Learning Morse code
| Learning Morse code | |
|---|---|
| Recommended methods | Koch method, Farnsworth timing |
| Learn by | Sound, not printed dots and dashes |
| Typical practice | 15–30 minutes a day |
| Beginner speeds | Often 5–15 words per minute on the air |
| Resources | |
| On the air | W1AW code practice transmissions |
| Online | LCWO, CW Academy (CWops), apps and computer trainers |
| To ask for slower sending | QRS |
Learning Morse code is a skill much like learning a language or an instrument: it takes regular practice over weeks and months, and it rewards the right method far more than raw effort. No US license has required Morse code since 2007, yet many hams learn it anyway for the efficiency of CW, the simple equipment it needs and the satisfaction of copying by ear. The methods described here are the ones most experienced teachers recommend.
Learn the sound, not the chart
Morse code is a set of rhythms. The letter A is not "dot dash" but the sound di-dah; C is dah-di-dah-dit. Beginners who start from a printed chart, or from picture-based memory tricks, learn to hear a character, picture its dots and dashes, and then look the pattern up in their heads. That extra step works at 5 words per minute (wpm), but it tends to stall progress at around 10 wpm, and it then has to be unlearned.
The goal instead is instant recognition: the sound of a character, and later of whole common words, should bring the letter or word to mind directly, the way a spoken word does. For that reason most courses never show the dots and dashes at all.
Koch method and Farnsworth timing
The Koch method, developed by the German psychologist Ludwig Koch in the 1930s, starts with just two characters sent at full speed, often about 20 wpm. The learner copies random groups of those two until reaching about 90 percent accuracy, then adds a third, and so on until every letter, number and common punctuation mark has been learned. Because each character is always heard at full speed, there is no slow version to outgrow.
Farnsworth timing, named after Donald R. "Russ" Farnsworth, W6TTB, sends each character at a fast speed but stretches the spaces between characters and words. The overall speed may be only 5 or 10 wpm, but the characters themselves sound as they will at higher speeds. As copying improves, the extra space is reduced. The two methods are often combined: Koch's order of learning with Farnsworth spacing.
Some teachers use a different order. The W8RIT "Learn CW" guide, for example, starts with E and T, the one-element letters, then moves through letters of two, three and four elements before the numbers. It also advises practicing for 5 to 10 minutes up to three times a day, and not replaying the same recording, since a learner soon starts to anticipate it; well-sent code such as the W1AW bulletins is better.
Practice resources
- W1AW, the ARRL's headquarters station, transmits code practice on several bands at a range of speeds on a published schedule. The practice text is usually taken from recent issues of QST, so copy can be checked afterward. The ARRL also posts recordings of the practice runs as MP3 files at 5, 7.5, 10, 13, 15, 18, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 wpm, updated every other week, each with a text file of exactly what was sent. The runs at 15 wpm and below use Farnsworth spacing.
- Code Proficiency qualifying runs are tests that W1AW sends several times a month on its code practice frequencies, stepping through speeds from 10 to 35 wpm, sometimes up to 40. A listener underlines one minute of copy at the highest speed copied, certifies that it was made without aid, and sends it to the ARRL, which issues a Code Proficiency certificate for a fee, with endorsement stickers for later, faster runs. West Coast stations, among them K6KPH, send monthly runs as well. The schedule is announced at the start of each W1AW code practice session.
- LCWO (Learn CW Online) is a free website with a complete Koch course, plus practice with words, call signs and plain text.
- CW Academy, run by the CW Operators' Club (CWops), offers free online classes in small groups led by volunteer advisors, at several levels from beginner upward. Classes have no cost, CWops membership is not required, and sessions run in two-month blocks three times a year, in January and February, May and June, and September and October. Other groups, such as the Long Island CW Club, also teach online.
- Audio courses that can be downloaded and played anywhere include the K6RAU code course, a set of 30-minute lessons written by K6DUU and once sent on the air for Boy Scouts in California's Central Valley; the student copies with pencil and paper, following spoken instructions, and needs no prior knowledge of the code.
- morsecode.world, a site run by Stephen C. Phillips, has free trainers for single characters, words, call signs and whole contacts, a translator, and explanations of Morse timing, including Farnsworth spacing.
- Morse Code Ninja, by Kurt Zoglmann, AD0WE, offers hundreds of free practice sets of words, phrases and call signs at 15 to 50 wpm, as YouTube videos, podcasts and downloads.
- Apps and computer programs include Koch trainers for phones and computers and contest simulators such as Morse Runner, which builds fast call sign copying.
- Listening on the air near the bottom of the CW segments, where slower operators tend to gather, adds real-world practice with real fading, noise and fists (each operator's individual sending style).
Head copy and sending
At first most learners write down every character. With practice, the aim shifts to head copy, following the conversation without writing, noting only key details such as call sign, name and signal report. Listening to complete contacts, rather than random groups, helps build this skill.
Sending comes after copying is well established. Practice with a code practice oscillator or a transceiver's sidetone with the transmitter switched off, and check your work with decoding software: if a decoder struggles with your spacing, other operators will too. Even spacing between characters and words matters more than speed. Most operators eventually move from a straight key to a paddle and electronic keyer; see Morse keys and paddles.
CW for DXing and contests
Working a DX pileup or a contest takes a much smaller set of skills than a long conversation at speed. A newcomer needs to recognize their own call sign reliably, including the partial calls a DX station sends back ("5BP?"); to recognize when a call or partial is not theirs, and stay quiet; to send their own call and a short exchange such as "5NN TU" cleanly (see Cut numbers); and to catch the few words that change what to do next, such as UP, QRZ?, or QRT when the station is closing down. Those skills come quickly with call sign practice, which is why many DXers start working CW pileups well before they can ragchew comfortably at 20 wpm.
How long it takes
Progress varies widely, but short daily practice clearly beats long weekly sessions. With 15 to 30 minutes a day, many learners know all the characters within a couple of months and make their first contacts at modest speeds soon after. Comfortable conversation at 20 wpm or more usually comes from months of regular operating rather than more drills. Plateaus, where speed seems stuck for weeks, are normal and usually break with continued practice.
On the air, send no faster than you can copy, and if the other station is too fast, send QRS, the Q-code for "send more slowly." Most CW operators are glad to slow down for a newcomer, and Elmers and clubs often run practice nets and on-air sessions for beginners. CW clubs give a newcomer people to work: the Straight Key Century Club welcomes operators at any speed who use manual keys, FISTS was founded in 1987 to pair experienced operators with newcomers, and CWops holds weekly one-hour CWT sessions that draw hundreds of operators.