morse code
Morse code, also known as Morse code, dates from 1835 and is named after its inventor, Samuel Morse. It is a compression with on-off keying, which works with shorter and longer switch-on times for the carrier frequency. These shorter and longer duty cycles are referred to as "dots" and "dashes". Each letter is associated with a dot-dash combination.
The idea behind Morse code is that frequently occurring letters are assigned a dot-dash combination consisting of as few characters as possible. Less frequent letters, on the other hand, consist of a longer dot-dash combination. Morse code includes letters, characters and digits.
The characters of the Morse code consist of one to four dot-dash combinations, the digits of five dot-dash combinations. Dots and dashes correspond to transmitted electromagnetic pulses. A dot corresponds to a short electromagnetic pulse, a dash to a longer one. The time for the dash length corresponds to that of three dots. There is a pause between pulses during which no radio signal is transmitted.
The pause length between parts of the same letter corresponds to that of one point, the distance between two characters corresponds to three points, and the distance between two words corresponds to five points. Dots and dashes are assigned to letters according to their frequency. The most common letters consist of a few dots and dashes. For example, the letter "e" consists of only one dot, and the letter "t" consists of one dash. The "i" and the "a" consist of only two characters. Rare letters like "j", "q" or "y" consist of four dots and dashes. The letter "y" consists of four characters: dash-dot-dash.
The classical transmission of the Morse code was done with a Morse key. The transmission can also be made as a sound signal via a telephone line, a radio link or by means of flashing light signals.
Morse code was used in amateur radio and maritime radio.