Does anyone have any data on how much use Morse Code still gets today? Are there any people still using it actively for communication, or are there literally zero practical applications anymore?
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.
Koch method is to do "full speed" Morse code from the beginning, but only learn 1 or 2 letters at a time.
This Javascript page starts with the letters "k" and "m" for Lesson 1. Then, in Lesson 2, you learn "k, m, and r". Etc. etc.
The way the app works is click on the "k" to hear how "k" sounds. Then click on "m" for its sound. Finally, hit the "Start Lesson" button, and the computer will make a random mix of k and m (and extended pauses, which means "space").
You type in "k m k mm mmkkm" or similar into the textarea, and the computer then sees how accurate you were.
I haven't learned the full alphabet yet. I'm still missing letters q, g, h, z, x,c, v and all the digits.
Something I've found interesting is how much difference it made changing the tone frequency. My brain definitely got used to a certain tone initially, and when I first tried changing the tone my recognition ability dropped quite a bit. So now I change it occasionally to keep my brain on its proverbial toes.
I wish there was a way to practice just the letters I have more difficulty with; namely, the ones which were added later.
I thought it would be a fun thing to have on a phone.
Really nice to be able to shut it up with wet hands.
1. communicating with other prisoners
2. communicating with the team trying to rescue you in your sunk submarine
3. any place where you're trapped but can bang on something
4. keeping your comms secret because nobody will even know you're using morse
5. secretly communicating with others during class (I knew two sisters in high school who would jibber jabber all through class by signing letters with their hands under the desks).
6. blinking in Morse when the terrorists put you under the TV cameras for your confession
7. your radio setup can only do on/off
8. you cannot remember how smoke signals worked
9. you need to flash a lamp at the airplane who might rescue you
And so on.
And definitely avoid charts, graphs, mnemonics, memory hacks, visual aids -- at all costs -- if you want proficiency.
It has high spectral efficiency; a CW transmission is only a few Hertz wide on the spectrum, whereas even SSB voice needs several kHz. This lets you use very narrow receive filters, to cut out adjacent noise and make contacts in difficult conditions.
It can achieve useful communication at very low power, with very simple equipment. Look up "qrp cw kit" and you can get $15 transmitters that you solder together from parts in a few minutes, and these aren't VLSI parts like some wifi chip or whatever, these are single discrete components. Hams love hand-built equipment, or at least the theoretical ability to use hand-built equipment, and QRP (low-power operation) is a hugely popular challenge.
It occupies a sweet spot where it's simple enough to encode by hand and decode by ear, but also easy enough for computers to operate. So there's a wide range of automation available, from whole-band decoders to keyboard-interactive QSOs, or you can go completely bare-handed if you prefer. That makes it appeal to more people than a more modern computer-required mode like PSK31 or FT8. (Those have even higher spectral efficiency, though, so they're popular in their own way.)
Out of curiosity, what does the CQ in your username refer to?
Also, all amateur stations are required to identify regularly. Relays will ident quietly in morse so it doesn't interrupt the voice comms happening on that channel.
I'm not sure about audio morse though, I'd guess voice would be better in all cases there.