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Morse Code Chat

morse.halb.it

21–30 of 59 posts

Re: Morse Code Chat

#21
post #9

Does anyone have any data on how much use Morse Code still gets today? Are there any people still using it actively for communication, or are there literally zero practical applications anymore?

There has been a bit of a revival in CW since the pandemic in ham radio. Lots of hams took the time to finally learn it with the extra free time they had. So as far as amateur radio goes, it’s more popular now than it has been in a long time.

Re: Morse Code Chat

#22

.- -. -.-- --- -. . / --- -. .-.. .. -. . ..--..

-.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.. . .-. .- .---- - .- .-- .-. .- .---- - .- .-- .--. ... . -.-

Gosh, I barely remember CW, it's been such a long while... Though my callsign should be still registered, I think my dad still paid the license renewals for me (even though I moved countries some years ago).

Re: Morse Code Chat

#23
post #7

.-- . .-.. .-.. --..-- / .. .----. -- / .... --- .--. .--. .. -. .----. / --- ..-. ..-.

Chat GPT :): The text you provided is Morse code. When translated, it reads: "Hello, I'm hoping off."

>> .-- . .-.. .-.. --..-- / .. .----. -- / .... --- .--. .--. .. -. .----. / --- ..-. ..-.

> Chat GPT :): The text you provided is Morse code. When translated, it reads: "Hello, I'm hoping off."

I got "well, I'm hoppin' off"

Re: Morse Code Chat

#24
post #9

Does anyone have any data on how much use Morse Code still gets today? Are there any people still using it actively for communication, or are there literally zero practical applications anymore?

In aviation, VOR stations broadcast their identifier in morse (so you can confirm it's the right station) but VOR is being killed off in favor of GPS.

I think a minimum viable VOR network is planned to be maintained as a backup to GPS.

Re: Morse Code Chat

#26

If only this had existed when I was studying for my General, back when there was still a Morse requirement! Back then, there was a nightly practice session on broadcast, somewhere. Details are foggy... --- ...

W1AW, various frequencies. They still do it: http://www3.arrl.org/w1aw-operating-schedule

Re: Morse Code Chat

#27
A couple years ago we made a Morse Code chatbot for an xkcd April fool's comic [1]. I learned a lot about the UX of Morse input. It can be tricky for folks new to Morse to have consistent timing around dots and dashes. Displaying the dot immediately, and transforming into a dash after the requisite delay makes a big difference because it teaches the tempo expected. I was pleased to see a similar preview in the input here!

[1] https://chromakode.com/post/checkbox/

Re: Morse Code Chat

#28
post #21
post #9

Does anyone have any data on how much use Morse Code still gets today? Are there any people still using it actively for communication, or are there literally zero practical applications anymore?

There has been a bit of a revival in CW since the pandemic in ham radio. Lots of hams took the time to finally learn it with the extra free time they had. So as far as amateur radio goes, it’s more popular now than it has been in a long time.

For anyone looking to get serious about learning CW including the "protocol" for using it on amateur radio bands, check out CWAcademy. It's like a group class setting led by volunteer "old timers" who are passionate about the technology and community. I had no prior morse code experience and successfully made my way up to about 15 words per minute over the course of about 5 months. It takes work and patience, but it's a lot of fun. There's a bunch of arduino-based gizmos and other software that hams have made to simulate and teach morse-code-heavy interactions (shout-out to Morserino, Morse Runner, and Morse Code Ninja).

Re: Morse Code Chat

#29
post #9

Does anyone have any data on how much use Morse Code still gets today? Are there any people still using it actively for communication, or are there literally zero practical applications anymore?

Last year I was running a semaphore lamp off my fire escape

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPE8xHSIaKk

Re: Morse Code Chat

#30
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There has been a bit of a revival in CW since the pandemic in ham radio. Lots of hams took the time to finally learn it with the extra free time they had. So as far as amateur radio goes, it’s more popular now than it has been in a long time.

For anyone looking to get serious about learning CW including the "protocol" for using it on amateur radio bands, check out CWAcademy. It's like a group class setting led by volunteer "old timers" who are passionate about the technology and community. I had no prior morse code experience and successfully made my way up to about 15 words per minute over the course of about 5 months. It takes work and patience, but it'…

That, or Long Island CW Club [0] - highly recommend either one. Or Learn CW Online/LCWO [1] for self-led drills and practice in addition to those apps.

And definitely avoid charts, graphs, mnemonics, memory hacks, visual aids -- at all costs -- if you want proficiency.

[0] https://longislandcwclub.org/

[1] https://lcwo.net/

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