Learning Morse code. self-learning morse code

Samuel Morse did not have any special technical education. He was quite a successful artist, founder and president of the National Academy of Drawing in New York. Returning from a trip to Europe on a ship, Morse saw tricks using electromagnetic induction, which entertained a bored audience. A wire under electrical voltage was brought to the compass, the arrow of which began to spin wildly.

It was then that Morse came up with the idea to transmit certain signals over wires. The artist immediately sketched a diagram of the prototype of the telegraph. The device consisted of a lever on a spring, to the end of which a pencil was attached. When the current was applied, the pencil fell and left a line on the moving paper tape, and when the current was turned off, the pencil rose, and a gap was obtained in the line.

invention of the telegraph

Morse managed to bring the idea to life only three years later - the lack of technical education affected. The first device was able to receive and fix a signal over a wire 500 meters long. Then this discovery did not arouse much interest, since it did not have commercial benefits.

The potential of Morse's invention was seen by industrialist Steve Weil. He financed the artist's further research and appointed his son Alfred as his assistant. As a result, the device was improved - it received the signal more accurately, and the length of the wire increased many times over. Such a telegraph could already be used, and in 1843 the US Congress decided to build the first telegraph line between Baltimore and Washington. A year later, the first telegram was transmitted along this line with the words “Wonderful are your deeds, Lord!”.

Improvement of the alphabet

Naturally, the device could not display letters - only lines of a certain length. But that was enough. Various combinations of lines and dots denoted alphabetic characters and numbers. Historians cannot say for sure whether this code was the invention of Morse or his partner Vail.

Initially, Morse code consisted of three signals of different durations. A point was taken as a unit of time. The dash sign consisted of three dots. The pause between letters in a word is three dots, between words is seven dots. This abundance of signs created confusion and complicated the process of receiving telegrams. Therefore, Morse's competitors gradually refined the code. For the most popular phrases and letters, simple combinations of letters or numbers have been developed.

The telegraph and radio telegraph originally used Morse code, or, as it is also called, "Morse code". For the transmission of Russian letters, codes of similar Latin ones were used.

How is morse code used now?

Nowadays, as a rule, more modern means of communication are used. Morse code is sometimes used in the Navy and in the Ministry of Emergency Situations. It is very popular among radio amateurs.

Morse code is the most affordable and easiest way to communicate. You can receive a signal over long distances and in conditions of strong radio interference, you can encode messages manually, and recording and playback takes place using the simplest devices. Thus, Morse code will not fail in an emergency if more sophisticated equipment fails.

On average, a radio operator can transmit between 60 and 100 characters per minute. The record speed is 260-310 characters per minute. The whole difficulty in learning Morse code lies in the fact that it is not enough just to memorize the combination of dots and dashes for each letter.

In order to seriously study the telegraph, you need to memorize not the number of dots and dashes in a letter, but the “tunes” that are obtained when the whole letter sounds. For example, chanting "Fi-li-mon-chik" means that the letter F was transmitted.

SOS signal

SOS (SOS) is an international distress signal in radiotelegraphy (using Morse code) communications. The signal is a sequence of "three dots - three dashes - three dots", transmitted without any letter spacing.

Thus, this nine-character group represents a single Morse code character. Phrases that are often associated with this signal, such as SaveOurShip (save our ship), SaveOurSouls, SaveOurSpirits (save our souls), SwimOrSink (swim or sink), StopOtherSignals (stop other signals) also appeared after the signal began to be used in international practice. Russian sailors used the mnemonic "Save From Death".

The alphabetical record of the distress signal in official or educational documents on radiotelegraphy and maritime affairs has the form SOS (with a bar on top), which means that the signal is transmitted without letter intervals.

First use

There is a common misconception that for the first time in history, the SOS signal was given from the Titanic in distress on April 15, 1912 at 00:45. In fact, this case was at least the eighth in a row.

The first reliably known use of the SOS signal was on August 11, 1909, when the USS Arapaoe lost speed and drifted en route from New York to Jacksonville. The signal was picked up by the United Wireless Telegraph Company's station on Hatteras Island in North Carolina and forwarded to the shipping company's offices.

In art

In the 1930s, Julius Fucik and Bogumila Silova wrote the fairy tale Letters from the Radio Operator's Box. The characters of the fairy tale - three letters: Slava, Olga and Sashenka - wander around the world in search of help from the shipwrecked. In 1966, a cartoon based on the fairy tale was shot at the Kyiv Studio of Popular Science Films.

