u/Ehartu

Okay folks, I passed my general exam last week. I’ve been accumulating HF gear for a while, and have what i need to get going. I’m using an IC 746 with a wolf river coil antenna. I have an antenna analyzer and SWR is around 1.4. So, all the resources I come across on YouTube and elsewhere focus on what to buy and how to set it up. But what do you do when you’re sitting at your station trying to make SSB contacts? Just spin the vfo and listen? I get all kinds of static, I find myself randomly spinning dials and pushing buttons hoping for better reception. I heard a few distant contacts, but nobody answered or heard me. I feel like this should be a bit more systematic. Any thoughts?