Morse code

Dots and dashes that seafarers sent, and still send, by signal lamp, whistle and radio. Type any text, hear how it sounds, then try the key and the quiz.

The translator and playback need JavaScript. Without it you still get the full Morse alphabet table with the code of every character.

Text to translate

··· −−− ···

Speed: 15 WPM

Tone: 600 Hz

Signal lamp flash

Speed in words per minute (PARIS standard). For learning, a slow speed with a clear tone works best. A link with ?text= opens a ready signal.

Telegraph key Send with your spacebar or a button: short press is a dot, longer is a dash. We decode what you keyed, live. Morse quiz Both directions: recognise a character by ear, read it from the code, or encode it yourself. No sign-up.

Letters

Figures

Punctuation

Signals and prosigns

These are not letters but ready-made signals. Click one to hear it.

Distress: I need help. Sent as a single group with no gaps between the letters. It is not an abbreviation of any words: it was chosen because it is simple and unmistakable.
Understood. Confirms you understood the transmission (ITU-R M.1677-1, § 1.1.3).
End of message.
Wait.
End of work, closing down. Also written VA.
Starting signal, attention: a message begins.
Break, new paragraph. Same code as the equals sign.
Invitation to transmit, over. Same code as the letter K.
Received, understood. Same code as the letter R.
Error, correction: eight dots. Send it when you slip in a word, then repeat from the last correct word.

How the rhythm works

Every character is a pattern of dots and dashes. What you hear is decided only by the length of the sound and the silence between sounds:

A dot is one unit of sound.
A dash is three units (as long as three dots).
The gap between dots and dashes inside a character is one unit.
The gap between characters is three units.
The gap between words is seven units.

That is why well-sent Morse has an even rhythm, not even spacing: the letter E (one dot) is shorter than T (one dash), even though both have a single element.

Keep practising

Radio work is more than beeps: drill the standard phrases in the SMCP trainer, learn to read a ship at night with the COLREG lights, or keep your English sharp with the Daily 5.

The Morse code table is a technical fact (a mapping of characters to dot-dash sequences), consistent with ITU-R M.1677-1 "International Morse code". The sound is generated in your browser: no recordings, no data sent anywhere.