Everyone Knows Morse: Difference between revisions
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Incidentally, Morse Code is, for official purposes, largely obsolete: In 1999, it was retired as the international standard, with the 500kHz marine channel (which dates back to the ''RMS Titanic'' days) no longer monitored by the coast guard in most countries. In 2003, the ITU dropped requirements for Morse proficiency for amateur radio operators on the shortwave bands; in the US, this was reflected in FCC regulations by the end of 2006. Unofficially, it's still used by navies frequently, and Morse proficiency is necessary for communication-based rates. Many radioamateur OM's who have been licensed since the days Morse was required still use it, as it sometimes can still get a signal through under conditions which are too noisy (or the signals too weak) for reliable voice communications. In Canada, the volunteer examiners who grant new "ham" licences still know the code. |
Incidentally, Morse Code is, for official purposes, largely obsolete: In 1999, it was retired as the international standard, with the 500kHz marine channel (which dates back to the ''RMS Titanic'' days) no longer monitored by the coast guard in most countries. In 2003, the ITU dropped requirements for Morse proficiency for amateur radio operators on the shortwave bands; in the US, this was reflected in FCC regulations by the end of 2006. Unofficially, it's still used by navies frequently, and Morse proficiency is necessary for communication-based rates. Many radioamateur OM's who have been licensed since the days Morse was required still use it, as it sometimes can still get a signal through under conditions which are too noisy (or the signals too weak) for reliable voice communications. In Canada, the volunteer examiners who grant new "ham" licences still know the code. |
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By the way, [[Distress Call|if you're in trouble]], you can always send the most commonly-known message in Morse Code: 3 Dots, 3 Dashes, 3 Dots (<span style="text-decoration:overline;">SOS</span>). The overbar indicates <span style="text-decoration:overline;">SOS</span> is a prosign – a sequence which is sent as if it were a single character, with no spaces between letters. It should be repeated in a continuous pattern. It doesn't mean "''S''ave ''O''ur ''S''ouls," or "save our ship" – rather the distinctive 3 dots and 3 dashes pattern was chosen because its an easy message for even an amateur to send and/or recognize even with heavy static. |
By the way, [[Distress Call|if you're in trouble]], you can always send the most commonly-known message in Morse Code: 3 Dots, 3 Dashes, 3 Dots (<span style="text-decoration:overline;">SOS</span>). The overbar indicates <span style="text-decoration:overline;">SOS</span> is a prosign – a sequence which is sent as if it were a single character, with no spaces between letters. It should be repeated in a continuous pattern. It doesn't mean "''S''ave ''O''ur ''S''ouls," or "save our ship" – rather the distinctive 3 dots and 3 dashes pattern was chosen because its an easy message for even an amateur to send and/or recognize even with heavy static. <!-- A similarly recognisable one is SMS (3 dots, 2 dashes, 3 dots), which at one point was commonly used on mobile phones to indicate an incoming text. --> |
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There were also a few common abbreviations, such as the "30" which indicated the end of a news wire story, which trace their roots to landline or wireless telegraphy. |
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A similarly recognisable one is SMS (3 dots, 2 dashes, 3 dots), which at one point was commonly used on mobile phones to indicate an incoming text. |
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{{examples|. -..- .- -- .--. .-.. . ... (Examples)}} |
{{examples|. -..- .- -- .--. .-.. . ... (Examples)}} |
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