yes, I still try to translate any odd right sounding squeak into English. I also practice by translating advertising hoardings.
> 
> It's nice to know that the principles still exist and are being adapted but as a "manual" communication language there's not much call anymore.


There are also many morse practice sites on the web. I even have a programme on my pda called 'lightmorse' (how sad is that?) that converts written input to morse and plays it back to you at whatever A/F frequency and WPM you wish..it also will flash the screen in morse just incase you're down a mineshaft and you need to communicate urgently with Skippy ;-)
It's good to keep your hand in, so to speak.

Mike


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## paul0510

I was recently in Hamburg and visited the beautiful museum ship 'Cap San Diego'. I was in the shack with a radio ham dressed-up like a dog's dinner in a snazzy sparkie uniform. For public use they had hooked a key up via some device or other to a monitor so you could see what you were tapping. Geezer looked a bit mystified when I sat down and hammered out a few CQs followed by a DE and one of BPs call signs, GCHC if I remember correctly. Boys will be boys. Felt great, though, even if I was only Mate!


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## mikeg

paul0510 said:


> I was recently in Hamburg and visited the beautiful museum ship 'Cap San Diego'. I was in the shack with a radio ham dressed-up like a dog's dinner in a snazzy sparkie uniform. For public use they had hooked a key up via some device or other to a monitor so you could see what you were tapping. Geezer looked a bit mystified when I sat down and hammered out a few CQs followed by a DE and one of BPs call signs, GCHC if I remember correctly. Boys will be boys. Felt great, though, even if I was only Mate!


Yes, it would certainly feel good, well done.
The is a 360 view of that radioroom on:
http://www.capsandiego.de/frameset.html

Regards,

Mike


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## scooby do

-- --- .-. --- . 
-.-. --- -- . .
.. --- 
-. --- 
.-.. --- -. --. . .-. 
..- --- . -..
Ian


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## meechingman

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

.- -. -.. -.--

PS, only had to do 12 wpm for the Ham test at North Foreland. Got up to around 20 and then the examiner 'peaked' at 6, using the same text for tx and rx. Walk in the park? Maybe, but maybe he knew the dots and dashes were already on the wall!


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## Tony Crompton

paul0510 said:


> sounds crazy, maybe, but even after 30 years of Aldis withdrawl symptoms I still 'practice' on a regular basis by translating in my head, or when nobody is around dit-da-ing under my breath, such things as logos or adverts that I come across! Mad? Keeps them ol' grey cells busy.


I also often do this. Thought I was the only person in the world daft enough!!
I doubt very much that I would be able to read an Aldis lamp though.
--------------------------------
Tony c


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## K urgess

Classic FM (a commercial VHF radio station playing classical music for those not in the UK) has started transmitting a commercial for communications that starts off with part of a morse message.
Came as such a shock that I didn't read it, much to my embarassment.(Ouch) 

They probably won't broadcast it again!(Cloud)


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## RayJordandpo

Marconi Sahib said:


> Yes, I still try to translate any odd right sounding squeak into English. I also practice by translating advertising hoardings.
> 
> It's nice to know that the principles still exist and are being adapted but as a "manual" communication language there's not much call anymore.
> 
> I haven't really noticed if modern ships have D/F loops. Must admit to only giving them passing glances (bah, humbug) so wouldn't know if there are still D/F stations about that need identifying. I suppose they position themselves by satellite now so no more yells of "where the f*** are we!". Definitely no more yells of "Sparks! get your ass up here and find out where we are!"
> 
> As to aircraft. Haven't they all gone automatic with the equipment picking up the next beacon at the right time.
> 
> The only morse I see from here and I don't suppose it really counts, is the flash from Flamborough Head lighthouse. That's more a series of identifying dashes rather than a morse character.(Sad)


Not that many years ago I was serving as a deck officer on a dive support vessel based in Middlesbrough. One day having a sort out on the bridge we dismantled the DF receiver and stowed it away as it was just gathering dust (no one knew how to use it anyway). Shortly afterwards a surveyor came on board to carry out a radio survey, he asked where the DF was. When we informed what we had done he told us in no uncertain terms to get it back in service pronto as it was still a requirement and he wouldn't renew the radio licence until he saw it was up and running.
Ray Jordan


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## John_F

Morse code is still alive & well in the world of mobile phones. Has anyone noticed the default alert signal (at least on Nokia phones) when a text message is received?


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## Derek Roger

Oh Dear Me ! 
I should have know that by asking the question the sparks would start talking to each other in shorthand again eg Scooby Do and Meechingman .
For the rest of us what did you say ????
Derek


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## Jan Hendrik

Was a "telegraphist" as they called it in the Dutch Army ( 21 months compulsary at the time). The minimum to pass was 12 wpm which is really slow as I topped 32 or 36 wpm which was fast, yet on the receiving end I could not do more than 25 to max 30 wpm as you did not have the skills to write that quick.
We had "Q" codes and "Z " codes, the latter was only used by the military but the "Q" codes were wellknown and had to be used e.g. with amateur radio. "QSE" "QSL"....etc
Jan


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## Lefty

And, What happened to semaphore??? !!!!! Happy New Year, H


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## meechingman

I Guess that Scoob was having fun when he posted;

M O R O E
C O M E E
I O
N O
L O N G E R
U O E D

My reply was;

IF SENT LIKE THAT,
I THENK I CAN SE WHY, MY FRIEND.
ANDY

OK, you try typing morse onto a screen using the . and - keys, instead of a real key! All mistkaes aer on prupose, of coruse!  

Andy


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## Derek Roger

Thanks Andy . 
I am somewhat suprised at the number of comments ? I was just asking a question and as lefty has said what about semaphore ???


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## ernhelenbarrett

re the MF/CW thing try the following website www.coastalradio.org.uk. Last year it was still listing over 4 pages of coastal radio stations using the 305-574Khz Band. Stations such as Shanghai/XSG still listens on 515 and transmits on 522.5. Algiers/7TA still listens on 500 and transmits on416, VWP on 500/442, 9KK on480/448 VWN on 500/460 VWB on512/512 VWM on 500/515 and ColomboRadio/4PB on 500/482 just to name a few
73's Ern Barrett


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## mikeg

meechingman said:


> OK, you try typing morse onto a screen using the . and - keys, instead of a real key! All mistkaes aer on prupose, of coruse!
> 
> Andy


Unfortunately Sam Morse didn't stay around long enough to release his Beta version of the MkII narrow band coded spellchecker macro.
(Smoke)


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## meechingman

hehe, but I do have to thank a programme on the venerable BBC micro and another on the Commodore 64 for helping me get up to speed.


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## Derek Roger

Did Morse Code have " spell check " ?????


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## mikeg

Derek Roger said:


> Did Morse Code have " spell check " ?????


Derek I was jesting. The answer to that is a definite no.

