European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 29, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Morse co deity a lost some it s dash but the Dit Dahs keep coming by Peter Matt Awethe associated press a a through the crackle and fuzz of Long b distance radio Karl Thompson easily translated. B the steady Dit Dah Dit Dah Dit Dah of Morse Al code from across the Atlantic. A a Thompson operating Amateur station k8kt from his. Hillside Home in West Virginia got through to fellow Quot Ham Les Laws g4jhz, in Plymouth England to Trade a greetings and technical information at 25 words per. Minute using the method As old As electronic communication. A a a a a Quot Morse code is still challenging Quot Thompson said pleased with his transoceanic Contact. M 0 or r s code lives today on International airwaves aboard ships at sea and even in. Taxicabs despite the overwhelming use of new High tech systems such As satellite data and voice -.   �-. Communications faxes to ships and air planes and a Host of other sophisticated electronic connections As. Primary modes of communication.  .  �. For example. A nearly All , Ham radio operators Are still required to learn Morse code before they earn a Federal License. Thousands use it to communicate with other hams. Around the world but Many learn it Only for their License. And forget it. A a a. A a a a v _ a hams and professional radio operators report mysterious occasional transmissions of jumbled. Numbers or letters in coded Morse code which is. A a a technically illegal among . Hams. Operators shrug off a a the transmissions As a spy . A a a a a a a.  a a a. A in downtown Pittsburgh the red Neon lower atop the 37-Story Grant building proudly flashes the City s name in Morse code every night. If it malfunctions people often Call to complain about flashed misspellings. A a Morse code often identifies two Way radio stations. Used by taxi Drivers police officers arid firefighters. The code usually beeps automatically and so quickly that no one pays attention to it. A \ a a a at Point Reyes Calif. Chatham mass and. Dozens of other Points around the world sophisticated commercial radio stations still use Morse code to. Communicate cheaply and reliably with ships at sea. A at Boston s Fenway Park painted Morse code on the famous left Field scoreboard spells the initials of the red sox s owners Tay for the late Thomas a Yawkey and try for his widow Jean r. Yawkey. A \ a the coast guard and other agencies constantly Monitor emergency frequencies for the famous. International distress signal s 0 a s  similarly air and sea navigational beacons a. Automatically identify themselves to airliners and ships. With Morse code which Samuel . Morse and his a scientists devised 147 years ago to make their coming. Telegraph invention  a i a the Morse Telegraph club uses american Morse a code to tap out Friendly messages via Telephone lines among about 2,450 members across the United states and Canada a. A. A Morse code is like knowing a foreign language Quot said club president Bill Dunbar 66, of Normal 111., a retired Railroad telegraphed. Quot to the Layman it just sounds like a series of unintelligible Clicks. But we  other even by the Way the key is handled. There s a rhythm and syncopation that s very.  a a. A. Still even romantics concede that Morse code s a a pleasant Dit Dah never Dot dash is slowly giving Way to advanced technology Quot there is really no one using Morse code As their primary Mode  communication said David. A Cassidy associate publisher of 73 Amateur radio today in Hancock . A Quot Morse code is basically reduced to the Hobby Side of radio. Data transmission has so advanced with the Onset of computer and digital communications that it is no longer a Cost effective Way of getting. Quot. Communications from one place to . Morse code however is still vital to some ships at sea especially those registered to third world countries that cannot afford sophisticated electronics such As telex and satellite voice communications. At Chatham radio station acc Mcle a Cor Mercial a radio station on Cape cod about a dozen Teleg Raphers routinely tap out messages to ships in the Atlantic Ocean at 55 cents per word about one fifth the Cost of telex communications according to manager Bill Farris. The Shore to ship messages Are usually mundane a / communications about personnel and cargo position reports and needed stores he  Morse code is simple it s cheap. Its International a language Quot Farris said. Quot there is a lot of commercial shipping on the Edge of profitability and the expense of an automated telex or radio system is hard to justify if the ship is just making a  Al a. A Teleg Raphers on land or sea often speak of knowing . Their Quot fist Quot or rhythm. The familiarity gives a personality to the unseen partner As in. Quot he has a soft  a a -. A a it a a. A a but Farris said his Teleg Raphers also can often Tell by Quot fist Quot whether their shipboard counterparts Are pitching and rolling in Stormy seas. A he said Morse code signals often get through when interference stops other communications. A. Quot when we get into distress situations the coast guard and the Canadian stations get very Active Farris said. V v  a the coast guard uses Morse code to communicate with merchant  from eight Shore stations from Massachusetts to Guam according to an expert in the service s Marine radio policy Branch who asked not to be identified. A ,. Quot we re trying to get out of using it Quot he said Quot there s a new computer satellite system coming tin by 1999 that s going to Supply search and Rescue information to the  a a v.  a Navy radio operators still must learn Morse code and a sign Alers still learn How to use it to Flash lights Between. Ships said it Dane Lajoye. A spokesman for the Pentagon. A a a a a a a a. But All military branches mostly have abandoned Morse code in favor of  system of. Communications for Security purposes Quot Lajoye said. Each Branch still has a military affiliate. Radio system that uses Morse code to transmit non classified a a a Quot morale and welfare Quot messages. Many such messages were transmitted from service members in operation. Desert storm.  �,.,� a a a a. A. .�?�.  a a. A i Quot a message might be a in a , doing fine.�?T. They re not official but they re still important Quot said air. I Force master sgt. Jeffrey trimmer a communications. Expert at Scott  Iii. Combat units of All services keep Morse code Quot equipment ready in Case More sophisticated Means Are jammed or destroyed trimmer said.  Ham radio operators speak affectionately of Morse and his code and Many Are caught up in the 19th t Century Romance of sending Long distance messages by / Clicks through a wire. A a a a a. -. A. S on May 23, a Small group of hams calling a t themselves the Samuel . Morse Bicentennial s Celebration in the United states capital plans to commemorate Morse s 200th birthday by re enacting his. Famous first  Between Washington ,. And Baltimore on May 24 1844, morsels birthday was april 27. A a. A a a a Quot a. 1 a morsels first message Quot what hath god wrought Quot established the Telegraph and immortalized the Man. Overshadowing his remarkable work As a Painter and. I sculptor. A. A a a a. A ,. ,.  a. I Morse s 1.844 code became american Morse code widely used As a Quot land line Quot code by Railroad a. A a / Amateur radio operator Karl Thompson sends a message in Morse code via a Short wave radio. Page 14. A the stars and stripes monday a