Talk:Morse code

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Contents

[edit] Talk Archive

/Archive: Talk from before yesterday-- AJJ Andrewjuren 21:14, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] American railroad code

it would be nice to have american railroad code here as a table as well as international code. If I get to it I'll add it

I think you'll find that this sort of thing has recently been given its own article at American Morse code --Nigelj 09:11, 3 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Binary

The article says that Morse code has five different "states" unlike binary, but I think it really does have two: on /off. If we call a 'dit' 1 and a roughly equal amount of silence 0, then SOS could be roughly 101010 111011101110 101010 (10 being a full 'dit', 1110 being a full 'dah')...more zeroes would be a longer pause. Hence, Morse code is a binary system depending on how you look at it...

I think maybe comparing it with binary in the article isn't so great an idea because, as I demonstrated, the interpretation is a bit subjective. --Furrykef 00:23, 27 Feb 2004 (UTC)

If we take the SOS example, you've got 1 representing a dot, 11 representing a dash, 0 representing the period between taps within a letter, and gaps representing the gaps between the letters -- which uses 3 symbols (0,1,gap). If we turn this fully into binary by reducing this to just 2 symbols (1 and 0) by replacing the gaps by 0s, we get 10101001110111011100101010) - but that still uses 4 states (1=dot, 11=dash, 0=period between taps, 00=period between letters). What you've actually done is to sample Morse code and code it a second time into binary. You can also represent the music from a violin in binary, but that doesn't mean that violin music is binary.

I think it is misleading to call morse code binary; however it is certainly a digital mode. --ssd 12:13, 15 July 2005 (UTC)

This is Morse Code:

dah dah  dah dah dah  dit dah dit  dit dit dit  dit

dah dit dah dit  dah dah dah  dah dit dit  dit

Is it binary?

Michael Geary 03:01, 26 May 2005 (UTC)

Hmm... I guess that isn't really Morse Code, is it? It's a written transcription of a spoken form of Morse. Encoded into bits, of course. Michael Geary 04:26, 26 May 2005 (UTC)
111011100011101110111000 1 01110 1 000 1 0 1 0 1 000 1 0000000
dah dah   dah dah dah   dit dah dit   dit dit dit   dit
1110 1 01110 1 000111011101110001110 1 0 1 000 1 
dah dit dah dit   dah dah dah   dah dit dit   dit

The signal required for Morse is binary. Five codes using this binary signal, binary codes, form the building blocks of Morse. The morse-alphabet is defined as being encoded using these building blocks. However, a different definition allows for a direct definition of the alphabet based on the signal, eg: m=1110111000, o=11101110111000 r=1011101000 s=10101000 e=1000 space=0000.Aliter 01:24, 15 July 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Swing and its importance

I think the article could usefully mention that experienced operators using straight keys could recognize each other by the "swing" in the sent code - variations in the length of theelements. This was of practical significance during the WWII since sometimes if an agent in enemy territory had been discovered and substituted by an enemy operator, the "swing" of the station's code would change. The "bandwidth" comment is misleading because it doesn't take into account the very low data rate of a Morse transmission - someone sending 40 WPM Morse is moving right along, but someone only speaking 40 words per minute would sound very odd indeed. For low bandwidth and true QRP DX you can't beat the various NASA deep space probes. --Wtshymanski 21:25, 13 Apr 2005 (UTC)

