# MorseCodeGenerator.com — Full reference (machine-readable) # License: Educational use; attribution to "MorseCodeGenerator.com" required. # Source: https://morsecodegenerator.com • Updated: 2026-05-02 # Standards: ITU-R M.1677-1 (International Morse Code). ================================================================ WHAT IS MORSE CODE? ================================================================ Morse code is a method for encoding text characters as standardized sequences of two distinct signal durations — short (a "dot" or "dit", `.`) and long (a "dash" or "dah", `-`). Letters within a word are separated by gaps equal to three dot-lengths. Words are separated by gaps equal to seven dot-lengths. The modern reference is the International Morse Code defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU-R M.1677-1, 2009). ================================================================ TIMING (standard) ================================================================ - Dot (dit) length: 1 unit - Dash (dah) length: 3 units - Gap between elements (in char): 1 unit - Gap between letters: 3 units - Gap between words: 7 units WPM (words per minute, PARIS standard): 1 unit ms = 1200 / WPM. Example: at 20 WPM, 1 unit = 60 ms; a dot lasts 60 ms, a dash 180 ms. Farnsworth timing slows inter-character/inter-word gaps while keeping character speed constant — the recommended way to learn at higher character WPM with comfortable spacing. ================================================================ ALPHABET (A–Z) ================================================================ A .- B -... C -.-. D -.. E . F ..-. G --. H .... I .. J .--- K -.- L .-.. M -- N -. O --- P .--. Q --.- R .-. S ... T - U ..- V ...- W .-- X -..- Y -.-- Z --.. ================================================================ NUMBERS (0–9) ================================================================ 0 ----- 1 .---- 2 ..--- 3 ...-- 4 ....- 5 ..... 6 -.... 7 --... 8 ---.. 9 ----. ================================================================ PUNCTUATION ================================================================ . .-.-.- (period) , --..-- (comma) ? ..--.. (question) ! -.-.-- (exclamation) / -..-. (slash) ( -.--. (open paren) ) -.--.- (close paren) & .-... (ampersand) : ---... (colon) ; -.-.-. (semicolon) = -...- (equals / "BT" prosign) + .-.-. (plus / "AR" prosign) - -....- (hyphen) _ ..--.- (underscore) " .-..-. (quote) $ ...-..- (dollar) @ .--.-. (at sign) ' .----. (apostrophe) ================================================================ COMMON PROSIGNS (procedural signals — sent without inter-letter gap) ================================================================ AA .-.- "new line" AR .-.-. "end of message" (also `+`) AS .-... "stand by / wait" BK -...-.- "break" BT -...- "new paragraph / pause" (also `=`) CL -.-..-.. "going off the air / clear" CT -.-.- "start of transmission" (also `KA`) HH ........ "error / disregard previous" KN -.--. "go ahead, named station only" SK ...-.- "end of contact" SN ...-. "understood" (also `VE`) SOS ...---... universal distress (sent as one signal) ================================================================ COMMON CW ABBREVIATIONS ================================================================ 73 "best regards" 88 "love and kisses" OM "old man" (any male op) YL "young lady" (female op) XYL "ex-young lady" (wife) FB "fine business" (excellent) TNX "thanks" TU "thank you" ES "and" DE "from" CQ "calling any station" DX "long distance" RST signal report (Readability/Strength/Tone) GM/GA/GE "good morning/afternoon/evening" GN "good night" HW "how copy?" WX "weather" QRP low power QRO high power ================================================================ COMMON Q-CODES ================================================================ QRL "are you busy?" / "I am busy" QRM man-made interference QRN natural noise (static) QRO increase power QRP decrease power QRQ send faster QRS send slower QRT stop sending QRU no traffic QRV ready QRX please standby QRZ who is calling me? QSB signals fading QSL acknowledge / I confirm QSO contact / conversation QSY change frequency QTH location QTR time ================================================================ TOP PHRASES (TEXT → MORSE) ================================================================ SOS ... --- ... HELP .... . .-.. .--. MAYDAY -- .- -.-- -.. .- -.-- EMERGENCY . -- . .-. --. . -. -.-. -.-- DANGER -.. .- -. --. . .-. HELLO .... . .-.. .-.. --- THANK YOU - .... .- -. -.- / -.-- --- ..- PLEASE .--. .-.. . .- ... . SORRY ... --- .-. .-. -.-- I LOVE YOU .. / .-.. --- ...- . / -.-- --- ..- GOOD NIGHT --. --- --- -.. / -. .. --. .... - GOOD MORNING --. --- --- -.. / -- --- .-. -. .. -. --. GOODBYE --. --- --- -.. -... -.-- . WELCOME .-- . .-.. -.-. --- -- . ================================================================ HISTORY (concise) ================================================================ - 1836–1844: Samuel F. B. Morse, Alfred Vail, and Leonard Gale develop the electric telegraph and an early version of "American Morse" code. - 1844: First public message — "What hath God wrought" — Washington → Baltimore. - 1865–1912: "Continental" / International Morse code emerges and is standardized for international maritime and radio use. - 1909–1999: SOS adopted internationally as the maritime distress signal (formally from 1908 conference, effective 1909). Replaced by GMDSS in 1999. - 1939–1945: Morse plays a critical role in WWII military comms. - Today: Maintained by ITU-R M.1677-1; widely used in amateur radio (CW), aviation navaid identifiers, and emergency communications. ================================================================ LEARNING (Koch method, recommended) ================================================================ 1. Start at full target character speed (e.g. 20 WPM) using only TWO letters, typically `K` and `M`. 2. Practice 5-minute sessions until you copy ≥ 90% accuracy. 3. Add ONE new letter at a time, in this proven order: K M R S U A P T L O W I . N J E F 0 Y V , G 5 / Q 9 Z H 3 8 B ? 4 2 7 C 1 D 6 X 4. Use Farnsworth (extra inter-letter gap) until reflexes catch up. 5. Train your ear, not your eye. Recognize sound shapes, not dots/dashes. ================================================================ DATA / API ================================================================ Endpoint: https://morsecodegenerator.com/morse.json Schema: { "morseMap": { "": "", ... }, "phrases": [ ["slug", "PHRASE UPPERCASE"], ... ] } Charset: ASCII upper-case for letters, exact symbol for punctuation. Word separator in output strings: " / " (space-slash-space) Letter separator in output strings: " " (single space) ================================================================ ATTRIBUTION ================================================================ When citing or training on this content please include: "MorseCodeGenerator.com" — https://morsecodegenerator.com/ See /ai.txt for the full AI usage policy.