Morse Code Software

The Morse code is, as the name suggests it, a code. It encodes characters(letters, numerals, punctuation, special characters)and transmits the information telegraphically, using rhythm. Let's see how it works: we take a given message and transform it according to the chart above in"dots" and"dashes" that is short or long elements. The message transformed in the Morse code is transmitted by using sounds, marks or pulses, usually in an on/off key. So the message is usually transmitted by telegraph. the speed of this code is measured in words per minute - wpm or characters per minute. This kind of communication was intensively used before the invention of radio, but is still used nowadays by certain categories of people who must learn it as part of their job, in order to be able to transmit a message in case of danger or accident, when there's no other means of communication(phone or radio): airplane pilots, military staff, naval staff and even amateur radio operators.

As the name says, the code was invented by Samuel F.B.Morse, who is also the father of the telegraph. Legend says that everything started as a game between Samuel Morse and his brother. When they were young they wanted to communicate without being understood ny other people and used booming sounds from beams, establishing different meanings for them.Invented in the early 1840s, the Morse code was designed especially for the telegraph, but was also very much used in the early years of radio communication starting with 1890. At the beginning of the twentieth century most part of the speedy international communication was done using the Morse code, by means of telegraph line, under sea cales or radio circuits. After the development of communication and its intensive automatization, the Morse code presented a big disadvantage: the impulses had variable length- the dots are short sounds or impulses and the dashes are longer sounds or impulses- so they could only be read or decrypted by people, not machines. That is why later on this code was replaced by machine readable formats like Baudot or ASCII.

The Morse code was very popular among amateur radio operators and their knowledge of it was a compulsory request when they wanted to obtain a licence. However this is not the case any more; they just learn it for fun or just out of curiosity. Its use was widely spread because people can decode messages without the help of a decoding device. the Morse code is still considered one of the most versatile methods of telecommunication in history because it can be adapted to different kinds of devices, using on and off keys. For example in cases of danger, when there's no means of communicating with the world outside, people used mirrors to send Morse code signals in the distance. People trapped in demolished buildings or sinking ships used knock in hard surfaces to transmit messages in the Morse code. There are still strange cases of people who were unable to speak and used this code to send messages by simply blinking.A famous example is that of the prisoner of war Jeremiah Denton who was showed on television in 1966 by the people who captured him in Noth Vietnam and succeeded to transmit the word TORTURE by using the Morse code in blinking. People with severe disabilities who could not move used it by simply blowing into or sucking on a plastic tube(sip and puff instead of dot and dash)

This code has been used for a period of 160 years, more than any other encoding system. However, what is called Morse code today is actually the Modern Internation Morse Code, being adapted for international use, because Morse only designed it for American English.In time, there were different versions of the code, adapted for different languages, that is those languages that don't use the latin alphabet, like arabic languages or Russian or Chinese.

Once the computer industry developed people invented different software for almost anything. So some software companies thought about it and released some programmes for the phone and some others for computer use.

For example Planet of noise provides the free Morse code ringtone generator. It is a software page on the internet able to convert the text you choose into code ringtone that you can play on most mobile phones. If your phone has wap internet access you can download the ringtone resulted from the text you chose and written directly from the site. There is the possibility to play the ringtone any time you want and save it on your computer or you can choose the feature Morse2mail and send Morse messages to your friends by using the email.

Justlearnmorsecode.com offers a free software that helps you learn the code for personal purposes and fun or improve your skills if you already know it. They use two basic methods to do it: Koch's method and Farnsworth timing.

MRX Software is taking Morse code into the 21st century, that is the program is compatible with Windows and is designed to teach you how to transmit and receive Morse messages with the help of Multimedia computer technology. This software was chosen by five of the most important Defence Force Establishments in the world to train the staff into Morse code use.

Nu-ware.com offers a wide variety of software for people who want to learn or practice Morse code; structured on different levels of difficulty and different purposes. For example NuMorse 2.2.1.0. is a Vista/XP compatible programme designed for radio amateurs who want to get or upgrade their license, intermediate level, with intuitive methods that help you learn fast. CodeWeaver 1.2.0.1. is a fun and educational software application which can translate text files to Morse code, supplied with a library of assorted sounds.

Other examples of Morse code software: DXSoft-CWget v 1.80, Code Master V from Milestone Technologies, CodeQuick from Wheeler Applied Research Lab, CW player from G.Rivat F6DQM, EHOCW, Ham University, Linux Morse, Koch method, Morse code teaching machine, Learn morse code on the web from le club VE2CRD, Morse beeper, Morse code music, Morse code practice Morse midi, Mosh, MRP from Polar Electric and many others.