More Thoughts on SSB Contests

When I got my phone license at 16 years of age I was understandably mic shy. Most everyone I spoke to was an adult and that was an unusual experience for a teenager. DXing and contests made it easier since there was no expectation of holding a conversation with all those "old" folks. As my comfort with the mic improved I quite enjoyed the ease of conversing on the air, even with the old folks. 

The popularity of SSB contests is in part due to that ease: almost every ham is able to speak. With short and often fixed exchanges language is a minor barrier for contests. And humans sure do like to talk!

Unfortunately SSB is a victim of its own popularity. With a 2.7 kHz bandwidth and thousands of stations piling into limited spectrum a popular SSB contest can cause quite a mess. CQ WW SSB, the most popular contest of all, is especially difficult. There's an endless number of stations to work but most are very difficult to hear, and the ones you hear often can't copy you. It is frustrating.

When you operate in CQ WW SSB with less than legal limit power and excellent antennas success can be elusive. This is not the case with CW and digital modes. Narrower modes allow some elbow room for less dominant signals to be heard well. You can even run with QRP. The same is only true of SSB during solar maxima when there enough open bands to allow everyone to spread out. Of course this is only partially true since you must eventually squeeze onto every band to work more stations and multipliers.

I have written about SSB contests before, more than just once, especially years ago when I did it with QRP.  Although I have two world #1 plaques for QRP in CQ WW SSB I gave it up because it was so difficult and because declining sunspot numbers forced me onto the low bands where SSB QRP is quite painful. Even during my winning years I spent very little time on 40, 80 and 160, only spending enough time to gather what multipliers I could and largely limited to trying my luck with the biggest of the big guns. It was futile to attempt anything more.

With this dismal introduction and another CQ WW SSB in the bag let's look at a few things to consider for those of us who are not the biggest of the big guns.

SNR

Power has an outsize impact on SSB. When you run low power you may be no more than 10 to 13 db below the high power stations yet it will seem far worse. Because the QRM and QRN are so fierce with the wide bandwidth of SSB the received SNR (signal to noise ratio) can be very poor with 100 watts. Solid copy with a kilowatt may be no copy at all with 10 db less power.

This is a threshold effect that I previously discussed with respect to QRP where the challenge is far greater. It can take a brave ham to venture into an SSB contest with QRP! Low power contest entries -- typically 100 watt maximum -- are somewhere in, what I've termed, the muddy middle. Many are surprised at how difficult SSB contests can be with low power when it can be very successful in daily use. Look at the QSO and multipliers of the top high and low power stations in a major SSB contest and the difference is stark. For the same power categories the spread is less in CW contests.

At least with QRP you know SSB contests will be difficult and slow going. Low power is deceptive. I am surprised by how many experienced contesters are surprised by their poor results with low power. Of course you can use big towers and antennas to compensate, and it does help to a degree. It isn't easy to boost your signal 10 to 13 db with antennas alone. An amplifier is far easier and cheaper.

Accents

This is another topic I've written about before. On SSB there are language and accent differences that can make copy difficult. Although English is in many respect the universal language on SSB many hams have only a rudimentary grasp of it. Their English may be limited to phonetics and a handful of useful phrases. It is perfectly possible for a non-English speaker to be successful in an SSB contest, especially CQ WW with its simple and (to be honest) predictable exchange.

For English speakers like myself -- which probably includes you if you are reading this -- there is an obligation to make it easier for others. Use standard phonetics or common variations that in your experience are successfully understood by all. Learn the numerals of several common languages and you'll complete contest contest exchanges faster and more accurately. 

Spanish is the one I find most useful, and there are others. Don't be afraid to experiment with others! There are only 10 numerals to learn and your effort will be appreciated by other hams. Try not to be too glib with more words and phrases or the other operator may believe you speak their language and will reply with full sentences and then you'll be lost. Stick to numbers and you'll do just fine.

Phonetic usage

Months ago I shortened one of my standard voice messages. If you're familiar with N1MM Logger+, this is the message that goes in F3 when you run using ESM (enter sends message). This is the message that logs the QSO, confirms completion to the other station, and solicits the next contact.

"Thanks! Victor Echo Three Victor Norway"

Simple, short and it does the job exceptionally well. All I had done was to change "Victor Echo" to "V E". It caused me a lot of grief. The problem was due to using high power and a good antenna. When you do this the runs continue without a break. As a result I rarely sent a CQ. The CQ uses complete phonetics for my call.

Some of those who tuned across me heard "V A". They sound much alike on SSB where fidelity is less than perfect and is worsened by QRM and poor SNR. Indeed, that's why we use phonetics. The miscopied call was occasionally spotted and I would get a run of dupes. My temporary workaround was to interrupt F3 and speak my call with full phonetics.

My reasoning for the shortening was to save time by cutting two syllables. While running low power it worked well since my runs frequently dried up and I'd CQ with full phonetics. Time was saved and there was little risk of a misunderstanding. I'll have to revert to using full phonetics. Becoming a big gun requires a different approach to SSB.

Vocal endurance

Many hams in their eighties have no difficulty sending CW at high speed. A modest loss of manual dexterity is compensated by decades of practice. With the extensive contest use of software generated CW even that may not be necessary. The same cannot be said of SSB, and that's a problem because as we age it can be difficult to impossible to keep our voices going for 48 hours.

