2673: Foy–Breguet Telegraph System Apr 12, 2022
France was, of the developed nations in Europe, one of the last to see widespread use of a electric telegraph system. This was because there was already a large optical telegraph system, which was less susceptible to sabotage without external hardware, like the cable of electric telegraph systems. So, between the eras of the optical telegraph until the use of Morse code, the French used the Foy–Breguet system was in place, using two needles to visually indicate letters on a dial. The benefit was that it used the same orientations of the needles as were found on an optical telegraph, avoiding the need to retrain operators. It was electric though, not mechanical, so more efficient and easier to use than the previous system, now having the needles pulled into position by electromagnets. Still, the extent of the optical telegraph in France, not matched anywhere else, kept them more resistant to a newer, better system.
2672: Heliograph Apr 11, 2022
Morse code was used along with early technologies that transmitted data across great distances. A variety of media were used, but things like optical telegraphs or electric telegraphs required a certain amount of infrastructure and constant operators. Conversely, the heliograph was used, most often with Morse code, as a way to send a signal using the reflection of sunlight in a mirror often on a tripod, which could be shuttered at the correct intervals to create a visual signal. While this necessitated some amount of sunshine and a clear line of sight, they were useful for military use, surveying and forestry, and other remote, outdoor work. In Pakistan, these were standard issue in the military as late as 1975.
2671: Prosignals & Prowords Apr 10, 2022
Procedure words (prowords) are code words used for spoken radio telephone that developed from Morse code procedure signals (prosignals). One difference between a prosignal and a normal abbreviation is that prosignals often signal to the operators themselves, not to abbreviate the message they would send. The most famous prosign would likely be SOS, which officially does not stand for anything except signalling for help. Likewise, the most famous proword would probably be 'rodger', which signals that the message was received clearly. The history there is that it is from the once-encoded R meaning 'received' and during WWII the spelling alphabet for R was 'rodger', though now it would be 'romeo'. Other famous prowords would include 'over', 'out', 'mayday' & 'wilco' (will comply), though due to the greater efficiency of speech, there are not nearly as many prowords as Morse Code abbreviations or prosignals.
2670: Morse Code Codes Apr 9, 2022
Other than Q-codes, along with the less common Z-codes and X-codes, Morse code uses lots of standard abbreviations. Some of these will be linked to the words they abbreviate, like BN (all between); C (correct) or FWD (forward) to name a few, plenty of others are simply usefully short, like CQD (All stations distress) or K (invitation to transmit) but have no relation to the meaning. Others still use a combination, like WX (weather) or even just use numbers 73 (best regards). These sorts of official codes were accompanied by many more unofficial codes to speed up communication.
2669: Q-Codes Apr 8, 2022
Morse code can be send fairly quickly, but as with any system, it eventually developed its own abbreviations. There were hundreds of these, but some were more particular than others. Q-codes are particular in two ways: all begin with the letter Q, and they have been designed for use various branches of the military, beginning in 1912. Although scores exist, the first dozen were various naval codes, each with a certain meaning depending on whether a question or answer. For instance:
•QRA: (question) What ship or coast station is that? (answer) This is...
•QRC: (question) What is your true bearing? (answer) true bearing is … degrees
These were later expanded, but always with a question-answer format.
2668: International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Standard Apr 7, 2022
Morse code was changed a number of times, finally cemented in 1865 with the International Telecommunication Union standard. This was mostly based on Morse's original system, as well as Gerke's modified European version, but some letters were redesigned wholesale like those for <O> (once • • with a medial pause, to later – – –) and <P> (once • • • • •, later • – – •). It also distinguished <I> and <J> that Gerke's system had as the same (• • without the medial pause), though it does not use Morse's original <J> (– • – •) because this was instead used for <C>.
This left only 4 characters unchanged since the original system. Per letter this did actually make things longer to spell & therefore become on the surface less efficient, but it led to a greater ease of understanding that would cancel that out. It has little resemblance to the original Morse code, but many still call it as such, even though the technical name would be the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) standard.
2667: International Morse Code Apr 6, 2022
There were lots of innovations that helped to spread Morse code, such as moving from paper to sound which speeds up comprehension and the switch from cables to radio waves, which originally could not transmit voices. Beyond that however, the real driver for the system's success was its early, wide adoption, such as at the 1851 Vienna conference which made it standard for many Central European countries, and even earlier when it was adopted among American railroads—eventually adopted broadly in America—in the two decades preceding the Civil War. That said, International Morse code (made by Friedrich Gerke) is different to American Morse code, and was influenced by the system already in place with the Hamburg railways. This standardized the length of dashes, which were somewhat variable in American Morse code, as well as adding in special characters not used for English.
2666: Why 'Morse' Code Apr 5, 2022
Samuel Morse is known for inventing Morse code, but that was not particular to him. He and Alfred Vail developed the electrical telegraph system that would initially place the dots and dashes on a paper tape at the other end of the wire, though operators found listening to the clicks to be more efficient. That said, Morse's original idea for a system was to transmit the dots-&-dashes as numbers only, and to have a system for interpreting the numbers as words. Alfred Vail was the one who came up with the idea of encoding letters through those dots-&-dashes, and worked out the relative frequencies of each to make the system the most efficient with shorter codes for more common letters. Arguably, given the great mechanical and cypher-based contributions, it might have been more fittingly Vail code.
2665: Morse Code: The Basics Apr 4, 2022
Morse code, conceptually, does not sound particularly revolutionary, and realistically it was not. It encodes all 26 Latin letters and numerals as a combination of 1-4 dots and dashed, with the latter being three-times the length of the former so technically there is no specified time for each so long as the proportions are consistent. This makes it easy to encode and possible to signal using theoretically any perceptible medium, though usually on things like electric currents, or radio, sound or light waves. Samuel Morse designed his code such that the most common letters are the quickest to type. Before Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail developed their system, there were a few machines that were not used on such a global scale.