so i picked up a cheap dual lever paddle off ebay a few weeks ago and ive been trying to get into CW for the first time. passed my extra last year but always put off learning the code and figured its time to just do it.

the problem is whenever i try to send anything faster than like 12 wpm the dots just blur into a continuous tone. ive been messing with the tension and gap adjustment screws but i cant seem to find the sweet spot. my keyer is an old MFJ-464 that came with a box of stuff i bought at a hamfest. not sure if the problem is the paddle itself or my technique or maybe something in the keyer settings. i've watched a bunch of youtube videos and everyone makes it look effortless which is pretty discouraging honestly.

any advice from folks who went through this would be appreciated, especially if anyone has dealt with cheap paddles before

oh man i went through exactly this when i started. the thing nobody tells beginners is that cheap paddles have really inconsistent contact spacing and the gap between the paddle arm and the contact point is often way too small right out of the box. you want to open it up more than you think — most people set their gaps too tight and that causes exactly what youre describing, the dot contact stays closed a fraction too long.

also check your keyer's dit weight or ratio setting if the MFJ has one. some of those older units drift a bit and a heavier dit weight will definitely mush things together at higher speeds. honestly though if the paddle itself is really cheap it might just be fighting you. i used a no-name paddle for about 6 months before i gave up and got a Begali, which is probably overkill but i dont regret it at all. somewhere in the middle like a Bencher BY-1 would be a good step up without spending a ton.

dont get discouraged, 12 wpm is totally normal when youre starting out. i'd actually suggest slowing the keyer down even more and just working on clean sending rather than speed. speed comes by itself if your muscle memory is clean. i spent two months doing nothing but sending random letter groups at 8 wpm before i touched anything on the air and when i finally did it clicked pretty fast.

also just as a side note — have you tried just copying code yet? like listening practice? sometimes getting your ear trained actually helps your sending too, kinda hard to explain but it just syncs something up in your brain i think