With Fall just around the corner, most people are looking forward to cooler weather, the changing of the leaves, the sounds and smells of wood burning in the fireplace, the upcoming holidays, and time spent with family and loved ones.

Well, enough about "normal" people ... many Amateur Radio operators, especially those who enjoy working Amateur Radio Contests, are looking forward to the "Contest Season", which traditionally begins in October.

What exactly is an Amateur Radio Contest? Well, second only to flying around the earth at seventeen-thousand miles an hour and operating from the Space Shuttle, Amateur Radio Contesting is probably the most exhilarating experience you can have in ham radio. The basic concept behind contests is to see how many contacts you can make and accurately log, in as many different places, during the contest operating time period. It is a test of your station, your operating skills, and of yourself. CW Contests are an excellent way to improve your CW skills. Contests are also a great way to work new states for your "Worked All States" award or add new countries to your "DXCC" totals.

Contests are usually domestic (US and Canada), International, or a combination of both. Operating modes are usually CW, Phone, and even RTTY! There are several operating categories, so most folks can usually find one that matches their abilities (and station). These include single operator (one person performs all the operating and logging) or multi operator (several people get to together to operate). You can run High Power (greater than 150 Watts), Low Power (less than 150 Watts), or QRP (less than 5 Watts). Some contests offer the option of operating all bands, 160 through 10 Meters, or just one band. The "Worked All Prefixes" Contest, even has a class for folks using just a tri-bander and a wire antenna. For those without HF capabilities, there are even VHF and UHF contests. There are plenty of categories to choose from. Just check the contest rules, and see if there is a category for you.

Contrary to what you may think, a big station is not necessary to get involved with contesting. Yes, many towers, big antennas, and lots of power will probably put you in the "Top 10", but in order for these "Big Guns" to do that well, there needs to be plenty of average stations for them to work. The average ham probably has a tri-bander or dipole, and is running around 100 Watts. That is all you need to participate and get in on the fun.

If you plan to participate seriously in a contest, you will have to submit your log. This will get your call listed in the results and make you eligible to win any possible awards. Serious contesters use a variety of software programs to let their computer do the work of keeping track of contacts and scoring. However, if you're not using a computer, you can still participate. Most contest sponsors still give you the option of submitting your contest logs on paper. You can usually send for the paper forms or download them from the Internet.

OK, so now you've read the rules, have the log sheets, and your station is ready to go. What next? It's time to get on the air and start making contacts.

The start of the contest is usually very frantic. If you're new at contesting, it's probably best for you to begin tuning around and answering other stations calling "CQ Contest". This operating technique is called "Search & Pounce". This starts filling your log and gets you into the rhythm of the contest. When answering stations, use your full callsign. Many people, especially newer hams, have gotten into the bad habit of calling with the "last two" letters of their call. This is not the correct way to call stations.

Be sure to log all the required information, and pay close attention to accuracy. That means making sure you log callsigns and exchanges correctly. Errors will reduce your score and if the errors are excessive, will lead to disqualification. You certainly don't want that to happen.

Also, pay attention to what are called "dupes" or duplicate contacts. You don't want to work stations you've already logged, so check to make sure you haven't already worked a station, before you call him. Keep in mind, some contests only let you work a station once, regardless of band. You can only work the station one time, period. Other contests allow you to work stations again on each band. This is one area where computer logging really helps.

In addition to trying to contact everyone you hear, also make sure you pick up new "multipliers" along the way. Depending on the contest, multipliers can be counties, ARRL Sections, states, islands, countries, zones, etc. Multipliers end up being important, because usually your final score is determined by the total contacts multiplied by the number of multipliers. The more contacts you can make in as many different multipliers as possible, the bigger score you can get. Some contests have been won or lost by one or two extra multipliers.

Once you're comfortable answering calls, then it's time to try calling "CQ Contest" yourself! Find a clear frequency, start calling, and be prepared for people to start answering you. To maximize your score, try and operate as much as you can (and within the contest time limits). If you can only put in a few hours, be sure to try and operate a few hours near the end of the contest. By this time of the contest, the serious stations will have worked almost everyone that they can. Because you are getting on and calling "CQ" late in the contest, you're considered "fresh meat" and will become very popular very quickly! This is because you're a new station and no one has worked you yet. Keep calling CQ ... eventually guys will find you. If you really get on a roll, this could be a real treat working one station after the other! This is what contesters call "running" and is the best way to maximize the number of contacts.

Besides getting on the air and operating, another excellent way to learn about contesting, is to join a local Contest Club. Members of Contest Clubs are a good source of information. Occasionally, some members may operate in the Multi-operator category and extend invitations to members to help operate. If your station isn't very competitive (or even if you don't have a station), this is a good way to operate a contest and learn at the same time. Several contests have a "club competition", where each club member submits their individual score towards the club effort. It doesn't matter how large or small your score may be, as long as you get on and make contacts, contribute your score toward the club's effort. It could make the difference in how the club finishes.

Once you've decided to participate in a contest, there are two more things you should do. First, is to set a goal. This could be something like a certain number of contacts, working all the states, making a certain score, or beating last year's score. Then, make sure you stick to it. If you surpass your goal with relative ease, you can always set it higher as you go along.

And finally, the most important aspect of contesting, is HAVE FUN!

73, Ron WD4AHZ
wd4ahz@arrl.net