# Modern uses for morse code? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 18, 2014, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-uses-for-morse-code/679141 "2014-01-18T13:30:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2014, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-uses-for-morse-code/679141/21 "2014-01-18T16:58:44Z")
Well, it’s still used in fiction. A recent episode of **Person of Interest** had a short (but not SOS) message sent via Morse. Also, last year I read a book called **About Average** by Andrew Clements in which a character used a whistle to blow SOS. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2014, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-uses-for-morse-code/679141/22 "2014-01-18T17:08:11Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > IAMS ? Never heard of it. What does it stand for? Nothing at all. Just like SOS. It is a common myth that “SOS” is meant to stand for “save our souls” or something like that. The pattern “…—…” was picked because it was easily recognized. The name “SOS” was picked because it produces that sequence (if inter-letter pauses are omitted), and then people started to make backronyms for those letters. It’s not text, it’s a [prosign](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosigns_for_Morse_code). ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2014, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-uses-for-morse-code/679141/23 "2014-01-18T17:17:14Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > The transmission keys they used were not like the ones you see in films, but were moved side to side (a bug?) one way sent dashes automatically and the other was tapped to send dots. yes a bug. the company that made them, Vibroplex over a century old, has a bug in their logo. both dots and dashes can be automatic, there are a number of models. they are heavy too, a number of pounds, it stays still while skilled operators use lightning fast fingers. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2014, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-uses-for-morse-code/679141/24 "2014-01-18T17:30:58Z")
My brother also told me that when in ‘conversation’ with Portishead, it was wise not to go too fast. However fast he could go, they could and would go faster. It was always embarrassing to ask for more than one repeat. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2014, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-uses-for-morse-code/679141/25 "2014-01-18T18:04:36Z")
> [@Schnitte](#): > > And one minor thing: On many cellphones, the ringtone for an incoming text message is Morse code for “SMS” (three long signals, two short ones, three long ones), this being the abbreviation for “short message service”. This should be three short, two long, three short, I think? ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2014, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-uses-for-morse-code/679141/26 "2014-01-18T18:08:22Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > Well, it’s still used in fiction. A recent episode of **Person of Interest** had a short (but not SOS) message sent via Morse. Also, last year I read a book called **About Average** by Andrew Clements in which a character used a whistle to blow SOS. Similarly the MMORPG video game The Secret World has a quest clue that used, IIRC, an audio-only Morse code sequence. (I think I downloaded an iPhone app to deal with that decoding?) ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2014, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-uses-for-morse-code/679141/27 "2014-01-18T19:23:25Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > Nothing at all. Just like SOS. So. You don’t think that three short and three long repeated doesn’t stand for anything? A wrench on a ships hull, a rock in the rubble after an earthquake. A flashlight in the dark? As a former Civil Air Patrol and Colorado Ground Search and Rescue team member, I could not disagree more. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2014, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-uses-for-morse-code/679141/28 "2014-01-18T19:50:20Z")
Just a bit of trivia, since 2007, ham operators have no longer been required to learn Morse code. The FCC felt that people were mostly interested in voice and data and the requirement was keeping newcomers out of the hobby. You can still use it all you want and there are allocations for CW only in the ham bands, but it’s not required for licensing. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2014, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-uses-for-morse-code/679141/29 "2014-01-18T20:31:37Z")
**enipla** , you misunderstand. The code “…—…” does stand for something: It stands for “Help, I’m in trouble!”. But “…—…” isn’t actually “SOS”; it’s its own thing. Saying that “…—…” is the code for “SOS” is like saying that S is the code for EEE. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2014, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-uses-for-morse-code/679141/30 "2014-01-18T21:21:37Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > **enipla** , you misunderstand. The code “…—…” does stand for something: It stands for “Help, I’m in trouble!”. But “…—…” isn’t actually “SOS”; it’s its own thing. Saying that “…—…” is the code for “SOS” is like saying that S is the code for EEE. S is the code for EEE 😕 Morse code - … = S — = O How does …—… …—… …—… not = SOS SOS SOS? **No** rescuer would **not** recognise …—…—…—… as a call for help. Or at least I hope not. (Yes that translates to SOSOSOSOSOSOSO. But really). How many rescue teams have you been on? ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2014, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-uses-for-morse-code/679141/31 "2014-01-18T22:19:24Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > S is the code for EEE 😕 S is three dits, EEE is three dits. > [@](#): > > Morse code - > > … = S > — = O > > How does …—… …—… …—… not = SOS SOS SOS? By the same token: … = I .- = A – = M … = S So how does …—… …—… …—… not = IAMS IAMS IAMS or VTB VTB VTB or any other the other possible decompositions. The reason is that in Morse code, inter-letter pauses matter. “SOS” as in the letter “S” followed by the letter “O” followed by the letter “S” is “…\—\…” . “VTB” is “…-\-\-…”. “SOS” as in the distress signal is …—… , with only the one-dit inter-symbol pauses. SOS is a mnemonic to help remember the prosign, but the sign is distinct from the way an ordinary message containing the letters “SOS” would be encoded. (Usually this distinction is made by putting an overbar over the prosign, but that is not available here). > [@](#): > > **No** rescuer would **not** recognise …—…—…—… as a call for help. Or at least I hope not. (Yes that translates to SOSOSOSOSOSOSO. But really). How many rescue teams have you been on? I’m quite certain any rescuer would recognize any kind of rythmic banging as a distress signal. People buried in rubble can not be relied upon to capture the subtle nuances of the encoding, and we can forgive their lapses on account of the dire state in which they find themselves. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2014, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-uses-for-morse-code/679141/32 "2014-01-19T00:31:55Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > S is three dits, EEE is three dits. > > By the same token: > > … = I > .