Posted by Ed Kiser on September 28, 2007 at 17:54:03 from 64.12.116.198 user Kisered.
In Reply to: How to signal in MORSE code posted by Ed Kiser on September 28, 2007 at 04:12:31:
Another medium for signaling is TAPPING. This was used in MISSEE LEE when Captain Flint was locked up somewhere below decks, and was able with tapping to talk to N & P that were up on deck. In that tapped message is found the rare occurance when he resorted to swearing.
In looking through various references, the method of tapping does not seem to be covered. The problem is how to distinguish a DOT tap from a DASH tap. A tap is a tap is a tap.
Don't know where this rule came from, but when I was active with the Boy Scouts, we were taught how to tap. There it was explained that the DASH tap was a pair of taps done very close to gether, somewhat like today's usage of the DOUBLE CLICK on the mouse (or course back then there was no such thing a double clicking on a mouse.) A DOT tap was just a single tap. Thus "C" would be: TAPTAP TAP TAPTAP TAP. We seemed to be able to use this rather easily in the Scouts.
For us, it was fun to make use of Morse in a variety of Non-Scout situations, like in the lunchroom at school, to communicate with someone across the noisy room by waving a spoon to the right or left, or for someone at the same table, to tap with the knife on the table, much to the disapproval of others not understanding what was going on. Even in the classroom itself, where of course tapping would not be allowed, we just used our thumbs by making two fists on the table, then for dot stick up the right thumb and dash by the left thumb. Looked like one had a twitch or muscle spasm.
Of course the neat thing about that Morse Code signalling at school was that this was done only by the chosen knowledgable FEW, with so many others not having a clue as to what is going on. It made us FEW feel rather special to be able to do this sort of thing.
But it would be nice to find some OFFICIAL source to explain the DOT/DASH difference in TAPPING to hopefully confirm the method we used was the proper one.
In SWALLOWDALE, John mentioned the possiblity of segnalling to Holly Howe from the Lookout Rock, from which the HH was visible. It could have been done, with the pre-arranged setting up of a specific time when such was to take place, and using a Flashlight (um, sorry, "TORCH" forgetting whom I was talking to...) which could have been seen at night even across that great a distance, assuming the battery was not weak. But such was never attempted. I have felt that they really missed a good opportunity at DISTANCE signalling.
Another great DISTANCE opportunity was from the Beckfoot promontory across the lake to the Observatory in WH. But such was never attempted.
The one biggie on distance signalling was when the D's did the "NP" that Nancy happened to see from Beckfoot. Now THAT was really something. Now if only Nancy had been able to flash back at them, and the D's actually SEE that reply... oh well...
End of Transmission...
Ed Kiser, Kentucky