Morse Code

Well, you can send morse code on just about any radio that can transmit. There are just a few radios that are designed ONLY for sending and receiving morse code -- but unless you have a hobbiest's desire to communicate only in morse code, I wouldn't limit oneself to just that. Voice communication has a number of advantages over morse code -- and there are a wide selection of radios that can communicate with voice, morse code, and several other widely-used protocols.

If you are looking just for a simple, do-it-yourself morse code transceiver, you might look into the "Rock-Mite" - it's very small, simple, and pretty reliable.

-Fachento

 

Learning Morse Code

I found a pretty good place to not only learn Morse code, but it has the question pool to simulate the FCC exam for Ham Radio. Best of all, it's free.

You might check your local library to see if there are materials to learn morse code (tapes, CD's) -- but this is a pretty good place as well.

http://aa9pw.com/morsecode/so-you-want-to-learn-morse-code/

Simon Twigger is pretty good about providing this stuff free of charge -- AA9PW is his call sign. I remember using his website to help prepare me for getting my Technician class license.

-Fachento
KD5VEZ

 

What communications systems would be limited to only morse code creating the necessity of knowing it?

 

What is morse code used for these days?

 

Giving people something to take a test on...? I hear it on certain frequencies on the radio sometimes... I think I looked it up and it was S.O.S....

 

If you are long distances from people out in the wilderness at night and you all know morse code but have no communication devices you can use a laser pointer or if its during the day time you can use a mirror or if someone is trapped somewhere they can tap it out to where you can hear them.

 

There are "home-brew" type radios that are designed specifically to send the "beeps" for morse-code. They don't have the capability to modulate voice signals, or any other digital signals for that matter.

Morse code is typically very-narrow band-width. When they figured out how to transmit voice signals, even they were relatively narrow band-width on the AM (amplitude modulated) side. FM (Frequency modulate) have the capability to modulate stereo sound, and are typically larger band-width.

So... Morse code was arguably the most primitive, and easiest to send. Any kind of disruption of the normal "sounds" on a frequency. This includes pressing the "Push To Talk" button on a handi-talkie. The advantages of a transceiver built especially for morse code, is that is can be very compact, and very simple to build/repair.

-Fachento
KD5VEZ

 

People use it to "chat" on HF frequencies. Some say it has a slight advantage (in HF frequencies) over long distances because it is easier to hear through static. In other words, you could have a conversation from Arizona to Tazmania, bouncing your radio signal off the Pacific Ocean and the Ionosphere, and still get a clear enough signal through using morse code, when doing the same by voice wouldn't be possible.

I heard of one person who was hospitalized for one reason or another, and lost the use of their voice for several weeks, due to their weakened condition. Both that lady and her husband were ham radio operators, and knew morse code. She was able to communicate with her husband by tapping out morse code characters on his palm even though she couldn't talk, and could barely move.

-Fachento
KD5VEZ