[CQ-Contest] NAQP CW - Value of 2 Radios

[tgstewart at pepco.com]

Yes, I run 2 radios.  However, I'm a bit crippled because I only have one
high band antenna system...a tribander stack.  So for the first few hours,
I'm a single radio guy in effect.  My second radio must be on either 40 or
160, so I spend a lot of time S&P on 40! hi!  I'm hoping to remedy this at
least partially with my next tower and a 20 meter stack.

Usually the best thing to do is CQ on one radio and S&P on the
other...especially if you are just starting out on 2 radios.  You can take
it at your own pace that way.  S&P on 2 radios is very difficult to do
well, but can be effective if your CQ's just arent making it.  The last
method I use when things get desperate is to CQ on 2 bands alternately.
This is usually only effective when things are getting really slow.  You
have to keep the CQ's short to avoid losing a frequency, and also be
prepared to scramble when 2 guys call you in a row!  Working 2 QSO's at
once is the ultimate, but if someone asks for a repeat (or a pass!) it can
destroy your timing and make you look like a real lid!  All this stuff
takes a lot of practice, and the NAQP and SS are perfect!

Getting back to the NAQP, my guess would be that running two radios in this
particular contest netted me about 60 QSO's or so, and probably 10 or 15
multipliers.

I moved a lot of multipliers as usual.  There is one common key to the
short contests and that is to keep moving, and this NAQP was a standout for
this philosophy!  I was successful in CQing on every band for some period
of time.  On 10 meters it might be 5 minutes...on 40 it might go for a  1
hour stretch!   But the key is to recognize IMMEDIATELY when your rate is
slowing down and do something about it!  Either move to another band to
call CQ or sweep a band for S&P/multiplier QSO's.   If you start a band by
sweeping it, you can get a pretty good rate going just S&P and also get a
feel for the band before you plop down on a clear frequency to call CQ.
Just keep your eye on that rate meter.  Compare the Last Ten rate to the
Previous Ten rate all the time.  If it's going down, you'd better be making
some good multiplier contacts to justify it, or maybe passing  a multiplier
from band to band.  If not, go to another band and work it out (again).
Just keep that rate going!  When I saw my rate meter dip below about 70/hr,
it was time to get concerned and try something new.  If and when it hit's
about 50, I usually decide to take my first 1/2 hour off.  This time with
conditions the way they were it was well after 0200Z when I took my first
rest, and only because I was hoping that 80 and 160 would mature so I could
work further west later!  Usually I'll duck out much earlier, since the
east coast USUALLY gets skunked by the midwest on the high bands.  The east
coast usually has to take whatever advantage it can of it's low band
opening.  However, every once in a while for NAQP, Sprint, or SS, you get
conditions like we got with both long and the all-critical short skip in
the east!  That's when us guys on the correct coast can actually win a
stateside contest!  (Well, almost! :))  One other thing is to make sure you
check all the bands before the contest starts.  I noted that a lot of guys
lamented their missing out on 10 meters.  I had heard all the phone
activity a couple hours before the start and said to myself, " Man, this
COULD be GOOD!".   And it was!  Although the skip was spotty, it seemed to
constantly shift around to different areas, so I could work out the band in
10 minutes, come back 15 later and pick up a few more.  I actually didnt
make my first 20 meter QSO until sometime in Hour 3!

Well, that was more than you bargained for! hi!

73, Ty K3MM




N6ZZ at aol.com on 08/05/97 03:56:55 PM

To:   cq-contest at contesting.com
cc:    (bcc: Tyler G Stewart/BENN/CEC)
Subject:  [CQ-Contest] NAQP CW - Value of 2 Radios




In his recent NAQP score posting on 3830, N5TJ made the following comment:
"Conditions were good overall with nice openings on 10 and 15. 20 and 40
sounded strange at times, hard to get a response to CQs. Thats when
Radio#2 comes in handy. According to TRLOG I made 200+ QSOs on the
second radio. And a little over 40 of those were multiplier moves."

I'd be interested in a bit of information from the rest of you that appear
to
be in the top ten in last weekend's CW NAQP.  In addition to Jeff, that
would
(currently) include:  K3MM, N4ZZ, NM5M, AA3B, K4FXN, N4AF, K0EJ, K6LL and
K3PH.  My questions are:
  1.  Did you use two radios in a somewhat efficient manner?  (Such as
CQing
on one band while listening on another)
If the answer to #1 is yes:
  2.  How many additional QSOs do you think you got by using two radios, as
compared to what you would have gotten had you been using only one radio?
  3.  How many additional multipliers do you think you got by using two
radios, as compared to what you would have gotten had you been using only
one
radio?
Thanks & 73....
Phil, N6ZZ
One Radio Guy


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