so i finally pulled the trigger on a Begali Simplex after months of borrowing a buddy's cheap paddle and i expected it to just feel... better? and it does in some ways but im having this weird issue where my dits are running together or i squeeze a character and it comes out totally wrong. like i'll go for a K and get something else entirely.

been playing with the weight and ratio settings on my K3 keyer and i think i had the weight cranked up too high from when my friend set it up. brought it back toward center and it helped a little. i'm running about 18wpm right now which is where i feel comfortable copying but maybe thats part of the problem — not sure if i should slow down and relearn muscle memory with the new paddle or just push through.

anyone else go through this adjustment period when switching paddles? feels like starting over almost. my spacing between characters is a mess too when i'm not concentrating.

yeah that adjustment period is real and honestly pretty normal. when i went from a straight key to iambic it took me probably two or three weeks before things felt automatic again. the Begali is a much lighter touch than most budget paddles so your hands are probably still squeezing too hard out of habit, which messes with the timing especially on squeeze keying.

one thing that helped me was dropping way back — like 12 or 13 wpm — and just running the alphabet over and over until the new paddle felt like an extension of my hand. not glamorous but it works. also check if you're doing mode A or mode B iambic on your K3, some people find one feels more natural depending on how they learned. the weight setting being off can definately cause the runon dits you're describing so sounds like you already found part of the issue there.

i had the exact same thing happen when i got my first decent paddle. took me a while to realize i was gripping it way too tight, like a death grip. once i consciously relaxed my hand it got a lot better. also are you resting your wrist on the desk or floating? that changed everything for me personally, i float now and have way more control.