Man Behind Morse Code
Beginning in 1836, Samuel F. B. Morse and Alfred Vail developed an electric telegraph, which sent pulses of electrical current to control an electromagnet that was located at the receiving end of the telegraph wire. The technology available at the time made it impossible to print characters in a readable form, so the inventors had to devise an alternate means of communication. Beginning in 1837, William Cooke and Charles Wheatstone operated electric telegraphs in England, which also controlled electromagnets in the receivers; however, their systems used needle pointers that rotated to indicate the alphabetic characters being sent.
In contrast, Morse and Vail’s initial telegraph, which first went into operation in 1844, made indentations on a paper tape when an electrical current was transmitted. Morse’s original telegraph receiver used a mechanical clockwork to move a paper tape. When an electrical current was received, an electromagnet engaged an armature that pushed a stylus onto the moving paper tape, making an indentation on the tape. When the current was interrupted, the electromagnet retracted the stylus, and that portion of the moving tape remained unmarked.
The Morse code was developed so that operators could translate the indentations marked on the paper tape into text messages. In his earliest code, Morse had planned to only transmit numerals, and use a dictionary to look up each word according to the number which had been sent. However, the code was soon expanded to include letters and special characters, so it could be used more generally. The shorter marks were called “dots”, and the longer ones “dashes”, and the letters most commonly used in the English language were assigned the shortest sequences.
Recent Posts
Antenna
The X7 Triband Yagi – Cushcraft
X7 BIG THUNDER TRIBANDER YAGIThe X7 Triband Yagi is geared to set new standards in both radiating performance and mechanical reliability. The p... Read more
Why dipole antennas are a half wave long ?
Why dipole antennas are a half wave long ? Read more
How to perfectly clean wires in minutes! by NH7ZE
Here is an old ham radio operators trick for cleaning wires for soldering that are old and corroded. It is hard to find this technique printed anywhe... Read more
Mobile Antenna Model 100A-HP 3.2 to 29 MHz
Mobile Antenna Model 100A-HP When properly installed on your vehicle the Model 100A-HP will provide continuous coverage from 3.2 to 29 MHz with the su... Read more
Review
Eric’s presentation on the Elecraft K4 – QSO Today Virtual Ham EXPO
Elecraft K4 ” “Congratulations to the QSO Today Virtual Ham EXPO Team! A very successful event that was a lot of fun for all of us here a... Read more
Equipment
Wireless Bluetooth mic for Yaesu mobile radios FT-7900R/100DR etc
Yaesu mobile Yaesu Mobile Radio Please check our new bluetooth speaker mic VGC BMH-68, it’s a very perfect replacement for the MH-48 serial wire... Read more
Microsat APRS Voyager + GPS-RS232
APRS Tracker/TNC With 7W Transceiver With External GPS Antenna Configuration software for Windows (STABLE firmware): APRS Voyager Configurator v1.08 (... Read more
Icom releases the ID-52A/E Amateur Handheld Transceiver with Color Display and Bluetooth® Communication
Icom Incorporated (Headquarters: Hirano, Osaka, Japan/President: Masataka Harima) releases the ID-52A/E*, VHF/UHF dual band digital transceiver that s... Read more
Xiegu GSOC also supports mouse & keyboard operating
1) The presale works for the US only. Radios will be sent from China with DHL free express shipping. 2) For EU countries, please be patient, we’... Read more
