American Morse Code Translator

What Is American Morse Code?

American Morse code (also called Railroad Morse or Continental Morse) is the original Morse code system developed by Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail in the 1830s and 1840s for US telegraph networks.

It predates International Morse and uses different patterns for many letters, plus two symbols not found in International Morse:

• A long dash (⸺) for the letter L
• An extra-long dash (⸻) for the number 0
• Several characters with an internal pause, such as O = . ., R = . .., and C = .. .

What Is the American Morse Code Translator?

This tool converts English text to American Morse code and back. Type text in the Text box to see the American Morse encoding, or paste American Morse into the American Morse Code box to decode it.

Characters are separated by / and words by //, which keeps the internal pauses within codes like O (. .) unambiguous.

How to Use the American Morse Code Translator

1. Type or paste a message in the Text box. Each letter is converted to American Morse in the American Morse Code box.
2. To decode, paste American Morse (characters separated by /, words by //) into the American Morse Code box.
3. Use the clipboard icons to copy either box.
4. Scroll down to compare American and International Morse codes side by side.

How Does American Morse Differ From International?

American Morse was built for telegraph operators who distinguished codes by ear. Several letters share the same pattern in both systems (A, B, D, E, H, I, K, M, N, S, T, U, V, W), but many differ substantially: