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Become a Morse Code Expert
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Welcome back! Enjoy your stay, and don't forget to man up!
Before cell phones even before telephones, people communicated through Morse code. Despite being a technology that is over 160 years old, it’s still used today among amateur radio users and on some ships. If you were in Boy Scouts, you might have messed around with Morse code or maybe you had a grandpa who used it on his ham radio. While you might not find any particular use for Morse code in your daily life, learning Morse is a fun and engaging hobby you can share with gramps and an interesting man skill to possess.
The History of Morse code
Morse code was invented by Samuel F. B. Morse in the 1830s. He began work on the electric telegraph in 1832, developed a practical system in 1844, and patented his technology in 1849. The code that Morse developed for use with his system went through a few transformations before arriving at the code we’re familiar with today. Initially, Morse code only transmitted numbers. The transmission’s receiver would then have to use a dictionary to translate the numbers into words. But that proved to be tedious. Soon the code was expanded to include letters and even punctuation.
In 1844, Morse appeared before Congress to show off his little machine. The first public message was transmitted on May 24, 1844. It was “What God hath wrought.”
The original telegraph system had an apparatus on the receiving end that spat out a string of paper with indentations on it. Short indentations were called “dots” and the longer ones “dashes.” As telegraph users became more proficient with the code, they soon dispensed with the paper tape and deciphered code by year. Self made tycoon Andrew Carnegie worked as a telegraph operator as a boy. He set himself apart by learning to decipher Morse code by ear.
Ten years after the first telegraph line opened in 1844, over 23,000 miles of line crossed the country. The telegraph and Morse code had a profound effect on the development of the American West. Railroad companies used it to communicate between their stations and telegraph companies began to pop up everywhere, shortening the amount of time needed to communicate across the country.
During this period, European countries had developed their own system of Morse code. The code used in America was called American Morse code or often Railroad Morse code. The code used in Europe was called Continental Morse code.
In the 1890’s radio communication was invented and Morse code was used for transmitting messages at sea. As radio frequencies got longer and longer, international communication soon became possible and a need for an international standard code developed. In 1912, the International Morse code was adopted for all international communication. However, many railroads and telegraph companies continued using Railroad Morse code because it could be sent faster. Today, American Morse code is nearly extinct. A few amateur radio users and Civil War re-enactors still keep it alive.
Morse code became extremely important in maritime shipping and aviation. Pilots were required to know how to communicate using Morse code up until the 1990s.
Today Morse code is primarily used among amateur radio users. In fact, up until 2007, if you wanted to get your amateur radio license in America, you had to pass a Morse code proficiency test.
Learning Morse code
Learning Morse code is like learning any language. You have to practice, practice, practice. We’ve brought together some resources to help you get started on the path to becoming a master telegraph operator. Who knows? Maybe you can start your own telegraph shop.
Get familiar with the code. The first thing you’ll need to do is get familiar with what the alphabet looks like in Morse code. Below I’ve included the International Morse code alphabet. Print it off, carry it around with you, and study it during your free time. (In order to download the image, right click it and hit “save.”)
For our Steampunk and Civil War re-enactor friends, we’ve also included the American Rail Road Code.
Start listening to Morse code. You’re going to have to actually listen to Morse code if you ever want to learn it. Head over to learnmorsecode.com and download some MP3s of some code. Listen to it and see if you can decipher any letters.
Use this nifty chart. Print off this dichotomic search tree to help you decipher code. Start off where it says “start.” Every time you hear a dit (or short sound) you move down and to the left. Every time you hear a dah (or long sound) you move down and to the right. Learnmorsecode.com has a dichotomic chart as well, except it’s the reverse of this one. (You go left on dah, right on dit). Use whichever one is comfortable for you.
Practice with this app. This is keen-o-reeno online app that lets you input any text and it will play it back in Morse code. Practice with it for 10 minutes a day and you’ll be well on your way to becoming a Morse code wiz.
You can also try out “The Mill.” It’s a downlodable app that not only allows you to use International Morse code, but also American Morse code.
Tips to make Morse code memorization easier
Count the number characters. Knowing the number of characters in each letter can help you narrow down your possibilities when you receive a message.
T, E= 1 character each
A, I, M,N= 2 characters
D, G, K, O, R, S, U, W= 3 characters
B, C, F, H, J, L, P, Q, V, X, Y, Z= 4 characters each
Reverse letters. Some letters are the reverse of each other in Morse code. For example “a” is “._” while “n” is “_.”
Here are the rest of the letters that are the reverse of each other:
a & n d & u g & w b & v f & l q & y
Do you have any experience with Morse code? Drop a line in the comment box and share with us.
Hat tip to Karmazon for starting the discussion about Morse code in the forums.
The BIGGEST reason to learn morse (or CW, as the hams call it) is because its an extremely useful survival skill. We’ve all gotten out of practice with voice communications - but what happens when the phones and power go out? Morse can be tapped out with darn near anything, from flashlights to mirrors to tapping on a wall.
