advice from a contester for the Beginners
Hi --- if this is your first contest, and your
a bit nervous
this is a place to start !
Contesting is fun once you get the bug, so give it a try..
IN this contest YOU ARE THE DX !!
Idaho Stations,
the best thing to do is read the rules, however, this possibly being your first time,
your
probably operation from home, so there's lots of rules that don't apply to you..
so lets make this easy.
1. make sure you know the correct start / end
time. use GMT
watch out for the daylight savings time jump.
2. pick a frequency and stay put,
you're the DX , they need to find you.
Try to avoid interfering with other stations on the band.
Some interference is unavoidable, but try to move up or down a
little , if someone says your on their
Net freq, its probably better to just QSY to a
new spot. if you call CQ 20 times and get no answers
find a new freq, there must be interference somewhere.
See Rules for suggested operation frequencies
3. unless you want a pile up (see
#2 bottom of page),
its best to just run 100 watts, even then a pile up might happen.
When and IF things slow down and the pile up subsides, crank up the power. and
get some attention. spot yourself its ok in our QSO party
4. remember, stations trying to QSO with you can't read your mind,
its up to you to communicate
clear concise requests and directions,
everyone on the frequency needs to know exactly
WHO you are talking to !
5. use proper
phonetics and pro words like OVER
6. How to call CQ, something like "CQ CQ CQ this is "your call"
for the Idaho QSO party".
you may generate a PILE UP, if you do, don't lose your mind
or control of the frequency,
if all you hear is %&^%
K8 $#$# you SAY
"the K8 try again".. Then a loud 5 station comes in with several
8's,
DON"T answer the 5, if you do, within minutes you will
have chaos !
WHY ?? because you have set a precedence for stations not
to following
your directions.. you said 8 not 5.
You are the boss !!, say " please the K8 Only ", maybe
three K8's come back, if so, try to work them all ,
one at a time, get part of the call and keep narrowing the
field down to one .. Say the partial call, narrow
it down. make sure you copy their call correctly. IF YOUR NOT SURE ask
them to repeat it until you get it !
Make sure everyone on the frequency know exactly who you are talking to. and Feel
Free to ASK FOR A SPOT,
OK once you get their call letters (be friendly,
this isn't a dog eat dog contest)
Then say "their call" this is "your call sign", and your
report
your report is simple: your
3 letter county abbreviation (see #3
bottom of page)
"over".. I always include Idaho and the county, but
thats up to you
Know what to expect !!! HEY, they need to tell you their state,
However many will
give you their city and name, county, an RST, some want to chat. Try not to be rude ,
tell them your
name, thank them and say you need to get going since a lot
of stations are calling .. (or if you want to chat, then chat) , the only thing you need to
log is their state. Thats it .. if your logger
wants an RST just enter 59
forget everything else, JUST log it and move on.. if its a DX station like
vp2ky put VP2 in the state field ..
try to know the
state
abbreviations , if you don't know ASK .. many
software logging packages won't log incorrect abbreviations
A state quiz , if I hear Maine what do I type,
MA, ME, MI or I don't know, ????? If you don't know, ASK THEM !
and if all fails, just type any
state, like KS MO,,
don't fret, this is all for fun anyway. don't get bogged
down
Log
those "dupes"
How to handle "dupes" (duplicate contacts)
in contest logs. FYI, in these LOW KEY CONTESTS, not the big
dog eat dog contests
many hams aren't even in the contest, they aren't even logging contacts, so they
might call you more than once, What to do, SAY your a DUP,,, NO NO
It's easier to
just log them, and
move on. Don't spend time trying to tell them the time you worked them before,
NO ---- JUST LOG THEM
Leaving both contacts in your log ensures its a QSO...
Logging Software: also see the
Idaho Station page or out
Software page
Remember, you are "a winner" if you try. If your a bit confused you
might want an "elmer" or teacher.
Try to find someone at your club that's a contester, check out the
RESULTS for the call's of Idaho
stations that worked the contest last year. look
them up on QRZ.com you can get their email, (hopefully)
contact them, most will probably be willing to help you over the
learning curve. If you want you can
contact me at jcwilson((at))ida.net then we can move to a voice
call.
IT'S important to use a logger, makes it easy, and YOU CAN EASLEY
send in your logs to the boys down in Twin Falls
Remember the jobs not finished until the paper work
is done.. its important : Mail or email in your logs to the IDQP
Logs Link
you might also want to sign up for LoTW, its free, and is a easy way
to confirm contacts.
footnotes:
(2) A Pile Up, is where you have many stations calling you at once.
(3) Many stations have NO interest in your county other than for this
contest, you need to send the report, make it clear and quick.
Personally I use Phonetics, The three letters for Bannock county
is BAN, for fast contacts
I will say their call and
"India Delta" "Bravo Alpha November". over .
Remember, if you running a pile up, most stations
already have your info (again MOST ???), they've been on frequency trying to get your
attention
SO, Don't spell the entire county unless
they ask . Give them the 3 letters...
see the idaho county
list ".
(4) if you have questions I'm willing to talk on the phone, for hours
in necessary ! ,
so email me and lets set a time for that phone call .
I can help with N1MM too.. wa0dyu@gmail.com
OUT OF STATE STATIONS
PLEASE spot idaho stations, make
it easy for other to find us on the bands, it will be easier for you too,
you
won't have to tune for hours, you need to find the Idaho Stations.
use
clusters like http://www.dxsummit.fi. , when you
spot "comment" IDAHO IDQP.