Mike


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## Derek Roger

I expect that SOS would still be universally known and be used with flashlights etc.


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## K urgess

I suppose some may get confused and think you were trying to send a mobile text message by torch.(Whaaa)


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## Mad Landsman

On a family basis: 
My Grandfather was a Postmaster as his civilian occupation and around 100 or so years ago morse code was the normal means of communication between offices, e.g.-used to send telegrams which were then transcribed in the sub-office. Speeds were almost 'conversational'.

My Father was brought up in this environment and using Morse code was considered quite a normal thing to do.

As a youth I had an interest, (but not enough cash) in Amateur radio. My Father seized upon this and encouraged me to learn. I build a simple practice oscillator worked with an exWD key, which I still have. I just about got up to 12 wpm. 

My Son would have to be pressed very hard to remember which way round SOS runs.


As an aside I have just seen a part of a Star Treck Movie - Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Scotty all apparently knew morse code!


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## M29

*Morse*

For those of you who know morse, try sending my signature "BEST BENT WIRE"
It is one of the most rythmic morse patterns.
Dah dit dit dit-dit-dit dit dit-dah dah dit dit dit-dit-dah dit-dah
dit dah dah-dit dit-dit dah dit-dit

There is no truth in the saying that R/Os were mad!

Alan


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## Ventry

Not all of them at any rate!


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## K urgess

Best bent wire is a bit short.
Try "Mississippi possesses less esses than possesses possesses".

Agreed not all sparkies were mad. The rest liked a wee dram very often.[=P] 

They're coming to take me away, haha, heehee.(==D)


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## gwzm

Quiz question for the sparkies amongst us: What is the longest palindromic (i.e. the same forwards as backwards) english word in morse code. No, I'm not offering any prizes.............

= gl es 73 de John/gwzm + VA


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## King Ratt

How about the theme tune for Inspector Morse series ..the word MORSE is keyed continuously right through the music.


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## Pat McCardle

Syllabus for Morse code is still taught in marine colleges, 6 wpm. This must only be for RACON id purposes these days though?


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## K urgess

It seems more and more TV adverts are using morse code recently for some reason.
Helps with the practice.

John/GWZM - I have no idea - clue please.

My favourite morse shorthand when annoyed was ....- --.- ..---

See attached for how not to name a product.[=P]


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## mikeg

*TV ad's..*



Marconi Sahib said:


> It seems more and more TV adverts are using morse code recently for some reason.
> [=P]


The 'good old days' nostalgia I'm afraid. TV adverts with morse code and vinyl records/turntables are on the increase. I expect to see a radio mast radiating concentrically expanding circles sat on top of a globe, to accompany that morse code.
Ah, nostalgia ain't what it used to be.. (Except for SN of course).

Mike


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## K urgess

What goes around comes around Mike.

We seem to be approaching a 70s revival. My daughter is the proud owner of a hussar style uniform jacket a la Adam Ant.
Our house is on the approach road to the local school (6th formers, Mmmmm. must behave (Ouch) ) and I saw a lass wearing knee boots, peasant blouse and one of those pleated peasant skirts with petticoats, the other day. 
Haven't seen gear like that since I threw out my last pair of loons.(Thumb) 
Kris


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## David Davies

*Morse is still in use*

I regularly use it on my car horn to indicate my displeasure at other drivers


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## pat

*morse*

yes morse lives on just listen to the ham bands especially on a weekend and you can hear pleanty of morse being sent.
Re d.f. beacons no newbuilding eships need have a d.f. ant anymore or a 
d.f. recvr so as far as I know there are no more d.f. beacons what with GPS etc.

73's

Pat/PA3EZJ


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## K urgess

No doubt the speed freaks are not trying to use a Marconi 365A.
Or even a mechanical bug!(LOL)


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## gwzm

Hi Marconi Sahib, 

Begins with F, ends in L, and another seven letters in between, oh and it's a noun.

All the best,

John/gwzm


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## K urgess

Got it, John/GWZM.(Thumb) 
Had to cheat in the end.[=P] 
Cheers
Kris


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## gwzm

Well done Marconi Sahib. Keep schtumm for the time being and we'll see if anyone else gets it.

= bv john/gwzm + va


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## M29

*Palindrome*



gwzm said:


> Quiz question for the sparkies amongst us: What is the longest palindromic (i.e. the same forwards as backwards) english word in morse code. No, I'm not offering any prizes.............
> 
> = gl es 73 de John/gwzm + VA


Hi John.
If its just the pattern of dots and dashes, thats the same both ways, then INTRANSIGENCE must be a strong contender. (remembered from College days!)

P.S. Just read rest of thread, F???????L. I think I have a word that fits that. Does it have anything to do with feet?

Alan


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## K urgess

ECNEGISNARTNI
Works for me!(Thumb) 
Only if you run the dots and dashes together though. So does it count?


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## paul0510

lootstoof


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## M29

*Palindrome*



Marconi Sahib said:


> ECNEGISNARTNI
> Works for me!(Thumb)
> Only if you run the dots and dashes together though. So does it count?


Hi
No, I don't think it does. I think John meant the letters can be sent in either direction with same spacing etc

Alan


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## gwzm

Paul0510 is almost there. 

John/gwzm


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## gas_chief

What's that? Common question asked by some of my cadets when I ask them about morse. 

Last trip had a junior officer going back into the chart room frequently when we were entering Tokyo Bay. He had the ALRS open on the back page to find out which racon was which on the RADAR.


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## lagerstedt

What did you sparkies use most? What was known as the international code, The American code or one of the others ie Russian, jewish or one of the asian codes. I am sure there is some other european codes as well.

Regards
Blair Lagerstedt
NZ


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## trotterdotpom

*Da Vinci Code - no thanks, play it again Sam!*

GWZM - I've been trying to find the question on the website address about radio hams - duh! Now I've twigged what it is (with a little help from Paul0510, not for the first time), I'll put my feet up and relax.

Lagerstedt, are those codes you mentioned (American, Russian, etc) what was used on landlines prior to the adoption of Samuel Morse's version? At sea, the Japanese had a different code for at least one of their alphabets and I've got an idea that the Chinese used groups of figures for their characters. I think the Russians and Greeks transliterated their scripts, but I'm open to challenge on that. All of them used plain Morse code for communicating with the outside world.

John T.


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## gwzm

Hi Lagerstedt, 

The original (landline) morse code was used on the (USA) telegraph lines and it was basically a dot code, read by listening to a sounder (like a relay) which made a ting sound as it opened and closed. When morse code was adapted for radio then it became more of a dit & dah code. That's why some of the abbreviations sound a bit odd. In the old land line code "ho ho" signified laughter but got carried over into radio usage where the same pattern signifies "hi hi". Similarly AF in landline code (for all finished) translates as AR in international morse. Some of the other landline stuff carried over into common language use. For example when we say "on the dot" for an exact time that is also a carry over from landline morse. The operator controlling the wire would send "take ten" which was time to take a comfort break and grab a coffee/cigarette. When he was ready to start again he would send one dot which was the signal to the other operators on the line that he was about to start sending again. Fascinating stuff but totally irrelevant in today's computer driven world.

