so ive been licensed about 8 months now (general) and everyone keeps telling me to get on for field day and cq ww but honestly i dont really know the difference between all these events or which one is even worth trying as a newer person. like is field day actually a contest or more of a public event thing? ive heard both.

and then theres SOTA which i know is different but people lump it in with contests sometimes. i did one activation last month up on a local hill with just my ft-818 and a wire antenna and made like 12 contacts which felt pretty good but i wasnt sure if i was supposed to be doing anything special logging wise for a contest period.

anyway the main thing im trying to figure out is whether cq ww this fall is too advanced for a first timer or if i should just jump in and see what happens. my station is pretty modest — just a dipole in the attic and a used ic-7300 i picked up in spring. would love to hear from people who remember their first contest experience

okay so field day is kind of both — it counts as a contest in that you exchange information and accumulate points, but the ARRL set it up primarily as a public outreach and emergency preparedness exercise. that said plenty of clubs go absolutely full bore competitive on it and it gets intense. for a newer ham its honestly one of the best ones to start with because most clubs are super welcoming and youll learn a ton just sitting next to somebody experienced and watching how they operate.

cq ww is a different beast. its one of the biggest contests on the calendar, probably the biggest in terms of worldwide participation. ssb weekend is usually end of october, cw in november. with an ic-7300 and even an attic dipole you can absolutely make contacts, the bands are wall to wall signals during that weekend. dont worry about being competitive just focus on working as many new entities as you can and practicing your exchange. the exchange is dead simple — signal report and cq zone number, thats it.

SOTA is not really a contest at all, its more of an awards program. activators go up summits and chasers work them from home. theres no head to head competition, just points toward awards. totally different vibe from a traditional contest but a lot of people love mixing both hobbies. sounds like your activation went well honestly 12 contacts from a hilltop with an 818 is pretty solid depending on conditions.

jump into cq ww, seriously. i remember being terrified my first time and just kind of tuning around for an hour before finally calling somebody. worst that happens is nobody comes back to you and you try again. the attic dipole might limit you a bit on 40 and 80 but 20 meters should be hopping that weekend and youll find stations. just have your logging software ready to go, n1mm is free and works great, and look up your cq zone beforehand so you dont have to think about it mid-qso.