W in Morse Code (.--): Sound, Timing and US Call Signs

What is W in Morse code?

W in Morse code is .-- : a dot, then two dashes, each separated by a one-unit silence. The pattern comes from International Morse Code as set out in ITU-R M.1677-1, so a W keyed on a ham band in Ohio reads the same on a ship off Cape Town.

Printed charts draw it in different marks: the RSGB training sheet uses ● ▬ ▬, a keyboard gives .-- and many guides print · − −. All three describe one short tick followed by two long tones.

W got a three-signal code because it is a mid-frequency letter. It makes up about 2.4% of letters in English text, against 12.7% for E, which was given a single dot.

How to send W in Morse code

To send W, give one short signal and then two long ones of equal length, separated by one-unit silences. Keep the opening dot crisp: let it stretch and the receiver hears three dashes, which is O.

1. By sound: on a straight key, buzzer or your voice, "di-dah-dah." Clip the opening tick, then hold each dah for three beats.
2. By light: one quick blink of a flashlight or phone torch, then two long ones, then hold the light off for three units so the letter is clearly finished. The Morse code light tool flashes it at a steady rate you can copy.
3. By tap: one light knock, then two knocks spaced further apart. Knocks have no length, so the wider spacing is what tells the listener they were dashes; the Morse code tapper lets you try it on screen.
4. In writing: run .-- together with nothing between the marks, put a space after the letter, and use a slash where a word ends. WE becomes .-- . and WE WON becomes .-- . / .-- --- -.

Most bad Ws fail on the second dash. Cut it short and the letter turns into R (.-.); leave it out and you have sent A.

Morse code for W timing at different speeds

W takes 9 units to send: a 1-unit dot, two 3-unit dashes and the two 1-unit gaps inside it. Morse speed is counted in words per minute using PARIS, a reference word exactly 50 units long, which makes one unit equal to 1200 divided by the WPM figure in milliseconds. Every part of W shrinks by the same factor as the speed rises.

Some charts give W as about 420 ms at 20 WPM. That figure adds the dot and two dashes (60 + 180 + 180) but leaves out the two one-unit gaps between them; with the gaps counted, the Morse code for W lasts 540 ms at that speed.

The 3-unit silence after the letter matters as much as the letter. Shorten it in WE and the receiver writes P (.--.), one character where two were sent.

How to remember W (.--)

The dependable way to remember W is the dot-first ladder. E is a single dot, A adds a dash (.-), W adds a second (.--) and J a third (.---), so W sits on the third rung of a run you can climb by ear.

The decoding tree on our Morse code alphabet chart shows the same idea from the other side. From W, one more dot leads to P (.--.) and one more dash leads to J (.---), so W is the stem both of those letters grow from.

For a word cue, pick a phrase with one light syllable and two heavy ones: "the WILD WEST" or "a WIDE WAVE" both fall as di-dah-dah. Drop the cue once W arrives as a single sound, a quick lift into two long tones, because counting signals one at a time cannot keep pace at working speeds.

Letters and numbers confused with W

The characters most often mistaken for W are its ladder neighbors A and J, which differ only in how many dashes follow the dot, and G, which uses the same three signals in reverse order.

Everything is decided after the second dash. Silence there means W, a third dash means J, and a short tick means P.

Drill W against J and P first, since the difference comes after the point where W should stop. Then add G, where the error is reading the order of the signals rather than counting them.

Common mistakes when sending W

• A long opening signal. If the dot drifts toward a dash, the receiver hears O (---).
• Uneven dashes. When the final dash is clipped to a dot, the W Morse code pattern is read as R (.-.).
• One tap too many. An extra dash at the end sends J (.---).
• No pause after the letter. Run W straight into E or T and the pair arrives as P (.--.) or J (.---).

W on the air: call signs, WX and other abbreviations

In the United States, amateur radio call signs begin with A, K, N or W, so every operator holding a W call sends .-- each time they identify on CW. The most familiar of them is W1AW (.-- .---- .- .--), the Hiram Percy Maxim memorial station run by the ARRL, whose headquarters are in Newington, Connecticut. Its weekday schedule includes Morse code practice at 5 to 15 WPM and faster runs up to 35 WPM, a live source of real W signals to copy.

Broadcast stations follow a related rule. FCC policy generally gives call letters starting with W to stations east of the Mississippi River and K to those west of it, though older stations such as KDKA in Pittsburgh break the pattern.

W also opens or appears inside several standard CW abbreviations. Each is keyed as separate letters with the usual 3-unit spacing, unlike a prosign, which runs its letters together.

Unlike K, a W sent on its own carries no procedural meaning; operators read it as the letter. On voice radio the letter is spoken "Whiskey," and the rest of the shorthand, with audio for each entry, is on the Morse code abbreviations page.

Words that start with W

Words show whether your W and the letter after it stay separate. Each space below stands for the 3-unit silence between letters; between two words you would leave 7 units, written as a slash.

WE is the one to try first: the dot of E lands right after the second dash of W, and only the letter gap stops the pair being read as P. WOW puts a W on both sides of the three dashes of O, which tests whether your opening dot stays short. WWW is nine signals in three identical groups and trains the gap between repeated letters.

Practice W on Morse Beacon

The quickest check of your own W is to send it and let the audio decoder read it back. If it prints R, your second dash is clipped; if it prints J, you added a dash; if it prints P, the pause after the letter is too short. The practice set for W then quizzes you on W by sound alone, with no chart or word cue to lean on.

Use Slow (8 WPM) to hear where each dash ends, then return to 14 WPM, the player's normal speed. Work the neighbors as well: V (...-) comes before W in the alphabet and X (-..-) after it, and the Morse code translator spells out whole words such as WATER at the speed you are training for.