so i finally decided to stop making excuses and actually learn morse code. ive been licensed for about 4 years now and always told myself id get around to it. started doing the lcwo.net lessons a few weeks ago and im up to about 12 wpm copying but my sending is another story

i borrowed an old straight key from a club member to start but he also threw in a cheap paddle and a basic keyer and honestly im not sure im using it right. when i squeeze both paddles at the same time it does the dah-dit-dah thing (iambic i guess?) but half the time it sends stuff i didnt intend. like i squeeze for a dah and it also grabs an extra dit on the end. is that normal or am i holding it wrong or is the keyer set up wrong

also whats a reasonable speed to start actually getting on the air and making contacts, like is 10 wpm enough that someone will actually respond or will they just come back at 25 and leave me in the dust

the extra dit thing is almost definitely your timing on releasing the paddle — iambic keyers are pretty sensitive and if you hang on the dit paddle even a tiny bit after finishing a dah it'll grab another element. took me forever to unlearn that when i switched from a straight key. some people actually turn off the iambic mode entirely and just use single lever mode on the keyer until they get the feel for it, might be worth trying that first so you're not fighting the squeeze timing while you're still building muscle memory

as for getting on the air, 10 wpm is totally fine. just put QRS in your CQ or answer someone who's calling slow. there are also dedicated slow speed nets, the FISTS club has a few and the SKCC folks are super welcoming to newer CW ops. honestly if you call CQ at 10 wpm most decent operators will come back to you at whatever speed you sent, just dont panic when they do and take your time

yeah get on the air at 10, seriously just do it. i was terrified my first few qsos and i think i was like 8 wpm lol. the worst that happens is someone blasts back at you fast and you just send QRS? and they slow down or they dont and you move on. nobody cares. the slow speed portion of 40m around 7.050 or so is usually pretty friendly