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Learning Morse code in the 21st century

airfactsjournal.com

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Re: Learning Morse code in the 21st century

#31

Post by aasasd »

ponsin wrote: post #18

Does anything have a recommendation of how to learn Morse today? maybe an app? the app the author recommends is only for iOS and I have Android

A lot of apps out there using the Koch method which is mentioned in the article. IIRC G4FON also follows Koch.

Note that visual learning is not recommended for the simple reason that you want to have Morse ingrained and recognized automatically when listening, not translate it consciously. It's like learning any other system of symbols for active use: you want to know at once what you're hearing or seeing, not leaf through cheatsheets, even if they're in your brain.

Re: Learning Morse code in the 21st century

#32

Post by aasasd »

interactivecode wrote: post #2

My uncle used to work as a radio guy. I remember visiting The National Maritime Museum with him and he just walked up to a morse machine and started writing stories. Last weekend when we talked he mentioned being sad that a lot of this knowledge is getting lost. Must be a strange feeling walking through a museum and it being the tools of your trade.

I mean, JS coders now can have that experience after a year or two. Only they don't get their past exhibited in museums.

Re: Learning Morse code in the 21st century

#33

Post by SiVal »

interactivecode wrote: post #2

My uncle used to work as a radio guy. I remember visiting The National Maritime Museum with him and he just walked up to a morse machine and started writing stories. Last weekend when we talked he mentioned being sad that a lot of this knowledge is getting lost. Must be a strange feeling walking through a museum and it being the tools of your trade.

That's what I experience at the Computer History Museum (near Google). A high percentage of the items behind the glass were part of my daily life decades ago (punchcards, the earliest TI and HP calculators, etc.) I feel like the Highlander walking through that museum.

Re: Learning Morse code in the 21st century

#34

Post by SiVal »

sverige wrote: post #21
ponsin wrote: post #18

Does anything have a recommendation of how to learn Morse today? maybe an app? the app the author recommends is only for iOS and I have Android

The best is G4FON's Morse Trainer, requires Windows, works on Wine. http://www.g4fon.net/ Edit: You'll have to navigate to the Morse Trainer link from the main page. Also, it's the best because it has knobs for all the variables -- speed, number of characters sent, even options to add QRM (interference) and variable sending speed (imitating very well someone with an unsteady fist). As an aside, it's pointless to lear…

only really useable as an auditory messaging system

What? When I was a kid, it was common for camping flashlights to have pressure buttons on the side, which was intended for (and we used for) morse code. Ships used bright, shuttered lights for Morse code, soldiers used it, scouts used it, kids communicated with friends in the neighborhood at night.

Re: Learning Morse code in the 21st century

#35

Post by sverige »

SiVal wrote: post #34
sverige wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The best is G4FON's Morse Trainer, requires Windows, works on Wine. http://www.g4fon.net/ Edit: You'll have to navigate to the Morse Trainer link from the main page. Also, it's the best because it has knobs for all the variables -- speed, number of characters sent, even options to add QRM (interference) and variable sending speed (imitating very well someone with an unsteady fist). As an aside, it's pointless to lear…

only really useable as an auditory messaging system What? When I was a kid, it was common for camping flashlights to have pressure buttons on the side, which was intended for (and we used for) morse code. Ships used bright, shuttered lights for Morse code, soldiers used it, scouts used it, kids communicated with friends in the neighborhood at night.

OK, yes, but it's still the rhythm of the flashes that are being interpreted, not _ .... .. ...

Plus, I am willing to bet that far more messages using Morse are sent over radio than with lights.

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