Morse
Morse Code Translate
History Of Morse Code
Samuel F. B. Morse (1791-1872) was a painter and
founder of the National Academy of Design. In 1832, while on a ship
returning from Europe, he conceived the basic
idea of an electromagnetic telegraph. Experiments with various kinds of
electrical instruments and codes resulted in a demonstration of a working
telegraph set in 1836, and introduction of the circuit relay. This made
transmission possible for any distance. With
his creation of the American Morse code, the historic message, "What
hath God wrought?" was sucessfully sent from Washington to Baltimore.
The Morse code used in those days differed
greatly from that which is used today. Morse code originated on telegraph
lines and the original users did not listen to tones but instead to the
clicking sounds created by sounders. They used the American
Morse code as opposed to today's
International Morse. When sending dahs (Morse code is composed of dits or
short key closures, and dahs or longer key closures) the user simply sent
two close-together dits. This was created by using a conventional code
key.
With the advent of radio communications the international Morse became
more widespread. Users of the international Morse created dahs with a
longer key closure, instead of two
close-spaced dits. In order to increase transmission speed on early
landline circuits and later on radio circuits, semi-automatic
"bug" keys were invented in 1902 and were widely adopted. Bug
keys used a vibrating pendulum to create dits and the user still manually
creates the dahs.
In more recent times, the user can employ keyers
that electronically create dits and dahs. Iambic keyers have a memory so
that the user can operate a mechanical "paddle" quicker than the
keying rate of the keyer. This makes for very comfortable and nearly
effortless keying.
Today experienced operators copy received text
without the need to write as they receive, and when transmitting, can
easily converse at 20 to 30 words per minute. Morse code will always
remain a viable means of providing highly reliable communications during
difficult communications conditions.