Furthermore because you are only dealing with “on” and “off”, radios can broadcast morse at much lower power, on much lower frequencies. If a natural disaster hits an area, hams can have communications running with a small radio and a car battery in a matter of minutes.
Definitely a skill that should NOT be lost.
Great article! I’ve never learned this code, but, perhaps, this article will provide just the motivation to do so.
BTW, the subtitle should be, “LeaRning Morse code” with the “r” in learning.
regards,
MAJ
I was a naval radio operator in the 70’s and I look back fondly on my days sending and receiving CW. You could punch through your message with code in the worst conditions when no other method would work. However it has been superseded by satellite and digital technology. The time and the discipline needed to acquire and maintain Morse Code as a usable skill is likely not worth the effort. It does require almost daily practice to maintain your proficiency. The only reason I would pick it up again is if I got a ham license, and that would be for no other reason than nostalgia.
Aye, speaking as a General Class ham myself, KG4UZJ, I gotta say that while CW is really cool, it isn’t really needed. In fact, a lot of hams that still use it today actually use programs on their computers that key the code in for them as they type, as well as translate it upon recieving. That’s one of the big reasons the FCC dropped the Morse requirement to upgrade from a Technician to General license.
However, if anyone is interested, the ARRL (found at arrl.org) still sells cds that help you learn the code (if they don’t drive you insane like they did me) and you can pick them up pretty easily. You don’t even have to be a ham to buy them.
Oh, and Dave, if communications go down, that’s what we hams are for. Organizations like ARES (Amatuer Radio Emergency Service) and RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service) are funded by the government and supported by volunteer ham radios working through your local community and are designed to keep lines of communication open. Heck, we even work with the National Weather Service through a program called SKYWARN to help spot and report severe weather activity while it happens.
It’s not just a hobby, it’s a service.
To learn morse you really have to hear it. You have to listen to it until you instinctively recognise the rhythm and pattern of each letter without having to consciously decode. I was taught through a series of slides which had the letter/number and the dots-and-dashes representation and as each slide was displayed the morse would sound. You could do something similar nowadays with a computer. It started with just say five letters, then added another five until we could recognise the whole alphabet. Then they started testing us with random character groups and phrases until we were decoding prose at 15 words per minute straight onto a notepad. Once you get into it you begin to recognise common words such as ‘and’ and ‘the’ in one, rather than via their component letters. And don’t bother trying to learn to send until you can receive well. Sending will be a piece of cake once morse is a part of you
In France, scouts learn morse code through practical exercises but get a little help with this memory tip :
http://img521.imageshack.us/my.php?image=morsewy9.jpg
It’s kind of rythmic gibberish associated to each letter, each syllable with “o” inside being dash, all the others (a, i, e, u) being dot. It works fairly well.
By the way, I just uploaded the whole excellent book from which this page was extracted, Manuel des éclaireurs unionistes, a dissent french scouting manual edited in 1941. https://www.yousendit.com/download/bVlBZUNwMHdiV3hFQlE9PQ (20 Mo, for 7 days).
If you REALLY want to learn it:
- FORGET the dots & dash thing
- FORGET the “E,I,S,H,5 / T,M,O,ch,0″… thing
The morse code is a matter of RYTHM, it must enter in your brain by your EARS, not your EYES.
–> Use http://lcwo.net/
73’s
Laurent, F1JKJ
This “Today Morse code is primarily used among amateur radio users. In fact, up until 2007, if you wanted to get your amateur radio license in America, you had to pass a Morse code proficiency test.” isn’t quite true. You’ve long been able to get a “Technician” License without knowing code, but that license has a few restrictions not on the higher level licenses.
Though I’m only a Technician, and I’ve not learned code yet, I completely disagree with the decision to remove the code requirement from the General and Extra licenses. CW still has a place, and it’s still useful, and I think it was irresponsible of the FCC and ARRL to drop the requirement.
Jeff, KE7FEK
I can’t say I’ll be spending my time acquiring this skill, but I do remember the code for SOS from my Boy Scout days.
I chuckled out loud when today’s entry loaded onto my screen.
I’ve been a Radiotelegrapher for almost 40 years now, and while I haven’t been active on the ham bands (I hold a pre-No-Code Extra-Class license) for several years I still “keep my ear in”, so to speak.
I miss the days when I could tune in the high seas stations sending weather forecasts and traffic lists at amazingly high speeds.
This website below came across one of my listserves a few weeks ago. I’ve been playing with it and am pleased that I can still handle 30 words per minute
http://lcwo.net/
Give it a try.
ZUT,
WB9OFG
While I applaud your article on morse code, I have to reiterate what has already been said. The absolute worst advice you can give someone about learning morse code it to learn by sight. You hear the code just as you hear words. Nobody learned to talk by reading a book. You learn by listening and recreating the sounds.
That being said, I assume most of the readers are not amateur radio operators and will have no regular use of the code. In that case, carrying around a cheat sheet will be the only way to remember.
