29.08.2011
Once again I was convinced that there is no absolutely useless knowledge in our life. You never know where and what will come in handy. Well, now from the lyrics to the story.
Now, that was a very long time ago. Today is the 21st century. radio, television, internet, cellular- who and why in our days may need Morse code? I needed it, but I found a use for it.
An unspoken rule among IT people says that if someone is typing a password on the keyboard in front of you, then you should turn away. And not just look away because you yourself understand that it is so decent, but just physically turn your head in the other direction. The person next to you, even with peripheral vision, should see that you are not following his hands at the moment of typing the password. By the way, this is not god knows what high-flown behavior, this is the norm of our time. It's like washing your hands after going to the toilet, just in a different way, well, absolutely, well, you can't.
So, at one of my jobs there was one nasty client and colleague with whom I often had to sit at the same keyboard and solve problems together. I once noticed that it cuts through how I type the password, another time ... I also thought, “Oh, you are such a bitch!”, And changed all my passwords at work.
The password is not complex, a short phrase in Morse code ... just a couple of dozen characters turned out, consisting mainly of dots and dashes. The first time he noticed how I famously tapped out like a password on the keyboard on the key, he almost stupefied with surprise. He looked at my hands with all his eyes, and at the same time I looked at his muzzle, I thought I would burst with laughter like a hamster.
Actually a very useful skill. They say they still use it in prison when they need to knock on pipes or through a wall.
The Morse Trial program generates radiograms in Morse code with variable speed, pauses and tone. It is possible to load text from your file, as well as random text generation. It is possible to add noise when listening to radiograms for greater realism.
Morse code, Morse code, "Morse code" is a way of encoding letters of the alphabet using long and short signals, the so-called "dashes" and "dots" (as well as pauses separating letters). The unit of time is the duration of one point. The length of a dash is three dots. The pause between characters in a letter is one dot, between letters in a word - 3 dots, between words - 7 dots. It was named after the American inventor Samuel Morse, who invented it in 1835. Morse code is the first digital way to transmit information. The telegraph and radio telegraph originally used Morse code; later, Baudot and ASCII code began to be used, which are more convenient for automation. However, now for Morse code there are tools for automatic generation and recognition. For the transmission of Russian letters, codes of similar Latin letters were used; this correspondence of alphabets later passed into MTK-2, and then into KOI-7 and KOI-8 (however, in Morse code, the letter Q corresponds to Щ, and in MTK and KOI-I).
The main purpose of the Morse Trial program is to improve telegraph reception skills. Download training program Morse Trial can
But if you don't already know Morse code, then you can take self-training on the LCWO website according to the Koch method
The Koch method is a simple way to directly develop reflexes. However, it requires either a computer with the appropriate software or a personal trainer. It is for this reason that the Koch method has been ignored for so many years. Now that the computer has taken its usual place on the radio amateur's table, the Koch method has every chance of becoming the standard for training a telegraph radio operator.
The training goes like this:
- You set up your program to generate CW signals at a rate of about 20 words per minute for a sign, but with slightly longer pauses (the effective rate should be on the order of 15 words per minute).
- Then you take paper and pencil and start receiving. In the first lesson, the computer must transmit only two characters. That is, in the first lesson you need to recognize only two options. You accept the text for 5 minutes, then check the correctness of the received text, and calculate the percentage of correct characters.
LCWO- this Internet assistant is for independent study of the telegraph. The site after your registration will become your personal teacher. You will master the telegraph in the process of playing the "guessing game" - you will develop conditioned reflexes to the sound of signs and their recording - if you want - by hand, if you want - on the keyboard. The method was developed by the venerable Ludwig Koch specifically for individual learning. The site will offer you to take 40 lessons, go to the next lesson only after mastering the previous one. All that is required of you is the regularity of classes, the frequency and duration are not clearly regulated. You don't need to download anything to your computer. You can study from any computer with Internet access at home, at work, or in an Internet cafe.
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Number of sources used in this article: . You will find a list of them at the bottom of the page.
