so ive been putting off learning CW for about two years now and i finally decided to just commit to it. been using lcwo.net for a few weeks and im slowly getting characters down but i want to start actually sending too, not just receiving in my head.

right now i have a really cheap single lever paddle i picked up at a hamfest, think it was like $15. it works but it feels kinda mushy if that makes sense, the contact tension is all over the place and i keep accidentally sending extra dits when i dont mean to. is this a keyer problem or a paddle problem or just me being a terrible operator lol

also my radio has a built in keyer — FT-891 — and i have it set to iambic mode B i think, should i be using something else? i read conflicting stuff online. any tips appreciated, still very much a beginner at this

welcome to the rabbit hole, fair warning you may end up spending more on paddles than you ever planned to haha. but to answer your question, yeah a mushy or poorly adjusted paddle will absolutely cause phantom dits and make your sending sound rough. the first thing id check is the contact gap — if its too small even a little vibration will close the circuit. most paddles have a small adjustment screw for that. even a cheap paddle can be made workable if you dial it in carefully.

as for iambic A vs B, honestly a lot of experienced ops just use mode A or even straight key mode with a paddle and never look back. mode B has that extra element completion thing at the end of a squeeze which some people love and others find totally confusing when starting out. id switch to mode A for now and not overthink it until your fist gets more consistent. the main thing is just sending every single day even if its just callsigns and numbers into a dummy load, muscle memory is everything with CW.

im in basically the same boat as you, started about 3 months ago. one thing that helped me a ton was slowing way down on lcwo and turning on the word spacing option so i had more time to think. i was trying to go too fast and just frustrating myself.

i dont have a great paddle either, mine came with my kit radio and its kind of terrible honestly. been eyeing a Begali or even just a decent Vibroplex but they're kind of expensive for someone whos not sure they'll stick with it. have you looked at the Czech made paddles, there's a brand called Palm I think that are supposed to be pretty decent for the price. anyway good luck, CW is really satisfying once it starts clicking