[CQ-Contest] General to Extra... Contesting advantages?

[Jim Brown]

Congrats on your upgrade. I remember how I felt 55 years ago when I made 
it.

The upgrade can help your scores by giving you access to more of the 
bands, but what matters a lot more is building your operating skills and 
your station. WHERE you operate can affect your score even more.

Interesting fact. John Laney, K4BAI, is one of the very best CW 
contesters I know. He's an OT like me (we've been working each other 
since Jr. High School), but he didn't get his Extra until a few years 
ago. John goes to a station on Bonnaire (PJ4) to operate big contests, 
where he regularly turns in top scores.

I've been contesting since 1956, but I didn't start getting halfway good 
at it until I joined a really good contest club after moving to W6 in 
2006. The mentoring I received from many top contesters has made me a 
lot better, and I'm having a lot more fun. I suggest that you look up 
some of the top contesters in your area and ask for help. W4OC might be 
a good start -- I work him in most NA contests. Another great resource 
is the National Contest Journal, a bi-monthly publication that's an 
additional subscription. It includes lots of articles by and about top 
contesters, station-building tips, and so on.

73, Jim K9YC

On Sat,5/21/2016 9:18 AM, Dave Edmonds wrote:
> HI Guys,
>
> I passed the Extra this morning, so no more concern about missing rare
> mults out of my segment...
>
> I'm curious.... Any idea about the impact on my contesting scores? How much
> of an advantage is an extra over a General class in contesting?
>
> I'm thrilled!