[SECC] SS-CW

[halken]

I thought I would echo some of K4BAI's suggestions - and I recall Bill 
Fisher (sk) mentioning some of these as well....

1 - Stay in the chair for the first six hours - at least.  Don't think 
about getting up.
2 - Take off times in half-hour increments...
3 - Prepare!
     I am always amazed at the email on the logging software reflectors 
about how to set something up -- 1 hour before the start.  The station 
should already be 100% checked out - the start is only 48 hours away.
     Update SCP and a history file if you use those...
     I always have a slip of paper under my elbow of stations I have 
worked in rare sections in years past.  If you can't remember WD0T is in 
SD - well, it's on your slip of paper.
     Study the propagation forecasts and activity by band by hour in 
past years.  (W4OC has national data.  Check your own past logs for 
local data)
4 - 15M is a good band to put a second radio on if you are SO2R.  At the 
start it's mostly the West Coast coming in, and over many years I have 
found it impossible to run on 15 from the East Coast at the start - even 
when signals were strong.  I would not go near 15M at the start if I 
only had one radio.  You can work nearly all those W6s later in the day 
on some other band, and none of the west coast sections are "rare."
5 - There are no meters like 40 meters.  W9RE and I have had chats and 
agree that you can post a very good score (probably not top 10) by just 
staying on 40.  Park on 7032 and call CQ for 24 hours and you can be 
over 160K points.  A low dipole on 40 is a great SS antenna.  A lot of 
serious contesters put up low dipoles just for SS.   You will need to be 
LOUD to hold down 7032, hi, hi.
6 - Check 160 on the hour and half hour.  There are some 160-only 
non-contesters who seem happy to hand out Qs every year.  You can't get 
them anywhere else and every Q counts if you are trying for a big score.
7 - My impression is the last hour and particularly the last half hour 
are very poor.  Others may see it differently.  Working the west coast 
on the low bands is esy (and necessary) on the first night.  On the 
second "night" remember the contest ends around sunset on the west 
coast... With a good station you can work the west coast on 40 and 80 at 
the end...but there won't be many of them left on the air...
8 - I have worked VY1 several times very early on Sunday morning, around 
1100Z-1200Z, by calling CQ on the bottom end of 40.  VY1JA used to S&P 
40M around that time every year and there is little competition.

Please post to 3830 and contribute your score to SECC - even if it's 10 
QSOs.

Most of all...Have fun -
73,
N4GG