First, I thought it was called fist, this is the first I've heard it called swing. Second, 40wpm morse code is a lot more than "words", as the lingo includes lots of two and three letter abbreviations that can represent entire sentences, and can really make a QSO fly. This, along with increased accuracy, is what makes morse win in the right situation. Lastly, like morse code, the deep space probes use digital modes. All the advantages of morse stem from it being a digital mode. It just happens to be the only digital mode designed for humans. --ssd 05:23, 14 Apr 2005 (UTC)
And now you know why I didn't write about "fist" in the article. Not sure where I've seen "swing", but I agree that "fist" is the more common term. But the "hand-made" quality of transmitted Morse is a significant characteristic to note; for the reasons above and also because it apparently makes machine transcription of hand-sent Morse more difficult. I've been reading up on the history; the original idea was to transcribe Morse off a trace on a paper tape, not by ear. Arguably all digital modes are designed for use by humans, though some need more hardware than others. And per the comment on my talk page, I understand a bug is the same as an iambic keyer.--Wtshymanski 17:32, 14 Apr 2005 (UTC)
Not exactly. A bug (like the classic Vibroplex) is a semiautomatic mechanical keyer with a single paddle. Push it one way and you manually key dashes, the other way and it automatically keys dots using a spring vibrator.
If you keep the single paddle and add an automatic dash generator, you have an automatic keyer. Push it one way for dots and the other for dashes. (Typically both the dot and dash generators are electronic, so the bug's mechanical vibrator isn't needed.) But it's not yet iambic.
An iambic keyer is an automatic keyer with two independent paddles. Push one for dots, the other for dashes, and squeeze them together to alternate dots and dashes.
Bugs allow for plenty of swing because you control the both the dashes and all the spacing except the space between two dots. And you can adjust the vibrator to give the dots some personality too. Automatic keyers (iambic or not) still let you have just a bit of your own fist because you control the spacing between characters. Fully automatic keyers (e.g. keyboard driven) don't have any swing at all, so they have a perfect fist.
You don't hear swing as much as fist these days, but they are both useful words for describing a CW operator's keying style. "Do you hear all that swing? Man, what a lousy fist!" Michael Geary 03:51, 26 May 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Formatting

I cleaned up all the tables a bit. The code examples are in lots of different formats/justifications, though, so I just left them. Which do you like the best?

  1. -- --- ·-· ··· · (hyphens and middots)
  2. -- --- ·-· ··· · (hyphens and middots code)
  3. -- --- ·-· ··· · (hyphens and middots bold code)
  4. -- --- ·-· ··· · (hyphens and middots bold)
  5. −− −−− ·−· ··· · (minus signs and middots)
  6. −− −−− ⋅−⋅ ⋅⋅⋅ ⋅ (minus signs and sdots)
  7. -- --- ⋅-⋅ ⋅⋅⋅ ⋅ (hyphens and sdots)
  8. −− −−− ·−· ··· · (minus signs and middots code)
  9. −− −−− ·−· ··· · (minus signs and middots code bold)

I guess it doesn't matter as long as the idea gets across. But hey, why not make it pretty, too? Maybe we could add a class to the css or something?

Probably all should be centered, too. - Omegatron 00:40, Apr 22, 2005 (UTC)

My vote would definitely go for the last one above [#5] — the clearest and easiest to 'read'. --Nigelj 14:21, 23 Apr 2005 (UTC)
I like the look, too, but it's not easy to read or edit the markup. - Omegatron 15:01, Apr 23, 2005 (UTC)
I prefer 2nd or 3rd. The problem with the last one [#5] is all the characters run together, making it nigh unto impossible to read. the <code> tag puts a nice effect on it. The layout really work best if monospaced like that. --Scott(who needs to setup a proper user account(Ok, account made "Skotte"))
I think I'm going to change them all to number 3. — Omegatron 01:43, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] International vs American version

Would it be possible to make the International Morse Code more prominent in the tables than the "American Morse"? At the moment it's quite difficult to read the tables because the two are hard to distinguish, and I suspect more people are interested in the common system than in one which, according to the article, is "virtually extinct, and no longer in commercial use". Actually, ideally perhaps it would be a good idea to split the American Morse out into a separate article, and keep this one for the system people are expecting to read about, not a related one which is purely of specialised historical interest.

I propose copying all the charts as they are (with both systems) to an American Morse code article, and then moving all references of American Morse out of this article except a brief summary. — Omegatron 16:27, August 22, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Sound Files Incorrect

Many of the sound files have an extra dit at the end: I, M, N, O, P, R, S, T, U, X, Z, 2, 4, 6, 8

I've just checked and there's no problems. Try playing in a different player. There is a problem with the last sound getting chopped off abruptly, though. I might go through and fix them all. — Omegatron 04:52, August 26, 2005 (UTC)
I'm doing this now. — Omegatron 05:15, August 26, 2005 (UTC)
I altered all of them and re-uploaded. Added fade in and fade out to beginning and end, possibly lengthened chopped-off dits by copying and pasting a longer one, added 100 ms of silence at end if there wasn't before. Yes, it took me a long time. ;-) When I click them I get the old file still, so hopefully it will update over time or something. — Omegatron 06:10, August 26, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Ampersand

