On Wed, 14 Oct 2015 10:12:15 -0700, Califbill billnews wrote:
wrote:
On Wed, 14 Oct 2015 09:12:05 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:
On 10/14/2015 8:47 AM, Tim wrote:
Though amtiquated, I don't know why it was dropped. They're bringing
back Morse Code too. Evidently it's always good to have a back up plan
http://www.capitalgazette.com/news/n...009-story.html
Morse code was a relic even when I was in the Navy many moons ago but it
was still taught in Radioman school. It has since been dropped.
We were underway on one of this ships I was on and the setup codes for
the teletype crypto gear was inadvertently shredded by one of the
Radiomen standing watch in the Radio Shack. Without the setup codes
the ship could not have regular teletype communications.
They had to get the senior, old grizzly Radioman Chief Petty Officer to
set up a morse code key and communications to the outside world was
conducted using it.
There is still a use for flashing light communication. The biggest
reason is you are not transmitting anything that can be tracked any
farther than you can see.
It also works if the entire electrical system on your ship is gone or
if you are adrift in a life boat. That is why they have a momentary
switch on a military flashlight.
in 1965, everyone in USCG boot camp needed to be able to send and
receive about 6 WPM of Morse to get out.
Alas 50 years later, I can only come up with SOS and a few selected
curse words.
Pilots needed about 5 words a minute morse. The identifiers on most Nav
aids were morse. Easy for us techs, we just looked at the tabs for the
dots and dashes and a crib sheet.
===
There are still marine nav aids that identify in morse code, both
lights and RDF stations. There is also a special kind of buoy called
a RACON that lights up on your radar when your beam hits it. It
actually creates a visual image of the dots and dashes on your radar
screen. I learned morse code when I was 12 years old for both the
scouts and for a ham radio license. At one time was up to 30 words
per minute but not any more.