All the best,

John/gwzm


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## K urgess

So what about the "V" bit?
Was Mr Morse a fan of Beethoven or is it just a coincidence that its the 5th (Roman V) and very convenient for the wartime BBC?[=P]


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## mikeg

Marconi Sahib said:


> So what about the "V" bit?
> Was Mr Morse a fan of Beethoven or is it just a coincidence that its the 5th (Roman V) and very convenient for the wartime BBC?[=P]


I assume it was because Sir Winston Churchill was giving the two fingered 'V' for victory sign quite a bit plus morse being a popular form of communication back then. Don't know who came up with the Beethoven intro but you have to admit it was inspired advertising thinking, maybe a very young Satchi & Satchi offspring perhaps..
(==D)

Mike


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## Keltic Star

One for all you ex Sparkies

http://www.kelticstar.com/MorseOrSMS.wmv

Enjoy


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## K urgess

Mike

Somebody finally told Chruchill he was doing it wrong. Either that or he was intentionally insulting all the paparazi for the first half of the war. 
The Norwegians also daubed every available wall with the King's monogram in a V while suffering from German imperialism. 
I'd love to know if Beethoven could read morse![=P] 

Keltic Star

Morse Rules OK! Great stuff(Thumb)


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## paul0510

mmmmmmmmmmmMorse, thanks KelticStar! Pretty much what our American friends would call a 'no-brainer'.


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## K urgess

Somebody reported, I think it was on Classics FM (UK radio station), that some youth (15 years old) in the United States held the record for inputting the first two lines of the song "supercalifradgelisticexpialidoshus" (spelling?) into a mobile phone text message.
The record?
Oh yeah - 15 seconds!
One does tend to wonder about today's youth.(?HUH)


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## lagerstedt

Great replies thanks. Sometime ago I saw on TV here in NZ a race between an old morse operator and a smart young kid with a cell phone. They had to send the same text to another person. the morse operator won the race with time to spare. I often wonder what would happen if all the sats stopped and computers crashed, would we go back to morse?

Regards
Blair Lagerstedt
NZ


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## K urgess

They did in "Independence Day".
Maybe there's hope for us yet[=P]


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## Indie Boy

John_F said:


> Morse code is still alive & well in the world of mobile phones. Has anyone noticed the default alert signal (at least on Nokia phones) when a text message is received?


Yes, they send out SMS, when I first heard it I thought it was SOS, as my hearing is not what it was!


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## mikeg

Marconi Sahib said:


> They did in "Independence Day".
> Maybe there's hope for us yet[=P]


....but only 'post' attack with a threat of total annihilation looming.
That scenario looks okay to me if it means we can dust off our morse keys and go for it (==D)


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## NoMoss

John_F said:


> Morse code is still alive & well in the world of mobile phones. Has anyone noticed the default alert signal (at least on Nokia phones) when a text message is received?


And also on Nokia mobile phones you can have 'Connecting People' in Morse as an alert signal. I've got in on mine in 'ascending' - drives my wife mad!


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## mahseer1

In the mid-50s as a junior deck apprentice I realised how important it was to be fairly confident with the aldis lamp. I sailed with at least two 3rd Mates who used to sweat blood at the thought of approaching pilot cutters and worked out out ETAs days in advance, fearing that landfall would happen on their watch. It seemed to ruin their whole day.

In 1958 I was uncertificated 4th Mate on the Mahronda when the 1st Mate was put ashore ill in Calcutta. The rest of us were promoted.

I thus found myself on anchor watch outside Colombo where we were not expected to berth for several days. I was surprised to see the pilot station signalling and even more surprised to read "weigh anchor, pilot approaching" (I've inserted the comma). I was confident that I had read the message correctly and really admired Captain Humble who didn't bat an eyelid when I called him with the news. We started weighing anchor but it was a good 5 minutes before the pilot launch appeared from behind the breakwater - it seemed like 5 hours. I will always admire Capt Humble for trusting the word of a jumped-up apprentice, but I have often wondered if he perhaps had prior knowledge. Anyway, I always enjoyed morse signalling but never mastered semaphore!

Kind regards
Peter B


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## M29

*Morse*



Indie Boy said:


> Yes, they send out SMS, when I first heard it I thought it was SOS, as my hearing is not what it was!


Yes, it certainly made me jump when I first heard it. Also as mentioned by another of our members "Connecting People"
Many of my students had phones that did this but they had no idea of course that these strange beeps had any meaning at all.
It makes me wonder if the designers ware having a private joke, they must have realised that only a small number of people buying phones could understand the message.
Best wishes
Alan


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## tedc

meechingman said:


> I Guess that Scoob was having fun when he posted;
> 
> M O R O E
> C O M E E
> I O
> N O
> L O N G E R
> U O E D
> 
> My reply was;
> 
> IF SENT LIKE THAT,
> I THENK I CAN SE WHY, MY FRIEND.
> ANDY
> 
> OK, you try typing morse onto a screen using the . and - keys, instead of a real key! All mistkaes aer on prupose, of coruse!
> 
> Andy


Andy!

This brings to mind the old response "Put the monkey back on...!"


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## wireless man

Hi
Just discovered this. As an airline pilot we still need morse to identify the radio beacons.
The screens in the cockpit come up with it as "ABC" but need a good signal strength to do this so if we are a bit far away you have to ident it aurally


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## Glyndwr

Morse is dead but I must admit that it was like learning another language. After living in Italy for some time I have learnt Italian and I think that having had to learn Morse code opened up my mind to languages.

She was only the Radio Officer's daughter but she didit didit didit........

I used to sit on the bus going home from Nautical College and we would play cards with the Q code written on the cards. You had the take a card and guess the meaning.

What a shame but whoever "speaks" Morse will never forget it

Glyn


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## Peter4447

Doesn't the Inspector Morse programmes finish with the word Morse in Morse code?
(That's a tongue twister and a half!)
Peter


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## G4UMW

This may be of interest


Rob


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## mikeg

wireless man said:


> Hi
> Just discovered this. As an airline pilot we still need morse to identify the radio beacons.
> The screens in the cockpit come up with it as "ABC" but need a good signal strength to do this so if we are a bit far away you have to ident it aurally


Even with aural ident its generally slow morse and often the pilots control (knee) board has a copy of the morse code on it. I've known some older pilots who know morse code very well.


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## wireless man

Hi Mikeg
Im one of the older pilots. We had to know morse and we had an exam decoding the buzzer and the light. Nothing very fast. The R/Os would find it SO slow


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## mikeg

wireless man said:


> Hi Mikeg
> Im one of the older pilots. We had to know morse and we had an exam decoding the buzzer and the light. Nothing very fast. The R/Os would find it SO slow


Hi wireless man,

Ah, thats the reason, thanks. Its not a requirement to learn morse anymore which is a pity, suppose they have to look it up now for nav purposes.