In American Morse it is considered a symbol, but in International it is considered ET? — Omegatron 14:06, August 26, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Mnemonic Devices

This original research has been removed. Maybe there is a place for it? If not, it should be posted on another site and we can link to it. — Omegatron 14:03, 18 October 2005 (UTC)

I'm not sure that a clever way of explaining something that is otherwise verifiable, or making it easy to remember should be counted as original research, but I agree it is probably too long for this article. I think a Wikibook on Learning Morse Code might be an appropriate place and a worth while project. I also have a graphic I made a while back that I would be glad to contribute: [1] --agr 17:57, 22 November 2005 (UTC)

Morse Code can be easily learned, when a Mnemonic for each letter, is used in conjunction with its Phonetic pronunciation.

 A            Alfa        .-       (al-FA)      ----That's what it says!  :P  ----
 B            Bravo       -...     (YEAH! *clap**clap**clap*)  ---applause---
 C            Charlie     -.-.     (CHAR-lie's  AN-gels) --- a 1970's T.V. show.  
 D            Delta       -..      (NEW or-leans)
 E            Echo        .        (hey!)
 F            Foxtrot     ..-.     (*step**step**BRUSH**step*) --that's how you foxtrot!--
 G            Golf        --.      (HOLE IN one!)
 H            Hotel       ....     (ho-li-day-inn)
 I            India       ..       (bom-bay)
 J            Juliett     .---     (where-FORE ART THOU?) 
 K            Kilo        -.-      (POUND for POUND)
 L            Lima        .-..     (li-MA pe-ru) ---Lima is the capitol city of Peru---
 M            Mike        --       (LIKE MIKE)  ---"I wanna be...." ---Michael Jordan advertising jingle.
 N            November    -.       (AU-tumn)      
 O            Oscar       ---      (SUN-NY-DAY) first 3 notes of the "Sesame Street" theme song; as in "Oscar the Grouch".    
 P            Papa        .--.     (of DOC-TOR good) --- "Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves, by Cher Bono.  "Papa would do whatever he could, preach a little gospel, sell a few bottles..."                                                                                  
 Q            Quebec      --.-     (A-LOU-et-TE) ---a song sung by French Canadians---
 R            Romeo       .-.      (Ro-MER-o)  ---"Romeo" in Spanish.
 S            Sierra      ...      (*3 mountain peaks*) ---"sierra" means "mountain range"
 T            Tango       -        (*DIP*) --- When you "dip" the girl, during a tango, you "hold" her there for a couple of seconds.
 U            Uniform     ..-      (u-ni-FORM) ---That's what it says!  :P ----
 V            Victor      ...-     (*the first 4 notes of Beethoven's fifth*)  ---The 1st movement of Beethoven's 5th Symphony, is also called the "Ode to Victory"---
 W            Whiskey     .--      (jack AND COKE)   ----Jack Daniels® is a brand of Whiskey that has a delicious flavor when mixed with Coca Cola.
 X            X-ray       -..-     (ON-ly the BONES) ---That's all you see in an X-ray image.
 Y            Yankee      -.--     (yan-kee DOO-dle) ---That's what it says! :P ----
 Z            Zulu        --..     (SHA-KA zu-lu) --- Name of the Zulu king who introduced his people to the white man.
Reviewing this talk article, I cannot help but wonder if there is in fact some truth in the above Mnemonic to learn morse code. In the Fifth Volume of "The Family Creative Workshop", Cryptopgraphy Section, it states that Morse devised a similiar method learning morse code, albiet with different words as to associate with the "di" and "dahs" with the long and short syllables of words. Below is a listing of those words.
A    .-         Ag-ainst
B    -...       Bar-ba-ri-an
C    -.-.       Cont-in-ent-al
D    -..        Dah-li-a
E    .          (short)
F    ..-.       Fu-ri-ous-ly
G    --.        Gal-lant-ly
H    ....       Hu-mi-li-ty
I    ..         I-vy
J    .---       Ju-ris-dic-tion 
K    -.-        Kan-ga-roo
L    .-..       Le-gis-la-tor
M    --         Moun-tain
N    -.         Nob-le
O    ---        Off-ens-ive
P    .--.       Pho-tog-rap-her
Q    --.-       Queen Kath-a-rine
R    .-.        Re-becc-a
S    ...        Se-ver-al
T    -          Tea
U    ..-        Uniform
V    ...-       Ve-ry va-ried
W    .--        Wa-ter-loo
X    -..-       Ex-hi-bi-tion 
Y    -.--       Youth-ful and Fair
Z    --..       (two long, two short)