Morse code was developed in 1844 by Samuel F. B. Morse. More than 160 years have passed, and this type of messaging is still used, especially by beginner radio amateurs. Morse code can be quickly transmitted using the telegraph, and it is also very convenient for transmitting a distress signal (SOS signal) using a radio, mirror or flashlight. Even people with handicapped communication. But learning Morse code is not so easy - you have to try the same way as when learning any new language.
Steps
- You can look for or buy records in Morse code, or use a shortwave transmitter and try to listen to them live. There are educational computer programs that are usually not expensive or even free. They are more effective for practice than notes, as they can be used to translate any text into Morse code, which will prevent memorization of one text and help you choose the learning method that is right for you. Never count long and short signals - learn how each letter sounds. If you're using the Farnsworth app, you can set the pause between letters to sound slower than the speed of the letter itself. Choose a letter playback speed slightly higher than what you are equal to, and never reduce it - only reduce the pause between letters. In this way, Morse code is studied - at a speed of 15-25 words per minute or more. The following methods are good when you learn Morse code without expecting to use more than five words per minute, they will force you to discard the wrong ways of learning code and start over.
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Find a copy of the Morse code (such as shown at the bottom of the page). You can use a basic table like the one shown on the right (click to enlarge) or you can use a more complex one that includes punctuation, abbreviations, set expressions, and codes. Match what you heard with the letters of the alphabet. What word came out? Were you right? Some people find it easier to learn Morse code by writing down dots and lines and then comparing them to a table, as shown in the picture; others believe that this method only slows down the learning process. Do as you please. If you choose a method that does not involve transcription of the recorded dots and lines, then you can use a pronunciation table that contains the sounds of Morse code signals, the way you hear them.
Speak. Practice translation simple words and sentences in Morse code. At first, you can write down the word, then voice it, but over time, you should try to pronounce the word right away. Here, for example, English word cat. Write it down: -.-. .- - then say the word (you can use the buttons on mobile phone or voice it with your voice - this is the method that will most likely help you master Morse code faster). To pronounce Morse code, you must remember that dit is pronounced with a short "i" and a voiceless "t". Dah is a short sound. On the English language the word “cat” is pronounced “dah-dee-dah-dee dee-dah dah”. Once you're comfortable, choose a children's book and try to translate it into Morse code without writing down the letters. Record yourself and play the recording afterwards to see how well you did.
- Don't forget about pauses. Each letter should be separated by pauses equal in length to the voice acting of a dash (that is, three times longer than the sound of a dot). Each word should be surrounded by pauses, the length of the pauses should be about 7 times the length of the dot sound. The better you work out the placement of pauses, the easier it will be to understand your code.
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Start by memorizing the simplest letters. If we talk about english alphabet, then the letter T is denoted as “-”, and the letter E is written as “.”. The letter M is written as “- -”, and I - “. .”. Gradually move on to letters that require 3-4 dots or dashes in a row to write. Then start memorizing combinations of dots and lines, from simple to complex. Leave the most difficult combinations to learn last. Luckily, these are the most rarely used letters (in English, these are Q, Y, X, and V), so once you understand the principle of building letters in Morse code, then focus on the most commonly used letters at the beginning. Please note that in English letters E and T have the shortest notation, and the letters K, Z, Q, and X have the longest notation.
Create associations. For example, “p” - “pee-laa-poo-et, pi-laa-noo-et”. Considering that there is more than one alphabet in the world, and you are reading this article in Russian, then you are most likely interested in associations suitable for symbols of the Russian alphabet. For this reason, we do not provide options for the Latin alphabet in this paragraph. Instead, we advise you to study the article by referring to Special attention on the mnemonic form of each letter. There are mnemonic codes for memorizing Morse code that were invented many years ago; you can buy them or find them online.
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Enjoy learning. Want to get your friends to study? Teach them to blink in Morse code. And if, say, a friend takes you on an unfortunate blind date, then you can blink him “SOS”! Use Morse code to encrypt your secret notes, or keep a diary or even tell dirty jokes so that no one but you and your friends will understand them! Send someone a postcard with Morse code. Confess your love in Morse code (it's very romantic). In general, have fun, do what you like using Morse code for this - and you will learn it much faster.
- Download the Morse code app on your smartphone or download the tutorial - it can be very helpful!
