Maybe no one cares but Morse still interests me – it’s a sentimental thing. It’s the first thing Jay taught me when I moved in with him in 1956. Because of enhanced modern methods of transmission, Morse is not being used much anymore, if at all. Its strength was that you could hear a signal under conditions where voice could not get through because of radio noise/interference. Jay’s ability with listening to Morse was so phenomenal that the captain of the merchant ship he served on once referred to him as “a long-eared m….r f……r”. He could read Morse that sounded like a sheet tearing and translate verbally while he “listened ahead”.

I use the Morse code as a relaxer sometimes, when I am walking. I dit dah messages to Jay, using his Radio Amateur Call Sign: W2WHM (CQ Magazine listed him in its “Silent Key” section when he died). At the end of this post, so you can conveniently skip it if you like, is the Morse alphabet.

Jay always had his radio transmitter on (24/7) and tuned in to the 500 channel, used for calling and distress. You used the channel to call someone and after getting an answer, switched to another frequency for your conversation. Every hour on the hour, there was a 3-minute silent period so that any distress messages could be heard without interference. Once a distress message was sent, the entire frequency went quiet so that only distress traffic could be heard.

On July 25, 1956, the Andrea Doria, an Italian ocean liner, was approaching Nantucket on its way to New York City. The eastbound MS Stockholm of the Swedish American Line collided with it in what became one of history's most infamous maritime disasters.

Jay was instantly alert when he tuned in to 500 in the middle of the hour and heard nothing. So he sat down to listen and wait and then distress messages began to come in. He monitored the channel for hours and into the night, hearing all of the messages and, perhaps, reliving his time at sea when he was the radio office for the merchant vessel, The S.S. Dorothy Luchenbach. The Merchant Marine was nationalized during WW II and Jay went to sea in supply convoys to Mermansk, a dangerout route. His ship was torpedoed and he was in a lifeboat for 15 days before being rescued.

I am pleased that the Merchant Marine was finally recognized for its service during WWII. For the longest time, its veterans were not acknowledged. If I had not remarried, I would have been eligible for monthly benefits.

Here is the alphabet

A dit dah (._)
B dah dit dit dit (_...)
C dah dit dah dit (_._.)
D dah dit dit (_..)
E dit (.)
F dit dit dah dit (.._.)
G dah dah dit (_ _.)
H dit dit dit dit (….)
I dit dit (..)
J dit dah dah dah (._ _ _)
K dah dit dah (_._)
L dit dah dit dit (._..)
M dah dah (_ _)
N dah dit (_.)
O dah dah dah (_ _ _)
P dit dah dah dit (._ _.)
Q dah dah dit dah (_ _._) -- locomotives used to toot a Q when leaving the train yard.
R dit dah dit (._.) A single r sent means “I heard you and understand”
S dit dit dit (…)
T dah (_)
U dit dit dah (.._)
V dit dit dit dah (…_) (the famous WW II V sign for Victory
W dit dah dah (._ _ _)
X dah dit dit dah (_.._)
Y dah dit dah dah (_.._ _)
Z dah dah dit dit (_ _..)

Numbers
1 dit dah dah dah dah
2 dit dit dah dah dah
3 dit dit dit dah dah
4 dit dit dit dit dah
5 dit dit dit dit dit
6 dah dit dit dit dit
7 dah dah dit dit dit
8 dah dah dah dit dit
9 dah dah dah dah dit
zero dah dah dah dah dah

The Word program wouldn’t let me change 10 to 0 for zero -- I hate auto formats.

xx, Teal