so ive been trying to learn CW for about 4 months now and i can copy at around 12-13 wpm when im relaxed and listening to W1AW or just random QSOs on 40m but my sending is just... embarrassing. i got a cheap Taiwanese iambic paddle off ebay and i think the tension is set way too light but i cant figure out if thats the problem or if its just me being inconsistent with squeezing. my keyer is set to iambic mode B and honestly i dont even fully understand the difference between mode A and mode B yet. like when i try to squeeze both paddles for the intersymbol stuff i just get a jumbled mess.

been practicing with the keyer hooked up to a sidetone amp so i can hear myself without actually transmitting, which is good because nobody wants to hear what im putting out right now lol. should i just go back to a straight key for a while? some people online say that builds better habits but then other people say just stick with the paddle. getting conflicting advice everywhere i look.

oh man i went through exactly this about two years ago. the tension thing is real — if the paddle is too light you end up making contacts you didnt mean to and it throws everything off. i actually tightened mine up quite a bit more than what felt "right" at first and it made a huge difference because it forced me to be more deliberate with each squeeze rather than just kind of resting my fingers on the contacts.

on the mode A vs mode B thing, honestly for most people starting out it doesnt matter that much. mode B just completes the element that was in progress when you release, mode A cuts it off. some guys swear by one or the other but i spent way too long worrying about it. just pick one and leave it.

i wouldnt go back to a straight key personally. i mean nothing wrong with straight keys and some ops love them but if your goal is paddle sending then just stick with the paddle and put in the reps. the muscle memory takes time but it does click eventually. also try slowing the keyer speed down a little more than feels comfortable, like to the point where you think its too slow, and focus on clean characters. speed comes on its own after the accuracy is there.

the tension adjustment helped me too when i was learning. also just want to mention — have you tried Koch method or anything like that for the receiving side? i ask because 12-13 wpm copy is actually pretty decent for 4 months in, so youre not as far behind as you might think. plenty of guys on 40m operate around that speed and are happy to slow down if you just send QRS in your exchange.

dont be too hard on yourself about the sending, everyone sounds rough at first. first time i made a CW contact i sent my callsign wrong twice and just gave up and sent dit dit and called it done haha