HOW CAN YOU FIND WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR CQ WW SCORE?

By Jamie Dupree NS3T 

To help you think about ways to get yourself ready for the CQ WW DX SSB Contest, Braco Memic OE1EMS gave radio-sport.net a comprehensive list of ideas for how to maximize your time on the air.

Maybe some of these can help your score in 2007!

Radio-sport.net: How many hours do you usually plan for sleep in CQWW?

OE1EMS: "I made the same failure ever year...too much work on station improvements until the last minute before the contest starts...it meant it was always very hard to stay awake for whole 48 hours and usually I left the second day in the middle of the contest to get two hours of sleep."

Radio-sport.net: What are some of your ideas on contest strategy?

OE1EMS:

• Be sure your station is working properly and be sure you know how it works!

• Try to finish all work on the station at least 1-2 days before the contest

• If you made some improvements, check how they work before the contest

• Never use hardware and software if you're not 100% sure how it works

• Clean your shack, radios and computers

• Make your station ergonomic and comfortable

• Don't enter a contest tired. Sometimes it is better to start a contest two hours late (this is something I'm still working on.)

• Choose the right food; think about how and what to eat during the contest. Choose something light, with enough energy.

• Don't drink too much to avoid bathroom breaks

• Stay on the highest frequency where you can work 3 point DX and keep rate high

• To maximize QSO's, use alternate CQ-ing if rate on one radio is low

• To maximize QSO's, don't work every station you find on the second radio

• To maximize mults, choose a time with low rate, no DX, or on low band sunrise for S&P with two radios

• To maximize mults, move every multiplier you can

• Analyze results and logs from past years to find failures

• Make comparison with your target and actual score during the contest

• Never compare with others during the contest

• Don't change your strategy because you heard that somebody else is "better"