[SFDXA] Adapting Morse Code to a New Generation of Technology

[Bill]

 From Tony N2MFT:

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  Adapting Morse Code to a New Generation of Technology

by techfeatured

Jan 7, 2017, 11:09 am

478 Views


Morse Code has been in use for more than 160 years in various forms of 
communications. It was originally designed and adapted for use in the 
telegraph as a simple and easy way to get messages from one point to 
another. In morse code each letter is made up of a combination of short 
and long sounds called dits and dah’s. These dits and dahs are often 
represented by dots and dashes when writing, although traditionally 
these have been interpreted as short and long tones in most practical 
usage. One of the interesting points about morse code is that it can be 
interpreted by sound, touch, light, almost in any way you can imagine to 
communicate ideas as long as the pattern of short and long groupings is 
kept.

Many people in today’s world see morse code as a thing of the past, 
something that is a relic of communications that is now a museum piece. 
I think there are many practical applications of morse code in modern 
communications that are often overlooked. For starters, text input on 
cellphones is one area that I would personally love to see a morse input 
method. It would be vastly simpler to tap morse on the case of your 
cellphone than the hunt and peck method that I currently have to suffer 
through. Don’t know morse? Fine, then offer the morse input as an 
additional option to the current number pad kludge.

Ringtones though are the area that I have been focused on. I’ve created 
a website at morseringtones.com <http://morseringtones.com> that has mp3 
format audio of morse code for over 9000 common names and locations such 
as home, work, school. I’ve also generated 27,000 morse code ringtones 
for various initials up to three characters. Why? Because I use them on 
my cellphone to identify callers. Tagging contacts with a ringtone has 
been a tedious and frustrating process for me. What song to pick for 
each person? How will I remember that for those that it’s not obvious? 
Not to mention the thought….. do I really want that song coming on 
anytime this person calls?

So, my solution was to generate morse code of the names in my contact 
list. It’s simple, short, easy to assign. It helps me to brush up on my 
recognition of the code also known as cw, which had become a bit rusty 
and I know exactly what my phone is beeping about, whether it has a new 
voicemail for me, a new text message or a call from a client. Believe 
me, if you don’t know it you will learn quickly with this practical use 
of morse in today’s society.

As I’ve worked on the project of creating these morse code mp3 ringtones 
I’ve also found several other innovative uses of morse code. Some of 
these, I think, illustrate very clearly why it should never become a 
relic of the past, but a useful and necessary tool for communication 
well into the future. One use in particular was the use of morse as a 
computer input for paraplegics whose only interaction with a computer 
can be through a puff sip tube. What of voice recognition for them then 
you say? There are people that cannot speak either. More often than not 
people tend to use the most efficient means of communication and that is 
perhaps why morse is not in as widespread use today as more efficient 
modes of communication are accessible for most of us. But it’s important 
to remember that not everyone has access to a keyboard to type or the 
ability to pick up the phone and call someone.

These are just a few ways that I think morse code is still relevant 
today and can remain relevant and useful in the years to come. Using 
morse ringtones can be a quick and easy way to restudy and recognize 
morse code, but beyond simple ringtones it needs to be available as an 
input method for computers and possibly even phones if not only for the 
convenience of those that understand it, but for those that have little 
choice but to use that as an input method due to disabilities.

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