Voice memories reduce the need for vocal endurance. Unlike CW, unfortunately, speaking into the mic is difficult to avoid. In CQ WW there is the need to speak the other person's call. In other contests there are serial numbers and other exchange information that is not constant throughout the contest. When a repeat is requested alternative phonetics and syllabic emphasis are helpful, as is using the other operator's language for critical items, especially numerals as mentioned earlier.

For those who have lost their vocal endurance the alternatives are multi-ops, so that they operate fewer hours, or to use technology to voice serial number and call signs. The latter is improving and no longer has to sound like a freaky robot. Expect to hear more of it in future. 

Although I've not reached the age of lost vocal endurance I am beginning to think about the aids I'll eventually need. It is funny to realize that as a little pistol I could operate CQ WW without using the mic for long stretches. In search and pounce (S & P) you can get by without the mic by recording just two messages: call sign and exchange. You rarely need to speak other than to vary phonetics or syllabic emphasis for difficult contacts.

40 meters

The globally common portion of the band is only 75 kHz: 7.125 to 7.200 MHz. That's a problem. With a 2.7 kHz bandwidth only 30 or so SSB signals (and clean ones at that!) can coexist without overlap. Yet there are thousands active in CQ WW. When the sun sets this band segment is a wall of QRM. Big guns are rattling out a constant stream of CQs and answering almost no one because only the strongest signals can be reliably copied. Other CQers are deep inside the noise, mostly unheard.

I have worked DX multipliers in CQ WW SSB with QRP, although not many. I would wait for the second evening when rates declined and I had less competition. Even so I needed excellent propagation to have a chance with a wire dipole or loop for an antenna. At sunrise, if I got lucky, I'd work a KH6 and a W6/7 in zone 3 and that would be it.

To deal with the narrow spectrum there are ways for a Canadian to do better. One is to operate below 7.125 MHz where there are no Americans; our mode permissions are less strict than in the US. This allows us to work more DX with less QRM. To work American stations and other North and South American countries you operate above 7.200 MHz. Americans and Europeans will often work split, with Americans calling above 7.2 MHz and announcing a listening frequency below 7.1 MHz. Europeans do the reverse.

Compared to years past when broadcasters outside the Americas were to be found down to 7.1 MHz and sometimes lower (remember Radio Tiranha?) it's actually better today! That isn't saying much.

160 meters

This band is like 40 meters for SSB, except worse. All modes must coexist so when there's a major SSB contest on 160 it can be impossible to have non-contest QSOs on CW, digital and SSB. Antennas are often narrow bandwidth because they're small and that restricts operating frequency. Many sponsors of SSB contests exclude 160 meters because of these problems.

Amateur radio does not have exclusive access from 1.8 to 2.0 MHz in many parts of the world. Although not as restrictive as in the past due to LORAN and other services moving away it is still helpful to be aware of the restrictions some countries face. A notable example is Japan which, until recently, had strictly limited access. Now it's a little better and JA stations have allocations where we like to operate in the lower part of the band so that we don't have to work them split.

The high atmospheric noise on 160 meters makes high RDF receive antennas almost mandatory on SSB. You can only narrow your receiver bandwidth so much before phone signals become unintelligible. The only resort is a directional receive antenna to improve SNR. SSB DXing on 160 with an omni-directional antenna is neither enjoyable nor productive. 

Yet the big guns keep CQing, as they must, to make all the contacts they can. The rest of us can at least work them if nothing else.

Casual operators

There are more casual contest operators to be found on SSB than on CW. Make an effort to sound welcoming on the bands and at the times when many hams habitually turn on their rigs and they will call you. They may not know the contest or the exchange but they are happy to oblige you with a brief QSO. 

Succinctly explain what information they need to exchange and you'll both benefit from the experience. However you will need to know enough to help them out. For example, when a ham can only tell you they're in Ohio, do you know whether they're in CQ zone 4 or 5? If you can't tell them the correct zone they can't tell you, and that means you don't have a valid QSO. Be prepared.

Another advantage of giving a quick lesson on the contest exchange is that there are often lurkers listening. It is quite common that I get a few casual operators calling me after I explain the exchange to someone. A helpful and friendly SSB contester is a successful SSB contester.

Opting out

Although I don't dislike SSB contests they are not favourites. With my summer antenna work incomplete and major tower work in the immediately preceding days the CQ WW SSB contest was far from a priority despite its importance on the contest calendar. I was too tired and my score potential too poor to be bothered.

I took it easy and got on when I was so inclined. A geomagnetic disturbance made the contest a challenge on the low bands. For me the contest was an opportunity to practice running and observe propagation under unusual conditions. Openings on 15 meters were spectacular and running Europe was quite easy. Even 10 meters made itself felt. In contrast 80 and 160 were poor, and without a 160 meter antenna at present the latter band was irrelevant to me even had conditions been good.

It isn't necessary to operate every major contest or to do so competitively just because contests are one's primary interest in amateur radio. If you do it because you feel you must it becomes more of a job than a hobby. That's a recipe for losing interest in what you love to do. When the feeling isn't there, there is no shame in stepping back and being a spectator rather than a competitor. 

For me SSB contests are best enjoyed with others as part of a multi-op team, something that is difficult to impossible at present. As my station evolves I plan to host multi-ops for contests like these. By then the pandemic will be over and we can once again gather with friends for a weekend of SSB fun.