Morse code timing

How to read it

ITU-R M.1677-1 defines the spacing in dots: a dash equals three dots; the space between the signals of one letter, one dot; between two letters, three; between two words, seven. The US Army’s 1957 manual TM 11-459 gives the same relations in dits and dahs, with the dit as the unit of length. Speed is measured against the word PARIS: in the Army’s standard, 20 groups a minute means the word PARIS sent exactly 20 times in a minute. The drawings on these pages keep the ITU proportions.

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Why SOS has no letter gaps

The 1906 distress signal is printed with its nine elements run together, so it is sent with one-unit gaps throughout, not the three-unit gaps that would separate the letters S, O and S. See SOS in Morse code.

Longer gaps for learners

TM 11-459 says the space between characters and groups is longer during early practice at lower speeds and is gradually decreased as students improve. ARRL’s tips for learners recommend the Farnsworth method: each character sent at 15 words per minute with large spacing between characters.

How fast operators send

ARRL says experienced operators can easily converse at 20 to 30 words per minute. When US amateur licences still required the code, the entry-level Novice licence needed 5 words a minute, the General and Advanced 13, and the Extra 20.