so ive been a licensed ham for about 8 months now (tech class) and ive been thinking about upgrading to general but honestly the main thing pulling me toward morse is just... i dont know, it seems cool and i keep reading about CW operators who swear by it. im not trying to pass any test or anything since thats not required anymore, i just want to actually learn it for real.

the problem is every time i look this up i get like 50 different opinions. some people say start with the koch method, some say just memorize the dots and dashes on a chart, some say use an app. i tried one of those chart memorization things for about a week and it just didnt stick at all. felt like i was trying to memorize a phone book.

does anyone actually remember learning this and can tell me what worked for them? im not in a huge rush but id like to at least be able to copy simple stuff someday

the chart thing almost never works for most people, you kind of have to hear the characters as sounds not think about dots and dashes at all. that whole approach is what trips beginners up. what you want is the Koch method and honestly just use the LCWO website, its free and its what a lot of people use. it starts you at full speed on just two characters and you dont move on until you can copy them reliably, then it adds one at a time. sounds slow but it actually works because your brain learns the rhythm of each letter instead of counting dots.

also just be warned it takes longer than people think. like months of regular practice, not weeks. if you sit down for 15-20 minutes every day you'll get there but skipping days really sets you back. i learned back when the test was still required and even then the guys who passed were the ones who practiced a little bit every single day rather than cramming on weekends.

im kind of in the same boat as you actually, been at it for maybe 3 months now. what helped me a lot was morse.ninja on top of LCWO because it has a different way of presenting stuff and i found mixing the two kept it from getting boring. also theres a youtube channel i stumbled on that plays QSOs at like 5wpm with the text underneath so you can follow along and it feels more like actual radio which is motivating.

one thing nobody told me was that copying by hand and copying by typing feel completely different so pick one and stick with it for a while. i kept switching and it confused me more than anything