Morse Code Converter

Morse code encodes letters and numbers as sequences of dots (short signals) and dashes (long signals), with gaps separating letters and longer gaps separating words. Originally built for telegraph transmission in 1836, it's still used in amateur radio, aviation navigation aids (NDB station IDs), and emergency signaling.

The converter translates text to Morse and back. International Morse (the standard) uses 26 letters, 10 digits, and a small set of punctuation. Letter codes are weighted by English frequency: E is a single dot, T is a single dash, while less-common letters use longer sequences.

The encoding is a fixed lookup table. International Morse defines a code for each letter (A = .-, B = -..., C = -.-., etc.) and digit (1 = .----, 2 = ..---). Inter-element gap (between dot and dash within a letter) is one unit. Inter-letter gap is three units. Inter-word gap is seven units. Timing is the only thing that distinguishes letters from words; mistakes in timing produce ambiguous decoding. Modern decoders typically use the standard timing ratios with tolerance for variable speed. Operator skill is measured in words per minute (wpm), where one wpm assumes 50 dot-units per word — derived from the word PARIS, which has exactly 50 units in standard Morse. A 20 wpm transmission sends about 1,000 dot-units per minute, or 60 ms per dot.

A worked example. Encode 'SOS' to Morse. S = ..., O = ---, S = ... Combined with letter gaps: ... --- ... (where spaces represent the 3-unit gap). The single character SOS distress signal is actually transmitted as a continuous ...---... with no inter-letter gaps — it's treated as one symbol, not three. This makes it unambiguous when received among regular traffic. Encode 'HELLO': H=...., E=., L=.-.., L=.-.., O=---. Combined: .... . .-.. .-.. ---. The historical first telegraph message ('What hath God wrought') ran from Washington to Baltimore in 1844; the message was sent in Morse's original American code, which is similar to but distinct from the modern International standard.

Limitations and edge cases. The standard table covers Latin letters and digits cleanly, but extends awkwardly to non-Latin scripts. Cyrillic, Greek, and Japanese have separate Morse code conventions, sometimes encoded via prefix codes that switch alphabets. Modern digital modes (PSK31, FT8) replaced Morse for most amateur operations but Morse persists in CW (continuous wave) operations, where its narrow bandwidth and human-decodability give it edge cases of value — searching for weak signals through noise where digital modes give up. Speed records are impressive: trained operators send 20 to 30 wpm reliably, competitive operators reach 60 to 75 wpm, and the world record for hand-sent Morse is around 175 characters per minute. Receiving speed is usually slightly higher than sending speed for the same operator. The converter handles standard English text up to a few thousand characters; very long inputs may run slow due to the linear lookup but are otherwise correct.