Morse Code Celebrates 175 Years and Counting

On Friday, May 24, 1844, 175 years ago, a message using dots and dashes in Morse code was delivered from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore. For the first time in human history, intricate ideas could be transmitted over great distances practically instantly.

Before that, communication required face-to-face interaction, the use of drums, smoke signals, and semaphore systems to transmit coded messages or the reading of the printed text. Samuel F.B. Morse had a major role in the rapid transformation of communication, which has continued today. In 1832, he made the electric telegraph.

He didn't standardize a code for communicating via telegraph wires for another six years. He received a US$30,000 grant from Congress in 1843 to lay wires between the nation's capital and adjacent Baltimore. He gave a public demonstration of long-distance communication once the line was finished.

Morse wasn’t the only one working to develop a means of communicating over the telegraph, but he is the one that has survived. The on-screen keyboards on smartphones have replaced the wires, magnets, and keys used in the original presentation, but Morse code has fundamentally not changed and is still - maybe shockingly - useful in the twenty-first century. As Boy Scouts, amateur radio operators, and a pilot, we had to study it and review it numerous times, but we still admire it and work to master it.

Easy Sending

The fundamental innovation of Morse in creating the code was taking into account how frequently each letter is used in the English language. The symbols for the most frequently used letters are shorter; the letter "E," for example, is represented by a single "dot." In comparison, the far lengthier and more complicated "dot-dot-dot (stop) dot" was employed to represent the least common letter in English, "Z."

The code was modified in 1865 by the International Telecommunications Union to cater to various character frequencies in other languages. Since then, there have been other changes, but "E" remains a "dot," while "Z" is now a "dash-dash-dot-dot." The use of letter frequency allows for very effective transmission: Simple sentences made up of familiar letters can be shared extremely fast. Longer words can still be sent, but they take more time.

Going Wireless

The analog connections via metal wires that carried a lot of interference and required a clear on-off type signal to be heard were the communications method for which Morse code was originally developed.

Only a few decades after Morse's presentation did the first significant alteration occur. Guglielmo Marconi created radio-telegraph technology in the late 19th century that let Morse code be sent using radio waves as opposed to cables.

This novel method of communication between ships at sea or with land-based stations was adored by the maritime sector. By 1910, U.S. law required many passenger ships in U.S. waters to carry wireless sets for sending and receiving messages.

After the Titanic sank in 1912, an international agreement required some ships to assign a person to listen for radio distress signals at all times. The worldwide distress signal was dubbed "SOS" �" "dot-dot-dot dash-dash-dot dot-dot-dot" �" by the same agreement, not because it stood for anything in distinct but rather because it was a straightforward pattern that was easy to comprehend and send.

The Coast Guard discontinued monitoring in 1995. The U.S. Navy still educates at least some sailors to read, write, and receive Morse code, even though the necessity that ships check for distress signals was repealed in 1999.

Morse code is also used by aviators to detect automated navigational aids. These are radio beacons that allow pilots to follow routes, traveling from one transmitter to the next on aeronautical charts. They transmit their identifiers �" such as “BAL” for Baltimore �" in Morse code. Pilots often learn to recognize familiar-sounding patterns of beacons in areas they fly frequently.

Amateur radio operators are a strong group who also value Morse code. The use of Morse code among amateur radio operators is a cherished heritage that dates back to the invention of the radio. Some of them might have started in the Boy Scouts, where learning Morse over the years has varied between being voluntary and obligatory.

Before 2007, all licensed amateur radio operators were required by the Federal Communications Commission to demonstrate their fluency in Morse code. Even though no longer used for employment, the FCC still gives business licenses that call for knowledge of Morse.

Blinking Morse

Morse code can also be utilized by flashing lights since its signals are so basic�"on or off, long or short. When radios are not desired or when radio equipment fails, several navies all around the world utilize blinker lights to communicate between ships.

The U.S. Navy is testing a system that would let a user type words and convert them to blinker lights. A receiver would read the flashes and convert them back to text. In 2017, a wounded guy could only use his torch to speak with his wife across a rocky beach thanks to military training.

Other Morse Messages

While he was a prisoner of war in Vietnam, Navy pilot Jeremiah Denton may have made the most remarkable modern application of Morse code. Denton was compelled to take part in a video interview on his treatment by his North Vietnamese captors in 1966, just one year into nearly eight-year imprisonment.

He displayed the "torture" Morse code symbols as the camera focused on his face, confirming for the first time American concerns about the treatment of military troops held hostage in North Vietnam.

Although blinking Morse code is sluggish, it has aided many whose medical issues prevent them from speaking or using other forms of communication. Several devices �" including i Phones and Android smartphones �" can be set up to accept Morse code input from people with limited motor skills.

There are still many ways people can learn Morse code, and practice using it, even online. In emergencies, it can be the only mode of communication that will get through. Beyond that, there is an art to Morse code, a rhythmic, musical fluidity to the sound. 

Sending and receiving it can have a soothing or meditative feeling, too, as the person focuses on the flow of individual characters, words, and sentences. Overall, sometimes the simplest tool is all that’s needed to accomplish the task.