Free Downloads, News, and For Sale Items
30 July 2026 – The Practical Telegraphist is now available in paperback on Amazon! Far from a dusty old history book, this edited, annotated, and illustrated edition of Gerke’s amazing volume is an eye-opening journey into Morse code’s invention and its intimate connection to the “straight key” via musical rhythms – in us. It is relevant to any lover of Morse.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HC3LR82G
FREE DOWNLOAD: “The Rhythmic Roots of Morse” – This chart extracted from The Practical Telegraphist summarizes Gerke’s design and shows the connection between musical timing, uniform key motion, and the ITU Morse definitions. It is licensed under CC 4.0, so it is freely available.
The Rhythmic Roots of Morse Code
Nov 2025 – RSGB edition of The Practical Telegraphist
My translation of The Practical Telegraphist has been published in hard copy by the RSGB (Radio Society of Great Britain) and is available in their store in the link below. I believe hard copies of research materials are of value (and shipping from the UK is expensive!), so at some point I may publish this myself on Amazon (Note: a revised and updated translation is now available on Amazon). The Practical Telegraphist – RSGB link.
FREE DOWNLOADS: “Beatsworth” and the Morse Metronome – alternatives to Farnsworth and Wordsworth timing.
- Beatsworth and the Morse Metronome – alternatives to Farnsworth and Wordsworth
- Beatsworth and the Morse Metronome – alternatives to Farnsworth and Wordsworth
- Morse Metronome-ready string samples
NEWS FLASH!: Clemens Gerke invented what we call “Morse Code” in 1848. The first-ever English-language translation of his previously unknown 1851 book, The Practical Telegraphist, is now available as a free download.
- The Practical Telegraphist by Clemens Gerke -1851 (r11)
- The Musical Roots of Morse Code by Chris Rutkowski
Although written in 1850, Gerke’s book is far from a dusty old volume of interest only to historians. It contains numerous passages of practical relevance to today’s Morse operator. We discover that Gerke was explicitly aware of Morse’s musical nature and the importance of its rhythms to operators.
FREE DOWNLOADS “Cheat sheets” and study materials from Chris’ book, The CW Way of Life (book available from Amazon and RSGB).
- The Morse Code (In Dd tab for easy learning).
- Double-d Morse Tablature (The easy way to read and write Morse).
- Protocols and Prosigns Before, During and After the QSO
- The Most Common Q-Signals
- Directives, Jargon, and Abbreviations cheat sheet
- The “QSO-You” Form (make a practice wordlist about YOU).
- QSO notepad blanks
- Drill – The “Roll your own Rosetta Stone” form
- Drill – Practice Patterns
- Drill – AZZA and ZAZZA – A challenge for consistency and flow.
- Comic relief – “What the User Wanted”
FREE DOWNLOADS: Research documents extracted from Chris’ Videos on The MorseBusters YouTube Channel
- Morse Perception – Sets and-Signals as a Function of Speed.
- The Beat-chart (Reveals Morse’s 2:1 rhythmic structure).
- Chart of Perceptual, Cognitive, and Functional Domains (“How we work.” Details that informed the development of The Morse Cycle).
- Sketch on Post-it note that first showed relation of Morse inflow and outflow to consciousness (resembles “Yin-Yang.”)
- The Morse Cycle (How Morse signals flow in and out of mind.)
Chris’ Book (Available on Amazon and the RSGB bookstore).
 | What should you do when you’re not on the air or practicing CW? Read this book! |
The CW Way of Life was an instant Amazon best-seller because beginners and experts alike discovered it’s an entertaining, informative, and useful guide to both the journey, AND the destination of Morse. It reveals the underlying history, physics, and psychology of Morse. It combines methods dating back to the time of Morse with modern ergonomic and deliberate training practices to teach not just the skill of Morse, but its soul. For beginners, it’s the perfect place to start. For experts, it’s the perfect place to refresh what you already know.
*The techniques and terminology for reading and writing Morse code known as “Double-D Notation,” “dD,”, “dD Tablature,” “dD Tab,” etc. are hereby placed in the public domain, so they may be used without restriction.
Website copyright (c) 2019-2025 by Chris Rutkowski