For comms though there's no need for morse, if the R/T looses audio it can still be keyed with the speechless code and you also have transponder squawk codes and ident as well as various light signals from the ground. 
Would be nice to have a small Aldis lamp though... but it would be difficult to send and fly the plane (EEK)


----------



## BobClay

When I joined GCHQ in 1989 morse was still very much a requirement. During training you had to take at least one solid batch of 25wpm morse in a foreign language on a typewriter without any mistakes, and they frowned if you didn't do the same at 30wpm (which I have to admit, I never did without a mistake). If you didn't you were out. The exam was much tougher than the morse requirement for seagoing tickets. For ex-services types and merchant navy sparkies this was do-able, but was hard for the lads right out of college.

This was because the Russian military were still heavily into morse. But within a few years all this had gone too. I've been out of GCHQ a while so I don't know if they do any morse anymore (beyond certain specialised jobs). 

The irony is that when I left the training school I never had to take an iota of morse again, .... you don't get much in the way of morse on satellite communications.


----------



## Don Armour

Not all aircraft have an automatic decode of beacon idents, the older military aircraft still require pilots and navigators to have a sufficient level of knowledge to be able to identify NDBs, VORs, TACANs etc, (radio navigation beacons for the totally confused).

If the beacon is not correctly identified it should not be relied upon, even if the needle points in the right direction, and even if the aircraft is within the protected range of the beacon. (i.e. that range within which it is considered reliable).

There are other pieces of equipment that tend to make that a bit redundant in some ways, such as GPS, Inertial Navigation platforms and computerised systems that compare the results of GPS and IN and iron out any gross errors.

However, for training, for instrument ratings and operationally in some cir***stances, the crews still fly procedures that rely purely on beacons and so a very basic level of understanding of morse is still required. Since the beacon ident is repeated on a regular cycle, the crew member doesn't even have to get it first time, nor write it down and, as has already been pointed out, the ident is printed on the navigational do***ent or chart.

As a primary means of communication, however, it has long since gone. Some years before I left the Nimrod fleet (in 1992) they had already removed the morse keys, which was a great shame since if our ground stations did not reply to USB voice, a trick was to call them up on the key - it's surprising how quickly they come back in voice when you do that!!!

The other great sadness of the demise of morse is that straight, unmodulated CW is about the only way of communicating in cir***stances where signals are very weak or there is a lot of interference or even in a jamming environment, so as a last means of communication, it still has a useful part to play.

I guess it come down to money in the end (it usually does) and anything that can be dropped to cut down the length of a training course and hence its cost, will be dropped. With SatCom, you can get range and quality so why bother with morse - until the satellite goes down!


----------



## jaydeeare

Another of the links shown alongside G4UMW's link demonstrates the Koch Method software package of brushing up or learning Morse code.

You can see/download the software package from HERE


----------



## Cutsplice

I found Morse a real pain in the a*** could send it ok but reading it was for some reason really dificult, got through the exams only because the message was RADAR SHADOW SECTORS CAN BE OVERCOME BY CHANGE OF SCANNER, I got some of the message and guessed the rest.


----------



## dje4816

When I retired from my job, everybody knew I had once been a Sparks. So, during the presentation, they announced that they had devised a test for me, and that I couldn't leave until I passed it.

Someone had found a web site that converted text into morse, and they used it to record a message at 20 wpm. This was played to the assembly, and I had to decode it on the hoof. The message turned out to be "Best wishes for a happy retirement."

The only reason I could decode this after over a quarter of a century off articles is that I have the habit many other member have - I often convert things to morse in my head. It never occurred to me that this would one day be essential to complete my retirement passing-out parade!

Dave Ellis.


----------



## Glyndwr

When I was at Fleetwood Nautical College I used to travel by bus from Kirkham. I had so much time that I used to practice Morse going home in the evening. I wore a ring on my right hand at the time and I used to tap out morse on the rail on the seat in front of me. I am sure people thought I was crazy. I would tap anything - mainly what I saw and what I was thinking.

For example: "What a nice bit of stuff that is passing by" and "What's for tea tonight". I must have tapped out my name thiusands of times.

It was a bit like using your handsfree and people look at you as if you are mad......


----------



## Griffon

'Best bent wire' as the above mention was a good one. It will be "Q" and "Z" signals next....... 
When I was being taught to type our instructor used to send morse to the class, you could actually improve your reception speeds, that is till you stated to read wheat was being sent. (Fatal error) or you went so fast the keys jammed up as you hit two letters at once. (IMI coming up)


----------



## Moulder

Glyndwr said:


> When I was at Fleetwood Nautical College I used to travel by bus from Kirkham. I had so much time that I used to practice Morse going home in the evening. I wore a ring on my right hand at the time and I used to tap out morse on the rail on the seat in front of me. I am sure people thought I was crazy. I would tap anything - mainly what I saw and what I was thinking.
> 
> For example: "What a nice bit of stuff that is passing by" and "What's for tea tonight". I must have tapped out my name thiusands of times.
> 
> It was a bit like using your handsfree and people look at you as if you are mad......



Took my ticket at the British School of Telegraphy in Earls Court - so it was all the stations on the Picadilly Line map on the tube bulkhead that got tapped out during that part of my journey to/from college.

Steve.
(Thumb)


----------



## Keckers

scooby do said:


> -- --- .-. --- .
> -.-. --- -- . .
> .. ...
> -. ---
> .-.. --- -. --. . .-.
> ..- ... . -..
> Ian


Sorted it for you.(Thumb) You got your ooooooooo's and sssssssssssssssss's mixed up there mate.


----------



## JimC

Does anyone remember the chinese bug keys that were used during the Korean war and after it? I remember listening to some of their manual stuff and it was truly amazing - sounded almost like a continuous pulse. Some even thought it was a bit of propaganda but it wasn't and out sparks began to use the same keys and their send rate went ou too.


----------



## Earthmover

*CW or Morse!*



Lefty said:


> And, What happened to semaphore??? !!!!! Happy New Year, H


I used to be in RNARS on the BWO of Belfast at their Easter Activity I was slow compared to some of the others. but did really take it up and had a squeeze paddle on a Yaesu FT 902 DM which I took to the Falklands with me together with a wire dipole and used the call there VP8BDC on 20M and also the special event call of VP8MPA (Mount Pleasant Airfield) in 1985 when it opened. as soon as I sent the call, CQ DE VP8BDC on CW there was a clamour as VP8's didn't need to pass a test to use HF and only had to get a licence to operate on 2M. I had a mate logging for me and used to tell him the calls and 5/9s etc QSL via buro at G4NKO.but I couldn't write as quick as I could read it so most of mine was in my head. got a pic of the stn somewhere. I went to a rally not long after I got back and a chap came up to me and said "I'm your QSL manager, and Christ you get more cards than anyone else" And yes I still dah di dah in my head when looking at a sign. but haven't been on a key for about 18 yrs now. (I daren't start again as I'd soon be spending all my time on a rig, and now I'm retired I don't have the time) OH Semaphore... didn't use it much after lights out!!!


