I didn’t even look online at first. I just turned on the radio, because based upon past experience, if there’s no CW contest active, the bands will be dead quiet, aside from the typical QRM, because, as you know, the sun-spot cycle is set to crappy propagation mode. Lo and behold, turned on the radio, and there were closely packed, loud and clear CW signals! And they’re FAST. And they’re all sending “TEST” as their CQ message.
Here’s a hint: they’re not testing. They are not implying that you shouldn’t contact them because they are merely sending a “TEST” message for purposes of tuning their antenna or other adjustment to equipment.
Anyway, it turns out it’s the CQ World-Wide WPX CW Contest this weekend.
I made ONE contact. It was clumsy as hell. I think annoyed some member of the Radio Ridge Contect Club in Berea, KY.
It’s not done yet, so I might make a 2nd contact, but boy howdy, this is an intimidating bunch. I can’t find anybody on the band SLOW enough for me to make out anything by ear. Software CW decoding makes this possible, but it is assumed that the purpose of the software in a contest is to improve efficiency and reduce the tedium, but not to do the lion’s share of the actual WORK of decoding CW. That’s the wetware’s job.
So yeah, I’m an obnoxious noob poser, and should leave my transmitter off.
Sometimes one can find the RF equivalent of “the kids’ table”… where the inexperienced and less-seasoned operators can get used to this stuff more gradually, without irritating the adults at the main table.