- = A > – = M > … = S > > So how does …—… …—… …—… not = IAMS IAMS IAMS or VTB VTB VTB or any other the other possible decompositions. > > The reason is that in Morse code, inter-letter pauses matter. “SOS” as in the letter “S” followed by the letter “O” followed by the letter “S” is “…\—\…” . “VTB” is “…-\-\-…”. > > “SOS” as in the distress signal is …—… , with only the one-dit inter-symbol pauses. SOS is a mnemonic to help remember the prosign, but the sign is distinct from the way an ordinary message containing the letters “SOS” would be encoded. (Usually this distinction is made by putting an overbar over the prosign, but that is not available here). > > I’m quite certain any rescuer would recognize any kind of rythmic banging as a distress signal. People buried in rubble can not be relied upon to capture the subtle nuances of the encoding, and we can forgive their lapses on account of the dire state in which they find themselves. If you heard …—… …—… …—… …—… …—… How would you interprete it? Would you not look at the obvious pattern? ---
**Author:** ![Huvudtvatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Huvudtvatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huvudtvatt)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2014, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-uses-for-morse-code/679141/33 "2014-01-19T00:54:11Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > The reason is that in Morse code, inter-letter pauses matter. “SOS” as in the letter “S” followed by the letter “O” followed by the letter “S” is “…\—\…” . “VTB” is “…-\-\-…”. > > “SOS” as in the distress signal is …—… , with only the one-dit inter-symbol pauses. I think you are confusing pauses between words and letters here. The one dit pause is between letters and the longer pause is between words. The distress call SOS is transmitted without the one-dit pause between letters, as a single symbol. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2014, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-uses-for-morse-code/679141/34 "2014-01-19T02:09:36Z")
> [@Huvudtvatt](#): > > I think you are confusing pauses between words and letters here. The one dit pause is between letters and the longer pause is between words. The distress call SOS is transmitted without the one-dit pause between letters, as a single symbol. There are three canonical gap sizes: [ul] [li]Between different elements of the same letter – the same length as one dit.[/li][li]Between different letters – the same length as three dits, or one dah.[/li][li]Between words – the same length as seven dits.[/li][/ul] So if we use “s” to mean the short gap, “m” to mean the medium gap, and “l” to mean the long gap. The letters “SOS” as part of a word are encoded as: .s.s.m-s-s-m.s.s. while the distress signal \ is encoded as: .s.s.s-s-s-s.s.s. ---
**Author:** ![Huvudtvatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Huvudtvatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huvudtvatt)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2014, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-uses-for-morse-code/679141/35 "2014-01-19T02:54:37Z")
Ok, I think we mean the same thing, but I made the mistake of thinking of musical notation here and not about the actual, technical length of the pauses. The rhythm of the distress call would be written something like ♪♪♪♩♩♩♪♪♪, without pauses, but of course there is a slight pause between dits or else it would just be one, long tone. Both ways add up the same, with two dits taking up the same space as one dah within a character. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2014, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-uses-for-morse-code/679141/36 "2014-01-19T10:25:25Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > This should be three short, two long, three short, I think? You’re right, my mistake. Thanks for pointing this out. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2014, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-uses-for-morse-code/679141/37 "2014-01-19T14:58:35Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **enipla** : > > If you heard …—… …—… …—… …—… …—… How would you interprete it? Would you not look at the obvious pattern? I would interpret it as “Help, help, help, help, help”. I would not interpret it as the letter S, followed by the letter O, followed by a pair of Ss, followed by another O, and so on. ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2014, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-uses-for-morse-code/679141/38 "2014-01-19T16:58:57Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > So. You don’t think that three short and three long repeated doesn’t stand for anything? That’s a bit of a strawman, surely? **leahcim** said “SOS” doesn’t stand for anything, not “three short and three long”. I take this to mean that “SOS” isn’t an initialism. ---
**Author:** ![pdunderhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4bbf92/32.png) [@pdunderhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pdunderhill)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2014, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-uses-for-morse-code/679141/39 "2014-01-19T17:19:47Z")
As an aside, Morse is used by Radio Amateurs in the one of the available frequency allocations in the VHF c144Mhz, 2 metres for EME, Earth Moon Earth. EME involves bouncing an RF signal off the moon and back to Earth. Signal loss is in the order of 250 - 300 dB. Even with, my memory about this is more than 30 years old!, a transmitter o/p of 400w and a max aeriel gain of 26dB thats still a lot of loss, hence the use of specific frequency allocations and of morse. Haven’t seen it done for years but it’s still a fascinating endeavor. Peter ---
**Author:** ![trumpetmood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc8723/32.png) [@trumpetmood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trumpetmood)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-uses-for-morse-code/679141/40 "2014-08-14T20:43:51Z")
I have been fascinated with Morse Code since I was a kid. I am also a Ham Radio operator who uses CW exclusively. For the past 3 years my endeavor has been to see just how “fluent” I could become in Morse Code. Call me a geek, obsessed, or whatever, but I have a key and oscillator in each car. I wouldn’t call it distracted driving because I practice sending everything I see…street signs, license plate numbers, descriptions of cars, etc. If anything, I am more focused on my driving than without the key. I’m really pressing myself to reach a head-copy speed of 35-40 words-per-minute, or more. I listen to audio CD’s of classic novels in Morse Code (yes, they are available and most are free online). Just writing this makes me sound crazy, but so be it. It’s good for my brain and I am improving! Morse Code is an interesting language, and when you begin to hear it in words, phrases, and sentences, it becomes addictive! Faster copy is becoming easier than slower copy. Too slow and I forget the beginning of the sentence. So, “Cheers” to Morse Code! It is alive and well, at least in my life! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-uses-for-morse-code/679141.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-uses-for-morse-code/679141.md?page=3)