Abbreviations, special "Q-codes" and numerous slang expressions are widely used to speed up radio traffic. See our illustration for examples of encrypted messages in "Morse language".

Almost 150 years have passed since Samuel Morse, the inventor of the electric telegraph, compiled his famous alphabet from dots and dashes, and people still use it without significant changes. Probably, many of you know Morse code by heart, and for those who have not yet had time to learn it, we suggest doing so.

In telegraphy, this conditional alphabet is called Morse code. But remembering combinations of dots and dashes corresponding to individual letters, numbers and signs is not all. Telegraphic Morse code must be mastered in such a way that it is perceived without any tension, just like ordinary letters when reading and writing.

It is best to learn Morse code by ear, transmitting it with the help of a telegraph key, which closes and opens the power supply circuit of the sound generator.

A dot corresponds to a short sound of the generator, and a dash is three times longer. First, slowly pass the individual letters apart, making sure that the interval between the elements of one letter is equal to one point. Take your time - for starters, one letter in three seconds is not bad. When working with a key, only the hand should move, not the whole arm.

Then learn to transmit and receive combinations of two letters, for example, AO, BUT, PE, FE, YES, YOU, HE, WE, and so on. Remember that the pause between individual letters is equal in duration to one dash. Don't rush to speed up. When you make only one mistake in a hundred characters, you can move on to words and sentences. The spacing between individual words is two dashes.

Morse code is useful for everyone to know. It will come in handy more than once in business and in the game. After all, you can talk not only with sound signals, but also, for example, with gestures (one raised hand indicates a dot, and two - a dash).

In order to perfectly know the Morse code, you need to train for a long time and systematically, especially if you try to memorize the signs mechanically. Therefore, many radiotelegraphers are trying to improve the methods of studying Morse code. One of these methods, which we offer you to get acquainted with, allows you to study it in a maximum of two hours.

The signs of the Morse code are "restored" into the letters of the Russian alphabet, that is, they seem to repeat the contour of the corresponding letter. This connection of the signs of the code with the "image" of the letters helps to meaningfully and quickly memorize the telegraphic alphabet.

Take a look at the picture. On it, each letter is repeated in the form of characters (dots and dashes) of the code, shown in a certain order. For example, if the letter "c" is indicated by a dot and two dashes, then the letter itself is depicted in the same order. Signs are read from left to right and top to bottom.

By this method, the letters are especially easy to remember: “a”, “b”, “g”, “e”, “h”, “d”, “l”, “o”, “r”, “y”, “f ”, “c”, “h”, “w”, “s”, “b”, “i”. The letters "g", "i", "m", "i", "s", "t", "x" are not finished, but they are still easy to remember. Somewhat conditionally, with additional elements, images of the letters are given: “v”, “d”, “u”, “u”.

How to use this method to learn Morse code? First consider carefully the outline of each letter. Then draw all the letters of the alphabet from the table several times, not forgetting the alternation of dots and dashes of the code (this is the order in which the letters should be drawn). After you have successfully completed this task, draw the alphabet several times from memory. Next, write down the Morse code characters from memory. If you haven't made any mistakes, pick up a short passage from the book and write it in Morse code.

List of Morse code characters

Morse code ("Morse code", "Morse code"), a list of signals consisting of a series of numbers, letters of the alphabet, punctuation marks, and other symbols that are a character encoding method. The code itself consists of dots and dashes, reproduced using radio signals or by interrupting direct electrical current. Morse code is named after Samuel Finley Breeze Morse.

History of creation

Inventive artist Samuel Morse

S.F.B.Morse.

Already in early childhood, Samuel showed the ability to draw. Morse was inquisitive and always interested in science, enrolling in Yale University, 16-year-old Samuel Morse attended the then popular lectures on electricity. Many years passed before the interest turned into the practical application of knowledge. Known as an inventor, however, he also left his mark on art.

In 1832, sailing from Le Havre to New York on a packet boat SALLY he drew attention as a doctor Charles Thomas Jackson entertained the audience by demonstrating his experience-focus. It was based on the use of electromagnetic induction, the compass needle began to rotate, it was worth bringing a piece of wire under electrical voltage. Morse had the idea that it would be possible to transmit certain signals over wires; during the month of sailing, he sketched out preliminary drawings of the prototype of the telegraph.

invention of the telegraph

ABC of the Chappe telegraph.

