the importance of morse code

[wormfarmernc]

I have been playing with the idea of teaching my kids morse code. Is this a useful thing to know in the future?

[macgeoghagen]

morse code may be useful, but tap code is easier to memorize.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tap_code

[macgeoghagen]

An idea ive been toying with is a family only code that can be communicated verbally, visually, through taps, tones over a phone line, or even by slight variation in the positioning of everyday objects.

[OzarksJohn]

Howdy.

I myself have never learned code. I often consider that a gap in my education. The only problem with learning code is that you have to consider it an "applied art". You learn it by doing it, and you retain it by using it on a regular basis. In my mind it's a musical talent that you can't just learn, shelve, and come back under adverse conditions and use effectively. IF you have time and wish to attack this, you should do it in conjunction with HAM radio to really make it work for you. Of course, radio communications as a hobby can be fun and doesn't have to totally wreck your wallet. The thought of being able to use a battery powered portable pack radio the size of a regular CB and talk hundreds of miles away using code or voice might be intriguing to you. In an emergency with cell phones and other hard wired phones out of service, this might be a real advantage.OzarksJohn

[macgeoghagen]

The beauty of tap code is that you don't have to stay in practice to retain it. I have never had to use it in an operational setting, but I can memorize a 5x5 grid easily.
C and K are the same letter.

ABCDE
FGHIJ
LMNOP
QRSTU
VWXYZ

2,4 4,4 4,3 , 1,5 1,1 4,3 5,4

[recoilless_57mm]

I think teaching your children & grandchildren how to operate an old AM band transmitter & receiver are a great thing. One of the things that will be limited during a period of civil unrest, should it ever come to that, will be communication. This is like learning a new language. It will be difficult at first. Once a person gets past the point of listening for each individual letter & hears complete words you will have code mastered as good as anyone. Charlie

[macgeoghagen]

Today i found a useful way to make tap code a bit more secure. come up with a series of words that include all the letters you think youll need. maybe even a sentence.

the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

that one includes all 26 letters of the alphabet, spaces, and punctuation. including spaces, it has 44 characters. With this, more than one coordinate can mean the same thing, and it isnt as obvious as ABCDE. use a 7x7 block:

THE QUI
CK BROW
N FOX J
UMPS OV
ER THE
LAZY DO
G.

if you want to go super secure, you can do each character in 6 binary digits, where

100 101 is 4,5 is the space between S and O. You also get 5 extra blanks on the last row for your own special characters.

This has its weaknesses as well. 7 taps is a lot to count when tapping out each letter, and it can't be displayed with fingers by a normal 5 fingered human. So I worked out a 5x5 grid series of words. my grid omits K, Q, X, and Z. Those letters are barely used for anything, and i will not use tap code to tell people about a zebra quickly killing a xylephone at the ZZ top concert. S can be used for Z, C can be used for K, CW can be used for Q, and CS can be used for X. That gives me 22 letters, period, a space, and 2 extra spaces. I'm not going to show that grid to you. That would be bad OPSEC.

[gregabob]

Morse code is used in aviation still. Most common is 3 letter identifiers for navigation stations such as VOR (Very high frequency Omnidirectional Range). The station broadcasts Morse code once every 10 seconds or so so you can identify which VOR you're homing in on. Charts have the 'dot-dash' code next to the icon for the station, so it's easy to figure out what you're listening to.

[qwerty]

I got my HAM ticket way back when I was in highschool 1969. Had a qrp rig and thought that was really cool, and it is. I learned the code just by practice over and over. I have kept my license but I don't do much except ragchewing with the club on a 2 meter HT.

[Mitch]

-.-. --.- -.-. --.- (CQ CQ)
Back when I got my Extra Class ticket (AE4YW), I had to learn 20wpm code. I built 4 QRP rigs, put up 540 feet of wire (all I had), hooked up a Denton transmatch and started. I liked to have never mastered fast code! It has been 20 years so I suppose I would have to relearn.

Lots of fun hunting those tiny signals out of the soup. I managed 41 states and 4 continents on those 1 watt rigs. That is a lot of distance on the equavalent of a flashlight battery. Then I quit When nothing else will work, code will! I would suggest anyone to learn it.

And always remember that in the movie Independence Day, when your up to your rear in hostile aliens and all your satellite and communications are out, the only way to save the world is Morse Code!!!!!

Not much need to worry about scrambling, only a few navy aviators and a few old time signal men can read it anyway Heck, you can even blink code!

Mitch

[windmo]

If nothing else, teaching the family morse code would be a nice way to teach them a skill under the guise of playing a family game. Just like any skill, You never know when it could come in handy.