Morse Code Course by Ear

An online Morse code course by ear: letters play at full speed from the first lesson, and a new one is added once you recognize the others 90% of the time. The trainer takes you from two letters to words, numbers, call signs, Q codes and copying a real radio contact, by sound, by light and on a key.

How the course works

3 steps

Set up the sound

The first lesson lets you choose the character speed and the tone you like.

Learn letters in pairs by ear

Each lesson: meet two letters, copy them among the ones you know, send them on the key, then a final copy with a 90% threshold.

Pass the stage exams

Every stage ends with an exam; the last one is copying a real radio contact from CQ to 73.

Master Morse code with the Koch method, from first letters to on-air contacts

Program: stages — 7, lessons — 36

Open lessons: 4 of 36. The other lessons, the exams and the certificate come with Premium.

Your skills

Copying by ear 0%
Sending on the key 0%
Speed 0%
On-air procedure 0%

How much of each skill in the course your completed lessons cover, weighted by your score.

What each lesson trains

Copying by ear
Sending on the key
Speed
On-air procedure

a little
a good part
the main focus

Stage 1

Start: the first eight letters

How to listen to Morse code, the first eight letters by ear and your first characters on the key.

From here on — with Premium

Stage 2

Letters: ten more

Ten new letters, two per lesson, and your first words by ear.

Stage 3

Letters: the whole alphabet

The last letters of the alphabet and the accented letters of other languages.

Stage 4

Numbers and signs

Numbers, punctuation and the procedural signs that are sent as one character.

Stage 5

Words and call signs

Words, operator abbreviations, call signs and an even hand on the key.

Stage 6

Speed and light

Shorter gaps, faster letters, head copy and signals by light.

Stage 7

On the air

Q codes, the order of a contact and copying a real exchange from CQ to 73.

What is inside

Koch method and Farnsworth spacing

Letters play at 20 words per minute from the first lesson, and the gaps between them give you time to answer. Later the gaps shrink to 18 words per minute and the letters speed up to 25.

The whole international code

All 26 letters, numbers, punctuation, procedural signs such as AR, SK, BT and KN, and the accented letters Ä, Ö, Ü, É and Ñ.

Sound, light and a key

Letters come as sound and as flashes of a lamp; you send on an on-screen key with the space bar, a tap or the mouse. The key measures your speed and dah-to-dit ratio.

Mistakes come back more often

The course remembers which letters you mix up and gives them to you more often; after each drill it shows what you confused with what.

From letters to radio contacts

Words, numbers, call signs, operator abbreviations and Q codes, head copy and copying a real exchange.

7 stages, 36 lessons

Lessons of 9–12 minutes, an exam in every stage, spaced review of your mistakes and a certificate at the end.

Questions about the course

Why does the course start with K and M instead of A and B?

The order is chosen for the ear, not the alphabet. The first two letters sound nothing alike: K is dah-di-dah, M is dah-dah. Each new pair then adds one new difference: U and R last the same time and differ only in where the dah is, E and S are runs of dits of different lengths, and N and A are mirror images. That way your ear learns to tell patterns apart instead of guessing. Eight letters are already enough for words, so word drills start in the fourth lesson.

Why do the letters play so fast, with long gaps between them?

This is the Koch method with Farnsworth spacing. At slow speeds a letter sounds like a series of dots and dashes, and people get used to counting them; around 10 words per minute counting can no longer keep up, and they have to relearn. So the letters themselves play at 20 words per minute, and stretched gaps give you time to answer. If 20 is too hard, you can choose 15 in the first lesson.

Which alphabet does the course teach?

The international Latin alphabet used on the air everywhere, with numbers, punctuation and procedural signs, plus the accented letters Ä, Ö, Ü, É and Ñ used in German, French and Spanish text. The Russian and Ukrainian versions of the course can teach their own alphabets too; most codes are shared, so what you learn carries over.

Should I learn from a chart of dots and dashes?

A chart teaches you to see Morse code, but on the air you have to hear it, and translating a sound into a picture and back costs time you do not have at speed. The course shows the pattern under each new letter only as a hint while you meet it; every drill is by ear, and you answer as soon as you recognize the tune.

How do I send without a real telegraph key?

The on-screen key works with the space bar, a tap or a mouse button: a short press is a dit, three times longer is a dah. The course adapts to your pace, shows what it copied and measures your speed and your dah-to-dit ratio. Normal is about three; below 2.5, your dahs get mistaken for dits.

Do I need a radio or a call sign to learn?

No: the course runs in your browser, with the sound and the key on the page. You need a call sign only to go on the air yourself, and it is issued after an amateur radio license exam. You can listen to real Morse contacts without a radio of your own through online WebSDR receivers; the last stage tells you how.

💡 Want us to improve this course just for you?

Tell us what to add to the course — a topic, an exercise, a song or an example — or where it got confusing. If you’d like to talk it through, leave your email and we’ll reply. You can stay anonymous.

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Who is this tool for?

⚓ Sailors and yacht crews

Published 13 Nov 2026 Author: The Supreme