Hi Don
I will probably do a part-time effort in the RTTY - I usually go full
blast in the CQWW phone contest, so here is what *I* do.
Get lots of rest the week prior - be well rested. You do not want to
start tired. Have a nap Friday afternoon - wake about an hour or so
before the contest and have dinner. I follow the motto of "sleep when
Europe sleeps". Go to about 0800Z, then sleep for 2 cycles (three
hours). Follow your normal bedtime routine before retiring for bed,
follow your normal morning routine when you wake. Make sure your
shack is BRIGHT when you start in the morning. Follow the same
routine Sunday. Crash after the contest. Do NOT use the 5 Hour
Energy. Regular coffee during the day is fine. I like to drink
Gatoraide or water - NOT pop. Pop tends to leave you dehydrated.
Snack on fruit during the day. Water/Gatoraide will let you fall
asleep when you need to, and coffee in the morning helps to wake you
up.
Good luck!!
Tom - VE3CX
On Thu, Sep 8, 2011 at 4:26 PM, Don AA5AU <aa5au@bellsouth.net> wrote:
> I'm thinking I'm going to have a hard time staying alert for the CQWW RTTY
> Contest. Since I didn't operate this contest last year, I have no idea
> how I'm going to react on little sleep. I'm a big fan of sleep. The most I
> ever operated this contest was 44 hours in 1999 and that was only because 20
> meters was open to EU all night that year. I've noticed that 20 meters has
> been open all night to EU a lot here lately. If that's the case this year, I
> may have to operate more hours than I had hoped. My plan is to sleep 4 hours
> each night. Even if I do that, I'm afraid I won't be fully alert toward the
> end.
>
> A few years ago I switched from Coca Cola to Diet Coke in order to cut down
> on my sugar content (I have high blood sugar but not diabetic). I also like
> to consume a BC Powder every six hours or so to prevent headaches and to get
> some caffeine going. The problem with that is that when it's time to
> rest, the caffeine in the BC powder, combined with being jacked up for the
> contest makes it hard to go to sleep even though I'm physically very tired.
> I've never been a big coffee drinker and actually have quit drinking coffee
> all together. Prescription drugs are out of the question. One thing that
> helps me (I think) is that I tend not to eat big meals during contests. I'm
> not a big eater anyway.
>
> Recently I tried "5 Hour Energy" a couple of times when I was feeling tired
> at work and it really picked me up. I'm thinking about getting a few of
> those and trying them during the contest. The manufacturer recommends no
> more than two drinks a day which means I could do the whole contest on four
> shots (they aren't cheap). I know there are tons of energy drinks on the
> market today. I'm wondering how many contesters might be using them and if
> so, which ones might work best. I'm wondering what others do to stay awake
> and alert during iron man contests like CQWW RTTY?
>
> I certainly don't want to fall asleep at the keyboard with the auto-CQ going
> as one prominent contester did recently. HI HI
>
> 73, Don AA5AU
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