Morse Code Tap Decoder
Tap briefly for a dit, hold for a dah, pause to finish a letter. Your Morse code is decoded into text as you go — use the button, your spacebar, or any key.
Hold for a dah, tap for a dit. Or press Space / any key.
What the tap decoder does
This tool turns your taps into text. Press and release the big button (or your spacebar) and the decoder measures how long you held it: a short press is a dit, a longer press is a dah. When you pause for about three dits' worth of time it treats the sequence as a finished letter, looks it up in the Morse code table and adds the character to your message. A longer pause inserts a space between words. It is the closest thing to a real straight key you can get in a browser — and a good way to find out whether you can actually send the code you can read.
Everything runs locally, including the optional sidetone that sounds while you hold the key. If your dits keep turning into dahs, move the speed slider to a longer dit length; if letters merge together, pause a little longer between them. For recognising Morse instead of sending it, use the Morse code translator or the practice trainer.
How to tap Morse code
Set your speed
The slider sets the length of one dit. Beginners do well at 150–200 ms; experienced operators can drop it to 60–80 ms. A press shorter than two dits is a dit, anything longer is a dah.
Tap a letter
Tap the button (or hold Space) for each dit and dah. The current letter builds up under the key so you can see what you have sent so far.
Pause to finish
Stop for three dits and the letter is decoded. Stop for seven and a space is added. Use Delete to remove mistakes and Copy to grab the final text.
Frequently asked questions
How do you tap Morse code?
Short tap = dit (dot), long press = dah (dash), roughly three times as long. Leave a short pause between letters and a longer pause between words. For SOS, tap three short, three long, three short with no pauses inside the group — try it on the key above and watch the decoder show <SOS>.
Why are my dots being read as dashes?
Your presses are longer than the current dit threshold. Move the “Tap speed” slider to a higher value (a longer dit) so the decoder becomes more forgiving, or practise making your dits crisper. The “Last press” readout shows exactly how long each tap was.
Can I use this Morse code tap decoder on my phone?
Yes. The big button works with touch on iOS and Android, and the decoder is identical. Turn the sidetone on to hear your own keying; on many phones you will also feel a short vibration on each tap.
Why do my letters merge into one unknown sequence?
You are not pausing long enough between letters. The decoder needs a gap of about three dits to know a letter has ended. Either pause a little longer or shorten the dit length on the slider so that three dits is a shorter wait.
Does the tap decoder work with a real telegraph key?
If your key is wired to act as a keyboard key or mouse button (some USB interfaces do this), yes — any key or pointer press is treated as the Morse key. For conventional radio use you would normally use a computer sound-card decoder instead.