so ive been licensed about 8 months now (general) and i keep seeing people talk about CQ WW and ARRL and Field Day and honestly its a little overwhelming trying to figure out where to even start. like i know Field Day is a big deal and i did go to my clubs setup last june but i was basically just watching and handing people coffee. i want to actually operate this time.

someone at the club mentioned SOTA and i started looking into that and it seems like a totally different vibe from sitting in front of a radio for 48 hours straight. more like hiking with a radio which honestly sounds more fun to me personally. but i dont want to miss out on the contesting stuff either if thats where you really learn to work DX fast.

i guess my question is — for someone who is still pretty new, which of these is actually the best to start with and are there any coming up in the next few months i should be circling on the calendar? running a Yaesu FT-991A into a end fed halfwave up about 25 feet if that matters

honestly Field Day is probably the most forgiving place to start actually operating because theres almost always someone nearby who can help if you freeze up or lose your place in the exchange. the exchange is simple too, something like 2A Indiana or whatever your club is running. CQ WW is a blast but the pileups can be pretty brutal if youre not used to it yet — not that you cant do it, just might be frustrating early on.

SOTA is a completely different thing and i'd say dont try to compare them because they scratch totally different itches. i do both and the summit activations are almost meditative compared to a 48 hour contest grind. if you want to try SOTA before the snow hits theres still decent weather in most of the country, just look up summits on the air dot org and find something in your state thats only like 2 or 3 points — easier hike, still counts.

for your calendar: CQ WW SSB is usually last weekend of october and CQ WW CW is end of november. ARRL Sweepstakes is in there too, november i think, and thats actually a really good domestic contest for newer folks because the exchange is a bit more involved but everyone is patient. your 991A will do great, thats a solid rig.

yeah what he said about Field Day. i was super nervous my first time actually sitting in the chair and within like 20 minutes it just clicks. the club environment means theres no pressure and honestly the other ops WANT you to make contacts because every QSO counts for the score.

one thing i'd add — dont sleep on the smaller sprints either, like the QRP Fox hunts or the state QSO parties. they're lower key than CQ WW and you can actually hear whats going on instead of wall to wall signals. your end fed at 25 feet is totally workable, ive made plenty of contacts with less