Which Morse key?
Four types, and they take different amounts of work off your hands. Which one to start with is not a matter of taste.
Every key does the same thing: close a circuit. They differ in how much of the timing they take over - and that decides what you learn while practising.
Straight key
One lever, one contact, vertical movement. It takes nothing off your hands: dot length, dash length and every gap are made by you.
That is its drawback and its entire value. Whoever sends cleanly on a straight key has understood the timing - a dash is three dots long, the gap between characters three, between words seven. On an automatic key you can send for years without ever learning that consciously.
For starting out it is the right choice. It is also the cheapest, and you can build one from a paperclip - see build a key.
Its limit: above roughly 20 to 25 WPM it becomes hard work, and long overs tire the arm. That is what the other three are for.
Bug: semi-automatic
A bug works sideways rather than vertically. Pushed one way, a weighted vibrating arm produces a string of dots - mechanically, without electronics. Pushed the other way, you still make the dashes by hand.
It comes from the era before electronics and was built for telegraphers who sent for hours. The weight on the arm sets the dot speed; the dashes are down to the human.
Hence the famous quirk: a bug sounds like its owner. Because only the dots are automatic, the dashes are almost always a little long - a handwriting experienced operators recognise. Some treasure exactly that; others find it untidy.
For learning a bug is unsuitable: it takes half the timing off your hands and distorts the other half.
Paddle and keyer: fully automatic
A paddle is at first only a sideways switch. The work is done by the electronic keyer behind it: it produces dots and dashes at exactly the right length with exactly the right gaps, for as long as you hold.
- Single paddle - one lever, two directions. Dots on one side, dashes on the other, never both at once.
- Dual paddle - two separate levers that can be squeezed together. Squeeze both and you get an alternating dot-dash-dot-dash string; this is called iambic and saves noticeable movement on characters like C (-.-.) and A (.-).
The keyer holds the timing perfectly even. In a contest and at high speed that is a real gain - and while learning it is a trap: it gets the timing right whether you have understood it or not.
What to start with
The straight key, and stay with it until the timing sits. After that, moving to a paddle takes days - the other way round is laborious, because you then have to acquire the feel for the lengths after the fact.
Whether single or dual paddle after that is genuinely taste. Both work up to the limit of what a human can send.
You can check all of this here: the sending trainer measures your timing and shows where dots and dashes drift out of ratio, whatever key you use. And the key lab lets you try both paddle types including iambic operation in the browser, before you buy anything.
Frequently asked questions
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Do I even need a key to start?
No. Learning to copy needs none at all, and copying comes first - sending is of little use if you cannot receive. For the first sending exercises the space bar or a finger on the screen will do.
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What does iambic mean?
On a dual paddle: squeeze both levers and the keyer alternates dot and dash. The name comes from the iamb, a metrical foot with the same alternation. It saves movement on characters that alternate - C, A, K, R and several more.
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Why does a bug sound so distinctive?
Because only the dots are made mechanically while the dashes come from the hand. The dashes almost always end up a little long, and that ratio differs for every operator - a handwriting you can recognise by ear.
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Is an expensive key better?
For the result on the air: no. A well-adjusted simple key sends more cleanly than a badly adjusted expensive one. What money buys is bearing play, weight and durability - how it feels and how long it lasts, not how it sounds.