
Morse Code Explorer		Copyright (C) Moose O'Malley, 
-------------------		February 1997.

Morse Code Explorer for Windows 3.1, 3.11, 95, NT.

This program enables you to explore the wonders of Morse Code.

With this program, you can :

- Decode a Morse Code string.
  Simply type in a series of DOTs (full stops) and DASHes (minus signs)
  and seperate each seperate morse code by a space, and the program
  will convert it to text for you.

- Encode text into Morse Code.
  Simply type in text and the program will convert it to Morse Code 
  for you.  All characters not included in Morse's Code are ignored.

- Display all Morse Code codes for each letter in the alphabet.
  i.e. a quick reference chart.


The Future :
-------------

In the future, I might add a Tutorial / Quiz function
into the program, which would display random Morse Codes
and you would have to guess the character it represents.

Another good thing would be to play the DOTs and DASHes through your
sound card so that it sounds similar to a real Telegraph.

I would also like to add functionality to read microphone input
and interpret this as DOTs and DASHes.

Or, this could be easily done with a mouse as well - tap the mouse botton
for a DOT and hold it down a bit longer for a DASH - just like in
a real Telegraph where Morse Code was pioneered.

It all depends on what feedback I get.


Morse Code : a little history
-----------------------------

When Morse decided to use an alpha-betical system 
of signals for his newly invented telegraph, he consulted a 
Philadelphia newspaper's typecase.  Morse desired to assign the 
shorter dot-and-dash symbols used for telegraph transmission to 
the more commonly used letters of the alphabet, while some 
of the longer dot-and-dash symbols would be used for less 
frequently used characters.

In counting the type in each letter bin, he found 
12,000 e's, 9,000 t's, 8,000 each of a, o, m, i, and s, 
6,400 h's, and so on.  With few exceptions, Morse followed 
this list in developing his teletype code, assigning his 
shortest symbol, a dot, to the letter "e", the most 
common letter.  The symbol dash, was assigned to the 
letter t, the next most common symbol.

Modern International Morse Code only differs slightly from 
the original Morse Code.

The duration of a dot equals one dot-unit, a dash equals three 
dot-units, the space between dots and dashes of a letter 
equals 1 dot-unit, and the space between letters equals 
three dot units.

The transmission of an English message consisting of 100 letters 
requires the transmission of approximately 940 dot-units.

If, instead of assigning symbols logically, they had been 
assigned at random, then the same 100 letter message would 
take 1160 dot-units - an increase of about 23%.

This encoding technique represents the earliest application of 
Statistical Compression for data transmission, and permits 
almost 25% more messages on a telegraph line during a peak 
period, than if dot-and-dash symbols were assigned at random.

Amazing hey !!

And, if it wasn't for Morse, we wouldn't have had all those excellent
Wild West movies where the telegraph operators are always held at gun
point and told to transmit wrong information to the sheriff.


