[Elecraft] start with straight key or paddles?

[Mike WA8BXN]

I think everyone should own a straight key - they come in handy at times and
do not cost that much. They will key any rig you might ever own, can't say
the same for keyers without additional circuitry. I mostly use some sort of
keyer and paddle. Which to learn on? I would lean toward the straight key
first. Going from that to the keyer/paddle should be relatively easy. The
MFJ code reader? I have one, it is not really that good (for anything) ---
there are free programs that you can run on a pc with a sound card that will
decode cw as well or better than the MFJ unit. The first step to learning CW
of course is that of receiving. As you listen to others on the air make some
notes of what others do that makes it hard to copy (like run everything
together) and try to avoid doing so yourself. 

73/72 - Mike WA8BXN