Morse Code(-- --- .-. ... . / -.-. --- -.. .) Mystery Cache
Morse Code(-- --- .-. ... . / -.-. --- -.. .)
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(micro)
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This is a simple, yet somwhat challenging cache. You must use
MORSE CODE to translate the code into words and coordinates.
Permission for placement of this cache has been given by Anita.
It's Great for Kids and is Handicap Accessible
While the manager of the business here gave permission for this cache to be placed, they do not know the exact location of the container. You must find that on your own.
I have wanted to do a cache based on Morse Code for sometime, as I am a licensed "HAM" or Amatuer Radio Operator. My "Call Sign" is WB4PSC, which in Morse Code is :
.-- / -... / ....- / .--. / ... / -.-.
↑ I n t e r n a t i o n a l M o r s e C o d e ↑
Morse code is written using dots (.), and dashes (-). The sound when spoken is "dit" for the dots, and "dah" for the dashes.
Letters consist of 1 to 4 dots, dashes, or a combination of them. For example, "E" is 1 dot, "S" is 3 dots, "T" is 1 dash, and "W" is 1 dot and 2 dashes(see chart above).
Numbers consist of 5 dots and/or dashes. For example, the number 3 is ...--
Punctuation is a group of 6 dots and/or dashes. For example, a period at the end of a sentence is .-.-.- whereas a comma is --..--
Morse code can be written in different ways. The two most common are shown below:
1) Individual letters are separated by a space while individual words are separated by a forward slash (/).
2) Individual letters are separated by a forward slash (/) and individual words are separated by a DOUBLE forward slash (//). Sentences in this format are separated by Four slashes (////).
As an example, let's use the first sentence above ↑: "This is a simple, yet challenging cache."
Written as in Example #1 above it would be written the following way
- .... .. ... / .. ... / .- / ... .. -- .--. .-.. . --..-- / -.-- . - / -.-. .... .- .-.. .-.. . -. --. .. -. --. / -.-. .- -.-. .... . .-.-.-
Written as in Example #2 above it would be written like this
-/..../../...//../...//.-//.../../--/.--./.-.././--..--//-.--/./-//-.-./..../.-/.-../.-.././-./--./../-./--.//-.-./.-/-.-./...././.-.-.////
FOR THIS CACHE I AM GOING TO USE EXAMPLE # 2 STYLE.
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A Little Background and History:
It is a relative simple matter for anyone to broadcast a message using voice transmission. The individual sending the message speaks into a microphone connected to a transmitter. At the receiving end, the individual needs only to tune a receiver to the broadcasting station and listen to the spoken words as they are reproduced by the receiver.
The transmission of messages by code however, requires a special skill on the part of both the sender and the receiver.
WHY USE CODE TRANSMISSION IF VOICE TRANSMISSION IS SO MUCH SIMPLER?
1. Radio communication by code requires less elaborate, less costly and less bulky equipment than does voice radio communication.
2. Code transmission will penetrate radio and atmospheric interference more readily than will phone transmission. Code transmission will usually be intelligently received under conditions that render voice transmission and reception impossible. The spoken word with it's inflections, intonation and a tremendous variety of sounds is infinitely more complex than is the single piercing note of a radio telegraph signal.
3. The radio telegraph code constitutes an invaluable method of sending secret messages or security information with a greater amount of safety.
4. A transmitted code signal requires much less frequency space than does a radio telephone signal. Approximately 6 KHZ for an AM signal and 15 KHZ for the wideband FM signal.
The typical morse code CW signal is 1.5 KHZ!
From Wikipedia:
Morse Code is a method of transmitting information as a series of on-off tones, lights, or clicks that can be directly understood by a skilled listener or observer without special equipment. The International Morse Code encodes the alphabet, the Arabic numerals and a small set of punctuation and procedural signals as standardized sequences of short and long signals called "dots" and "dashes". Because many non-English natural languages use more than the 26 Roman letters, extensions to the Morse alphabet exist for those languages.
The International Morse Code in use today is different from the original, even though most people think that Samuel Morse invented it. The related but different code was originally created for Samuel F. B. Morse's electric telegraph by Alfred Vail in the early 1840s. This code was the forerunner on which modern International Morse code is based. In the 1890s it began to be extensively used for early radio communication before it was possible to transmit voice. In the early part of the twentieth century, most high-speed international communication used Morse code on telegraph lines, undersea cables and radio circuits.
Morse sent the first telegraphic message (from Washington D.C. to Baltimore) on May 24, 1844; the message was: "What hath God wrought?" The telegraph revolutionized long-distance communications.
Morse code is most popular among amateur radio operators(ME!!) although it is no longer required for licensing in most countries, including the US. Pilots and air traffic controllers are usually familiar with Morse code and require a basic understanding. Aeronautical navigational aids, such as VORs and NDBs, constantly identify in Morse code.
Morse code speed is measured in words per minute (wpm). Characters have differing lengths because they contain differing numbers of dots and dashes. Consequently words also have different lengths in terms of dot duration, even when they contain the same number of characters.
When I set out to get my Amateur Radio License, being able to send and receive Morse Code was part of the requirements to earn the license to be able to use voice communications on the air. The first license you earn, "Novice", allows communication ONLY with Morse Code, at a minimum of 5 words per minute. To get the next level, where voice can be used, which is a "General" license, you must be able to send and receive 13 words per minute. Advanced and Extra Class licenses require even more code proficiency.
There are those radio operators who can understand code sent at a very fast rate by ear alone, redily undertanding it like a spoken language.
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The Morse Code most widely recognized by people is the
well-known: " S O S ", or, in Morse code " .../---/... "
See? You already have learned some Morse Code!
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NOW, for the Cache:
Use the chart above to translate the following code (in blue) to get the final coordinates:
Please note: the dots and dashes at the end of a line CONTINUE to the next line UNLESS there is a final / at the end of the line
For Example: if you see /-.-./.-/-.
-./..../
It is the same as /-.-./.-/-.-./..../
-.-./--.-//-.-./--.-//-.-./--.-// ( ← This is a general call or invitation to all)
...././.-././/../...//-.--/---/..-/.-.//--/../.../.../../---/-.//
-/---//..-./../-./-..//-/...././/-.-./.-/-.-./...././/--./---//-/---//
-/...././/..-./---/.-../.-../---/.--/../-./--.//-.-./---/---/.-./-../../-./.-/-/./...////
-./---/.-./-/....//...--/....-//...../-....//.--./---/../-./-//----./...--/-----/
.-/-./-..//.--/./.../-//-----/---../..---//.----/...--//.--./---/../-./-//....-/....-/.----////
...././.-././/-.--/---/..-//.--/../.-../.-..//..-./../-./-..//-/...././/-.-./.-/-.-./...././///
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..../.-/.--./.--./-.--//-.-./.-/-.-./..../../-./--. !!!
..-./-/..-.//..../---/-./---/.-./...//--./---//-/---//
(Co-FTF)notBillyBob and farmallcub52 !!!
You can check your answers for this puzzle on Geochecker.com.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
yvtug cbyr FXVEG