so ive been working on getting my CW speed up over the past few months, started around 10wpm and im now somewhere in the 15-18 range depending on the day. the problem is my paddle to keyer connection or maybe just my technique - when i try to push past like 16wpm the dits and dahs start blending together or i get extra characters thrown in. its a cheap single lever paddle i picked up used, i dont know the brand honestly the label rubbed off.

my keyer is built into the radio (ts-590s) so i figure that part is probably fine. ive tried adjusting the tension on the paddle but it doesnt seem to help much. not sure if this is a gap/contact adjustment issue or if im just squeezing wrong or both. any of you guys go through this phase and figure out what actually helped

yeah that sounds like a classic gap adjustment issue combined with technique - both kind of feed into each other honestly. on single lever paddles especially, if the gap is too wide you end up having to move your fingers further than necessary and at speed that just falls apart. try closing the gap down a bit at a time, like barely a piece of paper width, and see if that cleans things up. also worth checking that both contacts are making clean solid connection and not bouncing, some of those no-name paddles have pretty soft contact springs.

that said at 15-18 wpm i'd probably look at swapping to an iambic dual lever paddle at some point if you're serious about pushing speed. the single lever will work but most people find it harder to get real smooth at higher speeds. doesnt have to be expensive, a Begali or Bencher are nice but i started on a cheap vibroplex copy for years. the TS-590 keyer is totally solid so yeah its not that.

im kind of in the same boat as you, only im still stuck around 12wpm lol so no great advice here but just wanted to say the gap adjustment thing is real - i spent like two weeks thinking i was just bad at CW and then someone at my club looked at my paddle and said the gap was way too wide and closed it down and suddenly it was way easier. so maybe start there before assuming its your technique