What is Morse Code?
LEDs are also used for visual communication applications, such as in Morse code. Morse code uses an alphabet made up of dots and dashes. Dot means a short button press and dash means a long button press.
The Morse sequences for characters from the alphabet seem to be quite random and do not seem to follow any logical order, but there is method behind the madness! Alfred Vail realized that if you gave more commonly used letters shorter sequences – ones with fewer symbols and using more dots than dashes – then most messages would be shorter.
In Morse Code a dot (.) is made by pressing the telegraph key down and allowing it to spring back up again rapidly; and for making a dash (-), the key is held down for a bit longer period. It is said that a dash(-) unit is three time longer than a dot(.) unit. The Morse Code in fact consists of combinations of aurally distinguishable tones. A tone produced for short duration is a dot tone and a tone three times longer than this tone is a dash tone.
For instance, the letter “a” is a dot and a dash, “g” is two dashes and a dot, and “t” is one dash. To see how the Morse code works, let’s make an S.O.S. Flasher and try to encode the code.
We’ll be using a Pushbutton for it.