so ive been licensed about 8 months now and a buddy at my local club keeps telling me i need to try a contest. i always figured contests were for the serious DX guys with big antennas and amplifiers and stuff but he says even a modest station can be fun to operate in something like CQ WW.

CQ WW SSB is coming up end of october i think? i honestly dont know where to even start. like do i need to register somewhere or just get on the air and start calling? and how do you log everything, is there free software that works or do i need to buy something. i tried reading the rules on the CQ website and my eyes kind of glazed over honestly.

also ive done a couple SOTA activations this year which i loved, someone mentioned there are SOTA specific contests or at least periods where it gets really busy, is that tied to any of the major contests or is that separate. and Field Day was my first real operating event back in june and i had a blast with the club but that felt more casual than an actual contest i guess.

anyway any advice for a first timer would be appreciated, even if its just telling me what mode to start with or what band tends to be most active for new stations

CQ WW is a great first contest honestly, dont let the big scores intimidate you. you dont register or anything, you just get on and start calling or answer CQs. for logging N1MM+ is what most people use and its completely free, takes a little while to get set up but there are decent youtube walkthroughs. the basic exchange in CQ WW SSB is just your callsign, 59 and your CQ zone, for most of the US thats zone 4 or 5 depending where you are.

id suggest starting by search and pouncing — meaning you tune around and answer other peoples CQ contest calls rather than trying to run a frequency yourself. running a frequency is hard when youre new and your signal isnt massive. 15 meters is usually pretty jumping during CQ WW if the bands cooperate, 40 is reliable especially at night for domestic stuff.

SOTA and the big contests are totally separate worlds but you do notice more activity on the summits sometimes when bands are hot for a contest weekend, people activating grab contacts easier. enjoy it, even a score of a couple hundred QSOs your first time is genuinely fun

yeah field day is kind of its own weird thing, its technically a contest but the club social aspect makes it feel different. real contesting is more you sitting at the radio for hours which sounds boring but gets strangely addicting fast lol. my first contest i did like maybe 80 contacts and felt like i'd run a marathon, good luck