[SECC] Winning SS

[Hal Kennedy]

Here is a quick and incomplete compilation of my own 40 years of SS
contesting and reading the competitions' reflectors:

1.  Forget 160.
2.  Forget 10 at this part of the sunspot cycle.
3.  Forget 15 if you are on the East Coast.  You will hear the left
coast running on 15 - this is a trap.  If you study past winners,
geography and propagation; the West Coast runs a larger population
center (East Coast) than vice versa.  Make those W6's work us on 40 and
80.  To misquote Alfonso Bedoya: "15 meters?, 15 meters?, we don't need
no stinkin 15 meters!"
4.  You must stay in the chair for the first 10 hours.  Exception:
Having fun - don't care about score - in which case get on for the last
hour.
5.  Its all high angle.  Dipoles beat high yagis in this contest - to a
point.  If you own a dipole, try stringing a 1/2 wavelength wire on the
ground directly under it for SS.
6.  The "U" category is less competitive, but less so every year.  I've
been top ten in that category for the last two years, running just two
multi-band dipoles, but it is getting harder and harder. 
7.  You can keep an internet display of solar disturbances at your elbow
- even if you are unassisted.  Solar "up" and bands getting bad? - stay
in the chair vs. taking a break.
8.  The winning margin comes from working the casual and nearly-uniques.
These guys sometimes call CQ for an hour on Sunday morning then go to
church.  You must S&P to find them.
9.  You must work VY1JA to get 80 sections.  Secret only available by
private email.  Still reading?
10.  All off times should be between 30 and 30.1 minutes in length - see
above.
11.  The last hour is hot.  Taking the ending hours off is a BIG
mistake.
12.  The Sunday doldrums are talked about ad nausea by losers.  My
personal observation is that the contest is won on Sunday afternoon.
WP2R wins every year - he is behind every year until Sunday afternoon.
I am behind every year and finish "top ten" by catching up Sunday
afternoon.  It is an S&P game on Sunday - the lazy CQ-CQ-CQ ops complain
about no action because they are L-A-Z-Y.  I run an 80 rate on Sunday
afternoon - 40 on the CQ radio and 40 on the S&P radio (SO2R).  I can
run nearly an 80 rate just S&P on Sunday afternoon - I have the logs
that show this.
13.  Sunday is a great practice field for SO2R.

Insights one and all?

Hal
N4GG