so ive been working on getting my CW speed up over the past few months and im stuck around 18-20 wpm. the problem isnt really copying, its my sending that falls apart. i use an old Bencher BY-1 paddle into a Winkeyer USB and at slower speeds everything sounds clean but once i push past like 22 wpm the dits start running together or i get extra dahs i didnt intend. ive messed with the weight setting in the Winkeyer software a bit but honestly i dont fully understand what im tweaking.

im wondering if its a paddle tension issue or if its just my technique needs work. the gap between the two paddles feels about right to me but i honestly dont have anything to compare it to. been doing CW for about a year and a half, passed my general last spring. any advice from people who have been through this would be really appreciated, feeling a little stuck

yeah this is super common when you're pushing speed and the Winkeyer weight setting trips people up all the time. the weight control adjusts the dit/dah ratio slightly — if you're getting smooshed dits at higher speeds try backing the weight down a notch or two from default. default is usually 50 and i'd try 47 or 48 and see if that cleans things up.

also honestly the Bencher BY-1 is a decent paddle but the tension and gap adjustments are pretty finicky on those. i'd spend some time really dialing in the gap — should be about the thickness of a business card on each side, maybe a hair less. too much gap and your fingers are traveling too far, especially when you're trying to go fast. it adds up. try slowing back down to where you sound clean, get the paddle perfectly adjusted there, then creep the speed up incrementally. dont jump 5 wpm at a time, go up 1 wpm and sit there until it feels automatic.

I had almost the exact same problem last year. for me it turned out i was gripping the paddle too tight when i sped up, like my whole hand would tense up without me realizing it. my elmer told me to rest my elbow on the table and keep my wrist loose and it actually made a noticeable difference. sounds dumb but worth checking if you havent thought about it