so i just got my technician license a few months ago and ive been reading about CW operating and it honestly sounds kind of cool but i have no idea where to even start with morse code. like do people still actually use it and is it even worth learning if you dont need it for the license anymore

i tried looking up some youtube videos but there are so many different approaches and some people say to learn it one way and others say that way is totally wrong and now im just confused. someone at my local club mentioned something called the koch method but i dont really know what that is or if i should just buy one of those practice tapes or whatever. is there an app or something people use these days

basically just looking for where to start i guess, dont really know what questions to ask

yeah the Koch method is probably the most recommended approach these days and honestly its the one i wish id used when i started instead of just memorizing dots and dashes visually which is a trap you do not want to fall into. the whole idea is you learn each character at full speed from the beginning, like 20wpm or whatever, but you space them way out so you have time to think. the point is your brain learns to hear the rhythm of each letter as a sound pattern instead of counting dits and dahs which will absolutely wreck you when you try to copy anything at real speeds later

there's a free program called LCWO dot net that does this whole method online, you just work through the characters one at a time and it tracks your progress. also the app Just Learn Morse Code on PC is good. some people like the Morse Toad app on phone for drilling on the go. honestly just pick one and stick with it every single day even if its only ten or fifteen minutes, consistency matters way more than cramming for an hour once a week

and yes people absolutely still use CW, on HF its everywhere especially on the lower parts of the bands, and some folks will tell you signals get through on CW when phone is totally buried in the noise which is true. worth learning if you're curious about it

im in basically the same boat as you so take this for what its worth but i started using an app called Morse Mania on my phone like two months ago and its actually been pretty fun. im nowhere near actually copying anything on the air yet but i can at least recognize most of the letters now without thinking too hard. the gamification thing helps me not get bored i think

one thing i heard that made sense is dont even touch a paddle or key until you can copy at least some stuff by ear first, apparently a lot of new people jump to sending before they can really receive and it causes problems down the road. no idea if thats true but thats what someone told me at a hamfest