so ive been thinking about getting my general and eventually extra and i know morse isnt required anymore but honestly i kind of want to learn it anyway, seems like it would be useful and also just cool to know. the problem is i have no idea where to even start. ive seen people mention stuff like koch method and also just apps but i dont know if apps are actually useful or if its one of those things where you need like a real teacher or a class or something.

also how long does it realistically take to get to where you can actually have a qso on the air, not just copy random letters but like an actual conversation. i know it probably varies a lot but just trying to get a rough idea before i invest a bunch of time into it

the koch method is genuinely the way to go in my opinion, thats how i did it and i went from nothing to copying around 15 wpm in maybe 4 or 5 months, though i was pretty consistent with it, like 20-30 minutes most days. the key thing with koch is you learn each character at full speed from the start instead of slowing everything down, which is what a lot of older methods did and it just trains your brain wrong. there are a few apps that do koch properly, lcwo dot net is the one i used most, its free and pretty solid. justa heads up though -- the early weeks feel really discouraging because you feel like you cant copy anything and then something clicks and it gets easier pretty fast after that.

as for actual qsos, honestly 7-8 wpm you can probably muddle through a basic exchange on the air, people on 40 meters especially are usually pretty patient with beginners if you put /qrs in there or just send slow yourself. joining the straight key century club is a good way to dip your toes in, lots of guys on there who specifically enjoy slow qsos with new ops

i learned last year and just used the morse toad app on my phone while commuting, took me probably 6 months to feel comfortable but i wasnt super strict about practicing every day so thats on me. the thing nobody told me was that copying in your head and copying with a pencil are basically two different skills so practice writing it down even if it feels slow and annoying at first