On Learning Morse Code
“I’ve been learning Morse Code recently. The story behind its creation itself is fascinating.”
I’ve always been curious about Morse code. Ever since I came to know about it, I wished I could understand it. It seemed cool to me.
You might have seen it being used in some movies or documentaries. Dots and Dashes, you know.
It looks fun, especially when you realize that it was one of the first electronic communication methods. Invented in 1836, it’s quite old.
I saw it in Titanic. I saw Watson talk about it in Sherlock. I saw it being used in Interstellar. It seemed too interesting to not be learned.
Why learn Morse, anyway?
Well, before I get to that part, I want you to know the story about why it came into existence. It’s fascinating.
“Samuel Morse suffered a personal tragedy after which he was inspired to explore a means of rapid long distance communication. While at Washington DC, Morse had received a letter from his father about his ailing wife’s sudden death. By the time he reached his hometown, New Haven, she was already buried. He, therefore, resolved to devote himself to find a means of immediate communication after this incident.” [Source]
Moving, isn’t it?
As for the ‘reason’ why one should learn Morse — I know of none. It’s almost obsolete, I suppose. Still, it’s sort of cool.
This Reddit thread can help you know more.
Personally, this old-school thing charmed me and I felt like learning it. No reason, whatsoever.
My experience with Morse
I’d been avoiding learning it as it appeared tough.
“Enough,” I thought one day and decided to learn it. Hopefully, after googling and reading a bit about it, I realized it wasn’t much technical (which I had assumed it might be).
Finally, I decided to give it a shot a few weeks ago, and it seemed pretty easy. I’m almost done with the alphabets and numbers and now I’m learning the punctuation.
As for now, I can write in using Morse — though, speed or efficiency isn’t something that I’ve considered.
So, how can you learn Morse?
A fine way to get started is to become curious about it — like reading some related stuff or watching short videos before getting your hands on it.
Now, while there are a couple of types of Morse codes, I’d suggest that you get started with the International Morse Code.
The simple reason being that it’s the most widely used and universally accepted.
That’s it.
Take a look at each of the alphabets, find some connection, and practice writing until you learn them.
Also, I tried creating visual images to make the memorization process easier, and it worked. Though, I ditched my own ‘visual guide’ after I found this one by Google, which is easier to comprehend.
Here are some resources
While I spent some time finding the right resources, I’m sharing some here which have worked perfectly for me.
Also, these articles might help
Finally, some tips
Here are a couple of things I did which helped me grasp and learn the whole thing better. I hope they work for you.
- Practice often, without visual help
- Listen to Morse code audio and jot it down
- Try writing your own sentences
Learning Morse shouldn’t be that tough. Once you learn it, it feels great. I think the feeling is similar to wearing an automatic watch or owning a gramophone — not that I own one, but I’m supposing.
So, thinking of learning Morse? All the best.