----------



## bluenoser

Hello; 
My father was a signalman in the Canadian navy during ww11 . I remember when I was young watching him sitting by our old radio tuned to a short wave band copying down the morse code . Even after a couple strokes left him partially paralized and in other aspects slightly confused, morse code was something he never forgot. bluenoser


----------



## oceangoer

Earlier this year a Svitzer tug being delivered to the Far East was captured and the crew taken hostage off the Somali coast. One Colin Darch was the Master (I'm sure you all saw it in the papers).

Darch attempted to communicate with a US warship that was hanging around by morse using a torch.

Although the transmission was acknowledged by the warship nothing happened and it later emerged that nobody aboard could read "visual" morse.

Ah well.


----------



## Keith Adams

After an absence of 47 years I find that I can still send and receive morse code at slow to moderate speed with an Aldis Lamp. Guess it was beaten into me and I never lost a chance to 'Talk' to any ship I came upon out at sea. Of course we always had to acknowledge Lizard Head and Gibralter to ensure we made Lloyds List (London) and Journal of Commerce (Liverpool) daily vessel movement reports. Also after dark to report to the Pilot Cutter - in those days , daylight they usually recognized us on the horizon as identification was simple because ship designs were so unique, one could identify the nationality by a vessel's ventilator cowls and each shipping line had its own superstructure design, so further Identification was easy. That is why older members on this site are so sure when they identify a ship from a worn photograph. We just get screwed up with the WWI and WWII Standard Ships ! - could be any nationality as they got passed around as they aged.


----------



## mikeg

bluenoser said:


> Hello;
> My father was a signalman in the Canadian navy during ww11 . I remember when I was young watching him sitting by our old radio tuned to a short wave band copying down the morse code . Even after a couple strokes left him partially paralized and in other aspects slightly confused, morse code was something he never forgot. bluenoser


I think morse code gets permanently burnt into memory after a certain time. I can think of a musician who played bass in a band that I did sound for. He developed altzheimers later in life and entered a care home - but still occasionally he would come out and play with the band (with a carer in 
attendance) he didn't know where he was or recognised any of the band members but he still played bass note perfect. The mind is a strange thing.
Mike


----------



## tedc

*Try a Morse Code Ringtone on your mobile!!!*

Make a ringtone out of a morse code phrase and watch how many people come over and "slap your face/shake your hand/weep" depending on what you said.

Great Fun(K)


----------



## BobClay

It sounds a bit nerdlike, but if I had a mobile phone I might have a morse code ringtone:

cq cq cq de GKA GKA GKA QTC +

(I must be getting sadder).


----------



## King Ratt

OK Bob, I am a nerd, my phone does either QRJ or QTC . Definitely sad.

Rab T


----------



## Griffon

In reply to a couple above about Aviation beacons. VOR/DME use 6 word per minute morse code of their three letter ident. For Example Kirkwall, beacon KWL. (Was kowloon as well!) When I was doing my RAF aircrew morse training the Navigators used to get morse training from our instructors, the Navs had to learn up to 6wpm. One poor chap was struggling with this so I did him an idiots wiring diagramme with dot or dash choices so you eventually end up with an answer. 
A 'Michael Cane' moment coming up. In February 2004, a unique Morse code for '@' was introduced. 'Dit-Dah-Dah-Dit-Dah-Dit' The '@' character in morse code is a combination of the letters 'A' and 'C', to mimic the look of an '@'. (In morse speak it's AC 'barred')


----------



## RayL

Interesting thread this - all these decades I've been believing that I was probably the only one who used advertising hoardings, etc., to embed Morse into my brain so that the next day at college would show an improvement over the last, and now I discover that you were all at it! I used to sit on the top deck of the bus going home and would set myself the goal of completing the approaching words by the time I was opposite to them.


----------



## Ian

RayL

I left the sea in 1964 and still find myself making coast station and ships call signs from car number plates whilst sat in the supermarket car park waiting for the boss. I whistle them, tap them out on the car door or steering wheel. Geez......


----------



## wireless man

Hi 
Guess Im a sad case.
Still have a bath tub key and buzzer to try and keep current but there is not much use in aviation. There still are some light beacons flashing but most are invisible til you have the runway in sight.
Max


----------



## mikeg

wireless man said:


> Hi
> Guess Im a sad case.
> Still have a bath tub key and buzzer to try and keep current but there is not much use in aviation. There still are some light beacons flashing but most are invisible til you have the runway in sight.
> Max


Take an aldis lamp up next time and we'll communicate (Jester)


----------



## RayL

About a year ago, the demise of Morse was a topic covered by Radio 4's 'Today' programme and, by invitation, the guest sent a couple of sentences to the listening millions so that a few of them could have a go at reading it. I did OK, but did get thrown by the fact that he threw in a few punctuation marks (which I have not maintained since leaving the sea in 1967).
The interesting thing is that the two presenters lost patience with the sender before he had quite finished the second sentence and they rather crossly asked him to stop. This surely reveals that the modern world demands faster communication than Morse used to provide.


----------



## NoMoss

tedc said:


> Make a ringtone out of a morse code phrase and watch how many people come over and "slap your face/shake your hand/weep" depending on what you said.
> 
> Great Fun(K)


Just got a new mobile phone - a Sumsung G600 - and miss 'Connecting People' on my old Nokia. How can I get a Morse message as my message alert on the new one? Would be grateful for a simple explanation please - I have a PC.


----------



## King Ratt

Hello NoMoss

I use Winmorse. Easy to use.
Download at http://www.winmorse.com/
Type in whatever you want and convert it to a wav file. Then upload the wav into your phone..I expect the Samsung will have this facility, my phone is a Sony Ericsson but I imagine all phones have this facility.
Lets know how you get on.
73

Rab T


----------



## NoMoss

Thanks for that will have a go.


