[SECC] SS Tips

Fri Nov 6 08:15:51 PST 2009

For those who might have missed the recent mention here that the
archives for this reflector have been reset from "closed" to
"open,"...well they have and it seems to me to be a great idea.  I just
spent a very enjoyable 30 minutes reading the year 2000 archives which
will tell you all about how the club was formed and what was on people's
minds at the time.  It's fun reading and informative.

Anyway, with the indulgence (but not permission :-)) of those who wrote
up SS Tips in response to W4AN asking for any and all, I have pasted a
few from the archives below.  Have fun this weekend..I will be away from
the radio for CW unfortunately, but on for SSB
73, Hal
N4GG

Ill go first before I cut and paste:

1.  CQ the most on your best band.  At N4GG it is 40M by far.  I have
worked over 1000 Qs just on 40M several times - that's with a KW and
dipole at 75 feet.  You can start the contest on 40 and let the band
conditions take you across the country as darkness falls.  Just about
everybody shows up on 40 sooner or later.
2.  A lot of guys seem to like to show up in the last two hours to run
big pileups.  Virtually none of these folks S&P, you can't work them by
calling CQ.  If you only have one radio, you may do better with S&P the
last hour than with calling CQ.  I have found the last two hours to be
very productive, but the last 15 minutes is usually near-worthless.
3.  There is a temptation to start on 15 from the East Coast as you will
typically hear plenty of West Coast CQs.  This is heavily biased in
favor of the West Coast.  You won't get many mults out of the way doing
this, but they will.  You get no style points for working things on a
hard band like 28 or 1.8. 
4.  Don't get out of the chair the first 8 hours - per W4AN - I agree
100%.
5.  Log all dupes.
6.  Avoid over-use of cut numbers - as in any contest.  N is okay for
nine, the rest will get you into trouble.
7.  Don't be afraid of changing entry classes in mid stream.  If you are
running LP and sending "A" and its just awful, flip on the amp and keep
sending "A."  NEVER change your exchange during the contest.  Just make
sure when you submit your log that you make it clear you were sending A
but you are entering as "B."  Same goes for turning on packet half way
through if you feel like it.
8.  I usually work VY1JA on 40 in the very early morning - typically
around 1030Z-1100Z.  He has called me several years when I was CQing
around 7010.  J likes to tune from the very bottom of the band on up and
stays up very late at his local time.  Shhhhh, don't tell anybody.
9.  With regard to 160 - it used to be a waste, but, two years ago there
was a discussion on the top band reflector asking the hard-core 160
non-contester guys if they would hand out some points.  The time picked
was 0500Z.  I picked up about 12 stations that year I never would have
had otherwise.  Check 160 at 0500Z.
10.  My personal philosophy is to "turn everything on" which includes
running HP and packet, as this provides me the most points and assisted
class is still slightly less competitive than unassisted.  Lots of
people have their own philosophy - do what makes you happy.
11.  Submit your score for SECC, no matter how big or small (assuming
you are within the club circle).  I'm sure Brian would be happy to hand
you a gavel if we win one!

N4GG

Tips from November 2001:

----------------------
1.  I guess one tip from a low power perspective is to start in the
extra 
portion of the 20M band.  The big guns will be .025 and up, and for the 
past several years I have had no trouble finding room a little below 
14.025, with rates around 60/hr. to start.

2.  Don't wait too late to go to 40M.  If you wait until it goes long,
you 
will (obviously) miss some of the close-in stations and mults.

3.  We always hear about SS on Sunday afternoon.  You know going into
the 
contest that Sunday afternoon is going to be slow. It can be so slow
that 
it's painful, especially for low power folks.  Leave yourself some off
time 
so that you can take it on Sunday afternoon.  In addition, I have never
had 
much luck going late into Sunday evening.  I will probably not operate
past 
8 p.m. local time on Sunday.

4.  Remember the number one tip for any contest: call CQ.  If you are
not 
real comfortable with CW, call CQ at your comfortable speed on Sunday 
afternoon.  I guarantee you that the 24-hr contesters will be thankful
you 
are there and will gladly send at a speed in your comfort zone.

5.  If a CQing station is going faster than you can easily copy, just 
listen long enough so that you can get the exchange.  When you have it, 
give him a call.  I used to do that all the time.

6.  I've been listening to tapes of CWSS for the past week, driving to
and 
from work.  It helps me get the feel of the contest before the starting 
bell.  You might find a good station and tape some of his QSOs so you
can 
learn how he/she does it.  Somewhere I have a tape of CWSS when W4AN was

operating Val's station.

Having said all this -- bear in mind that as much as I enjoy CWSS, I've 
never done particularly well in it!

Good luck and I hope to see you all this weekend.

-        Jay, K4OGG
-        ------------------------------------

My experience is almost all QRP, but my suggestions should apply to a
lot
of low power ops as well.

1.  There are no style points for using all bands.  40 and 20 are the
main
bands. Period. Sure, 20 is frustrating on Saturday, but Sunday morning
can be great.

2.  80 provides good action for short periods of time. 15 and 10 can be
good multiplier bands. Monitor with the 2nd radio or do quick scans if
you use one radio.  Forget 160 unless you need the SO2R practice.

3.  QRP and LP can get a CQ frequency on a less crowded band; try it
once in a while but get out quickly if it's not working.  I consider a
run
of five a success.

4.  If you make 1000 QSOs, 1 multiplier is worth about 12 QSOs.  If you
make 500 QSOs, a mult is only worth 6 QSOs -- Gauge your time in a
pileup accordingly.  (Sweepstakes has been won without a sweep!)

4a.  Most rare multipliers will happen without special effort.  By
mid-morning
Sunday, I had all but one mult for last year's QRP sweep.  Luck happens.

5.  Contrary to K4OGG's comment, I have had some very good rates at
about 22-2300Z Sunday. Save a couple 1/2-hour slots for later, maybe
0100-0130 and 0200-0230.

6.  Check the weather map.  Extremely nice weather in the Upper Midwest
will make Sunday afternoon even slower!

73, Gary
K9AY

-----------------------
My tip: Don't worry about multipliers for the first 12 hours. Well,
maybe 
about YU/NWT. Concentrate on rate and the multipliers will come. You'll 
have time to look for missing sections during the slow Sunday period.

I've never gotten a sweep on CW, but I've done it 5 times on SSB with
low 
power. (I'll be part time on CW, watch for me all-out in the SSB
portion)

Bill Coleman, AA4LR

this is one of my favorite contests. a small station with good operating

strategy can do very well. tribander / wires can have lots of fun and be

competitive.

20 and 40 are the most important bands from the southeast. with low
power, 80 
can be good as well. the extra class portions of the bands are sometimes
less 
crowded than above 025, and can be an advantage for running. i have
never had 
great success running on 15 or 10 on CW. i have picked up a few novice
and 
tech Q's on 10 on sunday afternoon.

the biggest challenge in SS CW is keeping your lowest rate hours from
killing 
your score. i will not take a break usually before 0900 Z unless the
rate 
goes far below what i have set for my average rate goal. your rate can
and 
will go down on sunday. sunday evenings have been productive for me in
the 
past.

read all of the stuff on contesting.com about SS. it will give you
ideas. 
read W4AN's two radio article as well.

if you are only going to be on for a short period, please find as many
club 
members as possible. this helps not only each station, but the club
score as 
well.

have fun and hope to cu this weekend!  

73

don
W4OC  

That's it for 2001, but there is lots more good reading on the archives.

73
Hal

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