The telegraph has existed since the 17th century, the optical telegraph by Claude Chappe was invented in 1792 and was used for a long time both in the Old and New Worlds.

Arrow telegraphs and telegraphs with pointers were not particularly convenient. Played a big role human factor, telegraph operator receiving station had to quickly read incoming characters and could not always check the accuracy of the transmitted message

Thanks to the help of a colleague from the chemistry department, Leonard Gale, the apparatus showed the first signs of life. The electricity in Morse's apparatus was supplied by low-power galvanic batteries, the longer the wire between the transmitter and receiver, the more batteries were required. Morse, with the help of Gale, gradually brought the length of the wire to 300 meters.

The first Morse apparatus weighed 83.5 kilograms.

The device includes a lever on a spring, by pressing it an impulse is transmitted. Depending on the duration of pressing, the impulse was short or long. An electromagnet was used at the receiving end, and one arm of the lever was attracted to its armature in accordance with the incoming impulses. A pencil was attached to the other shoulder, as soon as the electric current was applied, the pencil fell and left a mark on the moving paper tape in the form of a line. When the current was interrupted, the pencil rose, thus creating a gap.

In September 1837, Morse demonstrates his invention at New York University. New Jersey industrialist Steve Weil was in the audience. Interested in innovation, he provided a room for experiments and donated 2 thousand dollars, with the condition that Morse should take his son Alfred as an assistant. Alfred Weil had an engineering mind, he made a significant contribution to the creation of Morse code and the improvement of the transmitter.

Realizing the need to unite thousands of kilometers of the Atlantic coast with a single communication system (ordinary semaphores were not suitable for this role), in 1843 the government of the North American Republic gives Morse a subsidy of 30 thousand dollars. A 65-kilometer line was laid between Washington and Baltimore. On May 24, 1844, the first telegram was transmitted through this line with the words “Wonderful are your deeds, Lord!”.

Morse demonstrates his invention to scientists.

In 1858, Charles Wheatstone creates an automatic telegraph machine using punched tape. The operator, using the Morse code, stuffed messages on a perforator, the transmission was carried out by feeding the tape into the telegraph. In this way, it was possible to transmit up to 500 letters per minute, which is five to six times more than when manually working with a key. At the receiving station, the recorder typed the message onto another paper tape.

Subsequently, the recorder was replaced by a signaling device that converted dots and dashes into long and short sounds. The operators listened to the messages and recorded their translation.

The Morse telegraph was used not only in the 19th, but also in the 20th century. In 1913, 90% of the Russian telegraph network consisted of Morse devices.

Morse code

Telegraph Morse.

The invented apparatus could not display letters, only lines of a certain length. Therefore, each alphabetic character and number was assigned its own combination, consisting of combinations of short and long signals, which were depicted on a paper tape.

The original "Morse code" table differs from the one used today. It used signs not of two, but of three different durations (dot, dash and em dash). Rarely occurring letters and numbers were combinations of three to five characters, some characters had pauses inside their codes. Due to the large number of signs, confusion was created, which significantly complicated the work of receiving telegrams.

Spreading around the world, the alphabet has gone through a lot of transformations. In Russian, Latin letters were replaced by Cyrillic letters that sounded like them. The Japanese, with their hieroglyphic writing, invented their own version of Morse code, in the so-called "Wabun code" each combination of dots and dashes meant not a single letter, but a whole syllable.

The code was gradually refined, the encodings of the modern and original tables coincide for about half of the letters and do not match for a single digit. In the current Morse code, each letter corresponds to a combination of long parcels (dashes) and short parcels (dots). A pause between characters in a letter is one dot, and between letters in a word there are 3 dots, a pause between words is 7 dots.

In practice, remembering a combination of dots and dashes for each letter is possible at a low transmission rate, but as the speed increases, there will certainly be errors. For a serious study of the code, you need to memorize not the number of dots and dashes in a letter, but the “chant”, which is obtained when the whole letter sounds. Thus, when you hear the chant "Gaa-gaa-rin", it means the letter "G" has been transmitted. Depending on the school of study, "Chants" may vary. If there are only numbers in the radiogram, then only one dash is transmitted instead of five dashes. For the most popular phrases and letters in everyday life, simplified combinations of letters or numbers were developed.

Although today it is common to use modern communication methods, due to its simplicity and reliability, professionals and amateurs use Morse code in radio communications at the present time.

