morse code query..

[scubabob]

Morse code worked very well when it was sent along a telegraph line, dots and dashes were made by the amount of time the contact was closed. I have watched many an adventure movie in my time and the hero(ine) always seems to be trapped somewhere at the bleakest moment but somehow siganls the resuers by tapping out morse code on a rock or pipe.

Question is, how do you make a "dot" and a "dash" sound different when tapping it on a rock?

[Liamy77]

you don't.... you leave a slightly longer gap between bashes and an even longer one for word ends.... but is bashing a rock the best communication method these days? most people would just shout or buy a radio or rent an epirb? not to mention not many folks are still fluent with morse code.......
the hero(ine) might die lonely in reality i think!

[Son of a Beach]

I've sometimes wondered the same thing about doing morse code by percussion in movies, and guessed that it must be something similar to what Liamy77 explained. Does that mean an even longer gap between words than end with a dash than words that end with a dot? I'm not sure my internal silence timer would do very well with that.

What I'm now wondering is: How hard would you have to bang a rock for your SOS to attract the attention of the SES?

[Lindsay]

You'd probably be better off using your rock to bang a log rather than another rock, or using a branch to bang a log like a huge drumstick. Or even better, using the emergency whistle which you as a responsible and properly equipped walker naturally has about your person

[Binder]

or bang two EPIRBS together...

[stepbystep]

I saw a 'Message off' between 2 old guys using morse code and a world champion sms'er(can you believe there is one).

The guys using morse code sent and deciphered their message quicker - progress eh?

[tasadam]

I saw a 'Message off' between 2 old guys using morse code and a world champion sms'er(can you believe there is one).

The guys using morse code sent and deciphered their message quicker - progress eh?

I saw that too. I reckon they should have had 6 messages to send, 3 chosen by the morsers, and 3 by the SMS'ers. Would have been a different result I reckon. Though, the message usually takes 3 to 5 seconds to receive after being sent, so that's a significant delay when they're tapping away.
Cheers,
.- -.. .- --

[climberman]

The sms-er could also just have made a voice call.

[Phil Box]

Di dit dit dit di dit, di dit di dit, dit it di dit dit di.

Actually I have no clue what I just sent via morse code just then. Thought I'd give it a bash.

[flyfisher]

Doesn't that say "coffee's ready"
ff

[tasadam]

-.-. --- ..-. ..-. . . .----. ... .-. . .- -.. -.-- (that does!)

[Macca81]

the light on my phone can send morse code... does this mean that its as good as an sms and morse code at the same time?

[tasadam]

the light on my phone can send morse code... does this mean that its as good as an sms and morse code at the same time?

You could always phone the recipient and tell them the letter you are flashing on your light, in case they can't read morse code...

[caveman]

Scubabob, its not morse that you are thinking of, its the tap code. Its been used for many years by POW's to covertly communicate with each other. Each letter is represented by two numbers on the sides of a 5 by 5 grid, so B is 2 taps, followed by 1 tap.