Congrats on your great progress!  One thing about it is that when you are working on something you love, it is not like work.  Listen to on-air QSOs, even if they are faster than you can copy, and you will benefit from listening to the rhythm and tempo.  You will get a few characters here and there, and will find that slower code will be easier for you to hear.  I would also listen to the exchanges and callsigns during contests.  It won't matter what you can't copy, but it will matter that you are training your ear.  Listen to the novice section on 40m, and don't forget to work on your sending.  Having a good fist is as important as having a good ear.  You are going to do just fine, my friend.

I think you have to decide if you want a rig with a built-in power supply or an outboard power supply.  I would go with the Triton 4 540/544. which needs a power supply, vs. a rig that has a ps built in.  If that's the case, get a 520 or a 530, but you need a CW filter. 

Bob, just curious what kind of paddle do you use?  I bet I've read it in here somewhere, but I can't remember.  Rick, n5xm

It seems that I've always been interested in radio since about age six.  My parents got me one of the typical small transistor radios, and I remember laying in bed late at night, listening to AM stations until I fell asleep. It amazed me that invisible signals could travel long distances and penetrate through my bedroom walls.  My uncle was a Ham in WVa, and when I was 9 we visited him and I was stunned by his beautiful shack.  At 15 I started plaing electric guitar, so I became fascinated by amps of every kind.  At age 40, I was reunited with a boyhood friend and we started a band together.  His Dad was a TV repairman, and had many radio receivers.  He gave me a 1936 Stromberg-Carlson radio, and I became an avid SWL.  In 1995, a new Doc came to the clinic I worked at...One day we didn't have a lot of patients and so we started chatting.  I asked him about improving the reception of my SWL gear, and I soon found that he had a 2nd major at Cal Tech and it was in Electrical Engeering.  About 3 days later he brought me in a Technician study guide, and I was off and running.  Imagine having an EE for an Elmer.  In about 14 months, I had my Extra.  He never tired of explaning and re-explaning theory to me.  I am so happy to read the posts of young people here. The intelligence, freshness, and obvious passion are so refreshing to me.  Keep up the good work!  Rick, n5xm

Kent Single Lever for me!

What a great idea, Gil!  I can picture a Logikey in the middle of the handlebars.  You could program CQ into it, but I can just picture those red buttons on both handlebars.  Get about a 12 foot length of pipe, have someone bend it in the middle and hook up a red wagon with brown rails on it so you could carry a battery and an HF rig.  The remote head could be mounted above or below the keyer.  I would consider a banana seat and some "ape hanger" handlebars.  Of course you'd have to get a small bike license plate with your call on it!

Great advice from everyone.  I worked DXCC with my first HF rig, a Kenwood TS-520 that I paid 300.00 for 16 yeas ago, and an 80m vee.  Other than that I had a cheap manual tuner, an MFJ 949E.  All this cost less than 400.00.  Remember that you will have the rest of your life to upgrade your station and acquire gear.  Grounding is impotant, as was said above.  Good luck!
    Rick, n5xm

I want to congratulate and encourage those of you who are working to acquire CW skills.  Don't get discouraged, because we all go through plateaus on our way up the ranks.  Listen to the ARRL code sessions.  They start fast and slow down and by the time they get to the slower speeds, you will find easy copy.  You will get smoother as you go along.  Remember that sending is as important as how you copy.  I used to get the Editorial section out of the Sunday newspaper to practice sending, or find a textbook and do the same.  Be careful not to learn to send faster than you can copy.  Practice copy for 30 minutes, then practice sending for 30 minutes.  Anything worth learning is worth taking the time to do so.  Listen to live QSOs and don't worry about how much you copy.  Over time you WILL improve.  All good CW ops have spent thousands of hours acquiring their skills.  It shouldn't be any different for any of you.

Congrats!  My friend let me use his 718 for a month or so, as he wanted me to check it out on CW.  I really liked the rig, but I'm telling you it is critical that you get a CW filter if you get one.  The front end is so wide open that you'll get sick of the noise in about 15 minutes or less.  Otherwise, it's a neat little radio.

To learn anything well, it is important to remember that it takes time and effort, and above all, patience.  One of the hardest things is learning how to be focused and relaxed at the same time.  As long as you are working at it, you will be improving, whether it seems that way or not.  It's a series of plateaus.  Just keep at it and remember that your work will pay off in the long run. 

Great post, Ray.  Technology is wonderful, but it can sure suck you in.  Sometimes we keep piling brick upon brick until we become so far seperated from what we are doing that we feel lost.  There's something really refreshing about going back to basics.  I sure wish I had my C21.  I want to get to know the person on the other end of the QSO, not have some kind of automated QSO.  No offense to digital ops.  If you want a sked, zip me an email.  Rick, n5xm@yahoo.com

I think it's natural for a new Ham-to-be to have the enthusiam you have.  Whatever you do, remember that it takes time to get a good collection of gear, unless you are wealthy.  It also takes time to acquire the skills you need to be the best op you can be.  Myself, I wouldn't get a shack in a box rig.  There is a lot of great used rigs out there to be had for under 500.00.  After I got my Tech, I bought a nice used TS-520, and used that as an excuse to start studying for upgrading, so I could get on HF.  I would get a Ringo Ranger 2 for VHF, put up an 80m inverted Vee (they are easy to make, and cheap) for HF.  Even though you won't be able to transmit, you will be getting yourself immersed in how an HF QSO sounds, and this will make it easier when you upgrade and get all the frequencies others have.  It also motivates you to study.  Enjoy yourself!

I don't care for the Bencher products.  They seem a bit dainty to me.  It's not that I'm heavy-handed, quite the opposite...I have a Vibroplex single lever, a Vibro straight key, which is wonderful, and a Kent single lever that is my favorite paddle.  I have a small hand, and its' low profile fits me perfectly.  I generally run 25-30 wpm on ragchews, but have had the Kent at 50 wpm.  You can set the Kent to very light pressure and very close settings.  It is almost like there is no movent at all.  While it can be hard to get the initial settings the way you want them, when you do get it just right for you, it stays there.  I feel like good CW ops can get used to about any key or paddle. 

If you ever get the chance, watch the documentary "Half a Mile a Day". 

Not everyone has a great ear.  I've been a musician for over 40 years and consider it a tremendous advantage in CW.  My first 10K CW qsos were with a hand key, and it forced me to learn good character formation, good spacing between characters and words, and a consistent tempo.  A trained ear knows when the "melody" is produced correctly, but an untrained ear has a lot more trouble in "getting it right".  It also helps to be a perfectionist.  It helps to have a rig that can record the text you send without putting it on the air.  That way all you have to do is replay the message off the air so you hear exactly what you sound like.  You can't legislate excellence, or the desire to improve your sending ability, if not to perfection, but with effort and consistency toward the ideal of becoming the best CW operator you can be.  This doesn't happen overnight.  I try to do my best to be very patient with CW ops with disabilities, and with those of advanced age.  You'd be surprised how many Hams at 80 and older who send great sounding CW.  That really puts a smile on my face.  These folks love to ragchew as well, which is my personal favorite.