I use two monitors and two computers and two transceivers and two amps and
two sets of antennas...and two keyers and two paddles..........
The only way I can benefit from SO2R is if I operate the second radio with a
little bit of my mental duty cycle, while the computer is sending stuff on
the primary/run radio I have my window of mental opportunity...the really
good guys can do two things at once I have to piece meal it...
A typical second radio qso for me is:
Tuning a station, typing the call into the callsign field in the second
computer and hitting the space bar...this checks to see if it is a new one
or not...usually over the course of his making two or three qsos I will fill
in the other data that the 2nd radio guy is sending to his contacts if he is
a new one for me...
Once I KNOW what his exchange to me should be, I call him on the second
radio...
During the course of all this going on hopefully I am running guys on rig
1...mebbe three or four who knows....
Point for me is - once I know his stuff I need only worry about rhythm and
calling him....if I can pick out his sending of my call that is all I need
to hear - since I know the rest of the exchange already....i.e. keep running
for the moment on radio 1....
SO, I cannot piece meal in info and then bounce back to full speed running
on radio 1 if I have one computer or 1 keyboard....
By having two complete stations I can operate rather inefficiently on the
second one, getting bits and pieces of calls and exchanges and "filling in
the fields" and still can run full bore on radio 1...only because I have two
discrete input devices...
Sorry if my message was slightly confusing, I may have gotten my train of
thought slightly de-railed at some point in the middle of the msg...you see,
I did it on the second computer - I was practicing on PED on the other
computer here...just kidding.
(A minor benefit of all this is that with networked computers one always
backs up the other should Murphy visit.)
73,
Jim, K4OJ
k4oj@arrl.net
Proud member of the Florida Contest Group, visit our website at:
http://www.qsl.net/fcg
The Florida Contest Group thanks K1ZZ and the ARRL for the opportunity to
host W1AW/4 in the 2000 IARU HF Championship.
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