so i finally got my general last spring and ive been just doing casual ragchews and some SOTA activations but everyone keeps telling me i need to try a real contest. CQ WW SSB is coming up at the end of october and i figured maybe this is the year i actually try it instead of just watching the bands go nuts and wondering whats happening.

my problem is i genuinely dont know where to start. like do i need to register somewhere beforehand or can you just... jump on and start making contacts? and how does the exchange work for CQ WW specifically, i know its zone based but im fuzzy on the details. ive been running a 100w IC-7300 into a G5RV in the backyard so nothing crazy but it should work right?

also a separate question - is there any overlap worth caring about between SOTA and these bigger contests or are they basically separate worlds. i ask because i had so much fun doing summits and i wonder if activating during a contest would be chaotic or actually really useful for getting contacts.

welcome to the rabbit hole haha. so no you dont need to register ahead of time for CQ WW, you just get on the air and start calling. the exchange for the SSB version is pretty straightforward - you give your signal report and your CQ zone, and they give you theirs. for most US folks youre probably zone 3, 4, or 5 depending on where you are, worth looking up your zone before you start so you dont have to scramble mid-qso.

your 7300 and G5RV setup will do fine honestly. you wont be winning any plaques but you'll make plenty of contacts and thats really the point when youre starting out. i'd suggest spending the first hour or two just searching and pouncing - that means tuning around and calling stations who are already CQing rather than trying to hold your own frequency. way less pressure and you still rack up contacts. running your own frequency comes later once you get comfortable with the pace.

on the SOTA question - yes people absolutely do SOTA activations during major contests and it can be great for log credits on both ends. just be aware the summit is going to be noisier than usual because the bands will be wall to wall. some activators love it, some hate it. depends on your setup and patience level.

yeah what he said about zone numbers, double check that before you start. i made the mistake my first contest of just guessing and gave out the wrong zone for like the first 20 contacts, had to go back and edit the log which was annoying.

also grab N1MM+ or if youre on mac there are a couple other options, logging by hand during a fast contest is kind of miserable. N1MM is free and once you get it set up it handles dupe checking and all that automatically which is a huge help when youre new and dont trust yourself to remember who youve already worked.

Field Day is honestly a more beginner friendly intro to contesting if you havent done that yet either. its more of a club thing and a lot less intense than CQ WW. but either way just jump in, you'll figure it out as you go and people on the air are usually patient with newer folks during the bigger contests.