Morse Code

One of the skills I have wanted to learn is that of Morse code. When I was younger, I had one of those inexpensive Archer walkie talkie sets that were popular in the 1970's. It had the Morse code alphabet on the front along with a button for sending it. I never had the patience to sit down and learn this new language of dits and dahs but I thought it would be a lot of fun.

Later as a teenager I wondered how cool it would be to know the code so I could communicate with classmates in the middle of school. Once again, none of us ever had the patience to sit down and learn the language of dits and dahs.

Now that I am a licensed ham radio operator, I am intrigued by the idea of learning Morse code. One of its advantages is that it allows you to communicate over very long distances using a minimal amount of power. It also doesn't require such a complicated radio or antenna.

There are a number of software programs to help you learn Morse code. One that I am working with is for Linux and is called Morse. All it takes is about 16 hours of practice over the course of a few weeks, according to some. My problem now is finding the 16 hours.