- Practice! When you have free time, ask a friend or family member to sit with you and listen to you translate the text into Morse code. Give them the table and ask them to decipher your messages. This will not only help you and your assistant understand the code better, but it will also help you identify errors or bad habits that prevent you from transmitting the code correctly, and correct them to prevent mislearning.
- To indicate that you made a mistake when passing the last word, send 8 points. This will let the receiver of the signal know that the last word can be crossed out.
- Do not give up! Learning Morse code will not be easy; it is as difficult as learning any new language. It has unfamiliar letters, abbreviations, grammatical styles and many other aspects that need to be explored. Don't be discouraged if you make mistakes, just keep practicing until you're perfect.
- Listen very carefully. At the beginning of the training, listen to the Morse code messages at a slow speed until you get used to it.
- Learning Morse Code Can Be Easy if you are using the right tools. Print and laminate the table below and put it in your wallet. You will remember the code faster, as the plate will be at your fingertips all the time. Read the table from top to bottom. White is a dot, color is a dash. Start with the Latin letters E and T, which are dots and dashes. Going down, read each line. So V is ". . . -”. Good luck.
- You should not rely on the image, for you cannot train the ears with the help of sight. Don't learn slower methods, or you'll have to relearn when you need to learn to work faster. Your goal is to instantly recognize letters and then whole words, not count dots and dashes. Computer programs like Koch and Farnesworth will help you with this.
Listen carefully to slow Morse code recordings. You are essentially listening to long and short signals (lines and dots, respectively). Long signals sound 3 times longer than short ones. Each letter is separated from the others by a small pause, and the words from each other are longer (also 3 times).
Learn to listen and transmit morse code. The telegraphic alphabet is formed from various combinations of short and long parcels: dots and dashes. The duration of a dash corresponds to the duration of three dots, the interval between characters in one letter or number is equal to a dot.
The spacing between letters in a word is three dots. The spacing between words is seven dots. The study of the telegraphic alphabet is a matter, although difficult, but quite accessible to everyone.
Learning Morse Code
One way to learn Morse code on your own is with the help of a computer. There are many free programs available on the Internet. For example, CW Code Practice Utility under DOS, CW Master, G4ILO morse generator, GenTexts, SUPER MORSE, Super Morse for Windows, LZ1FW Morse code trainer, Morse Cat, ARAK, Morse trainer, Morser, APAK-CWL, CW Beeper, ADKM and other.
When the telegraph was already mastered, programs such as OXYGEN'99, Ultra High Speed CW Trainer were written to increase speed. They can be freely downloaded from the Internet.
The table below shows the tunes for the letters and numbers of the telegraphic alphabet that are worth remembering. Each melody begins with the corresponding letter, syllables with vowels "O" and "A" are sung in a drawl, denoting a long parcel (dash), and all the rest short (dots).
The signs of the telegraph alphabet for letters of the Russian and Latin alphabets, numbers, punctuation marks and service marks are shown in Figures 1-2. Punctuation codes accepted in Russian, which differ from international codes, are shown in Figure 3.
Of course, this is just an example of the tunes. You can use your own, as long as they make you associate with the correct letters. You can record a couple of audio cassettes with Morse code and listen to them yourself at home. Of course, in this case it will be more difficult to study the telegraph, but if you wish, you can achieve everything.
Rice. 1. Signs of the telegraph alphabet for the letters of the Russian and Latin alphabets, numbers, tunes.
Rice. 2. Signs of the telegraphic alphabet for numbers, punctuation marks and service symbols, tunes.
Rice. 3. Codes for punctuation marks adopted in Russian differ from international codes.
It is easier, having teamed up with a friend, to study together the auditory reception and transmission of the signs of the telegraph alphabet with a key. But it can be done alone. At self-study the telegraphic alphabet, key transmission and auditory reception are studied simultaneously. We memorize the musical melody of each sign.
After mastering the signs of the telegraph alphabet, the speed of reception and transmission is increased. What is done gradually with systematic training.
There are always many service and amateur radio stations on the air at a slow speed. You can try to receive individual letters of a telegraph transmission from the air, although reception from the air is more difficult than reception from a sound generator or using computer programs.
