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THE MINDSET OF THE CONTESTER
-or-
THIS IS YOUR BRAIN DURING A CONTEST
Now, on to this month's topic. Contesting for the head. This
article is a collection of thoughts I have had over the years as
a contest operator, and it may provide some insight into how
contesters think about contesting. This may seem like a stiff,
dry subject, but I think you will find it most fascinating.
Remember last October, I wrote an article about why we contest.
There, the important reasons why we contest were considered. But,
let's look at some of the more subtle things. The things that
make the difference between contesting to have fun, and contest-
ing to win.
The first concept that n The first concept that needs to be addressed is that of fun. Just
what is fun for a contester? First of all, the biggest personal
thing we generally get out of a contest is a sense of fun. Since
there is no monetary award for successful contesting, nor will it
make you really noticed (Except among other contesters!), and in
most cases it does not help you find the love of your life, it
has to be just plain fun that motivates us to try as hard as we
do. The satisfaction that contest operating develops is what
determines how hard we try. For most people, they are entirely
satisfied to just sit down and work a bunch of stations for a
while and generally hand out points. When the bands begin to be
worked out, and the Q rates drop, the fun begins to turn into
boredom, and these operators tend to QRT.
But, for the die-hard contester, these conditions bring out the
best. Most people find calling CQ into dead bands to be somewhat
boring and pointless. But, those who are out to win have dealt
with the boredom, and know that their persistence and discipline
will help them in the end. For these people, this is FUN! If it
wasn't, they certainly wouldn't be doing it! But, there is more
to it than just that. Something deeper is motivating teper is motivating them to do
this. This motivation CAN be acquired.
What could this motivation be? Let's explore a few possibilities.
PRIDE- The most useless asset of the contester. Maybe it's unfair
to even call it an asset, as 'pride cometh before a fall'. In any
case, an operator motivated by pride will quickly peak and go
downhill from there. If an attitude of pride is motivating you,
it's time to reconsider how you contest and maybe, why you con-
test.
GOAL SETTING- Ah, here is something useful. Everyone likes to
self-improve at various activities, and contesting certainly
leaves a lot of room for improvement for even the best operators.
Setting realistic goals can go a long way to improving your
operating enjoyment, as well as improving your skills. Off sea-
son, it can motivate you to improve your station. This is perhaps
the most important thing an operator can do to enhance his enjoy-
ment of contesting!
TRAINING- This probably motivates newcomers more than oldtimers,
but is valid for both groups. Contests are excellent proving
grounds for new operating techniques and skills. A good operator
must diligently practice disciplined operating in order to be as
effective as possible. As this is not usually acchis is not usually accomplished in one
contest, or even in many, it continues to motivate people to do
better.
COMPETITIVE SPIRIT- This is something that is designed in to each
person to one extent or another. As long as it isn't your driving
force, a competitive spirit is a healthy thing. Competition of
any sort, done within reasonable bounds, improves us mentally,
physically and spiritually. The Apostle Paul records several
times in the Bible that the Christian life is like a race. A race
is nothing more than pure competition. So, a little radio con-
testing can be quite beneficial. A good measure of this being in
healthy balance is your attitude about winning. If you are driven
to win, and nothing else, you will be in for a nasty surprise
some day when you actually DO win! (This is where pride comes
from!) However, if you can say to yourself: wow, that's nice, but
the next contest is in three months and it will be interesting to
see what the competition is like, you have a healthy competitive
spirit.
RESEARCH- Another thing that motivates contesters to win is the
ability to carry out a kind of research. Will the rotor still
turn at the end of the contest? Will the power amp still be
functioning? Will I be awake ? Will I be awake and sane? These things help us
design and build better stations, and help us carry out the
fundamental goals of 'advancing the radio art' and 'increasing
the pool of technical experts'. Even people we tend to label as
'appliance operators' do this, as they test the psychosomatic
aspects of operating and the human-equipment interface. To slip
down to low band contesting for a minute, some of these people
have trained and disciplined themselves to stay awake for 48
hours straight, and the knowledge learned about the body under
unusual stress is both scientifically and personally rewarding!
I am sure if you think about these things for a while, you can
see yourself fitting into one or more of these motivations. There
are also undoubtedly others I didn't mention. But, the moral of
this story is this. If you enjoy contesting, and want to improve,
there are ways of improving that will help you build a healthy
winning attitude.
Now that motivation has been considered, let's consider the
disciplines of preparation for the serious contester.
Since the goal of the contest is to place well, certain things
should be done to help achieve this. Let's consider some of these
things:these
things:
REST- A well-rested operator is also likely to be an efficient
operator. Get a good night's sleep for a few nights before the
contest. In VHF contesting, use the middle-of-the-night 'dead'
time to get some rest. The couple of Q's or mults you missed will
be made up for by being alert when they show up the next day.
AVOID STRESS- Try to get your station ready ahead of time, if
possible. Set aside the problems of the week. If an expensive car
repair, or a problem with a co-worker has you worn to a frazzle,
you aren't going to operate at your peak.
EAT RIGHT- The disciplined contester knows to avoid foods that
make you drowsy. Things like alcohol, sugar and caffeine can have
a considerable effect on your ability to operate. You should
start this a day or two before the contest.
