so ive been a general class for about two years now and mostly just do SSB but ive always wanted to learn CW properly. got myself a cheap dual paddle from amazon (not great i know but its what i could afford for now) and hooked it up to the keyer built into my IC-7300.

my problem is im not really sure what speed to practice at or how to set the keyer up right. the iambic mode A vs mode B thing is kind of going over my head and i dont know which one i should even be using. ive been trying to copy stuff on 40m in the evenings and i can get maybe half of it at like 10-12 wpm but then i fall behind and lose the whole exchange.

also when i try to send it sounds really uneven, like my dits and dahs arent consistent. is that a paddle tension thing or am i just doing something wrong with my hand position? anyway any advice from people who actually know CW would be really appreciated, i feel like im close to getting it but just missing something

dont stress too much about mode A vs B at first, honestly just pick one and stick with it. most people end up on mode B but it really doesnt matter until your speed gets up there and you start doing tight squeeze keying. for now just leave it on whatever the default is.

the uneven sending is almost certainly hand position and tension, super common when you're starting out. your paddle gap is probably too wide too — try tightening it up so theres just barely a whisker of space between the contacts. makes a huge difference. as for copy speed, the old rule is practice at the speed you want to operate, not below it. sounds counterintuitive but copying at 10 wpm when you want to do 15 just builds slow habits. look up the Koch method if you havent already, thats how i finally broke through after years of going nowhere with it

im kind of in the same boat as you actually, been at it for about 4 months now. what helped me the most was just using the LCWO website every single day even if only for like 15 minutes. and honestly dont worry about copying everything on the air yet, just getting used to the rhythm of real QSOs is valuable even if you only catch call signs and signal reports at first. the rest starts to click eventually from what people tell me anyway