diff --git a/geomagio/processing/flag_spikes.py b/geomagio/processing/flag_spikes.py
index 57b74f1bdba13ed3219e7880b43a4bc71ac377f4..e91d8bf5b76c4ccb61385289c3db70d43dbc8560 100644
--- a/geomagio/processing/flag_spikes.py
+++ b/geomagio/processing/flag_spikes.py
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import os
 from datetime import datetime
 
 import typer
-from typing import Optional, List
+from typing import Optional
 
 from ..metadata import Metadata, MetadataFactory
 from ..algorithm.SpikesAlgorithm import SpikesAlgorithm
@@ -10,8 +10,8 @@ from ..algorithm.SpikesAlgorithm import SpikesAlgorithm
 
 def flag_spikes(
     observatory: str = typer.Option(..., help="Observatory code"),
-    channels: List[str] = typer.Option(
-        default=["F"], help="Channels to despike, default is F."
+    channels: str = typer.Option(
+        default=["F"], help="Channels to despike, default is F. Example input: HEZF"
     ),
     starttime: datetime = typer.Option(
         default=None,
@@ -22,11 +22,11 @@ def flag_spikes(
         help="End time for metadata, default is None. CLI example usage: --endtime '2024-01-01' ",
     ),
     window_size: Optional[int] = typer.Option(
-        default=10,
+        default=1000,
         help="Window size for despike algorithm",
     ),
     threshold: Optional[int] = typer.Option(
-        default=3,
+        default=6,
         help="Threshold for spike size",
     ),
     metadata_token: str = typer.Option(