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Morse code still Beats SMS |
axxxr
Joined: Mar 21, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Londinium
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Via: 160characters.org
It seems that morse code is still faster at sending text messages than using txt speak. Even when the morse code sender is 93 years old and the SMS challengers were teenagers!
According to The Times , an Australian museum staged a contest that pitted the oldest type of electronic text messages with the newest.
Devised by Samuel Morse in 1832, the simple combination of dots and dashes was the mainstay of maritime communication up until 1997.
Not only was the technology a battle of ages, but so were the contestants. Tapping out the winning morse code message was 93-year-old telegraph operator Gordon Hill, who learnt to use the technique in 1927 when he joined the Australian Post Office.
He easily defeated his 13-year-old rival, Brittany Devlin, who was armed with a mobile phone and a rich vocabulary of text message shorthand. Mr Hill, whose messages were transcribed by another telegraph veteran, Jack Gibson, 82, then repeated the feat against three other children and teenagers with mobile phones.
In the competition, at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, Mr Hill and his rivals were asked to transmit a line selected at random from an advertisement in a teenage magazine.
It read: “Hey, girlfriend, you can text all your best pals to tell them where you are going and what you are wearing.”
While the telegraphist tapped out the line in full, to be deciphered by Mr Gibson, Miss Devlin employed text slang to save time. She keyed: “hey gf u can txt ur best pals 2 tel them wot u r doing, where ur going and wot u r wearing.”
Just 90 seconds after Mr Hill began transmitting, Mr Gibson announced that he had the message received and written down correctly. It took another 18 seconds for Miss Devlin’s message to reach the mobile phone belonging to her friend. Mr Hill said that he was impressed by modern technology, even though his clunky telegraph machine emerged on top in three further contests.
Want to brush up your Morse Code skills? This site claims to be able to teach you in just a minute!: http://www.learnmorsecode.com
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[ This Message was edited by: axxxr on 2005-05-14 10:23 ] |
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phsychomantis
Joined: Jan 24, 2005
Posts: 146
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Which phone were they using ? Sagem my x8 ? :-D
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Qoastro
Joined: Feb 15, 2005
Posts: 447
From: Sweden
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Hehehe how fun for the old dude to be faster then modern technology 
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mustafabay
Joined: Sep 27, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: Egypt
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Messages do have to go to the message center first and then back to the other phone. Although you could say it took time to translate the code too. |
BobaFett
Joined: Jan 06, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: Kamino (wish it would be Lund)
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The good old ti ti ta ta ti ti
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OluYom
Joined: Oct 27, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: Nigeria
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Amazing revelation!
But how many of you want to be caught dead with that bulky piece of equipment for transmitting/receiving morse? 
PS: I used to be known as AYA |
Qoastro
Joined: Feb 15, 2005
Posts: 447
From: Sweden
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They should build in morsetransmitters into the phones.... Then everyone would be happy..... 
Emagine people standing on the bus going dit dit dat dit dat dat dit dat.....
Hehe how fun wouldn't it be to hear a recieved message
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knight4led
Joined: May 27, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: Califonia, USA
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tonight on Jay Leno they recreated this stunt. Again the Morse code on the Telegraph won. This wasn't some big publicity stunt for a cellphone company or anything, it was simply competition where an audience member bet on who would win in order to win some free food.
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OluYom
Joined: Oct 27, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: Nigeria
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Quote:
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On 2005-05-14 09:02:27, knight4led wrote:
tonight on Jay Leno they recreated this stunt. Again the Morse code on the Telegraph won. This wasn't some big publicity stunt for a cellphone company or anything, it was simply competition where an audience member bet on who would win in order to win some free food.
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I don't doubt that its true. its just a little hilarious.
PS: I used to be known as AYA |
fatreg
Joined: Jul 26, 2003
Posts: > 500
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i reckon i could sure as hell use morese code quicker than texting if i was in a war dodgng bombs etc! 
fatreg
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hey3g.com
Joined: Apr 20, 2005
Posts: 15
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SMS is not real time transmitted!
Let alone that it is easier for an ordinary person to use SMS.
http://www.hey3g.com/ |
tranquil
Joined: Dec 15, 2001
Posts: > 500
From: Oslo, Norway
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Need proof?
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antocsm
Joined: Feb 10, 2005
Posts: 65
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Fascinating stuff. Thanks axr.
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4 Territory
Joined: Mar 03, 2005
Posts: 31
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4 Territory
Joined: Mar 03, 2005
Posts: 31
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The texter could've one the contest just by using ZYB. Too bad he wasn't informed!
[ This Message was edited by: 4 Territory on 2005-05-30 15:48 ] |
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Posted: 2005-05-06 20:01
Download and watch it 
