About the Morse Code Translator

My passion with morse code began in a dusty Vermont attic. When I was eight I found my grandfather’s military signal light, and a beat-up book called “Radiotelegraph Operator’s Handbook, 1943.” He showed me how to tap out my first SOS on the hardwood floor. There was something almost like a hidden language to that rhythm of three short, three long, three short, and there still is.

I did my undergrad at MIT (Course 6-1, Electrical Engineering) and my Ph.D. in signal processing, then I worked for 15 years building RF systems for a defense contractor. But my actual education was on the 40 metre band at 3 AM duplicating feeble signals from operators in Japan, Chile and Estonia. CW is more than a code. It's the most honest talk. No accents, no background noise, no electronic voice, just a human hand transmitting a message across thousands of miles.

This morse code translator was made in 2019 out of frustration. All the tools I discovered online had the same flaws, clumsy UI, poor timing, pop-up ads or worse, missing half the prosigns that real operators actually use. I wanted something my students at CW Academy could pull up on a phone during lunch break, and get 5 minutes of solid practice. Something that felt kind of like genuine radio.

The site has since expanded from input from hundreds of operators. Audio decoder ? Inspired by a late night QSO with a station in New Zealand whose signal was so weak I could hardly replicate it. The adaptable trainer? As one retired naval radioman pointed out, most learning systems don't adapt to your real weak places. Every feature here came from someone on the air telling me what was lacking.

I know you are just beginning off. Morse is scary. But here's the thing no one tells you: after roughly twenty hours of practice, your brain flicks a switch. Now you are not suddenly counting dots and dashes. You're listening to letters. That’s the moment that got me and I hope our tool helps you locate it too. 73 de K1SCW.