Interest Groups
Morse Code
In the 1830's and 1840's, Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail developed a commercial telegraph system and the code used to transmit messages over it.
The first-ever telegraph message, "What hath God wrought", was sent by Morse to Vail in 1843. Within ten years, 23,000 miles of telegraph lines criss-crossed North America and the age of electronic communications had begun.
Until only a few decades ago when satellites took over, Morse code remained in use, especially in shipping, because its simple sounds can be understood in all but the very worst radio conditions. The code uses patterns of short and longer tones to communicate characters. For example, the pattern, "ditditdit dahdahdah ditditdit" (SOS) is universally recognized as a distress call.
While the code has now been abandoned for most communication, amateurs around the world continue to use it. The challenge of learning it, and the satisfaction of communicating with it when radio communications by voice are too difficult, have kept it alive in our hobby. Although some amateurs now use computers to send and even receive code, the hobby still includes many thousands of hams proud of their skill in manually using it.
Until recently, amateurs were required to learn Morse code to be licensed for the lower bands used in worldwide communication. That requirement has been dropped by countries around the world, including Canada, but the code lives on.
Our club includes some very skilled Morse code operators and enthusiasts, and periodically they offer code training courses. Anyone interested in learning the code is welcome to attend.
Jay Leno and NBC's Tonight Show once featured a messaging speed showdown between modern SMS text messaging and Morse code. An entertaining brief clip from the show was available on YouTube for years, but NBC muscled in and stopped its viewing. So we'll give you the punch line: Morse code won easily!
There are many facets to the amateur radio hobby, and this is but one of them. For more information about the courses or the code, come out to one of our meetings (no invitation required) or contact us via our Contact Us page.