----------



## mikeg

King Ratt said:


> Hello NoMoss
> 
> I use Winmorse. Easy to use.
> Download at http://www.winmorse.com/
> Type in whatever you want and convert it to a wav file. Then upload the wav into your phone..I expect the Samsung will have this facility, my phone is a Sony Ericsson but I imagine all phones have this facility.
> Lets know how you get on.
> 73
> 
> Rab T


Thanks King Ratt, now my Treo 680 announces 'text' in morse whenever a text message comes in 

Any ideas for further morse messages I can add? (I know I know, sad ennit)

Mike


----------



## Ian

mikeg said:


> Any ideas for further morse messages I can add? (I know I know, sad ennit)
> 
> Mike


The most obvious one (which I'll use, and thanks for the tip, King Ratt) is QTC1

And you can't get any sadder than that...(EEK)


----------



## mikeg

Thanks BA204259 QTC1 is the most obvious - what was I thinking? (?HUH)Duh - hits forehead. Now changed


----------



## NoMoss

King Ratt said:


> Hello NoMoss
> 
> I use Winmorse. Easy to use.
> Download at http://www.winmorse.com/
> Type in whatever you want and convert it to a wav file. Then upload the wav into your phone..I expect the Samsung will have this facility, my phone is a Sony Ericsson but I imagine all phones have this facility.
> Lets know how you get on.
> 73
> 
> Rab T


So far, so good. Found winmorse very interesting and converted to wav file but SamsungStudio would only accept wav as 'other files'. Have now put it like that onto phone - have still to get it into message alarm. Will keep trying.


----------



## mikeg

NoMoss,

Seems you've got some file converting to do:
Here might be a way but there's plenty of other methods on the web.

http://www.howardforums.com/archive/topic/332857-1.html

Hope it helps,

Mike


----------



## Earthmover

Hows about a nice ringtone of .-. .. -. --. (exaggerated the spaces)!!


----------



## Moulder

Anagram of *THE MORSE CODE *is *HERE COME DOTS*

Hmmm

(Thumb)


----------



## Ian

Moulder said:


> Anagram of *THE MORSE CODE *is *HERE COME DOTS*
> 
> Hmmm
> 
> (Thumb)


And I thought you were on your honeymoon!!!!(*))


----------



## Archie2009

*Morse Code... What's that?*



Derek Roger said:


> It ocurred to me that there is probably no need for Deck Officers to know the Code anymore ?? I wonder if its still in the tickets as a subject ??
> 
> When we lived in Tayport Scotland my late father Charles Braid Roger who had been apprentice and 3rd Mate with Brocks between the wars used to drive his car down to the commons and use his headlights to signal " which ship etc " and always when I was with him he would get an Aldis reply .
> 
> Usually he did it when it was a Brock Ship and would ask for Master etc etc and finish off with a
> " Bon Voyage "
> 
> 
> As a youngster I was most impressed !
> 
> I also recall him telling me that on a couple of occasions when his ship was leaving Dundee his mother ( My Grannie ) would stand on the front lawn of their Tayport house and wave bedsheets untill the got a " Whistle " acknowlegment and some Aldis "banter " which their neighbor ( A Captain Williamson ) would traslate for the ladies .
> Derek


Morse Code, yeah, its that thing printed on a laminated card and posted in some inconspicuous corner of the bridge.


----------



## sparkie2182

"inconspicuous corner of the bridge"

Next to the inconspicuous G.M.D.S.S. gear that terrifies so many.


----------



## James_C

The GMDSS isn't that scary, indeed it's quite benign when switched off so as not to constantly engulf the bridge with the ever constant alarms, the overwhelming majority of which are irrelevant and/or spurious.

GMDSS - another fine idea wasted by poor implementation, badly designed equipment and spectacularly poor operator training and standards.


----------



## sparkie2182

"when switched off "

Says so much.


----------



## spongebob

Does all this mean that my second class scout's badge for semaphore is now invalid?

Bob


----------



## Graham P Powell

I send FO on the van horn when somebody cuts me up.....


----------



## Bob Murdoch

Hi Guys,
I believe that certain 'tough' areas in the military still use morse. In black ops, it is quieter to send with a push button than to send oral messages. Also the better 'punch-through' with low power/small size is a big feature. I know the US marine corp still used it a few years ago and a young ex Belgian army sergeant relative of mine also says it is still in use, not as general coms but for special ops type stuff.
I also still translate morse as a second nature. Yep we are sad!
Cheers Bob


----------



## charles henry

*Z codes*



Jan Hendrik said:


> We had "Q" codes and "Z " codes, the latter was only used by the militaryJan


Beg to differ, the "Z" codes were designed for and used by high speed auto morse used for passing international traffic about a million years ago. I only remember one, ZST which was, "send slips twice"
the "slips" being the morse punched tape. Two dots vertical was a dot and two at an angle was a dash. Normal speed was about 150 wpm but could go up to 300wpm if conditions were really good.
We also used five letter codes such as DADRO UPBAG etc but I cant remember what any of them ment.
The problem of getting old is that you remember stuff like that.....

de chas


----------



## Graham P Powell

Talking to a former colleague and amateur this morning he told me there is a lot of morse on the ham bands. Is this right?. 
rgds
Graham Powell


----------



## Larry Bennett

Graham,

Plenty around still...some good, some pretty appalling! But take a listen on 20metres at any time and you can hear loads of cw signals (including some from my good self from time to time).

And of course we can all remember the ITU telegraph codes - ROFJO, BABSO, RIJAG, ATFIX etc.....

I recall someone inserting an unoffical 'addendum' in the ITU book at GKA with 'fake' codes such as:

DALEK - Your message has been exterminated

or

KOKUP - Your message has been transmitted in error

etc....

Of course no-one will own up to this...

Larry +


----------



## Mimcoman

Graham P Powell said:


> Talking to a former colleague and amateur this morning he told me there is a lot of morse on the ham bands. Is this right?.
> rgds
> Graham Powell


He sure is! - although most QSOs are very standardised - name, location, type of equipment and aerial, wx and signal report. I may be listening at the wrong times/freqs but I never seem to hear much long "ragchews" nowadays.


----------



## 5TT

Rag chews are not the norm these days, but then we don't have a flipping crew list to send do we? 

= Adrian - ZS1TTZ +


----------



## EimbTrader

*Morse code ringtone generator*



NoMoss said:


> Just got a new mobile phone - a Sumsung G600 - and miss 'Connecting People' on my old Nokia. How can I get a Morse message as my message alert on the new one? Would be grateful for a simple explanation please - I have a PC.


Hi NoMoss,
have you ever tried http://www.planetofnoise.com ?
They have a free Morse code ringtone generator, very easy to use. 
The output are *.mid-files, used them on Sumsung B\) and StonyErixon mobile phones.
Renaming the extension of *.mid-files to *.wav or *.mp3 worked for me also,
no need to convert those files in a tricky or complicated manner.

Regards
EimbTrader


----------



## Sabastapol

As 2nd mate I used to find the middle watch a great time to hone my Aldis skills. Very often on a Europe/Gulf run, or other such repetitive run, you would be called up by the chap you spoke to on the way out. There was always the joker who when you called 'what ship?' would send back 'what for'!! I sometimes run through the code in my mind and finr only one or two I cannot remember Always feel that I may need it one day to get me out of a spot!! (Fly)


----------



## mikeg

Sabastapol said:


> Always feel that I may need it one day to get me out of a spot!! (Fly)


Tapping morse on a pipe in a prison cell perhaps (==D)


----------



## david.hopcroft

James_C said:


> The GMDSS isn't that scary, indeed it's quite benign when switched off so as not to constantly engulf the bridge with the ever constant alarms, the overwhelming majority of which are irrelevant and/or spurious.
> 
> GMDSS - another fine idea wasted by poor implementation, badly designed equipment and spectacularly poor operator training and standards.


