[SECC] Contesting, of course!

[Brian Wilcox]

Can you believe it's September already? For me that is the very faint, but growing signal indicating that it's time to start getting serious about contest planning and execution. Get the dates on the calendar NOW! 

Make sure you have the correct start times -test all of the equipment/antennas ahead of time - no major changes on the day of the contest etc...you should know the drill - For the newer contesters, my strongest recommendation is to thoughouly understand the rules of each contest. The beauty of contesting is that is takes very little change in the rules to completely change the flow and strategy of a contest. In Sprint, the QSY rule is very unique, the short exchange in the CQWW DX  which makes for great rate and the amount of DX participation is very unique, the long exchange in SS which rewards accuracy is unique. I would encourage YOU to share with the club your thoughts or questions on contest preparation and those contests you prefer and why. Let us hear from you on this topic. Let's help the new guys/women that have recently joined and challenge the old pros to step it up even further this year.

As you may know, one of the items I feel the club can really improve upon is the participation from it's members.  Regardless of your favorite flavor - there will be something to suit just about everyone's fancy in the next few months. I hope you will join me in participating in most of the following. To help your planning here are just a few to whet your appetite:


9-12/13 WAE SSB
9/12/13 ARRL VHF
9/13     CW Sprint - The most intense 4 hours on the radio! . Jeff KU8E is signing up teams now. Even if you don't play - listen to hear what all the fuss is about
9/20     SSB Sprint - Sign up for a team next week!
9/26/27 CQWW DX RTTY 

10-3/4 CQP  SECC members have historically done very well in this contest and 6 land propagation is usually very good to our state. 
10-11  RTTY Sprint

10-24/25 CQWW DX SSB  

11-7/9  SS CW (The SECC will go for the gavel - make sure to go all out and score for the club!)
11-21/23 SS SSB (The SECC will go for the gavel - make sure to go all out and score for the club)

11-28/29 CQWW CW 

12-4/6 CQ160
12-12/13 ARRL 10m
12-26/27 SPTC

More information can be found at the ARRL, CQ and NCJ websites. Are you going to be a participant this year? Are YOU going to be the operator that helps the club achieve to the next level? A question for those that do operate quite a bit - are you ready this year to go a full 24 in SS or 48 in CQWW? what did you do last year? You can't help the club if you don't participate - CU in the QRM!  

73 Brian NA4BW - President SECC 2009-2010
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