so i got my general back in 2014 and honestly just never bothered with CW since it wasnt required anymore. but ive been watching some videos lately and something about it just looks really satisfying, like there's guys making contacts all over the world with like 5 watts and a wire and i want in on that.

problem is i have zero idea where to start with the actual keying side of things. i borrowed a straight key from a buddy at the club and i've been practicing a bit but my wrist gets tired fast and i know everyone says to eventually move to paddles but i dont even understand how paddles work with a keyer vs just a straight key. is the keyer a separate box thing or is it built into the radio? my ic-7300 might already have one i guess? i honestly dont know what im doing here lol

also any tips on just learning to receive are welcome, i can copy maybe 5-6 characters and then my brain just turns off

welcome to the rabbit hole, you're gonna love it and also hate it sometimes haha. okay so yes your 7300 absolutely has a built in keyer, it's pretty decent actually. you plug paddles straight into the key jack on the front and then go into the menu and set the keyer mode — you want iambic mode B to start, most people run that. the radio handles all the dits and dahs timing for you once you set your speed.

for paddles themselves honestly dont overthink it at first. a basic set of Bencher paddles or even a cheap set off amazon will get you going while you figure out if you actually like iambic keying. some folks swear by single lever paddles instead of dual lever iambic ones, which is a whole other conversation. i ran a straight key for about 6 months before switching and i think it actually helped me a lot because you really feel the rhythm of each character before the keyer starts doing it for you.

for receiving — just run lcwo.net every day. seriously even 10-15 minutes. dont try to copy everything, just relax and let it wash over you a bit, the characters start to click eventually. the worst thing you can do is tense up when you miss something because then you miss the next three too.

im kind of in the same boat as you, just started a few months ago. the thing that helped me most for receiving was listening to W1AW code practice on HF, they broadcast at different speeds and annouce what speed before each session. something about hearing real transmitted code versus computer generated stuff clicked differently for me, i dont know why exactly.

also dont feel bad about the brain shutting off thing. aparently that's totally normal and it gets better. i can do about 10wpm now which felt impossible like 8 weeks ago so hang in there