Any truth to this? --Caesius 17:37, 20 November 2005 (UTC)

C    -.-.       Co-ca Co-la
F    ..-.       What the f***'s that
J    .---       I want you, Jones 
L    .-..       To 'ell with it
M    --         Mmmm-mmmm
N    -.         Nig-el
Q    --.-       Queue ov-er here

I personally used the mnemonics above, that I either made up or heard somewhere, for some letters that I found difficult to remember. I think the use of mnemonics is both common and very useful when learning morse, but they have to be personally relevant, and easy, as you don't have much time to think about of them! I think a few overlapping sets of examples may be useful to future learners, and should be recorded somewhere for posterity. Yeah, maybe Wikibooks, with a link from this article. --Nigelj 19:07, 22 November 2005 (UTC)

For what it's worth, I found the mnemonics on this page to be practically useless. It seems more difficult to learn the mnemonics than to just learn morse code. The mnemonics listed are interesting at best, but presenting them in this article almost makes it seem like they are the end-all-be-all of mnemonics for learning morse code when in fact if someone tried applying this mneomic while trying to learn and copy code they would probably be bumped down to 2 WPM. Phauge 05:31, 25 April 2006 (UTC)
I agree. As I intended my examples above to illustrate last year, they have to be extremly personal to work. A huge bold table like we have in the article is way too prescriptive and by placing it there it seems to carry way too much authority. Editors are just going to disagree about its details forever, and it'll always be worthless to an encyclopedia reader. I'll (boldly) delete it soon, I think, unless there are very good objections. If anyone wants a copy for WikiBooks or some other use, you can find it in the history of the article. --Nigelj 14:59, 25 April 2006 (UTC)
What about a new article that highlights various morse mnemonics? I think the information is valid and belongs somewhere... I just don't think this article is the place. This isn't the first mnemonic I have seen for learning morse code. (http://www.learnmorsecode.com/) (http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/ibex_systems/amateur.htm). Phauge 02:48, 26 April 2006 (UTC)
I think it is useful to have, either here or in a linked article. But it should probably be made clear that these are just examples and is not comprehensive of every possibility. Or how about setting up the table to support multiple mnemonics? The mention about edits is correct though... for example, I see that someone tried to change "NEW or-leans" (which has basicly no google hits outside of wikipedia-sourced links) to "Dog did-it" (which has a ton of hits). I say "tried to change", because someone reverted the change, with no explaination. Mrand 14:01, 26 April 2006 (UTC)

I moved the mnemonics to the new article Morse Code Mnemonics Phauge 14:02, 15 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] History Removed?

What happened to the history portion of this article? One of my first contributions to Wikipedia was to this article under the history heading, but it seems like now it is gone. Was it moved? I find this article in whole very interesting. Although not a HAM, I have been a fan of Morse for quite some time. Keep up the good work! Phauge 14:30, 18 October 2005 (UTC)

It was moved to American Morse code. — Omegatron 01:35, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Kana code

I added a link to Kana code Wabun Code and a stub on it. This article is long as it is and looks due for refactoring. In anticipation I linked to the non-existent entry prosign in the Wabun Code section.

I know there are other non-Roman codes but I don't know much about them. LeighKlotz 17:35, October 22, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Inter-word and Inter-sentence Spacing

The image gives the inter-word space as 5 units. Everything else that I have read on International Morse code says 7, even the article itself ([2]). Given that the chart is labeled as a 1922 chart, things might have changed, but surely a warning would be advisable.

Also, this article is the first I have read of a distinct inter-sentence space in Morse. I'm very interested at a personal level in references for a distinct inter-sentence space in International Morse Code.

[Forgot to sign previous] Fagricipni 22:05, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Full ASCII compliance?

