[mouser]

Semaphore would give you line of sight but morse is usually sent over radio waves or by flashlight at night sitting on a hill with a light flashing out code will attract more attention than a short burst on the two meter band (144 mhz) or 70 cm band (440 mhz)

[fremont_steve]

Well - actually there is a sub-branch that used a single flag to send Morse also. The Navy used it, along with semaphore - then there was the naval flash signaling as well between ships. Again these are meant to be line-of-site.

As for 2m or 70cm - agreed there aren’t too many people sending CW there. At the same time - since Techs didn’t have to learn the code - not many people there to understand what you said!