so ive been licensed for about 8 months now and finally decided to get into CW properly. picked up a cheap dual-lever paddle off ebay and hooked it up to my KX2 with the built in keyer set to iambic mode A. i practiced on code practice oscillators for a few weeks before this and could copy maybe 12-13 wpm okay but sending is a completely different story

the thing is, i keep getting extra dits or dahs that i didnt mean to send. like i squeeze for the letter C and it just keeps going or cuts off weird. i watched a bunch of youtube videos and everyone makes it look so natural. is this a tension adjustment thing on the paddle or is it just a matter of time practicing. also not sure if mode A vs mode B makes a big difference for a beginner, someone mentioned mode B is easier but i dont really understand why

any advice appreciated, i really want to get good at this but its a bit discouraging right now

oh man i remember this exact phase, took me probably 3 months before my sending felt natural and i wasnt fighting the paddle. first thing id check is your paddle tension and spacing - most cheap ebay paddles come way too tight and with the contacts too close together which makes it really easy to accidentally trigger extra elements. back the tension off until it feels almost too loose, then work up from there.

on the mode A vs B thing - mode B remembers the last squeeze element and adds it after you let go, mode A doesnt. a lot of people find mode B helps with certain letters like K and C because of the timing but honestly for a beginner i wouldnt stress about it. just pick one and stick with it for a few weeks. the muscle memory thing is real, your fingers literally have to learn this independently from your brain and it takes time. slow down to like 8 or 9 wpm and send for 20-30 minutes every day, that matters way more than anything else

yeah what he said about the tension. also are you resting your wrist on something or holding your hand in the air? i was doing it wrong for weeks before someone at the club showed me i needed to let my wrist rest and just move my fingers. completely changed things. the KX2 keyer is fine btw so its probably not that