Do you have an interest in the history of telegraphy and the telegraph industry? Are you interested in the history of telecommunications? If so, you are cordially invited to join the Morse Telegraph Club. The Morse Telegraph Club was founded in 1943 to perpetuate the history of telegraphy. Its membership consists of retired railroad and commercial telegraphers, former telegraph industry employees, radio operators and others with an interest in the history of telegraphy. In addition to publishing a Quarterly Journal entitled "Dots and Dashes," MTC members assist with the design and construction of historically accurate museum exhibits throughout the United States and Canada. Members present talks on the history of telegraphy and telecommunications for historical associations, engineering societies, Amateur Radio clubs and the like. MTC members also demonstrate Morse telegraphy at steam train excursions, US Civil War encampments, historical events and the like. MTC membership is open to anyone with an interest in the history of telecommunications. One may join one of the many local chapters throughout the United States and Canada or become a member of the MTC "Grand Chapter" (member at large). If you are a former commercial telegrapher with experience in railroad operations, stock brokerage work, commodities work (boards of trade, cotton exchanges, etc.), pipeline, press or other phases of telegraphy, you will meet other operators with similar backgrounds. If you worked in testing and regulating for organizations such as Western Union, Canadian National, CP Telegraphs or AT&T, you will enjoy the opportunity to re-establish connections with others who performed similar work. Radio amateurs, former maritime or military radio operators, and others will enjoy learning more about the history of telecommunications and the origins of many of the procedures and traditions with which they are familiar. Please take a look at a sample copy of "Dots and Dashes" at: http://www.morsetelegraphclub.org/files/dotsdashes/DotsDashesWinterNL_PRESS.pdf A membership application may be found at: http://www.morsetelegraphclub.org/files/Forms/MTC Membership Form 2015.pdf 73, James Wades International President, Morse Telegraph Club, Inc.
Very good first article in this Dots and Dashes. Good enough to cause me to download it and the application form. I feel sure the Dots and Dashes quarterly is distributed by email. I've already created a folder for it. Thanks much for this. It's "my cup of tea."
At Dayton every years, there's a great landline setup demo. A couple of fellers can read true Morse code with clicker-clackers which is a whole nother skill than CW!
The "Morse News" application allows you to choose CW Tone, Spark Gap, or Sounder (i.e. clicker-clacker). I've tried copying Morse using the "sounder" setting and wow that's hard.
Without yet reading the links, the obvious question is, does one have to know American Morse, because all I know is "c"? I can see where there would be a society for American Morse, but I'd think those ops are few and far between now. Maybe I'm wrong.
Telegraphy was used in commercial applications well into the post war era. In some cases into the early 1980s. The membership of MTC has many men and women who worked as telegraphers. Current membership is in the range of about 800 to 900. Commercial telegraphy did use the American Morse Code, which is somewhat different than the Continental Code (International Morse) used by radio amateurs. Because MTC is dedicated to the preservation of the history of telegraphy and the telegraph industry, the emphasis is on American Morse code. However, hams share many of the traditions of telegraphy and the history of the telegraph is fascinating in its own right. 73!
