In the late 1800s, if you wanted to chat online, you had to do it with Morse Code. In the novel, Wired Love, a telegraph operator named Ella Cheever Thayer describes not only chatting online via the telegraph, but also a romance that develops between a female operator and a male operator down the line. In this radio essay, writer Paul Collins describes how it was to work as a telegrapher at that time. It also includes a few excerpts from the novel. It’s very interesting.
As a followup, Dean Olscher interviews Mel Schneider K2KEY. Mel, who is vice president of the Kings County Radio Club, talks about ham radio and how hams communicate with Morse Code. The report describes the differences between American Morse Code, which was used by the landline telegraphers here in the U.S. and the International Morse Code, which was used by telegraphers elsewhere around the world and by the maritime operators.
Neil Ormos says
Here’s an updated link to Dean Olscher’s interview with Mel Schneider K2KEY (“The Next Big Thing”, 2005/04/28):
https://www.wnyc.org/story/everybody-is-looking-for-a-better-place
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–Neil Ormos N9NL