so ive been doing CW practice for about 3 months now and im stuck around 13-14wpm and it feels like the wall is just not moving. started with the Koch method back when i got my ticket and got up to 10wpm pretty fast but now it feels like every session im just spinning my wheels. im doing maybe 20-30 minutes a day with the G4FON trainer and some Just Learn Morse Code sessions but honestly im not sure if im doing it right anymore.

the thing thats frustrating is i can copy text i already kind of expect fine but anything random or unfamiliar just falls apart above like 12wpm. like my brain just cant keep up and i start missing letters and then i fall behind and then its a cascade. does this get better on its own or is there something specific i should be changing. also wondering if copying real QSOs off the air would help more than the computer generated stuff at this point

yeah that plateau around 12-15wpm is totally real, pretty much everyone hits it. what helped me break through was honestly just forcing myself to listen at a speed i couldnt fully copy yet — like set the trainer to 18 or 20wpm even if you only get 60% of it. your brain eventually starts recognizing the sound of whole words instead of individual letters and thats really the key. trying to consciously decode each dit and dah is what keeps people stuck.

the other thing i'd say is yes, get on the air or at least listen to real QSOs. the W1AW code practice transmissions are great for this — they broadcast at different speeds and its real text with real fading and QRM which your brain has to deal with eventually anyway. the computer stuff is too clean. took me about 8 months to get from where you are to solid 20wpm but i wasnt practicing every day either so your mileage will vary

copying real QSOs off the air helped me way more than any software tbh. just tune around 40m in the evenings and find a slow ragchew or a CWT contest and just listen, dont even try to write anything down at first. something about real signals with real people just trains your ear differently. also dont underestimate just taking a break for a few days sometimes — came back after a week off once and somehow i was copying better than before i left which made no sense but here we are