so i got my general last spring and ive been mostly just doing some casual QSOs on 40m and a bit of 20m but a few guys at the club keep telling me i should try some of the big contests this fall. one of them mentioned CQ WW is coming up and apparently its like THE big one? i honestly dont even know what that means for someone at my level, like do i need special antennas or a big station to even bother participating or can i just jump on with my IC-7300 and a wire antenna and try to work some contacts.

also someone mentioned ARRL Field Day which i think already passed this year but i want to be ready for next time. and theres some SOTA stuff happening too which sounds totally different from sitting at home in front of a radio. anyway i guess im just trying to figure out what the contest calendar looks like and which ones are worth trying as someone whos still pretty new. any advice welcome, i dont want to embarrass myself on the air

CQ WW is absolutely the big one, last weekend of October for SSB and late November for CW. Your 7300 and a wire antenna is honestly more than enough to make a bunch of contacts, especially on 20 and 15 meters when the bands are cooperating. I worked 47 countries in CQ WW SSB a couple years ago with a dipole in my attic so dont let the antenna situation hold you back. The main thing is just learning the exchange — for CQ WW its your signal report and your CQ zone, which for most of us in the US is zone 4 or 5 depending where you live. Look that up before you start.

Field Day is its own thing and yeah it was back in June but mark your calendar for next year, its a great way to get into contesting in a low pressure environment because its more of a club event and people are generally patient with newer ops. SOTA is a totally separate world from contesting, more of an activation thing where you hike up a summit and make contacts from there — i havent done it myself but the guys who do it seem to love it. Start with CQ WW this fall, seriously just jump in and youll figure it out fast.

dont overthink it, thats my advice. i spent way too long reading about contesting before i actually tried it and then when i finally just sat down during a contest and started calling CQ or answering stations it all clicked pretty quick. you might only make 20 or 30 contacts your first time and thats totally fine, the point is learning how it flows. the pileups can be a bit wild but you dont have to chase the big DX stations right away, just work what you can hear clearly