A LITTLE HELP FROM BASE CAMP

Find your way
along the signal trail.

A few clear steps for sending, listening and learning Morse. Flint is here to help you get your bearings.

App in development · support for the current build

Flint the fox beside a lantern and tent, overlooking a forest lake and mountains at dusk.
FLINT'S BASE CAMPSmall signals. Useful skills.

GET YOUR BEARINGS

Choose your trail.

Three ways to put a little Morse into your day.

01SEND

Start with a short word.

Open Send, type HELLO, choose your output and press Send. Stop is available while a message is playing.

Sound, torch & screen
02RECEIVE

Give the signal some space.

Use a clear tone or one steady blinking light. Match the starting speed and keep your signal source easy to pick out.

Set up reception
03LEARN

Follow your curiosity.

Explore 25 open lessons, build listening skills in Practice, or try Keying practice and the Daily challenge.

Lessons & little challenges

FLINT'S FIELD NOTES

A clearer path forward.

Sending a message

Which sending modes and characters can I use?

Choose Sound, Screen or Flashlight when a torch is available on your iPhone. Send supports the letters A–Z and spaces, up to 240 characters after normalization. Lowercase becomes uppercase; unsupported characters are shown so you can correct them.

Sending uses standard Morse spacing at 10–20 words per minute (WPM), with a default of 15 WPM. The preview shows how your message becomes dots and dashes.

How do I stop a signal, or send without a torch?

Press Stop while sending. Leaving Send, moving the app to the background or an interruption also stops output. You can choose Sound or Screen when a flashlight is unavailable.

Screen and flashlight output use flashing light. Select these modes deliberately and take care around people sensitive to flashing light. Morse is designed for recreational communication and learning.

Receiving a signal

How should I set up Sound Receive?
  1. Use another device to send a clear Morse tone in a quiet space.
  2. Open Receive → Listen to sound. Match the sender's starting speed, from 10–20 WPM; the default is 15 WPM.
  3. Press Start listening and allow microphone access if you want to use this tool.

Reception targets clear tones from 500–900 Hz; 650 Hz is a useful starting point. Keep the source close enough to hear clearly without distortion. Noise, weak sound and nonstandard spacing can reduce reception quality.

Real-iPhone reception is still being validated in the development build. If listening stops or no text appears, include the exact displayed message when contacting support.

How do I receive a blinking light?
  1. Use a physical iPhone with its back camera, plus a separate flashlight or a phone sending screen flashes.
  2. Open Receive → Watch a light, then press Start camera.
  3. Tap the blinking source in the preview, or use Center target. Keep one source inside the target and hold both devices steady.

Camera Receive uses a 10 WPM starting speed. Begin with the sender at 10 WPM too. Faster dots can be missed because camera frames may not capture each pulse. Contrast, distance, motion, glare and exposure changes also affect results.

If frames are lost, partial decoding may reset while completed text stays visible. If capture stops, check its message, steady the source and try Start again.

I denied microphone or camera access. What next?

Permission is requested when you press Start in the selected Receive tool. Opening Receive or Flint's tour does not request access.

After a denial, open Help in that Receive tool and choose Open app Settings. Enable the corresponding Microphone or Camera permission, return to Morse and press Start again. Other tools remain available when you decline access.

Why did reception stop, or return incomplete text?

Leaving the tool, backgrounding the app, an interruption or an unavailable input can stop capture. A genuine microphone route change, missing audio samples or repeated camera frame loss can also require a fresh start.

Stop competing audio or camera use, check the intended input and try again with a short, clear message. For sound, match the sender's speed. For light, use 10 WPM and a single stationary source. Unresolved patterns are not proof that a full message was received.

If the issue repeats, send the exact error, iPhone model, iOS version and whether you used sound or light. You do not need to send private messages, audio or camera recordings to report a problem.

Learning & practice

Where do I begin, and are lessons locked?

Open Learn and begin with E & T, or choose any of the 25 lessons. Every lesson is open in the current build. Stars and the suggested next step help you track progress without restricting exploration.

Practice builds listening skills across all 26 letters and adapts to your letter history. Character speed and overall listening speed are separate settings, so the gaps can give you thinking time.

How does Keying practice work?

Open Learn → Keying practice to reach Rhythm practice. Choose one of 25 tracks and Easy, Normal or Hard. After a four-beat count-in, tap dots and hold dashes as notes reach the white line, leaving the gaps clear. Your own tone plays over drum backing.

Calibration measures taps against clicks and saves timing for the current audio output only when you choose to use it. Recalibrate when changing speakers or headphones. Scores and stars are saved per difficulty. Pause, restart and exit controls let you stop a run.

Physical-device timing, especially with Bluetooth, is still being checked in the development build.

What are the rules of the Daily challenge?

Listen to the full five-letter word, then answer each letter. You get two letter replays and one guess per letter; choose Next letter after feedback. Pattern assistance can help with unfamiliar letters.

There is no time limit, and elapsed time includes pauses and time away. Your attempt is saved, so a completed puzzle cannot be retried that day. A new puzzle starts at local midnight. Saved results support streaks and a spoiler-free share you choose to send.

Can I replay Flint's tour or clear my progress?

Open app Settings → Field guide and tap Flint's tour card to revisit Send, Receive and Learn. Replaying the guide preserves your progress. On first launch, you can skip the four-page tour or resume it after relaunching.

Reset progress in app Settings clears learning, Rhythm and Daily progress, including streaks, and resets overall listening speed. It does not reset every app setting. Use it only when you want to begin those activities again.

BACK TO BASE CAMP

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Questions, feedback or a signal that won't settle?

Contact support