In Military Unit 5563 in Mrągowo, Ditdashing was the method of learning the Morse code. I arrived at the Unit in the spring of 1991. The very next day I received a printout of the Morse code and the method of learning. The letters of the alphabet had to be vocalized: dit for each dot and dah for the dash. For example the letter L • — •• would become Dit Dah Dit DiT (the final dot has a hard t added at the end). On the first day, we practiced the first five letters, then the next five, etc. After a week, my colleagues from the room and I were ditdashing whole words. A week later, in the room at the Training Department, we put on headphones, and the first telegrams went out of the “machine” at a rate of 4 groups of 5 characters per minute.
Below is the machine simulator as I remember it. In the machine you could set:
- telegram id number: 4 digits - it was the key to the pseudorandom generator,
- transmission speed of groups per minute,
- number of groups to generate,
- telegram type:
- literal,
- numerical - it was probably super-encryption of coded telegrams
- mixed - the mixed telegram, in addition to 26 letters, had 4 digits - 2, 5, 7, 8. Why? It was related to the Soviet cipher machine (Fialka M-125), which was designed for the Russian 30-letter alphabet. In the middle of the training (summer 1991), this type of telegram was withdrawn due to the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact and the return of the machines to the USSR. Below, in a mixed telegram, I provided 26 letters and all 10 digits.
Once you have set up the machine, you have two buttons at your disposal:
- broadcast - starts transmitting to the speakers. NOTE - set the volume so as not to get hit in the ears,
- show - allows you to see what is broadcasting.
How to use:
- set telegram parameters,
- start transmitting. First you will hear the letter v three times, then the separation sign (— •••—) and then a string of random characters. You should write them down. When you’re done, you can display what was transmitted and compare it with your notes.
NOTE: it doesn't work on every device. I found a tablet on which Telegram is unreadable.
I have also provided 39 lessons on how to learn step by step, two letters at a time. Each lesson you’ll learn new characters. Next, you’ll practice all characters you’ve learned up to this point, but with an increased frequency of characters from the previous lesson. When learning, remember: don't count the characters, you have to learn to intuit the melody. If you haven't mastered it, practice longer. You will reach 10 groups per minute, and if you have a musical ear, you will reach about 18 groups per minute without problem. You’ll be able to write down the characters without thinking.
Regards, Krzysztof Wałek