Share a Morse code message as a video
To share a Morse code message as a video, make a short clip where people can see the code and, ideally, hear it at the same time. Keep the message short enough to finish in about half a minute, send it at a speed your viewers can follow, and choose a square or vertical frame to suit where it will be watched. A phone filming a flashlight or a key will do; so will a rendered video of the message being sent and printed.
A video asks more of a viewer than a picture or a sound file does: it moves on whether they are ready or not. Most of the work is giving them a fair chance.
What makes a Morse video easy to follow
- Something to see as well as hear. The tone carries the rhythm, but some people watch with the sound off, and some cannot hear it. A light that flashes, a hand on a key or marks appearing on a tape lets them follow anyway, and lets beginners count dits and dahs with their eyes.
- A speed that suits the audience. For people who do not know Morse, send each letter cleanly and leave wide gaps between letters and words. They will be decoding with a chart, one letter at a time.
- Silence at both ends. Leave a moment before the first dit so viewers can settle, and a clear pause after the last. Some places replay a short video as soon as it ends, and the pause tells viewers where the message stops and starts.
- A word about what it is. In the text you post with it, say it is Morse code and roughly how long the message is: “three words”. If it is not a puzzle, give the answer too.
How much Morse fits in 30 seconds
Speed in words per minute is measured with a standard word, PARIS: five letters plus their spacing, exactly 50 units. So at an overall speed of W words per minute, half a minute holds W divided by 2 standard words. With Farnsworth spacing, use the overall (effective) speed, not the character speed.
| Overall speed | Standard words in 30 seconds | Roughly this many letters |
|---|---|---|
| 6 WPM | 3 | 15 |
| 8 WPM | 4 | 20 |
| 10 WPM | 5 | 25 |
| 12 WPM | 6 | 30 |
| 16 WPM | 8 | 40 |
| 20 WPM | 10 | 50 |
Real messages wander from the table. E is a single dit, ., one unit long, while 0 is -----, 19 units, so a message full of figures and long letters takes far longer than its letter count suggests. What WPM means in Morse code, and the PARIS standard explains the measure.
If your message runs long, you have three choices:
- Cut the wording. “Thank you” can be TU,
- ..-, and “best regards” can be 73,--... ...--, as operators send them. Short words carry well. - Tighten the spacing. Less Farnsworth spacing fits more in, at the cost of viewers who are decoding with a chart.
- Split it. Two short videos are easier to follow than one long one, and the second gives people a reason to come back.
Square or vertical?
The shape decides how the video sits on the screen where it is watched.
Square is the all-rounder. It looks reasonable on a phone and on a computer, and it is easy to place in a web page, a slide or an email. If you do not know where the video will end up, choose square.
Vertical, taller than it is wide, is the shape of a phone held upright. It suits places that play clips full screen on a phone, such as stories and short-video feeds. On a computer screen it often shows as a narrow strip.
A simple rule: vertical when you know people will watch on their phones, full screen; square for everything else.
Three ways to make the video
Film a flashlight. Send the message with a flashlight and film it with a phone. Aim the light at a wall or the ceiling, never at anyone’s eyes, and film in a dim room so each flash stands out. Without a tone, viewers rely on the light alone, so leave generous gaps. How to signal Morse code with a flashlight covers the timing by hand.
Film a key. With a Morse key and a practice oscillator or buzzer, film your hand sending the message. Viewers hear the tone and see the rhythm in your hand. Practice the message a few times first, because the camera keeps every uneven gap.
Render it on a Mac. Dot & Dash shares a message as a square or a vertical .mp4 video of its machine printing the message. Type the message in Write and share it in the shape you want, from Write or later from the Library. The video plays the machine’s tone, and the message’s words appear under the machine as each letter prints, so it suits a message meant to be read more than a puzzle. The video shows the first 30 seconds, so fit the message using the table above. It is made on your Mac, goes only where you send it and carries the name Dot & Dash and its web address. Video sharing is part of the 24-hour trial and needs a license after it.
If you want the message without moving pictures, Send a Morse code message as an image people can decode covers a still picture of the code, which anyone can study at their own pace.
Before you post it
Watch your own video the way a stranger will:
- Once with the sound on, writing down what you hear. If you cannot decode it from the video, viewers will not either.
- Once with the sound off. Can you still follow the code from the picture alone?
- Once on a phone, if it is vertical. Check that nothing important sits at the very top or bottom, where some apps lay buttons or text over the picture.
- Check what gives the answer away. For a puzzle, keep the answer out of the caption, the file name and the first comment.
Then describe it for people who cannot see or hear it. A line such as “A short video of a message in Morse code” tells everyone what they are looking at; add the Morse as text, in dots and dashes, or the message itself if it is not meant to be a secret.
Questions
How long should a Morse code video be?
Short. A message that finishes inside about 30 seconds is easier to decode in one sitting, and a viewer who misses a letter can simply watch it again.
Should a Morse video be square or vertical?
Vertical when it will be watched full screen on phones, square when it may be seen on computers too or you are not sure where it will end up.
How many words of Morse fit in 30 seconds?
At an overall speed of W words per minute, about W divided by 2 standard five-letter words: four at 8 WPM, ten at 20 WPM. Messages with many figures fit fewer.
Can people decode a Morse video with the sound off?
Only if the picture shows the code, such as a flashing light, a moving key or marks printed on a tape. A tone over a still picture needs the sound on.