[CW] CW Weighting and Differences History of Morse Codes

[D.J.J. Ring, Jr.]

I sent this to the SKCC email list and I know that the CW list
deserves something just as informative.

Higher weight ratio extends the dot (closed key) into the equally long
inter-element space between the code elements, so that eventually with
enough weight the string of dots becomes a continuous key down because
the dots have become two baud in length, thereby eliminating any
spacing between any dot elements..

Try this at home, increase the weight of dots sent from your
transmitter, the average power output will go up because the duty
cycle will go up, like Joe K8JP said, it's like the dwell in a spark
plug ignition.

Weight changes the baud rate - the fundamental element in Morse code
(or any signaling code) which is equal to "correct" dot, one correct
inter-element space. A string of dots with no weight change, will have
a 50% power duty cycle, the average power output will be 50% of Peak
Envelope Power - key down power.

If you change the weight - or baud adjustment - you change the speed.
You change the dot length, more weight makes the dots longer, it
changes the inter-element space shorter. Dashes which are made of
three baud timings will get longer also, and the inter character
spacing will decrease.

On an old analog Volt-Ohm Meter (VOM) due to meter ballistics, a 1:1
dot ratio comes out approximately 60% of full scale. On an
oscilloscope you will see dots as long as spaces. Often those Volt-Ohm
meters had a 0 to 100 scale at the bottom and Western Union
telegraphers adjusted for 60% readings, as my amateur teachers taught
me.

The Continental Code was different from what is now the International
Morse code.

American Morse Code was used in USA, Canada, North and South America
and surprisingly in Western Australia, Perth used American Morse code,
while Sydney and Melbourne used Continental code. The fully automatic
Hitchcock AutoMorse key manufactured in Perth made automatic dots and
dashes, and had an additional lever for making the non-standard L and
Zero dashes by hand.

The Continental Code was used on the "Continent" - that is, in Europe.

This article from the Society of Wireless Pioneers "Sparks Journal"
years ago has a very good history, Don deNeuf, President of Press
Wireless contributed to this article, and many of the early pioneers
were consulted in it's preparation.

https://ia801406.us.archive.org/2/items/morse_codes_of_the_worlld/codes_of_the_worlld.pdf

On page 7 of the above document, you can see Professor Morse's 1838
code. It's very different from the 1844 Morse (Vail) code.

On page 8, it talks about the Continental Code being developed in
1851, supposedly improving on the best features of the many competing
systems,

As an indication of how tile various alphabets were picked over to
form the international code it may be seen that the symbols for E, H,
O, and P were taken from Steinhill's alphabet;
the letter X and the numerals 1, 2. 3. 4. and 5 from the Bain
alphabet, while the numerals 6, 7, 8, and 9 also were taken from the
Bain alphabet, but were arranged in reverse order.

The letters C, F, L., and R were taken from an obsolete pamphlet used
in Germany and known as Gerke's while twelve of the remaining letters
were taken from the American Morse alphabet of 1844.

So the Continental Code came from the Steinhill, Bain, Gerke, and
American Morse codes.

The American Morse punctuation marks were devised by telegraphist
Walter P. Phillips, who (later head of the Associated Press Washington
Bureau) in 1876. Phillips also developed the Phillips Code which was
Press Wireless and Western Union standard for PX (Press Wires).
Telegrapher's copied the Phillips Code - say POTUS and typed down:
"PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES" and sometimes the PX was coming in so
fast and furious that the abreviation didn't get expanded resulting in
the newspaper type setter (or later Linotype operator) setting down
POTUS in the newsprint.

Aubury Keel, W0AKL was the last living Associated Press Telegrapher,
and I had a QSO with him as N1EA/MM many times in the 1980s and 1990s
when I was aboard SS KING/WAKL and I could NOT resist making the error
of sending - W0AKL DE WAKL once or twice. I'm sure Aubury figured it
out. It was very interesting QSO, he was an excellent bug operator
even at near 100 years of age. He died in 1999 at 97 years of age.
https://qcwa.org/w0akl-18770-sk.htm

Donald K. de Neuf, WA1STM was the president of Press Wireless - a
radio based competitor of Western Union, he was radio officer on
United States Lines SS LURLINE/WML back in 1925, he is also featured
in this article. I used to QSO him in the PREWI (Press Wireless) group
above "no man's land" of 14,100 - in the "old" days below 14,100 kHz
was a mix or CW and RTTY above, 14,100 to 14,200 was "foreign phone"
and 14,200 to 14,350 kHz was the USA phone band. A few old groups
braved the kilocycles above 14,100 - PREWI and SOWP notably. W1HRQ
Hank Warner from Maine - who had an outstanding signal with his 120
foot crossed dipoles on four 120 foot towers from coastal Maine. He
fed them in phase, and just used his FT-101 transceiver, but he also
had a secret weapon to attract attention (maybe that's why he "hid"
above 14,100 kHz) he put a 1 mfd capacitor across the keying line of
the transmitter resulting in a tone sounding like a beautiful bell.
KFS had a transmitter like this - and it was one of the old PREWI
transmitters inherited by KFS when the PREWI site closed and W6AM, Don
bought it. I don't remember the call of the PREWI California site.

KPH still uses those PREWI transmitters 12,695.5 is one of them, if I
remember correctly back in the 1990s those transmitters were on the
secondary frequencies of KFS, the "B" frequencies, 22,515 kHz was one
that I left playing in the radio room because I loved that bell tone -
they say it sounds like "primary keying" - it rang like a bell.

An interesting article about PREWI is here: It doesn't give the CA
call sign either.
http://www.virhistory.com/tmc/tmc_pages/PressWireless/Prewi_company_history.htm

73
DR
N1EA