so ive been a ham for about 3 years now mostly doing SSB and some digital but i keep getting pulled toward CW. theres just something about it that seems... i dont know, more satisfying? anyway i picked up a cheap single lever paddle off ebay and im using it with an old MFJ keyer i borrowed from a buddy at the club and honestly im struggling a bit to figure out if its me or the setup.

the tension on the paddle feels really mushy and i keep accidentally sending extra dits when i just want a dah. is that a tension issue with the paddle itself or am i holding my technique wrong? ive watched a bunch of youtube videos and everyones wrist position looks different so i really cant tell what im supposed to be doing. also the keyer speed is set around 12 wpm which is where my elmer told me to start but even that feels fast when im actually trying to think about what im sending not just copying practice.

any tips from people who went through this learning curve would be really appreciated. especially curious if there are paddle brands that are more forgiving for beginners or if i should just stick with what i have for now

the mushy tension thing is almost certainly the paddle, not you. cheap ebay paddles are kind of notorious for inconsistent feel and the gap adjustment is usually way off from the factory. before you give up on it try tightening the tension springs a bit and closing the gap down — you want the contacts to feel crisp and snappy, not spongy. theres usually two small screws for gap and tension adjustment and a lot of new paddles ship with way too much slop.

that said 12 wpm is totally fine to start at, dont let anyone pressure you to go faster. i actually learned on a straight key first before switching to a paddle and some people swear thats the right order because it forces you to think about each element. but plenty of people learn straight to iambic and do fine. the main thing is just get on the air even if its slow and sloppy — nobody on 40m CW is going to yell at you for sending at 12 wpm with a few mistakes, we all started somewhere.

if you want a cheap paddle that actually feels decent the Begali Simplex is great but overkill for where you're at. honestly the N3ZN paddles punch way above their price point if you want something better without spending Begali money

im in almost the exact same boat lol, been at CW for about 4 months now. one thing that helped me a ton was switching from trying to think about dots and dashes to just hearing the sound as a whole letter. like dont think dit-dah, just hear the sound of A and your brain starts to recognize it without translating. its a game changer once it clicks but it took me probably 6 weeks before it started feeling natural at all so dont get discouraged if its slow going