Morse Code Timing Visualiser

Morse code is a timing code. Type a word and see every dit, dah and gap on one timeline, in units and milliseconds.

one unit (dit)
units in total
to send it
of the time the tone is on

The timeline

Tone on (dit 1 unit, dah 3) Gap inside a letter (1) Gap between letters (3) Gap between words (7)

Same word, three speeds

The pattern is identical; only the clock changes. A dah at 30 WPM (120 ms) is shorter than a dit at 5 WPM (240 ms).

This is why a Morse audio decoder can't use fixed thresholds like "anything over 100 ms is a dah". It has to estimate the unit length from the signal itself, for example by grouping the measured tone lengths into a short cluster (dits) and a long one (dahs), and keep adjusting as the sender speeds up or slows down. Hand-sent Morse also drifts from the ideal 1:3:7 ratios, so the decoder has to allow for that too.

The rules

ElementLengthAt 20 WPM

Speed is defined by the word PARIS, which is exactly 50 units long including the gap after it. At W words per minute, one unit is 60 000 / (50 × W) = 1200 / W milliseconds. With Farnsworth spacing the characters keep their full speed and only the gaps between letters and words are stretched (ARRL formula), so beginners hear fast character shapes with more thinking time.

Made by SimpleMorse, which has a free Morse audio decoder for files and the microphone. This page is public domain (CC0).