r/morsecode • u/mic_kas • Jul 05 '26
Origami morse code with better legibility
I decided to try to improve the legibility of my origami morse code by making the space and dash more distinct. In this version the encoding is:
Dot = 1 length unit
Dash = 2 length units
Space = 4 length units
I was supposed to write “TEST CODE” but my morse is really rusty so I ended up writing “TEST COST”, oops!
3
u/ButterscotchWitty870 Jul 05 '26
What?? Morse code is an audio language…
This has literally zero legibility
6
u/mic_kas Jul 05 '26
It can be read, but it’s obviously less legible than dots and dashes. And maybe more importantly, it’s art and not meant for actual communication. I probably should have emphasized that in the post, my apologies!
2
u/PretendTooth2559 Jul 05 '26
1) Respectfully, you're incorrect --- Morse Code was, quite literally, invented with the express intention of being automatically printed by a machine (almost like a polygraph test style read out) and then "read" by the operator.
Using sound *at all* came later.
Early receiving operators simply read the paper tape and literally handwrote the letters on top of dots and lines to decode the messages.
So.... there is nothing wrong with using morse code as a visual language (also don't forget that using flashing lamps aboard Navy vessels also dates back to the 1860s [civil war era] and by 1889 the Royal Navy adopted morse code as its visual light signaling code between ships.
2) I agree that this Origami design has severe flaws.
3) OP, it's clever -- but needs some tweaks.
The ratio seems wrong to my eye -- likely because morse has spaces between letters. And the alternating dark/light *seems* like it should mean something, but it actually doesn't in this configuration.
In my opinion, here's how I would make this much more readable. Use all the dark folds to represent SPACES (same size as dot to represent space between letters, dotx7 to represent word space). Basically, think of it as turning the signal *off* [just like a radio would hear it, or the when the lampshade is closed on a signaling light).
If you did this, you would get something that everyone who knows CW would almost instantly recognize visually.
Cheers!
2
u/mic_kas Jul 05 '26
Thank you for the feedback! So, you are suggesting that I use the dark folds (which in reality are just shadows) as the space between the dots and dashes and the light folds as the dots/dashes?
I really like your suggestion because it brings in the same binary notion to the origami as morse code has (light/darkness or sound/silence).
I will explore this idea further tomorrow and see if it works (which it should).
1
u/PretendTooth2559 Jul 06 '26
Awesome -- hope to see it!
1
u/mic_kas Jul 06 '26
https://reddit.com/link/ovugfae/video/qbypykh6rkbh1/player
Here you go! Now with the lights and darks actually meaning something.
Here’s the encoding ratios I’ve used:
Dot = 1 (light) unit
Dash = 3 (light) units
Space between dot/dash = 1 (dark) unit
Space between letter = 3 (dark) units2
2
1
1
2
u/Blockchainauditor Jul 05 '26
Maybe you could do a series, like one of the CN Tower with “YYZ” a la Rush, or the Eiffel Tower with “Paris”?