In a message dated 9/13/2007 2:31:33 P.M. Central Daylight Time,
w4pa@yahoo.com writes:
SO2R isn't brute force -- it's thinking and strategy.
I agree with Scott, and SO2R isn't even something that you need to do all
the time.
I do not have any of the automatic SO2R features enabled with TRLog. My
Radio One/Radio Two switching switches the computer interface between radios,
along with keying and the remote tuning knob.
I have two antennas that are roughly equal on 20M, and I do same-band SO2R.
I set one radio to around 14030 at the start of the contest, and the other
around 14055. I simply toggle back and forth between those frequencies,
tuning each radio as needed to find a next QSO. You don't even need two
radios
to do this, just use your A/B VFOs if you prefer, but I like having the
situational awareness of both frequencies that SO2R provides.
As 20 starts to get less productive, Radio 2 moves to 40M, usually at the
end of hour one, and I ping-pong between the bands until 20M is mostly gone.
The ball game is different on 40M and 80M, because there I have only one
really good antenna per band. For the first hour on 40M, I usually do
strictly
SO1R and focus on scooping up as much of the 40M activity as possible. I'll
keep the second radio on 20M or 80M (whatever is most active) with the volume
turned down. Only when the pace has slowed on 40M will I attempt a CQ on
20M or 80M, and I use a memory keyer that puts out short bursts of CQs on the
second radio.
The second radio only increases my score by maybe 5 to 10%. I am exploring
the possibility of tuning both radios simultaneously with same remote tuning
knob, I think it can be easily done. This would allow dual band S&P, which I
think would be helpful during the waning minutes of the contest.
I think most operators who have a true SO2R setup use the second radio very
sparingly for the first half hour or so after they commit to a new band. It
makes sense since almost everything is fair game during that time. Anyone
who does SO2R throughout the contest is either incredibly skilled, or will be
very inefficient.
I don't fault anyone for using SO2R, but only when it is within their level
of competency.
Paul, K5AF
************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com
_______________________________________________
CQ-Contest mailing list
CQ-Contest@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest
|