Morse Code Translator

The Morse Code Translator converts between text and Morse code in both directions. Morse code, developed in the 1830s for telegraph communication, represents letters and numbers as combinations of short signals (dots, \\u2022) and long signals (dashes, \\u2500). SOS — the international distress signal — is ···—··· (dot dot dot dash dash dash dot dot dot). The code is still used today in amateur radio, aviation emergency communication, as a fallback for severely disabled communication, and in scouting and emergency preparedness training.

This tool handles text-to-Morse and Morse-to-text translation using the International Morse Code standard. Letters, digits 0-9, punctuation (period, comma, question mark, etc.), and common special characters are all supported. Output format options include standard dots and dashes (· and —), ASCII representation (. and -), slash-separated letters, and optional audio playback at adjustable speed (measured in words per minute, WPM). Morse-to-text parses several input formats (spaces between letters, slashes between words, or any consistent separator) and handles common variations gracefully. All processing runs in your browser — no signal leaves your machine.

International Morse Code (ITU standard) assigns dot-dash patterns to each letter, digit, and punctuation mark:
- Letters: A = ·—, B = —···, C = —·—·, ..., Z = ——··
- Digits: 0 = —————, 1 = ·————, ..., 9 = ————·
- Punctuation: period = ·—·—·—, comma = ——··——, question = ··——··

Timing rules (in units):
- Dot: 1 unit
- Dash: 3 units
- Space between dots/dashes within a letter: 1 unit
- Space between letters: 3 units
- Space between words: 7 units

Words per minute (WPM) is calibrated against the word PARIS (50 units total). 20 WPM = 1000 units per minute, so 1 unit = 60 ms. 5 WPM (beginner) = 240 ms per unit.

Text-to-Morse encoding: look up each character in the Morse table, output the pattern. Unknown characters are skipped or marked with a question mark pattern.

Morse-to-text decoding: tokenize the input by separator (common conventions: spaces between letters, / or | between words, or multiple consecutive spaces). Look up each token in the reverse Morse table. Unknown patterns are marked with # or similar.

Case insensitive: Morse doesn\u2019t distinguish uppercase and lowercase. The tool converts to uppercase internally for lookup.

Audio generation: Web Audio API generates sine wave tones at a configurable frequency (typically 600-750 Hz) with timing derived from WPM. Dots are short tones, dashes long tones, with silence between.

Prosigns: special operational signals like SK (end of contact) written without spaces between the letters (···—·—). The tool includes common prosigns as special entries.

Non-English languages: ITU has extensions for accented characters (é, ö, ü, etc.). The tool supports common Latin-script extensions but not Cyrillic, Greek, or other scripts (which have their own Morse variants).

Compared to a printed Morse code chart, this tool is bidirectional (type text or Morse), plays audio for learning, and handles edge cases (prosigns, punctuation) consistently. Charts are the foundation; this is the interactive implementation.

Compared to dedicated Morse training apps (Morse Mania, GBoard Morse), this tool is a translation aid rather than a learning curriculum. For structured learning, use a training app; for quick translation, this tool.

Compared to other online Morse translators, this one includes audio playback with WPM control, prosign support, and proper ITU character coverage. Simpler translators often miss punctuation or prosigns.