CW, or Continuous Wave, is the method of radio communication using an on-off-keyed carrier wave, while Morse Code is the alphabet of dots and dashes used to represent letters and numbers within that CW transmission.

You use CW to send Morse code, but CW encompasses the entire system of radio operation, including procedures, call signs, and Q signals, not just the code itself.

The Morse code is a code that uses a series of dots and dashes to represent the different letters of the alphabet, numbers and procedural notations. In this way it is possible to send a message in Morse code by simply turning a signal on and off in the correct manner to represent the dots and dashes.

In the days of the telegraph a message could be sent using a single wire (and earth return), and for radio communications it could be implemented by turning the transmitted signal or carrier on and off.

The Morse code itself consisted of two elements: a dot and a dash, and the various letters, numbers and other characters were made up by combining these two elements in different combinations.

CW signals go farther than other radio signals because their narrow bandwidth cuts through noise and interference more effectively, requiring less power to be received and understood. The CW signal carries a single tone of information.

The human ear can hear the patterns even when the signal is at or even below the noise floor.

There are many ways to learn Morse code, but do not use visual methods that map dots and dashes into visual shapes.

Long Island CW Club (LICW)

A great community with classes you take at your own pace.  Their program uses classes and session on the Zoom platform, an excellent online CW trainer, an online community and lots of great documentation: https://longislandcwclub.org

Ham Radio Crash Course (HRCC)

HRCC has great resources for learning CW, including HRCC Live Stream, HRCC Concise Videos, HRCC Podcast and Ham Nation Show.

Ham Radio Crash Course – Moving Forward with Ham Radio

CW Ops

CW ops has free training on CW in a structured course enviroment through CW Academy.

CWops – Celebrating the unique art form of Morse Code

These are just a few of the CW programs – there are other web based programs. Whatever you choose, pick one and have fun with CW!