A dozen ways to ensure that you fail miserably.
There are many ways to fail miserably, among the more popular, in random order are -
1) Always ensure your EIRP is much stronger than the beacon.
2) Use FM on a linear transponder.
3) Don't use headphones. This will ensure you get some nice feedback on the signal.
4) Always send faster than you can receive when you use CW.
5)Make sure you use the WRONG frequency on the WRONG satellite.
6) Always call CQ on top of other people.
7) Don't bother with Doppler correction.
8) Ensure your beams are pointing in the wrong direction.
9) Have your tracking program set to UTC while your PC is set to local time.
10) Make sure you are using the wrong sideband.
11) Make sure you use an inadequate receive antenna.
12) Dont bother with decent cable.. any old co-ax will do.