so i've been licensed for about 8 months now, mostly just doing FM stuff on a handheld and some 2m ssb, but i keep reading about CW and honestly it sounds really appealing to me. like the idea of making contacts with almost nothing power-wise is really cool to me. problem is i have absolutely no idea where to start with learning it. i tried just looking up the alphabet and memorizing dots and dashes on paper but that felt completely wrong, like i was just memorizing a chart and not actually hearing anything.

is there a specific method people use? i've heard the word "Koch" thrown around a few times but i dont really know what that means in practice. also how long does this realistically take before you can actually have a slow QSO with someone, not just decode it on paper. my brain might just be slow but i feel like this could take years

okay so the chart thing is exactly wrong, you figured that out faster than most people lol. the whole key is you have to learn the sounds, not the dots and dashes. like your brain needs to hear "di-dah" and think A, not count dots and dashes and look it up mentally. that distinction sounds small but it makes a massive difference long term.

Koch method basically means you start with just 2 characters, learn them at a higher speed than you think you should (like 15-20wpm character speed even if the overall sending is slow, this is the Farnsworth timing thing), get to 90% copy on those two, then add a third character, and so on. the reason this works is it forces your brain to hear the rhythm as a whole sound instead of counting. LC Wobschall's site has a good rundown if you google it and the app LCWO.net is probably where most people do the actual practice, its free and you can set all the parameters yourself.

realistic timeline, honestly if you do like 15-20 minutes a day consistently, most people can have a slow ragchew on the air somewhere between 3 and 6 months. 5wpm QSOs happen even sooner. the 40m QRP watering holes are really patient with slow ops, nobody's gonna make you feel bad for being slow.

im pretty much in the same boat as you, started learning maybe 2 months ago. what helped me a lot was just listening to actual on-air CW even before i could copy any of it, just letting it run in the background while i was doing other stuff. sounds dumb but i think it helped my ear get used to the rhythm of it before i started the formal practice.

also there's an app called Morse Mania on android that i use on my lunch break, nothing fancy but its good for drilling individual characters. the frustrating part is some letters just stick instantly and others i still mix up constantly, V and B get me every single time for some reason