Getting started with CW

[foggycoder]

CT2GXW says (3 Oct 20, in the thread "Long lever keys"):
"For my first QSOs, I listened to ops transmitting with speeds I felt comfortable with (around 12 wpm), checked their QRZ pages, and emailed them, asking for a sked to help me out on my first steps. Always found the most courteous and helpful people, which really gave me the confidence to carry on."

Now that's a very good idea.

 

[CT2GXW]

Thanks foggycoder.

In 40m at night I find there are hams with little CW experience (like me), that don't call or answer CQs because of the speeds usually found that can be intimidating. When I call at 13-14 wpm, with some nice spacing between characters, I get answers from beginners who feel confident to try a QSO, and sometimes I get a second and third QSO of other ops waiting to work me.

When someone comes too fast for me, I ask to QRS. The trick for me is to keep in mind it's a hobby, It's for experimenting and having fun, and messing up while practicing. I don't do DX chasing or contesting, it's just for the plain fun of making a CW contact over the air. So now I call CQ, and try to make at least one QSO a night.