THINK STRATEGY- As we will see in a moment, the serious contester
needs to have a plan of attack. The time before the contest is
the time to make sure this plan has been rehearsed in your head,
over and over, so you will execute it properly on the air. This
is also a good time to work on mental methods that will help you
avoid common operating errors. (See the January contesting column
for some tips on this one.)
MENTAL AND ERGONOMIC AENTAL AND ERGONOMIC AIDS- Although falling more along the lines
of station improvements, a properly laid out station can reduce
operating stress and mental fatigue. Make sure controls and
switches are properly labeled and within easy reach. Position
your computer monitor and keyboard properly. Only your rig and
key should have better spots. One of the most important things is
to put the call (especially if it is not yours) and the report on
strategically placed notecards where you can see them easily when
tired and bored. Shield all exposed high voltage. You are most
likely to contact it when tired during a long contest operation!
Now, for the last section of this article-- on-air head games.
This is where the rubber meets the road. You have set your goals
and made your preparations. Now, the clock turns 1800 UTC and the
contest begins...
KNOW YOUR COMPETITION- If you want to beat the other station,
know his operating habits. Where on the band does he hang out?
Does he like to hunt and pounce, or run? How does he deal with
his beams? Is he efficient at moving stations to other bands? Is
he single- or multi-op? All of these things help determine how
well a station performs. As an example, you consistently notice
tha notice
that your competition is working more to the East. Maybe you need
to work more in that direction. Or perhaps, you know he's 'miss-
ing the boat' to some extent and know that you need to work more
to the West. A good operator has developed the ability to figure
out what the competition is up to and adjusting accordingly.
KNOW WHERE THE Q's ARE- This is one of the most important aspects
of good operating. Although swinging your beams through 360
degrees from time to time is important and necessary, it is even
more important to know where those VHF population centers are,
and to concentrate on them. It also helps to know a little about
these population centers. Are their activity hours different? Do
they tend to listen your direction at specific times? This is all
worth extra points.
KNOW YOUR PROPAGATION MODES- One of the most important things a
VHF contest operator needs to know is how to recognize openings.
And, when an opening occurs, how to make best use of it. Unlike
most low band operating situations, VHF openings tend to have
unique characteristics that demand special operating procedures.
Good examples of this are: Aurora, E-skip, meteor scatter, moon-
bounce and FM. Each of these propagation modes has it's own set
's own set
of specific procedures, that can make the difference between a no
points at all and a big score increase. Also, the good operator
needs to be ready to use any of the propagation modes on short
notice, as VHF openings tend to be abrupt and short-lived. I hope
to do an article on some of these in the future. Meanwhile, use
your VHF station between contests to build operating skills in
these areas.
DON'T IGNORE WHAT'S RIGHT AROUND YOU- This means work all of the
DX stations in the rare grids without forgetting to work all of
the local stations, many of which are on FM. Knowing how to
balance your operating time between the two separates good ops
from the best. A good example of this is listen for N2WK in the
next contest. He is ALWAYS on sideband and ALWAYS on FM! How does
he do it? A good station helps, but the good operator never loses
track of what's going on in the FM area while actively pursuing
the weak-signal DX. Proof of this is that Waynes weak signal
score is always substantially better than his FM score, but his
FM score is better than anyone elses'!
LEARN- This is simple. If you hear somebody using a technique
that works, copy it if at all possible. If some technique doesn't
produce good resultsproduce good results, consider substituting another. A lot of new
operators (myself included) tend to get stuck in ways of doing
things. If we could pick up on what techniques are working under
a given set of conditions, and change our operating to reflect
this, our scores will improve. And, if operating multi-op, don't
be afraid of or react negatively to an operating suggestion!
BE PATIENT- This is especially important for stations with tech-
nical limitations. If the bands seem dead, (And you are sure
everything is working) keep trying. If you give up, the winning
edge would be the Q's you missed 5 minutes after you turned your
radio off! Knowing how to effectively work dead bands is one of
the highest arts in the VHF contesting world.
BE READY FOR CHANGE- This follows along with patience. Should the
band suddenly open, you can go from dead to pileup in a minute or
two. Or, a pileup may suddenly disappear. Be ready to control the
exhilaration or the disappointment and keep operating effective-
ly.
ACCURACY- The disciplined operator ALWAYS makes sure the call and
report is correct, and readable in the log. He ALWAYS gets the
sked info copied right. These things require discipline, and pay
dividends in the largest way. Read last month's contad last month's contesting column
to learn more about this.
BREAKS- Unless conditions warrant it, take regular breaks to
stretch and relax. If you have off times, use these to relax.
These will improve your mental alertness.
SHUT OFF YOUR OPERATING AIDS from time to time, especially when
tired. Calling CQ with your real voice, or sending it by hand
from time to time can help you stay alert. This is especially
true when conditions are flat.
One thing that consistently sets apart good operators from the
average operator is that the good operator can actually enjoy the
challenge of lousy conditions by the discipline he has developed.
So, what's the long and short of all this? First, you can have
fun as a serious contester, and this discipline can be developed.
Secondly, You need to prepare your mind as well as your station
for the contest. Third, be mentally prepared during the contest
and be able to think yourself to a better score! I hope you found
these insights thought-provoking, and I readily welcome any
comments or criticisms you might have about this article. This is
by no means definitive.
Just remember, THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR STATION IS YOU!