so ive been a tech for like 3 years and just upgraded to general last month and I really want to get into CW. I know its not required anymore but something about it just appeals to me, probably from watching old war movies lol. anyway i picked up a used Bencher BY-1 paddle and a MFJ keyer that i found at a hamfest for pretty cheap.

my problem is i cannot get the feel right. like when i try to send, my dits and dahs come out all mushy and run together. ive been messing with the weight and speed settings on the keyer but honestly i dont really understand what weight does vs just changing the speed. im currently trying to practice around 12-13 wpm which feels slow but i get lost faster than that. also my squeeze keying is a disaster, i keep accidentally triggering the wrong element. is this just a practice thing or am i missing something with how i have the paddle adjusted?

also any tips on how to actually start hearing code better would be appreciated. ive been using the LCWO website but after a few characters i just fall behind and lose it completely.

oh man, the weight thing confused me for a long time too. basically weight adjusts the ratio of mark to space within each element — if your dits and dahs sound like they're bleeding together, try backing the weight down a little from center. most people run it pretty close to 50 but even small adjustments make a big difference. the MFJ keyers can be a bit finicky with that pot honestly, sometimes they dont track smoothly across the range.

for the paddle adjustment itself, the gap between your paddle contacts is huge. if the gap is too loose (too much space) you'll be working harder and overshooting, if its too tight you get accidental touches. I'd close it down until you just barely stop getting false triggers, then open it just a hair. takes some fiddling to find the sweet spot for your particular hand pressure.

the squeeze keying thing — dont even worry about it yet. seriously. learn to send clean single-lever style first and get your muscle memory built up. squeeze mode is great but it adds a whole layer of timing complexity that'll just frustrate you at this stage. plenty of ops barely use it anyway.

LCWO is good but if you're falling behind try the Koch method and just do two characters at a time until you're at 90% and then add the next one. dont try to hear code slower than you actually want to operate — keep the character speed at like 18-20 wpm even if the word spacing is wider. Farnsworth method. way better than learning slow and having to unlearn it later.

i went through almost the exact same thing last year lol. the bencher paddles are nice but I remember reading somewhere that they ship with the tension springs pretty stiff and some people loosen them off a bit. I messed with mine for weeks before it felt right.

one thing that actually helped me a ton was just listening to slow code nets while doing something else, like washing dishes or whatever. not even trying to copy it, just letting it wash over you. i think it helps your brain start to recognize the rhythm of actual QSOs instead of just isolated characters from practice software. after a while the common words like CQ and 73 and DE just pop out automatically without thinking.

still working on it myself tbh, copying full callsigns in a pileup is still rough for me