Morse Code Timing and Speed
Five durations run the whole code. Move the sliders to see what they become in milliseconds.
| Element | Units | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Dot | 1 | - |
| Dash | 3 | - |
| Gap inside a character | 1 | - |
| Gap between characters | 3 | - |
| Gap between words | 7 | - |
| PARIS | 50 | - |
Morse code speed is measured in words per minute using PARIS as the reference word, because it is exactly 50 units long. At 20 WPM one unit lasts 60 milliseconds: a dot is one unit, a dash three, the gap inside a character one, between characters three, and between words seven.
Why PARIS?
A speed in words per minute is meaningless until everyone agrees what a word is. Elephant and it are not the same amount of sending. So the convention fixes one standard word: PARIS, including the gap that follows it, comes to exactly 50 units.
From that single number everything else follows. If PARIS must fit 20 times into a minute, it gets 3 seconds, so one unit is 3 divided by 50, which is 60 milliseconds. The general form is 1200 divided by WPM milliseconds per unit.
Break PARIS down and the 50 units are 31 in the characters themselves and 19 in the gaps between them. That split matters for the next section.
Farnsworth: fast characters, slow delivery
Almost everyone who learns Morse code from a table hits the same wall around 10 words per minute. The reason is the method, not the person: they learned each letter as a picture of dots, so every letter has to be translated twice. That detour has a speed limit.
Farnsworth timing removes the wall before you hit it. The characters are sent at full speed from the first day, but the gaps between them are stretched, so you get thinking time without ever hearing a slowed-down letter. You never learn a sound you later have to unlearn.
The maths keeps the character speed untouched and puts all the extra time into those 19 gap units. Set the two sliders above to 20 and 10 and the table shows it: the dot stays at 60 milliseconds while the gap between characters grows from 180 to over 650.
A good starting point is 18 to 20 WPM for the characters and 8 to 10 effective. As recognition becomes automatic, raise the effective speed and leave the character speed alone.
What speeds mean in practice
- 5 to 10 WPM - signaling by torch or whistle, and the effective speed most learners start at.
- 12 to 15 WPM - comfortable conversation for a newcomer on the air.
- 18 to 25 WPM - the everyday range for licensed amateurs, and the right character speed to learn at.
- 30 to 40 WPM - contest operators, who copy in their heads rather than writing.
- Above 50 WPM - a small number of people who have practiced for decades.
Frequently asked questions
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How is Morse code speed measured?
In words per minute, against the standard word PARIS, which is exactly 50 units long including its trailing gap. One unit lasts 1200 divided by the speed, in milliseconds.
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How long is a dot at 20 WPM?
60 milliseconds. A dash is three times that, so 180 milliseconds, and the gap between words is seven units, so 420.
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What is Farnsworth timing?
Sending the characters at a high speed while stretching the gaps between them, so a learner hears every letter at its real speed but still has time to think. It prevents the plateau that catches people who learn at a uniformly slow speed.
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Why is PARIS the standard word?
Because it happens to be exactly 50 units long with its following word gap, and it uses a realistic mixture of short and long characters. Any fixed word would do, but this one has been the convention for over a century.