Morse Code Translator

What it does

Convert plain text to International Morse code and back — letters, digits, and common punctuation. Optionally play the result as audio at adjustable WPM (words per minute) using the standard 600 Hz beep tone, useful for amateur-radio practice (operators training to send and receive Morse manually), educational use (intro to coding theory, history of telecommunications), and cipher puzzles (escape rooms, treasure hunts, ARGs frequently use Morse as a "decode this beeping audio" puzzle).

The encoding follows the International Morse Code standard (ITU-R M.1677-1) — A is dot-dash, B is dash-dot-dot-dot, E is just dot (the most-used letter in English gets the shortest code, by Morse's original design). Numbers 0-9 are 5-symbol codes (0 = five dashes, 1 = dot+four dashes, etc.). Punctuation: period, comma, question mark, slash, and a few others have official codes; less-common punctuation isn't part of standard Morse.

The audio playback uses the standard amateur-radio timing: 1 dot = 1 unit, 1 dash = 3 units, between symbols within a letter = 1 unit, between letters = 3 units, between words = 7 units. WPM is controlled by the unit length: PARIS (the canonical training word) at 5 WPM = 240ms per unit; at 20 WPM = 60ms per unit. Adjust the slider to practice at your level.

How to use it

1. Paste your text or Morse code into the input. The tool auto-detects which is which (letters/numbers vs dots and dashes).
2. Output regenerates live as you type. Both directions are visible side-by-side.
3. Click Play to hear the audio. The 600 Hz tone plays each symbol with proper timing for the current WPM setting.
4. Adjust WPM (5-30 WPM) to practice at slower speeds, then ramp up. Beginner amateur-radio operators typically start at 5 WPM and build to 13+ for FCC license testing (in countries that still test Morse).
5. Copy either the text or Morse string for cipher puzzles, school projects, or sharing.

When to use this tool

• Practicing Morse code for amateur-radio licensing or hobby use.
• Educational use: teaching how variable-length codes work, history of telegraphy, cipher basics.
• Cipher puzzles in escape rooms or ARGs where you need to encode a clue.
• Decoding audio of beeping tones (record the audio, slow it down in any audio editor, decode by ear or by listening to the tool's playback at slower speed).

When not to use it

• Decoding audio with significant noise — the tool doesn't take audio input. Use a dedicated Morse-decoder app like CW Decoder Pro or fldigi.
• Custom Morse variants — there are several (American Morse, the older 1840s version with different codes for some letters, regional variations) but this tool only does International Morse.
• Encoding non-Latin scripts — characters outside ASCII (accented letters, Cyrillic, CJK) aren't part of standard Morse and don't have codes.
• Real-time CW (continuous wave) operation — for actual radio use you need a key/keyer hardware setup, not a web tool.