Morse Code Numbers
Every Morse code number has five elements. From 1 to 5 the dots come first: 1 is one dot and four dashes, 5 is five dots. From 6 to 0 the dashes come first: 6 is one dash and four dots, 0 is five dashes. Tap a figure to hear it.
Bars drawn to time on their own scale: the longest figure, 0, is 19 units.
§ 1The pattern
Count the dots at the front. 1 has one, 2 has two, and so on up to 5, which is all dots. The rest of the five places are dashes.1
From 6 on, the dashes lead. 6 has one dash, 7 has two, up to 0, which is all dashes. Read the columns above: 1 and 6 are mirror images, every dot swapped for a dash. So are 2 and 7, 3 and 8, 4 and 9, 5 and 0.
Figures are long. 0 takes 19 units, more than any letter: at 18 WPM that is 1.27 s. This is why operators shorten them in busy exchanges.
§ 2Cut numbers
In contests and signal reports you hear figures sent short. The other operator expects a number, so a letter in its place is clear. A report of 599 goes out as 5NN: each 9 is sent as N.
| Figure | Full | Cut | Sent as |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ·−−−− | ·− | A |
| 2 | ··−−− | ··− | U |
| 3 | ···−− | ···− | V |
| 4 | ····− | ····− | in full |
| 5 | ····· | · | E |
| 6 | −···· | −···· | in full |
| 7 | −−··· | −··· | B |
| 8 | −−−·· | −·· | D |
| 9 | −−−−· | −· | N |
| 0 | −−−−− | − | T |
Cut numbers are an operators’ habit, not part of the ITU table. 4 and 6 have no short form in common use, and 5 is sent as E or in full.2
§ 3Figures in a message
To send a fraction, put the slash between the figures: 3/4 is 3, then −··−·, then 4.1
Send a long number figure by figure, the way you read it. 1906 is four signs: 1, 9, 0 and 6.