The annual CQ WW-SSB competition is an international event that attracts countless amateur radio operators (HAMs). Exchanging information is simple, and the 59+ CQ zone is popular. I only started getting involved in shortwave radio in 2021, and began participating in various competitions and commemorative events after that. My first official participation was in 2022, and my primary radio is the FT-450D, with a power output of 100W. Initially, I used a 15-meter antenna to transmit through a V750, and now I use an 119-meter antenna to transmit through an AV640. Every competition brings me joy. This is just my personal experience and perspective; it's for reference only.
1. Familiarize and master the propagation characteristics of each frequency band, combined with the daylight conditions in different regions, to operate each band.
2. For setting up a stall, it's best to use audio playback; otherwise, constantly shouting can be very tiring.
3. When conducting street sweeps, first clearly identify and announce the caller's call sign. Then, when the other party calls, immediately state your own call sign and wait for a response.
4. During communication, regardless of whether standard or non-standard alphabet explanations are used, as long as the other party can copy and receive, it is fine. However, it's best to avoid using phonetic-style letters or transmitting "headless" information, as this could lead to errors in copying and receiving. (In this competition, I received a message from a domestic HAM stating that he was the 6th person in China to use CQ, because he didn't announce his location during transmission. I initially thought it was a transmission from another location, but further investigation revealed that he had stated "I am the 6th person in China to use CQ").
5. Because the antenna is weak and the power output is small, it's highly unlikely that I would be able to set up a stall. The entire amateur radio frequency range is essentially unusable. My only option is street sweeping (which actually works quite well; I started doing it every afternoon the next day).
6. After failing to receive a response three times when calling out my own call sign, I gave up quickly and moved on to find another vendor.
Each contest essentially involves connecting to more distant and different radio stations, as it's often difficult to establish SSB communication with them regularly. Ultimately, I hope everyone achieves good results in each contest and increases their DXCC total.
Appendix: Previous year's results and preliminary results for this year.
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