so my buddy kept bugging me to try CQ WW with him this year and I finally said yeah sure why not. I have my general ticket and a pretty basic setup, IC-7300 into a dipole up maybe 30 feet, nothing fancy. I've done a little bit of Field Day before but only as a helper, never really operated the radio myself for more than a few contacts.

honestly I dont really know what to expect with something like CQ WW. I've been reading about it and the exchange is zone numbers right? I looked up my CQ zone and I think im in zone 5 but I want to double check that. also is it worth jumping in even if you're just gonna be running search and pounce the whole time? I feel like I'd just be in the way of the serious contesters who actually know what theyre doing. any advice from people who've actually done it before would be great, especially for someone who's never really operated a contest from their own station

zone 5 sounds right depending on where you are in the country, you can verify on the CQ zone map pretty easily. and yeah absolutely jump in, search and pounce is totally valid and honestly thats how most people start. the serious multi-op stations WANT you to call them, every QSO counts for their score too so you're not bothering anyone.

with an IC-7300 and a dipole you're gonna be surprised what you can work, especially if the bands cooperate. 20 meters is usually the workhorse for CQ WW so start there. just listen to how the exchange goes a few times before you transmit so you get the rhythm down. the pileups can feel chaotic at first but after a few hours it starts to make sense. Field Day is a good prep but CQ WW is a whole different animal in terms of scale, you'll have stations from everywhere calling in. just have fun with it and dont stress about your score the first time out

I did CQ WW for the first time two years ago and felt exactly the same way lol. ended up with like 200 contacts which felt like nothing compared to what the big stations post but I had a blast. the 7300 is a solid radio for it, way better than what I started with. just make sure you have N1MM or something set up beforehand because logging by hand gets old real fast