This is a good thread, showing the wide variety of views within
the contesting community on time/contest committments...
In sum, this is all about motivation. Making the best score
while working around scheduling hurdles on any
given contest weekend. We all have them - whether it is
sleep, family or work. But let's be frank, you must
WANT IT. You must WANT to improve.
At NS3T, I have no chance to win a 48 hour DX contest.
I have no chance to win any 24 hour contest within a
48 hour DX contest.
I don't have any beams. I have a vertical, some dipoles and
two inverted vees in my suburban backyard.
But I still get on and work as hard as I can, trying to beat
my best score in Contest XX, beat as many people
as possible on the 3830 postings and work some new DX.
What have I found?
I beat some guys with beams because I'm more motivated.
I beat others because I find more mults while they are CQ'ing.
I beat a few more because I spent two weeks on my hands and
knees burying radials for my vertical, mainly for 160.
I beat others because I drank four huge glasses of water before
I went to bed in the ARRL SSB, all to force myself to get up two hours
later in the middle of the night to find mults on the low bands.
I beat others because I set up Writelog voice files so I could
go late at night on SSB and not disturb the XYL.
I beat others because I've made more of an effort to go SO2R
and figure out how best to improve my S&P rates.
I beat a couple more because I pore over stats and greylines
and past contest information to figure out when my 100 watt signal
has the best chance for a few mults from this zone or that continent.
I have an entire legal pad of scribblings from the past month right
now, filled with all kinds of ideas about antennas and contest
strategy for the big contests. Even though I CANNOT WIN,
I still try to think how can I get an edge on someone else.
Each year I check the various contest records - is there one
I could beat? The answer is YES! I now have the 3-land
record in CQ WW CW for 40 meter single band, low power.
Anyone with a beam could CRUSH my score. But it's
my record. I did it with two inverted vees.
It's my version of the Secrets of Contesting - self-motivation...
I always try to mentally prepare myself by thinking this way:
You may have better radios and better antennas, but I can
still beat you by working harder than you, both before and
during the contest - no matter how many hours you want to make it.
And all the while, I'm having FUN!!!
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