We trialled GMDSS at GKZ when it was FGMDSS. H1000 Tx, and I think, an Eddystone Rx. Worked great. BT then not awarded the contract, went to the CG with 'other' gear. No wonder it was not well thought of !

Changing the topic a bit here......... I find 'Q' codes very useful for passwords.

David
+


----------



## Andy Lavies

The Red Sea on the middle watch was Aldis heaven - until the voltage drop down resistor on the wheelhouse bulkhead overheated and went up in flames. 
And does anybody know of a PC program that produces light (visual) morse from text - wrote one for Spectrum a million years ago but couldn't do it now.
Andy


----------



## len mazza

*[email protected]*

I read or saw on TV that after the Iraq War,the USN.was going to
reintroduce morse due to much of the gee whiz bang bits not 
working up to scratch.Ican remember being a bit surprised that it
had dropped out of use,maybe on of our US.members can confirm
that.

Len Mazza,R621945


----------



## 5TT

> Sounds like ZS-land is in the doldrums!


Being at the tip of Africa has its disadvantages, to the south there's only dolphins and whales and they don't get on the air much, and there's very little activity to the immediate north, mostly visiting missionaries with temporary callsigns. There are a handful of CW operators here in ZS, you might catch them once per week, so it is 99% DX down here and then it's usually the rubber stamp RST (if you send a QRK there's usually a pause while they look it up, causes great confusion), and name if you're lucky .. 

= Adrian +


----------



## NoR

This Thread is called


> Does anyone know Morse Code anymore ??


. Being a cynic I think I'll start one called


> Does anyone know Anything anymore ??


.

On the topic: I remember that when doing morse for various tickets it was much easier if you could hear the key, no good for the exam though.


----------



## Glyn Howell

*Using the morse code*



RayJordandpo said:


> Not that many years ago I was serving as a deck officer on a dive support vessel based in Middlesbrough. One day having a sort out on the bridge we dismantled the DF receiver and stowed it away as it was just gathering dust (no one knew how to use it anyway). Shortly afterwards a surveyor came on board to carry out a radio survey, he asked where the DF was. When we informed what we had done he told us in no uncertain terms to get it back in service pronto as it was still a requirement and he wouldn't renew the radio licence until he saw it was up and running.
> Ray Jordan


Morning Ray,
After the end of WWII, and I suspect well into the 50's, RN vessels would call most vessels they passed on the Aldis lamp, thus checking the standard of the user of the called vessel and report to the owners. One night I was on a T2 Tanker that had morse keys on the wing of the bridge and, being a clever sod, I asked Sparks to answer for me and this he did with great efficiency. All well and good until the RN replied in what seemed equivalent speed and so fast I could not read it, though I thought I was quite good. I asked Sparks what he said and he replied I don't know I can only understand the radio sound. I had to eat humble pie and ask to repeat all after, to which the RN ship told me not to be so clever next time. Goodness knows what speed the RN telegraphists could recieve. But it was interesting that Sparks could "hear" at speed and not "See" and he told me about how he could sense the words coming as in normal speech.

Glyn


----------



## bobharrison2002

The USN was just as bad back in the late 70's (otherwise know as the good old days ) when we were doing LA/Acapulco one week cruises on Pacific Princess. Whenever there was a carrier anchored off San Diego, the phone would ring in the radio room asking the R/O to come to the bridge immediately. The bored OOW on the carrier's bridge would be curious about the floating gin palace steaming towards LA and want to chat. The standard reply of 'VHF 16' never seemed to work! It took a while to get used to reading light as opposed to sound but after a couple of times of this midnight training I was starting to get the idea - and of course its a lot easier to send than to receive!

Bob (==D)


----------



## michael john debnam

once an operator always you dont forget you just smile and think what some people miss


----------



## Klaatu83

When I took my license exams we were still tested on our ability to receive Morse Code, via flashing light, at a rate of six words per minute. We were also required to be familiar with the International Code of Signals. We were examined on our ability to receive and decode two and three letter code groups, and were required to know the single-letter codes by heart. A two-letter code group that was often used on exams, and which everybody committed to memory was "SN"; which decodes as, "You should stop immediately. Do not scuttle. So not lower boats. Do not use the wireless. If you disobey I shall open fire on you." A copy of the International Code of Signals was still required on the bridge of every ship at the time I retired in 2005. 

The Radio Officers, who used to send and receive at a much faster rate than we were required to do, considered six words per minute pretty slow. However, on the rare occasions when they did it with the flashing light, they actually found it quite difficult. Apparently the reason for that was that Radio Officers were used to receiving Morse Code by sound, and were not accustomed to receiving it by sight. I suppose the different medium took a little getting used to.


----------



## James_C

Klaatu83,
Interesting that you mention the two letter hoist 'SN'.
I regularly sail with cadets, and often take them for signals/buoyage/rules on a weekly basis which I hope will further and cement their knowledge. It probably gives me a certain amount of sadistic pleasure too, especially when I remember the grillings I experienced as a cadet!
Anyway, SN is a two flag hoist which I often ask them to decode - it always raises a smile, as does some of the 3 flag medical codes of course!


----------



## Hawkeye

Andy Lavies said:


> The Red Sea on the middle watch was Aldis heaven - until the voltage drop down resistor on the wheelhouse bulkhead overheated and went up in flames.
> And does anybody know of a PC program that produces light (visual) morse from text - wrote one for Spectrum a million years ago but couldn't do it now.
> Andy


There is one I used when I was teaching the Scouts morse code. I'll try and find it again.
Karl


----------



## Graham P Powell

We had a lecturer at Bristol Tech called Anderson back in the 60's. A very smooth sort of guy with a polished cut glass accent and a silver XK120 Jag. Being from the boondocks I was most impressed. He was an ex R/O off salvage tugs and I think had pots of money. Anyway, he used to teach us morse by sending passages from a porno book always stopping just before the interesting bit!.
Glad to know that morse is alive on the amateur bands. Sorry, Larry cannot listen to you. Not got an HF receiver.....
rgds
Graham


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## Vital Sparks

I still use it. These days I write software which runs on embedded systems, usually a box of some kind with no display or other means of easily monitoring or debugging the program. To get round this I have a standard morse module that I build into the software so that the device can tell me what's happening inside by a flashing an LED.


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## Dickyboy

morsecode.scphillips.com/jtranslator.html 


Copy and paste to google should get you there.
Visual and audible, as well as a Words to Morse Code. 

