| Morse code (aka continuous wave/CW) is in very common use in amateur (ham) radio, predominantly in CW Contesting [0], DXing, and low power (QRP) and portable operations (like parks on the air/POTA, summits on the air/SOTA [1]) as CW an extremely robust, efficient modulation. In other words, a 5w CW signal is roughly equivalent to a 100w voice signal -- more miles per watt. Plus you can fit a lot of signals in less spectrum. It's slower than voice or data modes but you don't need to say much to exchange enough information for a valid contact. And learning Morse code is just fun and a superb mental exercise; amateur radio enables Morse code to be actually useful and enjoyable in the modern era. It's also used for: * amateur radio direction finding/ARDF (radio orienteering) [2] * High speed CW competitions (which used to be much more popular in Eastern Europe) [3] * automatic identification of radio beacons and repeaters (e.g. aviation Navaids like NDBs and VOR, EMS/fire/police/business radios) * backup/emergency communications for governments & armed forces [0] https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=cw+contest. Also https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgnEGSLeedg - the radio displays a spectrum waterfall in which you can see dozens of CW signals. [1] https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=parks+on+the+ai... [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9H8irEMnf4 [3] https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=high+speed+cw+ clarification: CW is a modulation type, on which Morse code is encoded using an on/off carrier wave. Much like how Amplitude Modulation/AM is a modulation on which voice is encoded by changing the amplitude of the carrier wave. |