A shortwave radio amateur needs knowledge of not only Russian, but Latin letters of the alphabet. When you master Morse code, then, when working on the air with the telegraph, make sure that this is a reliable and noise-resistant form of communication.
If there is no computer, then in order to study the telegraph alphabet, you need to have a telegraph key, a head phone and a simple sound generator.
Diagram of a simple sound generator
a simple circuit sound generator can be assembled on just two transistors shown in Fig. 4. For ease of manufacture and repetition, a printed circuit board is designed fig. 5. PCB size 32x28mm. Any germanium or silicon transistors with n-p-n conductivity will do.
Rice. 4. Scheme of an audio frequency generator for studying the telegraph option 1.
Rice. 5. View of the printed circuit board of the audio frequency generator for studying the telegraph option 1.
The scheme is shown in fig. 6 has even fewer details.
Rice. 6. Scheme of an audio frequency generator for studying the telegraph option 2.
The circuit (Fig. 4) on transistors with n-p-n conductivity and the circuit (Fig. 6) can later be used as a tone call or for self-control of the telegraph in the transceiver.
If transistors with p-n-p conductivity are used in the circuit (Fig. 4), then you need to change the polarity of the power source. In this embodiment, the "plus" of the power source will be connected to the emitters of transistors VT1, VT2. Printed circuit board remains the same.
There are many options for decoding the SOS distress signal - “Save Our Souls”, “Save Our Ship”, “Swim Or Sink”, “Stop Other Signals”, “Save From Death”. But all of them are just mnemonics, invented for better memorization, while at the time of the adoption of this signal as a standard at the International Radiotelegraph Conference in 1906, no meaning was put into the abbreviation. Even the letters SOS themselves can be attributed to the Morse code sequence (. . . - - - . . .) very conditionally, because there are no inter-letter intervals in it. And they accepted this combination of dots and dashes due to the fact that it turned out to be more convenient than others for recognition and selection in the general stream of signals due to its sufficient length and symmetry.
Samuel Morse was an artist until the age of 34 and was not interested in technology. In 1825, a messenger delivered a letter to him from his father saying that his wife was dying. Morse immediately left Washington and went to New Haven, where his family lived, but by the time he arrived, his wife had already been buried. This incident forced Morse to leave painting and delve into the study of ways to quickly deliver messages over long distances, which led to the development of Morse code and the electric telegraph in 1838.
Morse code in its usual form was not invented by Morse, but by the German engineer Gercke. The original Morse code was awkward, although it was used on some American railways up until the 1960s.
On February 6, 1900, a radio station located in the Finnish city of Kotka transmitted a wireless telegram to the Ermak icebreaker with an order to rescue 50 fishermen on the torn off ice floe. It was the first ever transmission of a radio distress signal at sea. The rescue operation was completed successfully.
Modern submarines are equipped with more effective means communication with the "terrestrial world". Communication is carried out on ultra-long waves, which are capable of penetrating to an ocean depth of up to 300 meters. This is a very expensive "mobile communication", which requires the maintenance of powerful ground-based antenna fields, consuming up to 30 MW of power, and communications aircraft constantly loitering in the sky.
The SOS signal is transmitted at a frequency of 600 meters only in case of emergency, when the crew and passengers are in real danger to life. In case of violation of this rule, penalties may be imposed on the perpetrators of unreasonable panic. Or moral, that in the maritime community is not an empty phrase. Or material - when the ships that came to the rescue suffer significant material losses. However, there is an exception to this immutable rule. The captain of the ship in some cases can transmit on the “com frequency” in three fixed “minutes of silence” information about the emergence of a serious threat to ships in the region. These may be reports of malfunctioning lighthouses, volcanic activity, pirate activity, sunken ships ...
To speed up radio communications, abbreviations, three-letter "Q-codes" and numerous slang expressions were introduced into wide use. From that the Q code is transmitted in the form of a question or statement, its meaning changes. In voice communication, the SOS signal is not used, the distress signal is Mayday. It is forbidden to give an SOS signal if there is no real threat to the life of people or a ship at sea.
