Morse Code Converter

What this tool is used for

• Encoding a short message for transmission by key, lamp or buzzer.
• Decoding a sequence you have written down from a signal.
• Checking a character's sequence against the reference chart.
• Producing a Morse clue for a puzzle or a game.
• Verifying that a message uses only sendable characters.

Frequently Asked Questions

What speed does the audio play at?

20 words per minute, which is 60 milliseconds per unit — the PARIS standard, where the word PARIS is exactly 50 units so WPM converts to unit length by dividing 1200 by the speed. It is the reference every Morse speed is quoted against.

Why 700 Hz for the tone?

Because it sits in the range the ear separates most easily from noise, and it is the conventional sidetone pitch on amateur radio equipment. Operators tune receivers to produce roughly this pitch, so it is what a trained ear expects.

How are the gaps timed in the audio?

Symbol gaps are one unit, letter gaps three, word gaps seven — and because a letter gap already contributes three, the scheduler only adds the remaining four at a word boundary. Getting that arithmetic wrong is what makes generated Morse sound subtly unlistenable.

What is Farnsworth timing?

Sending the characters at a fast speed while stretching the gaps between them, so a learner hears the correct rhythm of each letter without being overwhelmed. It is the standard teaching method, because learning at a slow character speed builds a habit that has to be unlearned.

Is the audio generated or a recording?

Generated, with the Web Audio API scheduling an oscillator — so any text plays at exact timing with no files to download. It also means the tone is a pure sine wave, which is cleaner than a real radio signal and easier to follow when learning.

Common errors and gotchas

• Losing the distinction between letter and word gaps, which the receiver relies on entirely.
• Assuming punctuation and symbols convert, when most have no Morse equivalent.
• Treating dot and dash lengths as arbitrary, when the three-to-one ratio is the standard.
• Expecting capitalisation to be represented, which Morse has no way to express.
• Reading an unknown sequence as an error rather than an unassigned combination.