Morse code
Morse code is one of the most commonly used or at least one of the oldest Codes and Alphabets used by amateur radio operators to transmit information over long distances.
History
Main article: Wikipedia:Morse code
Up until fairly recently (early 2000's in many countries) Morse (CW) proficiency was a requirement for obtaining an amateur licence, or at least to get access to low frequency (paradoxically called High Frequency, HF, below 30Mhz). In 2003, the ITU removed the requirement for countries to demand morse code proficiency
International morse code table
The international morse code is composed of five elements:
- short mark, dot or 'dit' (·) — one unit long
- longer mark, dash or 'dah' (–) — three units long
- intra-character gap (between the dots and dashes within a character) — one unit long
- short gap (between letters) — three units long
- medium gap (between words) — seven units long
| Character | Code | Character | Code | Character | Code | Character | Code | Character | Code | Character | Code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | · — | J | · — — — | S | · · · | 1 | · — — — — | . | · — · — · — | : | — — — · · · |
| B | — · · · | K | — · — | T | — | 2 | · · — — — | , | — — · · — — | ; | — · — · — · |
| C | — · — · | L | · — · · | U | · · — | 3 | · · · — — | ? | · · — — · · | = | — · · · — |
| D | — · · | M | — — | V | · · · — | 4 | · · · · — | '' | · — — — — · | + | · — · — · |
| E | · | N | — · | W | · — — | 5 | · · · · · | ! | — · — · — — | - | — · · · · — |
| F | · · — · | O | — — — | X | — · · — | 6 | — · · · · | / | — · · — · | _ | · · — — · — |
| G | — — · | P | · — — · | Y | — · — — | 7 | — — · · · | ( | — · — — · | " | · — · · — · |
| H | · · · · | Q | — — · — | Z | — — · · | 8 | — — — · · | ) | — · — — · — | $ | · · · — · · — |
| I | · · | R | · — · | 0 | — — — — — | 9 | — — — — · | & | · — · · · | @ | · — — · — · |
Comparison between international and american code sets
Radio traffic uses International Morse only; while the original railroad landline telegraph system used American Morse code, which is now obsolete.
| Symbol | International | American |
|---|---|---|
| A | .- | .- |
| B | -... | -... |
| C | -.-. | ..-. |
| D | -.. | -.. |
| E | . | . |
| F | ..-. | .-. |
| G | --. | --. |
| H | .... | .... |
| I | .. | .. |
| J | .--- | -.-. |
| K | -.- | -.- |
| L | .-.. | ---- |
| M | -- | -- |
| N | -. | -. |
| O | --- | .-. |
| P | .--. | ..... |
| Q | --.- | ..-. |
| R | .-. | .-.. |
| S | ... | ... |
| T | - | - |
| U | ..- | ..- |
| V | ...- | ...- |
| W | .-- | .-- |
| X | -..- | .-.. |
| Y | -.-- | ..-.. |
| Z | --.. | .... |
| 1 | .---- | .--. |
| 2 | ..--- | ..-.. |
| 3 | ...-- | ...-. |
| 4 | ....- | ....- |
| 5 | ..... | --- |
| 6 | -.... | ..... |
| 7 | --... | --.. |
| 8 | ---.. | -.... |
| 9 | ----. | -..- |
| 0 | ----- | ----- |
Prosigns
| Sign | Code | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| AR | ·-·-· |
Stop (end of message) + |
| AS | ·-··· |
Wait |
| BK | -···-·- |
Break, or "back-to-you". |
| BT | -···- |
Separator within message = |
| C | -·-· |
Yes - Confirm - Affirmative |
| CL | -·-··-·· |
Going off the air - "clear" or "closing down" |
| K | -.- |
"go" or "over" - another station is invited to reply |
| KN | -·--· |
Invitation to a specific named station to transmit - "go oNly". |
| SK | ···-·- |
End of contact |
| SN | ···-· |
Understood |
| SOS | ···---··· |
Distress - imminent danger to life or property. |
An error is indicated as a series of E's or Es:
······· |
Error, correct word follows (six or more dots in a row) |
· · · |
Error |
Codes
See Q codes
See also
| Operating procedures | |
| Operation | Callsigns and ITU prefixes * Codes and Alphabets * Modes * Morse code * Nets * UK licensing * Terminology |
| DX and Contesting | Awards and Certificates * DXCC * DX cluster * Field day * Gridsquares * Logging * QSL and QSL Bureaus * Records - Distance |
| Emergencies | Emergency Frequencies * ARES * IRESC * SATERN * Weather spotting |
| QRP | Trail-Friendly Radio |
| Utilities | Beacons (/B) and Time Beacons |