[忍]

Language skill? Knowledge skill? Defaulting? Computer at a penalty?

What's your stance on having players us Morse Code?

[Sphinx]

Ugh. I spent the better part of a year learning code the hard way at the U.S. Army Signals Intelligence School in Fort Devens, Massachusetts. Even then, computers were already taking over from human operators. Honestly, if they have a commlink and Matrix access, charge them five nuyen for perfectly suitable Morse code app and call it done. You might ask for an easy Electronic Warfare + Logic [Mental] test to isolate the signal and/or a Computer + Logic [Mental] test to get the software up and running.

If they have to do it the hard way, well ... Morse is basically just a substitution alphabet. You can learn the code patterns in half an hour. You can pick up most of the prosigns and opsigns in an afternoon. The real trick is learning to understand and transmit at speed. If they have to send or receive Morse code in real time, make it a Reaction + Logic test, with a threshold based on speed ... say 1 point of threshold for every multiple of 20 groups (words) per minute.

[忍]

So all PCs know morse code and merely need a reaction + logic test to follow correctly?

[Sphinx]

So all PCs know morse code and merely need a reaction + logic test to follow correctly?

If they have a reference. Basically, it's like typing. Any fool can use a keyboard, as long as the letters are printed on the keys. It'd be a lot harder if they were all blank. And it's hard to do quickly.

[Kiirnodel]

You could also treat it as a specialization. If they've learned the specialization, they know how to handle Morse code.

[Jack_Spade]

I wouldn't over complicate this: Just make it a language and apply the rating as a limit as with social interactions for how well you understand and can send messages.

[Sphinx]

I wouldn't over complicate this: Just make it a language and apply the rating as a limit as with social interactions for how well you understand and can send messages.

You could also treat it as a specialization. If they've learned the specialization, they know how to handle Morse code.

It's really not a language, it's just an alphabet. I guess I agree with Kiirnodel -- if you want your character to know manual Morse code, call it a language specialization (see Lingos, SR5, p.150).

[The Wyrm Ouroboros]

... hm.  Alphabets can complicate things.  ASL and Combat Sign are not, after all, exactly languages either, but we treat them as such.  Morse code is one of the more complex 'alphabets' out there, a sort of binary (or, well, trinary), and the problem with using it as a Specialization is that you'd theoretically have to buy the specialization for every language you had.  I think I'd rule that you'd need a language-type skill for it, but with a max skill of 4, because of the innate limitations of the thing - you are, after all, spelling words out one letter at a time and, presuming you're not using some kind of program, it can take time to do it, both in transmission and in reception.

[忍]

I'm fairly certain not all languages would be capable to be converted to Morse Code lol.

[Sterling]

I'm fairly certain not all languages would be capable to be converted to Morse Code lol.

Any particular languages you're thinking of?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morse_code_for_non-Latin_alphabets

[farothel]

I would make it its own seperate knowledge skill.  If you take it, you can do morse in the alphabet of your native language and other alphabets can then be specialisations (since you already know the basics, it's just a matter of learning the extra letters), provided you know the language in question as a language skill. 
To send or receive a message, to a standard knowledge skill at a treshold set by the GM based upon complexity of message and (especially in receiving a message) speed.

Of course, if you can use an app on your commlink, it's more likely a computer test (if you need a test at all).

[忍]

I'm fairly certain not all languages would be capable to be converted to Morse Code lol.

Any particular languages you're thinking of?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morse_code_for_non-Latin_alphabets

Woah! TIL +1

[chrokodyle]

Language skill? Knowledge skill? Defaulting? Computer at a penalty?

Just my opinion: I would not handle this as an own skill because Morse code is really basic and especially not a language.
I would players just let roll logic and either a suiting knowledge skill (computer) or a corresponding action skill as such simple codes are included in many fields: If you ever had anything to do with computer science, radio technology, encoding/encryption, telecommunication or even historic books, world war movies, it is pretty sure that you know Morse code.
Also, I am pretty sure that there is automatic encoding-decoding-software the players could use. 

[忍]

I think a likely scenario in which it's used is outside the ease of use of tech. For example, a jail cell?

[The Wyrm Ouroboros]

Hmm.  No, think I'd still make it a KS.  You can use it for whatever languages you know - because you would/should look up any special symbols in a language you're familiar with - at the rating at which you have KS: Morse Code.  The speed that you're able to transmit ... hmm.

Some quick research (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morse_code#Speed_in_words_per_minute and http://www.arrl.org/news/morse-code-at-140-wpm) seems to say/suggest that 45 wpm is a decent straight-up non-assisted Morse code speed; other research (https://www.quora.com/Speeches-For-the-average-person-speaking-at-a-normal-pace-what-is-the-typical-number-of-words-they-can-say-in-one-minute) suggests that the standard speech wpm runs an average of 130.

So I'd suggest that you can transmit Morse at roughly 10% speech speed (13 wpm) per point of skill, or 20% (25-26 wpm) per success, and receive at half again that rate.