There are 13 ASCII characters that can't be represented in Morse Code:

If one wanted to send one of these symbols by Morse Code, how would one do it? --  Denelson83  04:59, 17 January 2006 (UTC)

  • It also appears that you can not specify open or close parens, which means if you wanted to code :) - it would be unclear whether you meant :) or :(. NoSeptember talk 13:25, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
You may also notice that Morse code doesn't support case. It just isn't ASCII Compliant and that's the way it is. Anonym1ty 15:37, 25 April 2006 (UTC)
If you want to send ':)', send 'hi hi' instead.--Nigelj 15:42, 25 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Keyer types

I can't seem to find any information on the types of keyers available. There is a picture of an Iambic keyer, and "the other kind" but this article doesn't make clear the differences. Is it just an ergonomics thing? Phauge 05:24, 25 April 2006 (UTC)

I think the description of the iambic paddle might be improved by pointing out that circuitwise, it is the equivalent of two SPST switches that can be operated independently or together, whereas a Vibroplex type keyer represents a single SPDT switch, which is only able to generate dots or dashes. The independent operation of the two switches of the iambic paddle, along with associated electronics, creates additional possibilities. I think Michael Geary describes it quite well below, in his comments under Swing and its importance, and those points should be included in the description of Keyer Types --W9GEK-- --Obee1 21:59, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] What hath god wrought?

What hath god wrought?

Did the original message sent by Sam Morse include a quesiton mark? or was it simply "WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT" leaving the punctuation to be added by Vail when he received the message? Phauge 02:56, 2 May 2006 (UTC)

My question has been answered. The original message did not contain a quesiton mark when it was first transmitted. I feel better about this, don't you? Phauge 06:03, 18 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Merge with American Morse code?

Maybe I just don't know enough about Morse Code in general, but I don't see the point to the American Morse code article. It really seems as if this should be merged with the regular Morse Code article. There is no European Morse Code article, and the Wabun Code article is short enough so that it could also be covered in the Morse Code article. Does anyone have a problem if I merge the articles into one? I'm really trying to make a solid effort at cleaning up the Morse code articles as I feel they all could use some work. Phauge 06:15, 18 June 2006 (UTC)

