Subject: [CQ-Contest] Contest Planning
Date: Sat, 25 Sep 1999 11:06:52 -0400 (EDT)
From: "k8cc" k8cc@comcast.net
To: cq-contest@contesting.com

The recent note about contest planning from Fred, K3ZO was right on, and I'd like to add a few comments that add to, or embellish what he wrote.

Fairly early in my contest career, I was somewhat surprised to learn that there were patterns to propagation and activity in DX contests. Up to that point, I had simply sat at the radio and worked whatever I was presented with. This is the difference between the casual contester, who simply sits down and operates, and the serious contester who has a plan to take maximum advantage likely conditions and activity.

The first question to answer for a given contest is whether you plan to operate full or part time. Even a part time effort can be "serious" if it is executed with a plan to maximize the score rather than simply spending a few hours in the operating chair. I'm not saying the latter can't be fun or should not be undertaken, but you'll like learn a lot more (and make more points) by preparing and operating to a plan.

In most contests other than a Sprint or NAQP, fatigue can or will become a factor. The point at which it does varies between individuals, and there are techniques to improve your physical conditioning or to better accommodate fatigue. The longer the contest, the more important it becomes to manage fatigue. You still may reach a point where you have to reach down inside and just "push through", but this is a lot easier if you have a plan.

If you're planning multi-op effort, there are more options for dealing with fatigue. The trick is to schedule a crew that has ENOUGH people so that nobody gets burned out, but you don't want TOO MANY operators so that people are standing around with nothing to do. With a multi-op, the activity plan is simple - there is no excuse for not working everything. In the major DX contests (CQWW, ARRL) there are no off times so whenever the single-op is away from the radio its hurting the score - the key is to MINIMIZE THE DAMAGE.

For the single op, the key to planning your effort is to categorize the different forms of activity and band openings, and then attack the bands on the basis of priority. Do what is important, and DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF. If you're playing DXer on some band when there is rate to be had on another, you're likely to be losing the contest. The key to single-op planning is to be ready to capitalize on the good times, and simply cope with the bad times.

The corollary to to "don't sweat the small stuff" is DON'T MISS ANYTHING EASY. This means spending enough time on a band to work all of the "easy" multipliers, but don't spend so much time that another (more important) activity is overlooked. Part of this is knowing who the "big" or "relatively local" stations are, and not missing them on any possible bands.

As an example, here is Michigan the single op typically must think like an East Coaster - that is, RUN EUROPE WHENEVER POSSIBLE. Our openings don't last as long, and the signals aren't as strong, but this still has proven to be the best strategy for us. Openings to Japan have to be anticipated, but the quality of the opening will determine whether this is more productive than pursuing Europe on a lower band. At all other times, the W8 single-op is playing DXer so activity patterns will be dictated by band conditions and the size of his or her station. In general, the slowest times are the middle of the afternoon and the middle of the night, so these are the best times (or to look at it another way, the least bad) times to take a break or get some sleep.

One tip for abbreviated sleeping is to always plan to sleep in multiples of 90 minutes. Some years ago this was written up in the YCCC newsletter that your body sleeps in 90 minute cycles, where it goes down into deep sleep then comes back up to shallow sleep. Its a lot easier to wake up from shallow sleep. The first time I tried this was at Dayton after a late night hospitality suite tour. It works!

Again, all of this requires a plan. Experienced DX contesters have this engrained into their brains - its called EXPERIENCE. Whether you're going to do a 48 hour full gonzo effort, or 12 hours sandwiched in between family responsibilities, having a plan will likely result in more points per hour in the chair, and that's what we're all after.

73, Dave K8CC