Home Page  People  Things To Do  Glossary  Index  Teacher's Room  Comment Form  Sponsors  Search

"Teaching people about the world in which we live."

Instructions
by Shawn Steele

Morse Code Translator and Game instructions.
(Requires Java.)

Index to the instructions:

• Overview
• Warnings and Notes
• Translate Mode
• Receive Game
• Transmit Game
• Morse Code Symbols
• Sending Morse Code
• Keyboard Shortcuts
• Hints
• Other Resources

Overview

The program box consists of the following items:

• Text and Morse code boxes display the text and Morse code translations.
• Speed Bar controls the speed at which the Morse code is played back. This does NOT affect how fast you can send Morse code in transmit mode.
• Sound and Flash check boxes indicate whether the visual or audible signals will be used when displaying Morse code. You may check one or both of these boxes.
• Translator Mode is used to convert text to Morse code or visa versa.
• Receive Mode is used to practice receiving Morse code. The computer will play the tones and you will enter the correct text in the text box.
• Transmit Mode is used to practice sending Morse code. Use the space bar to transmit dots and dashes and then press Check to see if you are correct.
• Send and Stop button is pressed to start or start Morse Code transmissions by the computer.
• Check button is pressed to translate in translate mode, or to check your transmission or reception in transmit or receive modes.
• Instructions button displays this page.
• Morse Code pull down box contains a cheat sheet of the Morse codes.
• Score and Level displays show where you are at when playing the transmit or receive games.
• Keyboard Shortcuts are also available.

Warnings and Notes

Back to the overview and index.

This program has been written in Java so that as many people as possible can use it on their computers. Unfortunately there are a few problems with Java that can affect the performance of this program:

• Due to systems limitations and the way Java works, some computers may not be able to transmit or receive Morse code very fast. In those cases, please slow down the transmission or the speed bar.
• If your computer seems to stutter or otherwise not transmit the Morse code properly, try turning off either the sound or the flashing so that the computer can react faster. You can also try slowing down the speed with the speed bar.
• If your computer does not seem to read your Morse code correctly, check the hints section on transmitting Morse code. If you are sure you are sending correctly, try sending more slowly as some computers may not be able to respond to key presses very rapidly. You can use both the space bar and the mouse button to send. One may work better than the other for you.

Translate Mode

Back to the overview and index.

To use the translate mode, check the "Translator" box in the program. You can then convert text to Morse code or visa versa by one of three methods:

• Type text in the text box and press the "Check" button. Morse code will be displayed in the Morse code box. Symbols without matching codes will be changed to pauses.
• Type Morse code in the Morse code box by using periods and hyphens. Use a space to separate letters and multiple spaces to separate words. When you press the "Check" button the text will be displayed for that Morse code. Asterisks (*) will be displayed for codes that have no matching letters.
• Enter Morse code by pressing the space bar or clicking on the white and red flasher box with the mouse. When done, press the "Check" button. The computer will then display the Morse code in the Morse code box and the text translation in the text box. You can practice Morse code with this method.

Pressing the "Send" and "Stop" buttons will start and stop transmission of the Morse code currently displayed in the Morse code box. You can turn off the sound or flashing by checking the appropriate check box.

The Morse code pull down list has a quick reference of the Morse codes and their equivalent letters.

Receive Game

Back to the overview and index.

To play the receive game, check the "Receive" box. The computer will then play Morse code for random letters and words. You then enter the translation in the text box and press the "Check" button.

• To repeat the computer's transmission, press the "Send" button.
• To turn off the sound or the flashing, check the appropriate sound or flashing checkbox.
• NOTE: On some computers the sound or flash may stutter. You may have to play the sequence more than once to get an accurate transmission. Turning off the sound or flash may help.
• The computer will occasionally give you hints for new letters and topics.
• You can use the Morse code pull down list as a cheat sheet.

Transmit Game

Back to the overview and index.

To play the transmit game, check the "Transmit" box. The computer will then pick random letters and words and put them in the text box. Your goal is to transmit those letters using the space bar or the mouse button. When you have transmitted a sequence, press the "Check" button.

• The computer will occasionally give you hints for new letters and topics.
• To turn off the sound or the flashing, check the appropriate sound or flash checkbox.
• You may need to turn off the sound or the flashing to help your computer time the Morse code correctly. Slowing down may also help the computer read your Morse code more accurately.
• You can use the Morse code pull down list as a cheat sheet.
• See the hints section on sending Morse code. It takes practice to get the timing of the dots and dashes correct.

Morse Code

Back to the overview and index.

The following are the symbols for Morse code. They are also available in the Morse code pull down box in the game.

Sending Morse Code

Back to the overview and index.

Dots & Dashes

Each letter is composed of dots and dashes as shown in the Morse code table. Dots can be of any length, so long as they are consistent throughout the transmission and every dash is the length of three dots.

Breaks

Each component (dot or dash) of a letter is separated by a pause that is the same length as a dot.

Pauses

Each letter is separated by a longer break that is the same length as a dash (or three dots.)

Spaces

Words are separated by even longer pauses equal to the length of seven dots. This program treats pauses of this length or longer as word breaks.

When learning to send Morse code, it might help to tap out a regular pattern with one foot or hand and send the Morse code with another. You can then press the key for one tap as a dot and release the key for one dot as a break between dots or dashes. You can continue to hold the key down for three taps for a dash or to pause between letters.

NOTE: The computer program is very sensitive to the regularity of your transmission. The computer expects your dashes to be close to three times the length of your dots. If you send very quick dots, your dashes will end up being too long and the computer will not be able to read your transmission. If in doubt, slow down and the computer should behave better.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Back to the overview and index.

There are a few keyboard shortcuts:

• Space Bar -- Used to send Morse code. Press space for a dot or dash and release it for a pause. This can be easier than the mouse button.
• C -- Check button
• S -- Send button
• ENTER -- Finish entering in a text or Morse box or OK on a pop up window.

Hints

Back to the overview and index.

• Use the Morse code pull down bar if you don't remember a code.
• Remember that a dash is equal to three dots. If your dash is 3 seconds long, then a dot should be one second. Very quick beeps don't count because then your dashes are too long relative to the length of your dots.
• The spaces between dots and dashes are also as long as a dot. If your dot is a half second long, then your spaces should also be a half second long.
• An easy way to practice dots is to tap a "beat" with one hand and then press or release the space bar each time you tap.
• To time dashes, you can tap 4 times with one hand. Hold the space bar down for the first three taps and release it for the fourth tap. That will give you a three dot sized dash and a dot sized space.
• See the Morse Code article.

Other Resources

Morse Code Translator and Game.
Simple Morse Code Buzzer.
Morse Code Telegraph.
Morse Code Lesson Plan.

 Home Page  People  Things To Do  Glossary  Index  Teacher's Room  Comment Form  Sponsors  Search