Free data for Koch-style Morse code practice: the lesson order, the Morse code for each character, and practice words grouped by the lesson where you can first send them.
Use it in your own trainer, app, club handout or practice files. Everything here is public domain (CC0), so you don't need to ask or give credit.
| File | What it holds |
|---|---|
koch-order.json |
The 36-character order, the Morse code for each character, and all 35 lessons (the new character(s) and the full set for each) |
lessons.csv |
The same lessons as a table: lesson,new,chars |
words-by-lesson.json |
473 common English words, keyed by the first lesson that has all their letters |
words.csv |
The same words as a table: word,lesson |
ham-words.csv |
48 common CW abbreviations, Q codes and prosigns, with the lesson and a plain meaning |
Lesson 1 teaches K and M. Each lesson after that adds one character, so lesson n uses the first n + 1 characters of the order.
For example, at lesson 9 (K M U R E S N A P T) you can already practise words like EAT, MEET, PAST and START.
K M U R E S N A P T L W I J Z F O Y V G 5 Q 9 2 H 3 8 B 4 7 C 1 D 6 0 X
This is the order used on LCWO, with the punctuation left out. Other Koch-style courses use slightly different orders, so check before you mix data from different sources.
Ludwig Koch's original method sent every character at full speed (he used 12 WPM) with no extra spacing, from the first lesson. You added a new character once you could copy about 90% correctly. Many modern trainers mix his idea with Farnsworth spacing or other changes. This data works with either approach.
The word lists live in sources/. To add a word, put it in sources/common-words.txt and run:
npm run build
npm test
The build sorts each word into its lesson. The tests check that no word uses a character before it has been taught.
Corrections and new words are welcome. Please open an issue or a pull request. Keep words common and family-friendly, and only add data you have the right to release as CC0.
The lesson order matches the trainer on SimpleMorse, a free browser-based Morse code course.
CC0 1.0 Universal. No rights reserved.