New general license holder here and I'm really excited about trying my first major contest! The CQ WW RTTY contest is coming up on the last full weekend of September and draws over 15,000 participants. I've been practicing with FLDIGI but still feel pretty nervous about jumping into such a big contest. Any tips for a complete contest newbie? Should I expect the bands to be absolutely packed?

Planning to run 100W into a simple dipole - will that be competitive at all or should I just focus on having fun and learning?

Welcome to contesting! Your setup is fine - I've worked plenty of stations running similar power levels. Different-country contacts within any continent get 2 points and same-country contacts get 1 point, so focus on working new countries. Start slow and don't worry about your rate - we all started somewhere!

RTTY contests are great for beginners because the exchange is usually simple. Make sure you have your logging software set up properly for Cabrillo format submission. The bands will definitely be busy but that's part of the excitement!

I did my first contest last year and it was a blast! Don't stress about being competitive - just work whoever you can hear and log everything correctly. You'll be surprised how much you learn in just one weekend.