so I've been licensed about 8 months now and a couple guys at my club keep telling me I should jump into CQ WW this fall. I honestly didn't even know what it was until like two weeks ago when one of the elmers at our club meeting explained it. apparently it's one of the biggest HF contests in the world? like hundreds of thousands of contacts or something over a weekend.

I'm running a Yaesu FT-891 into a dipole up about 25 feet and I know that's nothing special but they said even modest stations can make a pile of contacts during a big contest like this. my question is more like... where do I even start. do I just tune around and call CQ or try to find stations calling and answer them? I've heard the terms S&P and running but I'm not totally sure which makes more sense for a beginner. also is it worth setting up N1MM or should I just use paper logging for my first time.

any advice from people who've done it before would be really appreciated. I'm kinda nervous honestly but also excited to try something new

oh man CQ WW was my first real contest too and yeah it's a little overwhelming at first but honestly just dive in. with your setup i'd stick to search and pounce for the first few hours just to get a feel for the exchange and how fast things move. the exchange for CQ WW is pretty simple — signal report and CQ zone — so thats at least one less thing to worry about.

definitely get N1MM set up before the contest if you can. I know it looks complicated but there's good youtube walkthroughs and once it's running it makes everything so much easier, especially dupe checking. paper logging during a big contest is just gonna slow you down and you'll probably make mistakes when the pile gets crazy.

25ft dipole is totally fine for working the contest. you're not gonna be running a big rate but you'll get contacts especially on 40 and maybe 20 depending on conditions. just have fun with it, first contest is always a little chaotic but thats kind of the whole point

yeah what he said about N1MM is right, get that going ahead of time. also I'd mention — if you havent already — look up the CQ WW logging software guide on the CQ WW website, they have pretty decent instructions for first timers.

one thing I wish someone told me before my first big contest is to take breaks. sounds obvious but I went like 14 hours straight my first CQ WW and by hour 10 I was making dumb mistakes in the exchange and my ears were shot. pace yourself. also if conditions tank on 20 meters try dropping down to 40 in the evening, usually comes alive real nice once the sun goes down. have fun with it, it's addicting