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In 1836,
Samuel Morse demonstrated the ability of a telegraph system to
transmit information over wires. The information was sent as a
series of electrical signals. Short signals are referred to as
dits (represented as dots). Long signals are referred to as dahs
(represented as dashes). With the advent of radio
communications, an international version of Morse code became
widely used.
The most well-known usage of Morse Code (CW) is for sending the
distress signal: SOS. The SOS signal is sent as:
 
Morse code relies on precise intervals of time between dits and
dahs, between letters, and between words. Here's a chart that
shows these relationships:
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dit
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1 unit of time
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dah
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3 units of time
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pause between letters
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3 units of time
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pause between words
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7 units of time
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The speed of transmitting Morse code is measured in WPM (words
per minute). The word "Paris" is used as the standard
length of a word. To transmit the word "Paris" requires 50 units
of time. If you transmitted the word "Paris" 5 times, you would
be transmitting at 5 WPM. An experienced Morse code operator can
transmit and receive information at 20-30 WPM.
Below are severl zip files of a morse code course.
Download the parts of the course you want to learn and unzip
them to a folder on your computer. Each of the words files
increase in difficulty from 2 letter words to sentences. The
course was developed
Chuck Adams K7QO.
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