International Morse Code Gets New ITU Home, New Character:
from
The ARRL Letter, Vol 22, No 49
on
December 13, 2003
Website:
http://www.arrl.org/
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International Morse Code Gets New ITU Home, New Character:
The 2003 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-03) may have eliminated
the treaty requirement for prospective amateurs to demonstrate Morse code
proficiency to gain HF access, but the International Telecommunication
Union (ITU) hasn't forgotten Morse code altogether. In Geneva on December
5, the ITU Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R) Study Group 8 agreed on the
wording of a Draft New Recommendation ITU-R M.[MORSE] that specifies the
international Morse code character set and transmission procedures. It
also includes a new Morse code character to cover the "@"; symbol used in
e-mail addresses.
Once it's made available in English, French and Spanish, the draft new
recommendation will go out to ITU member-states using a new procedure for
simultaneous adoption and approval. On December 3, the draft new
recommendation won the approval of Working Party 8A, which is responsible
for the Land Mobile and Amateur services.
Within the ITU, the international Morse code has been defined by the
Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T), which is responsible for
the public telephone and telegraph network--mostly landline. A couple of
years ago, the ARRL pointed out to the US delegation to the ITU
Radiocommunication Advisory Group that Morse code's role more properly
resides in the radiocommunication realm, not wire, and should be the
responsibility of ITU Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R).
The transfer was agreed to, and International Amateur Radio Union (IARU)
President Larry Price, W4RA, proposed the draft new recommendation at the
November-December Working Group 8A meeting. The draft new recommendation
is almost unchanged from its ITU-T text.
"No one wanted to disturb something with more than 150 years of history,"
said ARRL Technical Relations Manager Paul Rinaldo, W4RI.
To keep up with the times, however, the IARU proposed adding a new
character--the commercial "at" or @ symbol--to permit sending e-mail
addresses in Morse code. The draft new recommendation proposes using the
letters A and C run together (.--.-.) to represent the @ symbol.
While the draft new recommendation is still a working document, its
expected to become a Recommendation within six months or so, pending
approval by member-states.
Source:
The ARRL Letter
Vol. 22, No. 49
December 12, 2003
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International Morse Code Gets New ITU Home, New Ch
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by RFSOAKED on December 15, 2003
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Yippie, another useful morse character. Anyway, back to SSB where everyone else is now days. I really don't understand the need for the @ symbol, why add confusion when you can just send "at" instead. It's not like anyone that you send it too doesn't know to use the @ symbol, they wanted your email address so obviously they know better than to type "at" instead of @ when addressing the email.
Oh well, thats the Morse weirdos for ya. HI HI
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International Morse Code Gets New ITU Home, New Ch
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by W3DCG on December 15, 2003
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How confusing.
Drop the Code Standard for HF but then try to implement some new STANDARD for a new character?
That is like Department of Transportation policy makers drafting a new proposal for a hand signal that means I WANT TO BACKUP, less than a year after they decided to drop all questions during driving tests related to hand signaling.
Policy makers so lost in reading paper that they have become so myopic as to loose sight of history.
All scholars comprehend, that the only way to a deep understanding of the future, is to understand the past.
To me, the International Policy makers in the case of Radio, lost all credibility concerning Morse when they decided to drop even the most infantile HF Morse standard.
And it is absolutely true, that AT or didah dah, makes more practical sense, than sending didahdahdidahdit. It's like trying to screw CW over even more than they already have.
Here's an idea, now days, there are really only three often used characters that are comprised of six elements:
dididahdahdidit (?), didahdidahdidah (.) and dahdahdididahdah (,)
Why don't we mess with it even more, by adding a NEW six element character?
Obviously, an idea designed to further hobble those who use CW on a daily basis.
didahdidah is four elements, simply a dot inserted with no spacing between an A and a T.
If didahdidah already exists in print somewhere, suffice it to say it is no longer actually practiced, and adopting didahdidah to mean @ makes more PRACTICAL sense.
Otherwise it is likely, that those who actually PRACTICE CW, will not adopt didahdahdidahdit. They will keep doing didah dah.
Even if the International Policy makers decided to make it didahdidah, I for one would refuse to use it out of principle, I sure am not going to follow a standard dictated by a legislative body that deemed CW to be unimportant to the extent that they effectively wrote it out of existence.
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International Morse Code Gets New ITU Home, New Ch
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by KG4HEB on December 15, 2003
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Next thing you know , there will be new characters for # $ % ^ & * ( ) and so on . Why can't somethings be fine the way they where ? Like they say , if it aint broke don't fix it . Code or no-code in the future , I am still learning it . I think it will pay off in the future . Best 73's to all , Sam callingdx@yahoo.com
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Quick, what's my email address? mattatticatflatsur
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by W8UR on December 16, 2003
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Quick, what's my email address? mattatticatflatsurface.com
An @ character is necessary to avoid ambiguity.
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RE: Quick, what's my email address? dingbat@aol.co
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by NE1Z on December 16, 2003
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This is another lame example of trying to "modernize" an antique mode. Just let it go.
It is like mentioning a phone number in a NTS message, it makes it bogus to say it is efficient. Use a calling card & stop pretending to save the world!
Remember the drowning sailor clinging to the leaking life raft?
Swim Man, Swim!!!
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RE: International Morse Code Gets New ITU Home, Ne
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by NORDICHAM on December 16, 2003
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There are other western languages
than English, believe it or not.
didahdidah is the letter "ä" in Swedish,
Danish and Finnish.
dihdahdahdidah is the letter "å" in
Swedish and Danish.
dahdahdahdit is the letter "ö" in
Swedish, Danish, Norwegian and Finnish.
Tens of thousands of your fellow amateurs
certainly use these characters on a daily
basis! They have always been required in
the code tests, for obvious reasons,
in these countries.
ITU doesn´t make hasty decisions,
it is a UN organization which
considers input from countries
around the globe. The morse code
for @ is a well thought over choice.
If it is necessary or not is another
question...
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International Morse Code Gets New ITU Home, New Ch
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by VE3XYD on December 17, 2003
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I'm new in CW and I am studing CW for past 3 months to get my HF ticket. What I think as a novice in this hobby...
1: CW qualifications should be droped
2: "@" sign is need it in CW mode for folks that enjoy CW QSOs no matter what.
I'm one of them, I love the CW mode and I see you on the CW bands very soon!
73s
Guelp, Ontario
slawko VE3XYD
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International Morse Code Gets New ITU Home, New Ch
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by W5AU on December 19, 2003
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This has been needed for some time now. Will take
a few rounds to get it in "the ole memory bank".
Merry Christmas to all and a Happy Straight Key
Night !!!
Best 73,
Troy, W5AU
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International Morse Code Gets New ITU Home, New Ch
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by W2RJJ on December 19, 2003
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Supporting morse as a mode is a subject entirely separate from supporting it as a licensing requirement. The ITU's recommendation to create a new prosign representing @ for the exchange of email addresses supports morse as a mode. For many of us who regard morse as our primary on-air activity, the support is welcome, even necessary.
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Bureucrats in action
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by KG9QM on December 19, 2003
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'tis better to send "AC" instead of "AT"? How hard is it to send didah dah? And the brain does not have to translate the letters.
As @/DC sang, 'We're on a highway to hell'.
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RE: Bureucrats in action
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by AC3P on December 22, 2003
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I'm a morse fan. I use it regularly. But I don't understand why an organization that is phasing out the use of CW worldwide is worrying about establishing a new morse character.
As Alice once said, "It's getting curiouser and curiouser".
Over the last few years in NTS circle @ as been handled by sending AT even on voice nets. It works. So why create a new character?
73
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