Using "morse code"

Passing long distances, the signal can be distorted, interference is superimposed on it, the signal transmitted by Morse code is easier to recognize and store. Encoding can be done manually, recording and playback of signals occurs using the simplest devices. Being a simple and reliable coding system, Morse code is used in almost all areas where CW communication is used.

Due to the presence of a short-wave radio transmitter with Morse code transmission, in difficult situations, information can be transmitted to the rescue services and information will come from the crash site.

Morse code has been widely used in military radio communications. in the fleet through signal spotlights, Morse code is used in visual communication between ships in line of sight in radio silence. Beacons and buoys with signal lights transmit certain letter combinations in Morse code and these combinations are given in

In Russian, there are vowels that sound short - this is E and And. And there are those who have a long sound - this is BUT, O, S. A good chant should use short and long vowels instead of dots and dashes, respectively. So for the letter H, a good melody would be “chi-mi-chi-te”, and a bad one would be “ho-lo-cha-ki”. For the letter C, a good tune would be “si-ne-e”, and a bad one would be “sa-mo-let”. Incorrect use of long and short vowels does not contribute to rapid learning, although it may not affect the speed and quality of reception. The consonants that make up the tune, as well as the stress, do not play a special role, so the choice of specific words for the tune is a matter of the student's personal preferences. The number of syllables in the "chant" must correspond to the number of Morse characters in the letter.

How does the chant learning method work?

The tunes during the study of the Morse code are literally driven into memory - so that it is almost impossible to forget them. Having repeatedly repeated to himself and aloud this same “u-nes-looo”, the student fixes the association with the letter At, similarly is done with other signs. And when he later hears a Morse code, it “decomposes” in his mind into separate tunes, and those, in turn, are rigidly associated with specific letters and numbers. Beginners usually immediately write down the caught sign, and read the received message after the end of the reception, looking at the paper. Experienced telegraphists are able to receive transmission by ear, isolate and record only the necessary data.

The melodies are taught “by ear”. Having named the chant of the next letter, the instructor listens to the sound of the corresponding Morse sign, then combines the sound with the pronunciation of the chant. Then the chant is pronounced simultaneously with the transmission of the sign on the key (learning to receive and transmit is often carried out in parallel). Then all these procedures are repeated many times, after some time they are already allowed to listen to the training texts. These texts are supposed to be written down - both for training and for subsequent verification of the quality of the reception.

Melodies are needed for both reception and transmission. A person transmits a text - reads the next word, mentally decomposes it into letters, and, pronouncing their melodies to himself, performs appropriate manipulations with the telegraph key in time with them.

Isn't it easier to remember the combination and number of dots-dashes?

Remembering the combination and number of elementary parcels for each sign is quite feasible, BUT is a dot-dash, B- dash-three-dot, etc. But you will not be able to achieve a coherent transmission, and even more so a high-quality reception. The usual speed in amateur radio practice is from 70 to 110 characters per minute, but a person does not have time in 0.5 - 0.9 seconds while the sign sounds, count the elementary parcels that make up the sign, and compare the number of dots and dashes with one character out of 50 codes Morse. Learn tunes - it's guaranteed to be more reliable!

Arguments against the method of teaching by tunes!

• If you learn Morse code by tunes (lu-na-tee-ki), then it is difficult to understand the meaning of the received text on the go, and if you learn by musical sound (taa-taa-ti-ti), then the words themselves are collected in your head.
• If you teach by tunes, then when you write down the text and start reading it with a side glance, you immediately get confused at the reception. For those who taught by sound, there is no such effect.
• In the army he taught Morse code by tunes. I remember the rule: when you take Morse code, you can think about anything - about women, about demobilization ... but not the text that you accept on record. This is where the crash and error occurs. It's strange, of course, but it's true.
• I taught by tunes, but after I overcame the reception rate of 100 c/min, the tunes themselves “fell off”, I began to take them by sound.
• After 5 years of telegraph work, all these tunes have disappeared by themselves, work is being done “on the machine”. The chain: the ear-hand works without controlled brain analysis... When receiving, there are no longer tunes in the head, but “ready-made” letters.
• Over time, the tunes simply transformed into musical signs. For example, the number 4 (che-twe-ri-te-kaa) is already heard simply as the tone “ti-ti-ti-ti-ta”. Other letters and numbers are similar, I don’t remember the tunes at all.

So, if you decide to learn Morse code by tunes, below are the international and Russian Morse code codes. The tunes recommended for memorization are highlighted in bold, you can come up with your own tune, or choose from among the listed alternative ones. Read about how and in what sequence to learn the alphabet in the corresponding section of our website.