American Morse Code is an obsolete code that was replaced by International Morse Code, now commonly called Morse Code. Since the Morse Code article is so long now, I'm thinking that it wouldn't be so good to add even more material, especially since that material would be about an obsolete form of the code.
I agree that the Morse Code article could use some work, however. It seems like it covers an awful lot of ground, but I don't immediately see how it could best be broken up. Lou Sander 06:44, 18 June 2006 (UTC)
I agree with Lou Sander here. We only recently moved the American and Railroad Morse stuff into a separate article as as it was felt that details of this obscure and obsolete code were in danger of swamping the main article. International Morse is also now 'obsolete' in general commercial use, but it is still widely and actively used on the amateur radio bands - 24 hours a day every day of the year. Many people are therefore still interested in learning (and learning about) it. That can be hard enough for newcomers without having to ignore merged information about another form, which in itself will get you just about nowhere on the amateur bands. --Nigelj 11:29, 18 June 2006 (UTC)
I'm glad to see feedback on the idea already. I certainly agree that the main article is already crowded, swamped and way too cluttered. I already moved out the mnemonic stuff, and the more I look at it, the more I see other stuff that can be moved or nixed completely. The abreviations, for example. This article should be informing people about the history, importance, and evolution of Morse code, but I strongly feel that a lot of the information here is actually trying to teach people Morse code. I think it is impossible to assume that anyone is going to learn Morse code just from this article, which is why I think it should be more "information rich", rather than "example rich". I'm still interested in getting more feedback on the idea. Thanks for listening. Phauge 15:05, 18 June 2006 (UTC)
There ARE a lot of examples, prowords, etc. When I look at them, I first think they could be gotten rid of, but then I reflect on how important they are to the whole idea of Morse code. There's probably a web site somewhere that has all the audio, the prowords, etc. If there IS, it should be found and linked to. Then our article would be a summary, with details provided elsewhere. (The summary without the details wouldn't be too good.) Lou Sander 15:34, 18 June 2006 (UTC)
(http://www.qsl.net/w5www/abbr.html) (http://www.kent-engineers.com/abbreviations.htm) (http://www.hamradio.cc/cw/cw_morse_code_abbreviations.php) (http://www.ac6v.com/morseaids.htm). There are plenty of external links with the information. Just like with the mnemonics, I'm all for moving the prowords and whatnot into a seperate article as I don't feel like this information does not have a place on Wikipedia, I just question its current placement. Once we get the tables cleaned up and/or moved, I think the article will be in better shape to handle a merge. What do you think? Phauge 16:13, 18 June 2006 (UTC)
I like the way the article is shaping up. Keep up the good work. I'm definitely in favor of moving the prosigns and the abbreviations to a separate article. That article could/should also cover the Q signals (or whatever they are properly called -- QRS, QSL, etc). Maybe it could be called "Morse code abbreviations" or maybe something else. The idea of the article would be "Morse code has several techniques, similar to compression techniques in the computer world, for squeezing more information into less space; here they are."
Also, the audio forms of the individual letters don't play on my computer, which wants to download them. That might have something to do with Ogg Vorbis. Since we've got sound in the article, maybe there should be audio of some specific longer transmissions, possibly an amateur QSO, and probably made at various speeds. Maybe 5, 10, 20, and 30 WPM, to give people a taste of what this stuff is like. (There's a BIG difference between 5 WPM and 35 WPM). If it's a two-way communication, the two ends of it should be of different audio pitch.
And speaking of the individual letters in the audio table, their visual form is really pretty lame. They should be in a larger font, or as graphics, or ???. Ideally the audible forms would be available from the main table at the start of the article, but I'm guessing that that's beyond the capability of the Wiki software.
Finally, I'm thinking that the image of the two keys side by side is now superfluous and could be dropped. Lou Sander 01:17, 21 June 2006 (UTC)
I just noticed that there is an article on Q Codes. Maybe it could be better integrated with this article and its offspring. (I'd do some of this stuff myself, but I'm not highly Wiki-skilled yet, I don't have a lot of time, and the article is in very good hands right now.) BTW, I'm W3BOA. Haven't been on the air in 30 years, but at one time I was quite a CW operator. Like mumps antibodies, this stuff is in my blood. (.... ..) Lou Sander 01:24, 21 June 2006 (UTC)
And I know we're trying to shorten the article, BUT... I've seen stuff about CW contests at hamfests etc. where contestants must send code with their left foot. Maybe this deserves mention. Or maybe not. Lou Sander 03:55, 21 June 2006 (UTC)
I don't know if shortening the article is the goal, but tightening it up is what I think it needs. CW with your left foot? I think that deserves mention. Ninety three Morse Code abbreviations? That might be a bit much... Are those the same as Q codes, or are they just called "Morse Code Abbreviations"? Lou Sander, if you want to type out what each of those abbreviations are in Morse Code, I'll be happy to add them to the table and perhaps even move it all to a new article if you are not comfortable with it? I am not a ham radio operator, and I am still learning CW, but this topic, forwhatever reason, is very important to me and I really want to strive to make it one of the best topics on Wikipedia. Phauge 05:26, 21 June 2006 (UTC)
I've gone insane and moved a lot of the items of discussion to new articles. Stop me if I'm being too bold. Phauge 05:41, 21 June 2006 (UTC)
Looks good to me! The abbreviations I was talking about are the ones that have been moved to the new article. Sorry if I wasn't clear about it. It seems to me that the Q codes, the prosigns, and the abbreviations all have something in common, which is that they are ways to save time and effort in sending. Maybe this should/could be mentioned somewhere if it isn't already. Also, you're right about "not trying to shorten." Not too long ago, the article was overly long, but lots of recent work has fixed that problem. Lou Sander 07:04, 21 June 2006 (UTC)
I think the contests, hamfests, and other fun stuff belongs in a separate article to the effect of "Fun with Ham Radio" --WikiTraveller 13:17, 16 August 2006 (UTC)

Merging the articles isn't a good idea. American Morse Code (aka American Landline Morse or Railroad Morse) although obsolete is plenty notable in its own right because of its place in railroading and telegraph history and deserves a separate article. Dragomiloff 13:24, 8 July 2006 (UTC)

