Contesting

Did you know that the “Spring” (or for us in the south, the Autumn) contesting season is upon us? As I write this, the John Moyle Field Day contest is in full swing. At the same time there is a Russian contest going and probably a few others as well. As this article goes to air, we will be in the middle of the CQ WPX contest, which is globally the second biggest contest of the year. Typically in the Spring and Autumn, the bands get a bit more livelier and your favourite contest is more likely to be successful (or is it just because there are lots of operators on at once? – That sounds like another good article subject!).

Contesting is one of the more popular elements of this great hobby. There are operators who only get on air when there is a contest, those that aim to get to somewhere rare for the contest, those that enjoy the occasional contest and those that roll their eyes, and go and mow the lawn instead, and everything in between. This article is about getting started in this aspect of the hobby and why you might like to try it.

A quick browse through the annual list on “contestcalendar.com” shows well over 1500 contests. Some are the big DX ones like CQWW and CQWPX, and some are like the Idaho QSO Party that will mainly only have hams from Idaho participating.

So, what do you need to participate in a contest? “What you have” is the answer to that one. While it is nice to have a metal plaque for top VK in the CQWW, most of the larger contests have a bunch of categories such as Single Band, single mode, VK, QRP, 24 hour only, Multi operator, single operator, and the list goes on. Pick one that you think you might be competitive in. If you have a good antenna for 10m, do 10m only. Try QRP (whatever that is! :D), or get some friends interested in it and see who does the best out of your own group. There is really only one criteria for any contest, and that is to have fun.

Obviously if you want to run at the top overall in one of the big contests, you are going to want to build a decent station, and many of my articles are about getting to that point – so I’m not going to harp on about that. One of the aims of contesting in general is to hone all the skills required to build a successful system, as well as the skills to operate the station.

Your local radio club can often be a good place to dip your toes in the contesting lake. There are a few contests that most VK6 clubs participate in. The Remembrance Day and the John Moyle Field Day contests are good examples of this. These two contests in particular are friendly, very popular in Australia and New Zealand, don’t require you to make 6 contacts a minute to be competitive and I think the best contests to cut your teeth on. The good thing about participating in a contest at your local club is that you can learn off the more experienced members, you get more involved in the club in general, and often you can leverage off a better station than you might be able to build at home. Even if there aren’t other club members wanting to participate in a contest, you can still use a club station to operate single operator. I don’t know any club in WA who isn’t always looking for new blood for their contesting team so it’s a great way of getting more involved in the club.

What makes a good contest operator? Its by no means just a big station. A good strategy is important. Look at the aims and rules of the contest well before you start. The RD is a friendly contest where most will give a name as well as a number, and a ruthless “59-29 Thank you QRZ Contest” response will keep contacts away in their droves. Conversely don’t hand your name over when working K3LR in the CQWW because he only wants your number and you probably just cost him 3 contacts for that minute. Talking about all the strategies would turn this article into a weekend session so I wont harp on more about that. What is important is have a nice process driven flow to each contact. Hand over the information required in the same way for each, be friendly or be super efficient depending on the contest, but even in the friendly contests, while its fun to stop for a minute long chat with a friend, don’t rag chew with every contact. There may be others waiting in line, rolling their eyes and wondering if it is worth the wait. Part of having that process driven approach is having everything around you set up so you can be efficient. A foot switch is a cheap accessory that makes a big difference to the flow. Having your contest logging software working and fully tested well before the contest starts is important. Nothing worse than getting 20% into a contest and finding out you have been giving out the wrong numbers (been there and done that). Read the rules! Often the rules for a particular contest change from year to year.

If you are doing a 24 or 48 hour contest, pick light meals that won’t sit heavy on your stomach and avoid caffeine for the same reason. Drink lots of water.

Think about head phones versus a good quality set of loud speakers. Headphones are great but get pretty heavy on the ears after a few hours. If you are doing a multi operator operation, don’t stand around the operator chatting with others as it is really distracting, and don’t imagine constant advice to the operator is welcomed either. Put some time into setting up audio and filtering on your receiver. Most modern radios these days have good options for managing audio response curves. A badly set up receiver can give you audio fatigue very quickly. A boom microphone can be a great accessory and not necessarily very expensive. A studio microphone from a music store, set up correctly in a modern radio with a transmit mike amp equaliser can be every bit as good as a high end ham microphone. Boom assemblies can be purchased on EBay for well under $50. Wireless keyboard and mouse will help keep your desk uncluttered and helps to maintain that flow you need to maximise efficiency.

So, never participated in a contest? Give it a go! Talk to your local club or knock on the door of one of the more active contest clubs, sit with an elmer who enjoys contesting, or just get on air and give it a shot anyway. Its great fun!