Thanks,
Neil - N4NI
Back in the late 60’s, early 70’s I worked for the Army Security Agency as a “Morse Intercept Operator” (a.k.a. Ditty Bop) copying code from around the world and several “target” countries. The work was interesting and I got to listen in on some of the most proficient “brass pounders” of the day. This MOS (Military Occupation Specialty) no longer, to my knowledge, exists but it was great while it lasted.
To step it back a couple of generations, I had a Great Uncle who worked as a telegrapher for the railroad (his first “real” job after he came home from WWI)
I am sure many of us have these kind of ties to Mr. Morse’s dit’s and dah’s.
There is a lot of truth to this - I was taught to copy code by the Army at Ft. Devens, Mass where we spent weeks and weeks of shouting things like ” di-dah!” - “what is it?” - “Alpha!” — “Alpha!”-”what is it?”-”di-dah!” at the top of our lungs tell we got to the point it wasn’t so much that we knew it as it became a non-forgettable part of our brains! NOTE: The Army kept the “campus” of wooden buildings where the code was taught away from the rest of the Post as the sound of squads of G.I.’s screaming at the top of their lungs for hours on end can be very distracting. We finished up not only being horse for an extended periods of time but being able to touch-type Morse at some fairly impressive speeds.
I used to run CW traffic nets on 80 and 40 meters. Learning the basics of the code at the letter-level is useful to a point (and was certainly necessary when the speed testing exams consisted of random groups of letters and numbers) but for real-world proficiency and speed it’s best to try to quickly progress from the letter-at-a-time level to recognizing words. dah di di di dit dit — “the”…eventually, it becomes like working with a foreign language. You don’t “translate” what you’re hearing on the fly, you hear it just like somebody speaking to you in your first language.
alas, this is all only of nostalgic value now….
Thanks for the hat tip. You should’ve mentioned the Koch method http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koch_method which makes you learn morse code by sound and to know it by reflex.
Oh and I think Morse code has a great value even today. I, for example, go hiking alone in the woods a lot, where there’s no cell phone signal.
Pattern recognition definitely has (had?) it’s place and came naturally once you had mastered the code - especially with such things as routine skeds using Q & Zs, etc. However you have to be able to turn it off and revert to strictly letter-at-a-time, very accurate reflex response (when banging on a mill or taking down messages by hand) when doing high-speed commercial type work like copying long lists of characters (weather grids, shipping lists, etc.) , typing long messages in a foreign language you may not know (like with message code using cyrillic characters, etc.).
However you are correct in that proficiency with Morse remains little more than a skill of nostalgic value - sort of like being able to chip a beautiful arrowhead out of flint with on another piece of bone or stone - something to wonder at but of little practical use in the modern day (sigh).
Remember: Morse code is MUCH faster than texting! You can usually get a Morse input app for your phone. I don’t know Morse, but it’s on the list. In fact, when I bought my Arduino (incidentally at the same convention where I took my ham test), my first real app was a text->morse program! Wasn’t that big a deal: morse decoder is going to be a bit more involved. Figured it would help me practice!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhsSgcsTMd4 (Jay Leno world-record texter vs. Morse operator)
–Matt
KB1QZK
I’m facinated by Mores code and learning it. The founders of our organization were telegraphers in 1901. I’m curious how Mores code is tapped out (from say a sunken ship or mine shaft) without the ability to tap a dash?
@Robert Bertolet - When you can’t define your “dit’s” and “dahs” by their length you can define them by the spaces between them.
The longest spaces break up words, long “spaces” break up characters, medium spaces between one click/tap and the next define a dash, shortest space between one click/tap and the next define a dot.
Example:
tap.tap.tap…..tap…tap…tap……..tap.tap.tap
This is an “SOS” — note the shorter character spacing after the last tap in the first “S” and the last tap in the “O” - this lets you know whether or not the character ended with a “dit” or a “dah”. A similar relationship exists for the last click/tap in a word.
Mike
Like a lot of us I learned cw in the service. I was a Radioman in the Navy. After Radioman School I went to 2304 School which gave me the title of intermediate speed code operator. To pass the class we had to receive around 25 wpm. It was mind numbing. Listening and typing out cw all day long. After a few weeks I was thinking in Morse Code. When I would drive home on weekends I would be spelling out road signs on my car horn. It was fun, late at night on the mid watch
talking to guys hundreds or even thousands of miles away. CW has a long range. I still play with it once in a while but I’m no where near the speed I used to be.
Regards, Mike Sullivan RM3 USN.
I to went to morse code training at Ft. Devens. Of course Devens has longed closed and the MOS of 05x has changed to 98x (05H is now 98H; 05K is now 98K). Not sure where they do morse code training anymore (I heard at one time and don’t remember). Morse code training is still very important for the military. Many countries in the world still use morse code! Even if you are sending data and wish to change frequencies, you may do so using morse code.
I did morse for many years and could 25 WPM in my sleep while having two conversations. It’s a mental thing……….you can’t think about it, you must hear and react instantaneously……. If you think about what you heard, your already behind.
I haven’t done morse code for 25 year now and found a program the other day. I was scared to see how much I had forgotten, but when I did the 25 WPM test, it was like riding a bike. No problem……
I rather miss it.