[PVRCNC] SS Strategies from K3MM

[Jim Jordan K4QPL]

This was on the main PVRC reflector. It is so important I wanted everyone to be sure and read and study it, so have copied to this reflector as well. If you're already on the main reflector, don't worry. It won't hurt to read it twice

73 and good hunting,

Jim, K4QPL

Sweepstakes Strategy
 
I spent some time today putting together an SS strategy list.  I'm sure I've forgotten a few items, but I think I've got most of the main points that I feel are important for Sweepstakes in particular.  These are geared toward the most serious operators, but most of them will apply to casual ops as well.
 
            -           Ty K3MM
 
Club Strategies:
 
1.                  Do the time!
2.                  Encourage single-op operation.  Single-ops with any meager station should be able to generate more score individually than as part of a multi-op group.  SS is a great time to wean the novice contest operator.
3.                  HMO if you want to have more fun and/or increase club score at the possible expense of your individual recognition by ARRL.
4.                  Encourage the use of high power to maximize overall Club score.
5.                  Having a club activity sked or skeds is fine, but I typically don't find them very productive.  I wont participate in them unless I have a second radio to spare.
6.                  Discourage the practice of selective calling, ie., just going around selectively working other club members.  I don't think it's very ethical and the time is better spent working everyone you can at a high rate and sending in a log for PVRC!  However, I do encourage everyone to work stations on the shortest skip band possible (usually the lowest frequency band with any activity).  This automatically tends to keep all the points closer to home, ie., in PVRC territory rather than in NCCC territory.
 
 
Operating strategies:
 
Operate the start of the contest until approximately 2-3 AM local time without a break.  Don't give up too early.  Things will be extremely slow on Sunday afternoon, so save plenty of off time for then.  Get back on early, perhaps even as early as 5AM local.  40 meters on Sunday morning is usually very productive.  Take off ½ hour increments Sunday afternoon, using up most or all of the rest of your off time.  Sunday evening is usually much more productive than Sunday afternoon.
Get on at least 15 to 30 minutes before the contest to assess the band conditions, warm up the keyboard fingers and morse code decoder or your golden CQ voice.  Use this period to decide your beginning strategies such as CQ or S&P, which band or bands, etc.
SS is ALL ABOUT QSO RATE!  Keep an eye on your rate meter at all times and do not continue doing anything that makes it go down.
Do not chase multipliers!  If you do go S&P, don't just look for VY1JA, work everything you can find that is new.  If you put in a decent effort, you will work just about all of them without trying, so don't sacrifice rate for a multiplier.  
Always call CQ on at least 1 radio!  This is especially important late in the contest if you are full time.  By then, S&P will be a needle in the haystack.  Many part-timers will not call CQ and if you aren't calling CQ, you wont work them.
If you S&P, only do it at the beginning of the contest when EVERYONE is a new QSO or perhaps on Sunday afternoon for very short periods of time if things are very slow.  It's very hard to justify S&P as a single radio operator.  SO2Rs can spare a radio to do this searching, but even they will often find that 2 radio alternate CQing is more productive.
BE ACCURATE!  The SS exchange is very long and time consuming.  If you don't get a piece of it correct, you lose the whole thing.  Get repeats if needed.    This is the reason for my next rule:
Do not call or answer stations that are hard to copy while rates are good.  You will waste a lot of time on repeats while you could have been working 3 other guys with good signals.  You may not even complete the QSO.  Remember you only need 1 QSO with each station sometime during the contest period.  Chances are you will be able to work the weak station later with a much better signal and in a much shorter period of time.  
Get to the next hot band early.  Short skip is very important from the east coast.  There is a huge population density in the Northeast and you need to be able to work it all.  This means getting on 40 before it is open to the Midwest and certainly before its open to California.  Same on 80.  Not only will you easily work up and down the coast, but it gives you a good opportunity to acquire a prime run frequency before the hoards descend!  I've always found 80 meters and particularly 75 meter phone to particularly hot near the bottom of the sunspot cycle.  It's a bottomless pit of both contesters and local "noncontesters" that will give you a QSO if you talk them through it.
Play to your stations strengths!  You only need one contact per station and it makes no difference if that band is 10 or 80.  If you have a good antenna on 80 and trap vertical dummy load on 40, just hammer away on 80!  Don't worry about band distribution of QSOs.  It means nothing in SS.  I've had some of my best scores with way more than half of my QSOs on 75 phone.
Operate the contest on YOUR terms.  It's easy to get disheartened when you listen to the endless runs produced by more western or southern stations on the high bands.  My advice:  IGNORE them!  Avoid them!  Don't TRY to work them!  All those big guns will be around for the entire contest and will be much easier to work later.they may even come looking for you later.  Play hard to get. Concentrate on working the east coast on short skip on the lower bands or working the little guys by calling CQ.  Remember you need to worry about working the part time guys more than the serious contesters.  The part-timers will only be there for a short period of time.get 'em now or lose 'em.  
Remain flexible.  Don't be afraid to change your strategy at any time if what your doing doesn't seem to be working well.  Keep an eye on the high bands for short skip/ backscatter openings.  When these occur, these otherwise lackluster bands can produce huge runs because you can work both short and long at the same time, giving you good geographic coverage.  Flexibility is a lot easier when you have a second receiver.  You can use it to gauge which band or even frequency to be on, find your next run frequency, search for NWT, etc., with minimal or no effect on your primary radio performance.
PACKET:  If you use packet (Unlimited class), use it very sparingly.  Frankly I think it's of very limited value in SS other than for discovering general band conditions or for finding the last couple of multipliers.  If you do enter this class, be very careful that you don't let it diminish your rate.  It's better suited for SO2R operators.single ops cannot afford to stop calling CQ and possibly losing a run frequency.
 
 
Station strategies:
 
 
1.                  Low, efficient antennas generally work best.  Wires should be at least ¼ wavelength off the ground at the feed point.  Antennas this low generally benefit from a ground reflector wire to increase efficiency and produce more high-elevation radiation for very short skip openings.  3/8 wavelength height is probably better for overall coverage.  Antennas this low are usually fairly omnidirectional, so don't worry too much about orientation.  Dipoles are generally the most efficient, but inverted V's and slopers also work well, although they tend to be noisier.  Dipoles, Inv V's, especially slopers should typically be oriented broadside to the east coast if possible.  Slopers should, of course, slope to the west or northwest.  On the higher bands a little more height usually helps since the angles that work are generally lower.  Something closer to ½ wavelength is probably preferable.  Here again, you only need ONE good antenna for longer paths and ONE good ant
 enna for the real short stuff for a complete SS package.  The primary goal is to be able to get a good signal into every corner of the US at some time on any one band.  It's generally better if you can cover more angles with one antenna at the same time, since you are being heard over a larger area at the same time, but early in the contest I think this is less important.
2.                  If your lower band antennas are particularly noisy, it's especially important to put up one good RX antenna, such as a EWE or loop.  They are fairly broad, so point it West or Northwest.  Make certain you can switch back and forth between it and the TX antenna with a simple flick of a switch or button.
3.                  Be comfortable.  Have everything within reach of your headphone cord and preferable from your chair.  Relieve yourself just before the contest and try not to drink too much before and during.  Keep an empty jar handy just in case ;)  Eat light, high protein, low carb snacks during the contest.  I also try to avoid aspartame (Nutrasweet) and tea, which are diuretics as well as caffeine until very late in the contest if necessary.  I always keep some Excedrin nearby or whatever works for you on headaches, etc.  There is nothing worse than trying to work a contest with a splitting headache, whatever the cause.