Getting Started in Contesting Bruce Draper, AA5B New Mexico

Getting Started in Contesting Bruce Draper, AA5B New Mexico State Convention/DCHF Albuquerque, NM Aug 20, 2005 Much of this material was originally created by Gary Schmidt W5ZL Gale Zeiler WB0YEA Susan King K5DU of the Central Texas DX and Contest Club

Big Gun or Little Pistol WB0YEA No matter what size station you’re operating, it’s a thrill to talk to somebody far away. AB5K AB5K Contests let you do that many times in one weekend!

What We’ll Cover What kind of ham enters a contest? What’s the object? Getting started in contesting The variety of contest types How to win a contest Online contesting resources

Who enters a contest? Why? The Casual Contester A desire to just have some fun, improve operating skills, and work new countries, states, counties, etc. from the smorgasbord of participating stations The Feisty Contester CQ Contest! A desire to compete individually, or as part of a club. The Committed Contester Able to leap tall buildings with a single bound Able to master the art of sleep deprivation N2IC in action

Benefits of Contesting It’s just FUN – Gets the competitive juices flowing Improves operating skills – Excellent preparation for emergency operations An excellent use of our allocated spectrum Remember: “Use it or lose it.”

Do I Have to Have a “Contest Station”? Plenty of Big Gun contest stations – Multiple radios – Multiple towers – Serious station automation Also plenty of “normal” stations There are opportunities for “guest operating” You don’t have to be a Big Gun to have Big Fun contesting!

How to Win a Contest Work a lot of stations Work as many “multipliers” as possible Work smart – Make good band change decisions – Use efficient operating techniques Don’t waste time or words (similar to emergency operations) Know when to “Run” and when to “Search & Pounce” Know when to take a break

Efficient Techniques When you’re getting started, spend a lot of time listening to other stations. After a little while, it’ll be obvious to you who’s doing it right. Simple things can make a big difference. – On CW, “TEST N2UT” vs “CQ TEST DE N2UT” can save enough time during the weekend to work a hundred more stations! – On phone, “Thanks, VP5K” vs “Thank you, QRZed contest, this is VP5K” can save enough time (AND YOUR VOICE) to work hundreds more QSOs.

Many different types of contests SSB, CW, RTTY DX ARRL, CQWW, IARU, WPX, foreign hosted, etc. National Field Day, Sweepstakes, NAQP, VHF/UHF, State QSO Parties, etc. Specialty Sprints, FOC Marathon, SOC, SKN, etc.

A Contest for All Seasons/Tastes Beginner to Expert Jan ARRL SKN ARRL VHF ARRL Field Day ARRL RTTY Sprint ARRL DX CQ WPX ARRL State QSO Parties VHF (Many) TQP Dec ARRL ARRL 160 10 NAQP ARRL UHF CQ WW DX ARRL Sweepstakes IARU HF World Championships NAQP Sprint

Multiple categories . . . designed to let you compete on a level playing field Single operator Packet-assisted or unassisted Power QRP, low, high Single band and/or mode (some contests) Multi-op, single transmitter Multi-op, multi-transmitter

When are contests run? Almost always on weekends Starting/ending times vary by contest Durations as short as 4 hours As long as 48 hours Maximum allowed operating hours also vary Good on-line contest calendar: www.hornucopia. com/contestcal/

Online Contesting Resources ARRL www.arrl.org – “ARRL Rate Sheet” newsletter http://www.arrl .org/contests/rate-sheet/ Contesting.com www.contesting.com National Contest Journal www.ncjweb.com

Best contests for getting your feet wet Field Day Straight Key Night State QSO Parties (many!)

What’s Req’d to Get Started? A radio and antennas A logging system Pencil & paper o Tried and true, but hard to keep track of dupes Computer-based logging software o Many options from freeware to networked DOS-based: TR Log ( 60-75) www.trlog.com NA ( 90) www.datomonline.com CT (free) www.k1ea.com Windows-based N1MM (free) www.n1mm.com WriteLog ( 75) www.writelog.com N3FJP ( 39-49) www.n3fjp.com o Can even trigger pre-recorded voice, CW, or RTTY exchanges

Advanced Operation: Interfacing Your Radio Serial, USB and Parallel Options Why do it? – Logging automation: less work for you higher QSO rates Date/time Freq/mode Contest exchange – Integrated “point-and-shoot” DX cluster operation – Trigger transmitted exchanges

How do I report my results? Officially – Snail mail – eMail Cabrillo file generated by most computerized logging programs (may be required to be declared a winner) Unofficially – “3830” On the air (right after the contest, 3830 kHz) http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/

What Can I Win? Trophies, plaques, certificates Goodies Example: WA State QSO Party “Salmon Run” category winners receive smoked salmon Trips! QSOs toward non-contest awards The awe and respect of your fellow competitors (aka “bragging rights”)

Local Help ARRL-affiliated “local” club: New Mexico Big River Contesters Informal NM group, with eMail reflector: nmcontesters (send eMail to [email protected] for info)