Just listen!  I got stuck there myself, but it was just a matter of time.  I had to be a bulldog about it, but I'm that way about almost everything, hi.  Practice sending off the air and work on perfect tempo, character formation and spacing.  Your brain gets used to it however you do it, but it will not happen overnight.  Listen to the w1aw practice sending.  They start out at 35wpm and work their way down.  You'll be surprised how much more you can copy as they slow down.  You need to figure out how to do something every day, if only for 30 minutes.  Get up 45 minutes earlier, that oughta work.  You can do it. 

I would go with the Orion.  I've had one for about 6 years and love it.  You can't forget about that great Ten Tec service.  If you call them with a question you get to talk to somone who deals with your specific rig every day.  The Jupiter would be my next choice.  The software is upgradable via TT, and my experience with the Orion is that once you get the adjustable AGC(!) set right, you can hear signals UNDER the noise floor, which is very low.  Go to the Sherwood site and look at the numbers!

By all means get at least a 500Hz CW filter.  Listening to all the broadband noise on CW without any filtering gives me a headache just thinking about it.  I wonder along with n0uy if you are listening too hard.  When I first started doing CW I had to concentrate so hard it made me a wreck.  It takes a while to learn how to be focused and relaxed at the same time.  Add all the noise without a filter, and no wonder you get headaches.  Even with 3 roofing filters in my IC-7600 I routinely keep the bandwidth at 100Hz, and basically miss next to nothing.  Good luck!  Rick

Would you like some cheese with your whine?

The top of the line Vibroplex staight key is just wonderul, smooth as silk and heavy enough to stay put on the desk.  It looks nice, too.  I use the Kent single paddle, and while it is a bit of a pain to get set exactly as you want it, once you do get it set, it stays there for a long time.  I like the settings close and light, and with a small hand the low profile fits my hand like a glove.  The paddle I really want to try is the Begali Mono.  If it's as good as it looks, it must be a dandy. 

I'm optomistic about this.  There are many, many fine CW ops here in America, and people just need time to develop their skills.  That's why those of us with good CW skills need to get on the air and work everyone that wants a QSO.  People gravitate to whatever level they gravitate to.  Some just have lousy ears.  How can we expect those folks to produce excellent CW?  The bottom line is you just cannot expect to legislate excellence.  I am an extreme overachiever, but that's just me.  We may not be perfect, but we can always get better regardless of what we do.  Personal motivation has nothing to do with age, incentive licensing, or any of that crap. 

A couple of question marks sent back to back says a lot!

The brain can do amazing things, but I cannot do this.  I have worked two stations simultaneously during contests, but that's very simple exchanges, so it doesn't really count.  I believe this skill can be developed, as the brain is amazingly plastic, and each of us has gifts that are a bit different than someone else, but it seems like different loops to me.  Who knows what kind of side loop connections are possible.  One thing that has always amazed me about cw is that, for me, extreme focus is almost a lack of focus.  Not really a lack of focus, but a state where the big picture becomes more important than the details.  Spooky.

What does ther ILLEGALITY of selling cb PAs have to do with being a Nazi? I've lived in Fort Smith for 55 of my 58 years and am proud to be from Arkansas.  You sir, make me ill.   

I think you can get it all back.  I agree with the idea of practicing off the air to get your sending up to snuff.  Turn to the Editorial section of your newspaper, and find an Editorial with bunches of big words in it, and practice sending at steadily increasing speeds.  Find a fast speed ragchew somewhere and just listen to the cadence and copy as much as you can.  This way, you're working both sides of a QSO (sending and receiving).  Listen to the ARRL practice sessions that start fast then slow down.  As everyone says, get on the air and make contacts.  Add up all of the above, and you'll make up a lot of ground in a single month.  Best of luck.  You can do it!  E-mail me if you want to set up a sked.  You never know where you might find a new friend.  Rick, n5xm

I'm happy to see you started out with a straight key.  In order to sound decent you have to have good spacing and character formation, which is the key to sending good, readable CW.  I've used a Kent single lever for about 6 years now, and love it.  I have a small hand and the low profile is just right for me.  You have to be very patient adjusting it to taste, but when you do, it stays there.  I like light, narrow settings, and the sending is nearly effortless.  Try as many as you can...I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself. 

I have less problems with the traffic cops than I do with those who REFUSE to listen to the DX.  They can copy call signs, but can't copy "up"?  Since they never seem to listen, how can they hear their callsigns when the DX is calling them? 

The DX was off frequency?  He was on whatever frequency he was on!  Anything but .000 is not off frequency if you are the one calling!  This is crap!

Got 'em this morning in western AR at 1645...some blasted digital station was close off to the side, just unbelievable.  I guess he's moving around a bit, as I got him up 3. 

     This is a great subject.  My first thought is that the way everyone's approach to communications is idosyncratic.  Some of that can be affectation, but some of it must be brain wiring and differences in language skills.  Not everyone's CW skills are the same.  Let's also remember that experience is very important, as well as age.  Take two intelligent CW ops, one 28 years old, the other 60.  Sure, the 28 year old could have a better grasp of language, but it seems the 60 year old op has had 32 extra years to develop his/her language abilities, if both are equally serious in improving their skills, and I don't mean just CW skills. 

     You can't legislate excellence.  People are motivated differently.  Not everyone is as serious about this stuff as we are.