Morse Code Translation Table :
------------------------------

A = .-     Alfa        Dot Dash 
B = -...   Bravo       Dash Dot Dot Dot 
C = -.-.   Charlie     Dash Dot Dash Dot 
D = -..    Delta       Dash Dot Dot 
E = .      Echo        Dot 
F = ..-.   Foxtrot     Dot Dot Dash Dot 
G = --.    Golf        Dash Dash Dot 
H = ....   Hotel       Dot Dot Dot Dot 
I = ..     India       Dot Dot 
J = .---   Juliet      Dot Dash Dash Dash 
K = -.-    Kilo        Dash Dot Dash 
L = .-..   Lima        Dot Dash Dot Dot 
M = --     Mike        Dash Dash 
N = -.     November    Dash Dot 
O = ---    Oscar       Dash Dash Dash 
P = .--.   Papa        Dot Dash Dash Dot 
Q = --.-   Quebec      Dash Dash Dot Dash 
R = .-.    Romeo       Dot Dash Dot 
S = ...    Sierra      Dot Dot Dot 
T = -      Tango       Dash 
U = ..-    Uniform     Dot Dot Dash 
V = ...-   Victor      Dot Dot Dot Dash 
W = .--    Whisky      Dot Dash Dash 
X = -..-   X-ray       Dash Dot Dot Dash 
Y = -.--   Yankee      Dash Dot Dash Dash 
Z = --..   Zulu        Dash Dash Dot Dot 
  = .-.-   CR          Dot Dash Dot Dash 
  = .-.-   LF          Dot Dash Dot Dash 
  = .-.-.  EoF Message Dot Dash Dot Dash Dot 
! = .-..-.             Dot Dash Dot Dot Dash Dot 
' = .----.             Dot Dash Dash Dash Dash Dot 
, = --..--             Dash Dash Dot Dot Dash Dash 
- = -....-             Dash Dot Dot Dot Dot Dash 
. = .-.-.-             Dot Dash Dot Dash Dot Dash 
/ = -..-.              Dash Dot Dot Dash Dot 
0 = -----              Dash Dash Dash Dash Dash 
1 = .----              Dot Dash Dash Dash Dash 
2 = ..---              Dot Dot Dash Dash Dash 
3 = ...--              Dot Dot Dot Dash Dash 
4 = ....-              Dot Dot Dot Dot Dash 
5 = .....              Dot Dot Dot Dot Dot 
6 = -....              Dash Dot Dot Dot Dot 
7 = --...              Dash Dash Dot Dot Dot 
8 = ---..              Dash Dash Dash Dot Dot 
9 = ----.              Dash Dash Dash Dash Dot 
: = ---...             Dash Dash Dash Dot Dot Dot 
= = -...-              Dash Dot Dot Dot Dash 
? = ..--..             Dot Dot Dash Dash Dot Dot 
| = -.--.-             Dash Dot Dash Dash Dot Dash 
 = .--.-              Dot Dash Dash Dot Dash 
 = .-.-               Dot Dash Dot Dash 
 = .--.-              Dot Dash Dash Dot Dash 
 = ..-..              Dot Dot Dash Dot Dot 
 = --.--              Dash Dash Dot Dash Dash 
 = ---.               Dash Dash Dash Dot 
 = ..--               Dot Dot Dash Dash 


Sharware Information :
----------------------

This is NOT free software.

This product is shareware.  

This means that you can try out the software for evaluation 
purposes without charge for a period of 21 days to enable you
to decide whether to purchase / register it.

If you use this software after the 21 day evaluation period
a registration fee is required.  See the Registration Form
in the file register.txt.

Unregistered use of this software after the 21-day evaluation 
period is in violation of U.S. and international copyright laws.

If you do not purchase / register the software after the 21 day
trial period, then you must delete it from your system.

In order to encourage me to develop this software and keep 
developing other software, I encourage you to do the right 
thing and register the software.

I could have easily have made the programs nag you to Register, 
or expire after 21 days of use, but I do not like this approach.

From April 97 on, however, some of the new functionality being 
added to my programs will be available for Registered users only.
I tried to avoid doing this, but now I have been forced to do 
this to try and encourage some Registrations.

I live in the hope that if people use the programs, then they 
will register them.

Registered users will receive FREE upgrades of the program for
the life of the program.  i.e. as long as I keep improving the
program, registered users will get this new / additional 
functionality for FREE.

To Register, please complete the Registration Form in
the file register.txt.


Ammendment History :
--------------------

Vers    Date        Description
1.0     07-Feb-97   First Public Release.
1.1     16-Jun-97   Save settings automatically on Windows 95 shutdown 
                    (Registered Users only).
                    Start Minimised if set in Shortcut / settings
                    (Registered Users only).  
                    Improve application startup - size and position 
                    form before user sees it.
                    Add in Menu items for viewing my Shareware Catalog, 
                    the Readme file, and the Registration Form.
1.2     11-Jan-98   Fix a long standing but very elusive problem
                    to do with "DateEncode" errors which occured
                    on some machines under some conditions.
                    Once I could replicate the error, it was
                    reasonably straight forward to get a workaround
                    for what was another bug in Delphi.
                    (3,224 lines of code.)


If this program was not downloaded from my Home Page, then
it is most likely an old version.  The latest version of this 
program is available from my Home page and its mirrors.

Moose
-----------------------------------------------------------------
 EMail         : Moose@rocknet.net.au
 Home Page     : http://www.rocknet.net.au/~moose/
 Mirrors       : See above Home Page.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