-.. --- . ... / .. - / .-- --- .-. -.- ..--.. ?


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## Rory Bhoy

We still use it in the RFA, albeit flashing light!


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## NoR

I'm pretty sure I was on a ship which had an all round morse light on the mast or monkey island. Activated by a button key on a wandering lead. Am I imagining this ?


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## trotterdotpom

No, I too remember a few ships with signal lamps on the mast - don't remember seeing anyone use them though - they seemed to prefer the Aldis Lamp.

John T.


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## pete

I only used the All-round lamp once that because Myself, my fellow Appy. and the third mate were working 3 ships at the same time.This was with H.E.Moss Tankers and the Master WAS on the Bridge doing "Lookout" duties. Used the Medium Range Aldis (Tilting Mirror) type and the Long Range Aldis (The sheath over the Bulb type).....................................pete


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## King Ratt

For Andy Lavies. 

Try this Aldis Lamp application at
http://www.krypto.ifastnet.com/superaldis/

Good Luck

KR


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## Troppo

The Aussie Navy does not teach Morse any more.

Flashing light will also be gone soon.


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## chadburn

The last RN vessel's to listen to the Morse Broadcast (from Pitreavie) were the "Tons".


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## david.hopcroft

chadburn said:


> The last RN vessel's to listen to the Morse Broadcast (from Pitreavie) were the "Tons".


They may have listened to the broadcast, but were very often unable to respond. At GKZ we frequently connected them on 'link calls' to Pitreavie for QSL's 

David
+


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## Shipbuilder

I just found this site:
http://aa9pw.com/morsecode/ 
You can get it to send morse at any speed you want. It is 18 years since I used morse on an everyday basis, but much to my surprise, it is still as easy to read as it was then!


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## Naytikos

The control tower at our small airport has an aldis suspended from the ceiling so it can be grabbed and pointed in any direction at any time. It was last used a couple of months ago when a visiting technician cut the link from the equipment room to the control room just as an aircraft reported on final approach! The controller was able to flash 'clear to land' and the pilot wiggled his wings in achnowledgement.


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## Treborvfr

Shipbuilder said:


> I just found this site:
> http://aa9pw.com/morsecode/
> You can get it to send morse at any speed you want. It is 18 years since I used morse on an everyday basis, but much to my surprise, it is still as easy to read as it was then!


Good link, just had to try it out. I've not used morse for nearly 25 years and was surprised that I could still receive at 20 words/min, no problem. I upped the speed to 25wpm and was still OK only mistake was mistaking an 'H' for an 'S'! (Bounce)

Bob


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## Shipbuilder

I didn't try writing it down, but could read and remember it clearly enough in my head. I suppose these things always stay with you. But I doubt whether I would be very good at sending after all this time, but I still have my Vibroplex bug key, so maybe I will get round to trying it again.
Bpob


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## mikeg

Naytikos said:


> The control tower at our small airport has an aldis suspended from the ceiling so it can be grabbed and pointed in any direction at any time. It was last used a couple of months ago when a visiting technician cut the link from the equipment room to the control room just as an aircraft reported on final approach! The controller was able to flash 'clear to land' and the pilot wiggled his wings in achnowledgement.


Hi Naytikos,

These ATC light signals incase of radio failure are fresh in my mind after ground exams, details here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aviation_light_signals

but remembering them when needed is another matter [=D]

Mike


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## teb

Shipbuilder said:


> I just found this site:
> http://aa9pw.com/morsecode/
> You can get it to send morse at any speed you want. It is 18 years since I used morse on an everyday basis, but much to my surprise, it is still as easy to read as it was then!


I did go into the site- and whilst unable to read all of it did get most of it -which considering it's nearly sixty years since I last touched a morse key ,suprised me somewhat !!!(Whaaa)


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## Mayday

Hi all,
I use a morse proggie to convert friends names to morse. Then I convert to MP3 and put them on my mobile as individual ringtones.
Really get some looks when it goes off, "Oh that't Jimmy".

John.


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## beedeesea

Heard this piece of music on the radio this morning and looked it up on you-tube. It contains some genuine morse code.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8S2CX-q7LQ

Brian


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## Mayday

"This brings to mind the old response "Put the monkey back on...!""

SWOF

John.


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## charles henry

Jan Hendrik said:


> Was a "telegraphist" as they called it in the Dutch Army ( 21 months compulsary at the time). The minimum to pass was 12 wpm which is really slow as I topped 32 or 36 wpm which was fast, yet on the receiving end I could not do more than 25 to max 30 wpm as you did not have the skills to write that quick.
> We had "Q" codes and "Z " codes, the latter was only used by the military but the "Q" codes were wellknown and had to be used e.g. with amateur radio. "QSE" "QSL"....etc
> Jan


Z codes were used on international high speed morse circuits where the messages were taped (Like teletype traffic) and the tapes were sent at speeds around the 200/300 words per minute (500wpm max)
depending on conditions.

At the receiving end it was printed out on a inked tape as a datum line which rose upmaking a slim box for the dot and a longer flat portion for a dash. In normal practice it was just a wiggly line but the receiving operators became adept at deciphering it as it passed along a guide bar attached to their typewriter.

We used Q codes and Z codes plus a number of five letter codes such as UPBAG DADRO etc.

Soul destroying work.

Chas


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## Pat Kennedy

beedeesea said:


> Heard this piece of music on the radio this morning and looked it up on you-tube. It contains some genuine morse code.
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8S2CX-q7LQ
> 
> Brian


If any of you sparkies get a chance, listen to Mike Oldfield's _Amorak,_ an hour long work which features a cleverly hidden morse code insult directed at Richard Branson, the owner of the Virgin label, with whom Oldfield had fallen out.


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## alan ward

paul0510 said:


> sounds crazy, maybe, but even after 30 years of Aldis withdrawl symptoms I still 'practice' on a regular basis by translating in my head, or when nobody is around dit-da-ing under my breath, such things as logos or adverts that I come across! Mad? Keeps them ol' grey cells busy.


Thank you for postin this,now I know i`m not alone


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## Bob Murdoch

alan ward said:


> Thank you for postin this,now I know i`m not alone


Believe me, you are far from alone.
Bob


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## Larry Bennett

The next time you listen to the theme of 'Some Mothers Do Ave Em' (classic BBC comedy of the 1970s for our overseas members) look out for the clever 'morse code to music' incorporated in it.....wonder if there are any more?

Larry +


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## martint123

I still have a mental twitch when a mobile phone squeeks out SMS in morse.


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## sparkie2182

Me too.

Odd that it still means so much to us, and b****r all to the people receiving the text msg.


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## Troppo

Listen closely to the theme from the TV show "Morse".....


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## alan ward

martint123 said:


> I still have a mental twitch when a mobile phone squeeks out SMS in morse.


The first time I heard it I thought I`d gone mad,where was morse coming from in a crowded pub?


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