Please note that the Morse codes of some characters in the Russian and international systems differ significantly (period, comma, exclamation point, brackets).
For example, what we think of as a “comma” corresponds to a “dot” in the international code. And the “comma” in the international code is transmitted in the same way as we transmit the “exclamation point”.

First, learn the international version (26 letters) in Russian tunes, then all the numbers, then the missing Russian letters and punctuation marks. Use one or another option when transmitting signs, depending on who you are communicating with - with a Russian-speaking, or a foreigner.

What is Morse code and what is it for?

February 8, 1838 Samuel Morse presented to the public his invention - the electromagnetic telegraph system. The device could transmit messages over short distances in a special encoding. This code is called "Morse code" or Morse code.

Artist-inventor

Samuel Morse did not have any special technical education. He was quite a successful artist, founder and president of the National Academy of Drawing in New York. Returning from a trip to Europe on a ship, Morse saw tricks using electromagnetic induction, which entertained a bored audience. A wire under electrical voltage was brought to the compass, the arrow of which began to spin wildly.

It was then that Morse came up with the idea to transmit certain signals over wires. The artist immediately sketched a diagram of the prototype of the telegraph. The device consisted of a lever on a spring, to the end of which a pencil was attached. When the current was applied, the pencil fell and left a line on the moving paper tape, and when the current was turned off, the pencil rose, and a gap was obtained in the line.

invention of the telegraph

Morse managed to bring the idea to life only three years later - the lack of technical education affected. The first device was able to receive and fix a signal over a wire 500 meters long. Then this discovery did not arouse much interest, since it did not have commercial benefits.

The potential of Morse's invention was seen by industrialist Steve Weil. He financed the artist's further research and appointed his son Alfred as his assistant. As a result, the device was improved - it received the signal more accurately, and the length of the wire increased many times over. Such a telegraph could already be used, and in 1843 the US Congress decided to build the first telegraph line between Baltimore and Washington. A year later, the first telegram was transmitted along this line with the words “Wonderful are your deeds, Lord!”.

Samuel Morse Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / Matthew Brady

Morse code

Naturally, the device could not display letters - only lines of a certain length. But that was enough. Various combinations of lines and dots denoted alphabetic characters and numbers. Historians cannot say for sure whether this code was the invention of Morse or his partner Vail.

Initially, Morse code consisted of three signals of different durations. A point was taken as a unit of time. The dash sign consisted of three dots. The pause between letters in a word is three dots, between words is seven dots. This abundance of signs created confusion and complicated the process of receiving telegrams. Therefore, Morse's competitors gradually refined the code. For the most popular phrases and letters, the simplest combinations of letters or numbers were developed.

The telegraph and radio telegraph originally used Morse code, or, as it is also called, "Morse code". For the transmission of Russian letters, codes of similar Latin ones were used.

How is morse code used now?

Nowadays, as a rule, more modern means of communication are used. Morse code is sometimes used in the Navy and in the Ministry of Emergency Situations. It is very popular among radio amateurs.

Morse code will most likely never die, because this is the most accessible and easiest way to communicate. You can receive a signal over long distances and in conditions of strong radio interference, you can encode messages manually, and recording and playback takes place using the simplest devices. Thus, Morse code will not fail in an emergency if more sophisticated equipment fails.

On average, a radio operator can transmit between 60 and 100 characters per minute. The record speed is 260-310 characters per minute. The whole difficulty in learning Morse code lies in the fact that it is not enough just to memorize the combination of dots and dashes for each letter.

In order to seriously study the telegraph, you need to memorize not the number of dots and dashes in a letter, but “tunes”, which are obtained when the whole letter sounds. For example, chanting Phi-li-mon-chik means that the letter F was transmitted.

SOS

The SOS signal is forbidden to be given if there is no threat to the life of people or the vessel at sea. SOS is served without pauses between letters: “∙ ∙ ∙ − − − ∙ ∙ ∙ ” (three dots, three dashes, three dots), that is, as one long letter. Although it is often believed that SOS is an acronym for "Save our souls" (save our souls) or "Save our ship" (save our ship), in fact it was chosen because of the ease of transmission, moreover, it is not transmitted as all abbreviations (separate letters), but a single letter.

Abbreviations, special "Q-codes" and numerous slang expressions are widely used to speed up radio traffic. For examples of encrypted messages in the “Morse language”, see the AiF.ru illustration.