Welcome, Kevin!
I get my propagation forecasts from the ARRL. There's a newsletter that
comes out about once a week from Tad Cook. Just go to the ARRL web site,
sign in, and under your membership record there's a list of newsletters.
Don't skip the biweekly Contest Rate sheet while you're there, it's written
by my roommate, N0AX. There are other sources for propagation info, this is
the one I use.
Contest activity happens around the clock, depending of course on
propagation. As your antennas get better the bands seem to open earlier and
stay open later. There's nothing like a few contests to help you understand
propagation a lot better! I find that evening is best for the lower
frequency bands like 40 and 80 meters (and 160, but my 160 meter antennas
suck). During the daytime I hear people on 20 and sometimes 15 and
sometimes 10 meters. Contest weekends are a good time to find out just what
bands are open when. If you're just getting started, please be patient. The
conditions really do get a lot better than they are now. At some point in
the next few years you'll find 20 meters open around the clock, and you'll
able to work stations in other continents with low power and poor antennas
on 10 meters.
I'd encourage you to seek out a local amateur radio club; try to find your
local contest club. You'll find people to answer questions, and multi-op
stations sometimes have an empty seat for a newcomer. Take that seat. If
there's no spare seat, ask someone if you can hang out and watch. You'll
learn a bunch. I'm sure someone here on this list will help you find your
local club. Or ask your ARRL Section Manager or Division Director.
We're all learning, every contest. Some of us have just been learning
longer...
As for the sprint, yes, it's one of the most intense contests. It does take
practice, but no one that's in the Sprint was born knowing Morse code. They
practiced and practiced. Pretty soon it becomes second nature to get to
competent speeds. There are of course some amazingly talented individuals
whose speed surpasses all understanding, but you'll get your speed up by
just doing it..
There are software programs to simulate CW contest exchanges that can help
you improve your skills. Use your favorite search engine and find
MorseRunner by VE3NEA. There are others as well.
There is a Thursday-night slow speed sprint from time to time, and the NCCC
in California sponsors a weekly Thursday night sprint practice session.
But be sure to get on the air this next weekend! The ARRL DX CW Contest is
one of the premier contests of the year, and this next weekend will find a
lot of stations on the air. I'm driving for a couple of days from
Washington to Nevada to operate the contest with my friends. It's a social
event for us, plus some great time on the radio.
Good hunting!
73 de Dick, K6KR
-----Original Message-----
From: cq-contest-bounces@contesting.com
[mailto:cq-contest-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Kevin Williams
Sent: Sunday, February 10, 2008 6:36 PM
To: cq-contest@contesting.com
Subject: [CQ-Contest] New to Contesting - Questions
I am just starting in contesting, listened to the contests this weekend to
get a feel for how it works
been reading this list for a while
I read as much as I could find online, but of course I had a few questions
1 - in a few of the advice articles talk about planning for propagation -
where can I get propagation forcast for the contest weekends?
2 - contest run 24 hours (varies of course) but I only hear activity in the
evenings - am I missing the daytime stuff, or does everyone concentrate on
the evenings?
3 - listened to the Sprint saturday night - overall one of the most intense
events I have heard - seems extremely hard to get a contact - any the ops
give their call so fast, I had a hard time keeping up - does it get easier
to catch the calls with practice?
Thanks
KD8EZS
Kevin
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