Signals and codes

Two sheets about one problem: getting a letter across when the channel is bad. Morse solves it with time — dots and dashes, with the commonest letters given the shortest patterns, which is why E is a single dot and Q is four symbols long. The phonetic alphabet solves it with whole words, so that B and D cannot be confused on a line that drops half of what you say.

The phonetic sheet is the ICAO standard, the one aviation and marine radio actually use, and it keeps the official spellings. Alfa and Juliett are misspelled deliberately: ph and a silent final t are not safe assumptions when the other end of the radio speaks another language.

They suit a study, a workshop, or anywhere a radio lives — and they earn themselves back the first time someone has to spell a surname over the phone.