Overview
Group: SOLP(A)-10 m
Match date: 2024-11-23/24
Equipment: FT-710
Antenna: Straight V
The competition
I hadn't planned to participate in the CW competition, mainly because I thought it would be cold in Zone 1 in late November, and also because I hadn't used CW for almost six months since WPX. However, I had some free time a few weeks ago, so I decided to give it a try. To my surprise, I didn't lose any points, and I even felt like I was doing better than before. So, I just went ahead and did it. The configuration and timing were the same as SSB.
On the first day, the main activity was sweeping streets, especially when launching in Europe, it was impossible to complete all of them. This also helped us get used to the pace of the competition. The goal for the first day should be to achieve 180 QSOs (contacts).
The feeling the next day, before afternoon, was completely different. When I started scanning, there didn't seem to be any new signals on the spectrum. The list of stations that were previously connected also disappeared, and in the meantime, there were quite a few blank spots with some signal, and when I moved the dial, most of them were familiar, and the spot was also relatively quiet. After 10:00 PM, my mood changed significantly; I didn't want to scan anymore. Even though I couldn't get into the queues for several large stations, I didn't want to wait in line either, so I started trying to set up a stall. Furthermore, after the competition on the first day, I gained some confidence, and setting up a stall didn't seem as daunting. The scanning rate on the first day was around 20+ QSOs/hour, but after setting up a stall, I found that the rate exceeded the first day by quite a bit, which further strengthened my resolve to set up a stall.
However, I did some rather risky things when setting up my stall. If there was no response for a while, I would check the surrounding area for other stalls and switch to theirs if they were busy. If there weren't many people waiting in line on the other side, I would quickly take their spot. After Europeans started using it more frequently, I would switch back and forth, but eventually, my chosen location was occupied. Eventually, I couldn't find a good spot anymore, so I continued setting up around 28.100, but… I wouldn't even bother to walk that far to look for a better spot :(
Before the competition, I just hoped to perform better than SSB, and I wasn't sure about my CW skills. In the end, the number of QSOs exceeded expectations, and the pace and rate of operation were as expected. There is still room for improvement overall.
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