Scouting, Volume 38, Number 1, January 1950 Page: 22
32 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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If your experience has been anything like
that of Troop 96, signaling has been a problem.
Scouts were never too interested, because it
took a lot of work to learn the code. But meth-
ods developed during the war taught the
Troop's leaders a lot about how to teach Morse
Code. They think they have the answer now,
how to mdke signaling easy and interesting,
and pass it on to us.
: ill
111
/:■
By Ke*t*vetU M. jJoitrtAxut,
ASM Troop 96, Minneapolis, Minn.
^ Equipment for sending and receiving Morse
^ Code need not be expensive nor elaborate.
A neckerchief tied to any stick makes a usable
wig-wag flag. The official Scout flashlight, and most
others, are made so they can be used for blinker
lights. Inexpensive sound sets are available at most
stores, or you can make your own with a bit of
wire, an old telegraph key, door buzzer, and dry
cell batteries.
Try learning sound first and you will probably
find it easy to learn the other two types of trans-
mission. Experience in the Navy during World
War II showed it was much easier for radiomen,
accustomed to reading Morse by sound, to switch
to blinker than for signalmen to pick up the Code
by sound.
The first and perhaps most important caution in
teaching Morse Code is, DON'T TEACH IT OUT
OF THE BOOK.
If a boy must think one dot and one dash when
he hears the letter A, he will learn much slower
than if he learns the letter A as di-dah, just the
way it sounds. After a little practice di-dah will
automatically register as A.
Seven of the 26 letters are either all dots or all
dashes. E, I, S, and H are one, two, three and four
dots respectively. T, M and O are one, two and three
dashes.
Opposites are just as important in learning Morse
Code as they are in Semaphore. Fourteen letters
can be matched up with exact opposite combina-
tions of the same number of dots and dashes.
A di-dah
B dah-di-di-dit
D dah-di-dit
F di-di-dah-dit
G dah-dah-dit
Q dah-dah-di-dah
N dah-dit
V di-di-di-dah
U di-di-dah
L di-dah-di-dit
W di-dah-dah
Y dah-di-dah-dah
That leaves only seven letters (C, J, K, P, R,
X, and Z) with no exact opposites. Four of these,
K, R, P and X are the so-called "sandwiches."
K dah-di-dah R di-dah-dit
P di-dah-dah-dit X dah-di-di-dah
So finally we have only C, dah-di-dah-dit, J,
di-dah-dah-dah and Z, dah-dah-di-dit. Still they
are combinations of the same long and short sourids
and can perhaps be best learned by thinking of
them as combinations of two of the other letters.
Using these helps, it shouldn't take long for any
boy to learn Morse Code by sound. Try it for a
month in your Troop and Patrol meetings, then
switch to blinker or wig-wag.
Blinker is more closely allied to sound than wig-
wag and after a boy gets a good foundation in
Morse Code from the buzzer, the change should
be simple.
The principle is exactly the same, but long and
short flashes of light are substituted for the long
and short sounds. It may be helpful at first to
think or even say the sound that corresponds to the
combination of flashes.
Wig-wag, of course is something of an art in
itself. After a boy has the Code well set in his mind,
however, it is just a matter of practice to be able
to manipulate the signal flag correctly.
Morse Code signaling opens a new door in Scout-
ing. Set up sound systems in your meeting place.
Send Morse day or night at your favorite camping
spot. Try signaling relays or think up your own
signaling games. The possibilities are unlimited.
22 SCOUTING MAGAZINE
BOY SCOUT SECTION
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 38, Number 1, January 1950, periodical, January 1950; New York, New York. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth313160/m1/24/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.