[Qcwa] @ morse code symbol

[Norm Gertz]

SYMBOL ADDED TO MORSE CODE

The Associated Press
Morse code is entering the 21st century -- or at least the late 20th.=20
The 160-year-old communication system now has a new character to denote =
the "@" symbol used in e-mail addresses.=20

In December, the International Telecommunications Union, which oversees =
the entire frequency spectrum, from amateur radio to satellites, voted =
to add the new character.=20

The new sign, which will be known as a "commat," consists of the signals =
for "A" (dot-dash) and "C" (dash-dot-dash-dot), with no space between =
them.=20

The new sign is the first in at least several decades, and possibly much =
longer. Among ITU officials and Morse code aficionados, no one could =
remember any other addition.=20

"It's a pretty big deal," said Paul Rinaldo, chief technical officer for =
the American Radio Relay League, the national association for amateur =
radio operators. "There certainly hasn't been any change since before =
World War II."=20

The change will allow ham radio operators to exchange e-mails more =
easily. That is because -- in an irony of the digital age -- they often =
use Morse to initiate conversations over the Internet.=20

"People trade their e-mail addresses a lot," said Nick Yocanovich, a =
Morse code enthusiast who lives in Arnold, Md.=20

Morse code uses two audible electrical signals -- short "dots" and =
slightly longer "dashes" -- to form letters, numbers and punctuation =
marks. Created in the 1830s by Samuel F.B. Morse, who invented the =
telegraph, the electronic signaling system spread across the world, and =
until the past few decades, it was used widely by the public, industry =
and government.=20

"It was the beginning of the Information Age," said Gary Fowlie, Chief =
of Media Relations and Public Information for the ITU, which has its =
headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.=20

When Morse died in 1872, more than 650,000 miles of telegraph wire =
circled the globe. By the early 20th century, Morse messages were being =
sent wirelessly, via radio.=20

Perhaps the most famous Morse communication is the international =
distress signal S-O-S. It consists of three dots, three dashes, and =
three more dots.=20

But with the proliferation of digital communications technologies such =
as cell phones, satellites and the Internet, Morse code has lost its =
pre-eminent place in global communications. "There's really no reason to =
use it anymore," said Robert Colburn, research coordinator for the =
History Center of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. =


Today it's largely the province of ham radio operators, including =
700,000 in the United States. While not all of them communicate =
regularly in Morse, almost all are familiar with it.=20

Some ham operators wouldn't mind more changes to spice up the language. =
While Morse code has a period, a question mark, and even a semicolon, it =
offers no simple way to articulate excitement.=20

"I was hoping they'd add a character for the exclamation point," said =
Yocanovich, who is active in the International Morse Preservation =
Society. "It expresses an emotion that's difficult to get across any =
other way."


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