so ive been a ham for about 3 years now and mostly just done SSB but ive always wanted to learn morse. got myself a cheap set of paddles off ebay and my radio has a built in keyer so i figured now is the time to actually commit to it.

my question is about the iambic keyer modes - mine has mode A and mode B and i honestly cant figure out what the difference is supposed to be or which one i should start with. ive watched a few youtube videos but they kind of assume you already know what youre doing. also my timing feels way off, like i know the characters at like 5 wpm but everything turns to mush when i try to send with the paddle. is that normal at first or am i doing something fundamentally wrong

any tips from people who actually went through learning this would be really appreciated. feels like im all thumbs right now

the mode A vs mode B thing trips up a lot of people starting out honestly. the short version is they differ in how the keyer handles the last element when you release the paddle - mode B will add one more element if you were squeezing both paddles, mode A doesnt. most people end up preferring one or the other after a while but when youre just starting out it really doesnt matter much. just pick one and stick with it until the sending becomes more automatic.

the mush problem is almost certainly tension. new paddle users tend to death-grip the thing and your timing goes right out the window. try to use just your fingertips and let the spring do the work of returning, dont force it back yourself. also your paddle spacing might be too wide or too narrow which makes a huge difference. i spent two weeks thinking i was just bad at it before i realized my contact gap was way off.

the other thing i always tell people is dont practice sending until your receiving is solid at that speed. your brain needs to know what correct CW sounds like before your hands can reproduce it. G4FON's koch trainer is free and it genuinely works if you put in 15 minutes a day consistently.

oh man i went through this exact same thing about a year ago. the paddle just felt completely alien compared to a straight key. what helped me was actually slowing the keyer speed way down, like embarrassingly slow, and just focusing on making clean individual characters before trying to string anything together. i had mine set at maybe 8 wpm for way longer than felt comfortable but when i bumped it up later things clicked a lot faster than expected.

also dont underestimate just listening to a lot of CW on the bands even if you cant copy it yet. just having it in the background while youre doing other stuff seems to help your brain start recognizing patterns. good luck with it, theres something really satisfying about making a QSO in CW once it starts to come together