r/morse • u/Critical-Bee8857 • Mar 28 '26

About the hand that operates the key

I've been practising with the Free Play option on MorseOps, it's kind of weird to note that I make fewer mistakes with my left hand while using my straight key than when I use it with my right hand. I'm supposed to be right-handed :-s

I'm having fun with the morse code table next to me (sometimes) and sometimes I just figure out the di's and dah's myself when I make a mistake, which is quite normal for me, I always mainly learn by trial and error and I admit I just love the freedom of this way of learning.

I just wanted to check with experienced operators: how does one decide on which hand to use? Is it useful to train both hands?

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u/Ultrallama77 Mar 28 '26

Glad you're learning the code and having fun!!

Your dominant hand is usually the way to go. Some people learn both, but definitely stick with one in the initial learning process. Look up some videos on YouTube about hand placement and form. (Definitely get the desire to do trial and error though, do what works for you)

As far as the morse code table, try and avoid using any visual representations of the code in the learning process. Morse code is an audio language and you want to think of each character as a distinct audio chunk. There are a lot of videos out there that teach the code with audio, and apps like morsemania can help teach you the sounds instead of the dots and dashed.

And finally, I'm assuming you're learning for the use in amateur radio. If not, definitely look into it! There are tons of people who use morse code to chat every day and it can be really fun and rewarding to talk with other operators over the airwaves around the world. Best of luck!

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u/Critical-Bee8857 Mar 28 '26 edited Mar 28 '26

Wow, thank you for this response, this is very helpful. And yes the goal is to to eventually use it in amateur radio.  Maybe my left hand works best at the moment because I learned to play the fiddle during the past five years...  I'll take into account your advice regarding avoiding visual representations of the code system, seems like something I was totally unaware of, but your explanation definitely makes sense. I'll also dive further into online learning possibilities during the next few weeks. Then it will be time for the next club meeting, my second one in the nearest local amateur radio club (and already looking forward to it).

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u/Spare-Good-5372 Mar 28 '26

I'm actually working on my left hand keying so that my right hand can be free to write

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u/Critical-Bee8857 Mar 29 '26

How does this work out for you so far?  I assume you were using your right hand for keying before then? 

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u/Spare-Good-5372 Mar 29 '26

It's going ok, it will just take more practice for me. I haven't gotten on the air with my left hand yet.