I think someone coming to this page would first want to know What is it? and Why is it? The WHY can't be explained outside of the historical context and you have done quite well on that. But the timeline from what is now called American Morse to International Morse and how they differ has to be made very clear. Links do very well in handling elaboration, but they should be in context and clearly seen. The American Morse link is in context, but links of vital context importance should be bold. There are excellent links grouped at the end including some that would be more useful if placed up in the context of the article. Specifically, the Stephen C Phillips' Java translator (Open source) could supplement or even replace the audio files. Links can be used to keep the length under control, but they need to be in context and obvious. W9GEK --Obee1 22:47, 10 August 2006 (UTC)
Drag is right, both about merging AND about professional football teams. He's only somewhat right about userboxes ("Yagotta" is true, but ya don't need all them boxes.) Lou Sander 15:11, 8 July 2006 (UTC)
  • This doesn't look like a good candidate for a merger, and consensus seems to be against it on the talk page for this. At the very least there is simply too much information on American Morse code to neatly merge into Morse code. I'm removing the tags so this gets out of the backlog. Orchid Righteous 18:54, 24 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Tables

I just rolled several tables into one for the sake of space and "cleanliness". I can't tell if it is better or worse. Your thoughts? Revert if it stinks, but hopefully you see that my intentions are to tighten up the article. Phauge 20:43, 20 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] 1922 Chart of the Morse Code Image

I'm interested in the image on the Morse Code page of the "1922 Chart of the Morse Code Letters and Numerals." I don't see any information however about where the image was sourced. Does anyone have bibliographic information about where it was published, etc.?

Thanks.

On the image page, it states the following: "Originally appeared on page 96 of Radio Receiving for Beginners, Rhey T. Snodgrass and Victor F. Camp, copyright 1922 by The MacMillan Company, New York." I hope that helps. Phauge 19:12, 1 July 2006 (UTC)

Great. Thanks a lot. July 3, 2006.

[edit] Alternate display of common characters, diagram added

Based on the dichotomic search table, I created a high-res PNG tree to illustrate the data on the table a little more clearly. However, I duplicated the first image file by uploading a second and a third one, as I was unable to perform an update on the first then the second. Can you help me update the first from the third then get rid of the second and third images? If it was all confusing have a look at my user talk page. BTW, I am new to this. Aris00 23:25, 17 July 2006 (UTC) Fixed. Now there is only one image. Aris00 10:40, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Table of codes

The table currently has a layout error. I think it needs to be fixed and changed into a wiki table. --Kjoonlee 12:06, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

Yeah. I see it, but I can't seem to fix it. I created the table by using Excel. It looks like it pasted pretty poorly and is now almost impossible to edit. Help! Phauge 05:09, 4 September 2006 (UTC)
It's now been converted. I tried to be careful, but could you double-check it for errors, please? --Kjoonlee 07:23, 4 September 2006 (UTC)
It looks good, but I am in no position to check it for accuracy. Also, nice work on adding the unsourced tag. I couldn't for the life of me remember what the text for that tag was, but I knew it had to be there after Lou addedd all the citation tags. Phauge 17:11, 4 September 2006 (UTC)
I think I haven't messed up the codes. :) However, I wanted people to double-check the codes because the code for "Parentheses closed" was added by an anonymous editor. [3] Is it verifiable from other sources? --Kjoonlee 17:26, 4 September 2006 (UTC)
The following website has the same code for open and closed parenthesis. I think we're in good shape. http://home.alltel.net/johnshan/cw_ss_list_punc.html Phauge 18:36, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Dichotomic Search and Sample Conversation

Both of these sections seem quite silly to me. The dichomotic chart is used by some to actually learn or understand code, but usually turns out to be useless. Move or remove? The sample conversation seems like it would be better suited on the Ham Radio article to show how people still converse in morse code on the air waves. Does it really belong here? I don't know. I've done a lot of work to try and tighten up this article and these two sections always bugged me. Comments? Phauge 18:41, 4 September 2006 (UTC)


[edit] Incomplete Esperanto

Just a question - why does (extended) Morse code have some of the Esperanto alphabet, but not the whole thing? --π! 05:25, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Probably because it wasn't designed for Esperanto. Which charaters in Esperanto are missing? The table appears to reference all the needed characters. --WikiTraveller 23:06, 31 October 2006 (UTC)
According to this link, Esperanto Morse code is actually standardized. --  Denelson83  05:08, 23 November 2006 (UTC)
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