The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 3 plus 6 letter word DOTS AND DASHES
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
D
O
T
S
A
N
D
D
A
S
H
E
S
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Signal marks" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case signal marks = dots and dashes.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.