[CQ-Contest] SO2R Technique

Franki ON5ZO on5zo at telenet.be
Wed May 30 10:27:52 EDT 2007


> but have you tried the Advanced SO2R capabilities of N1MM Logger??
> 73, Ted W4NZ

I did and together with the MK2R+ I must say that it seemed much harder to 
*start learning* SO2R than this combo actually makes it.
Now becoming good at SO2R, that's another thing...   ;o)

I took the advice of some SO2R-pros and traded "PTT L/R switching" for L/R 
real time stereo, which at first scared me but in fact is easier to keep 
control over what's happening on the running rig and maintain a tight 
timing. You can reply faster to "?", "QRL?" or plain uninvited CQ's on the 
running QRG.
Only when a weak QSB station comes back, I switch back to "run radio in both 
ears". Or when the rate explodes, which happens far less than #1 from here.

In CW, I was surprised that it wasn't that hard not to mess up the copying 
between both ears. The human brain turns out to be a good DSP after all.

That said, even with modest antennas and only one amp SO2R can boost your 
score and keep you busy during slow hours. I'm glad I did the effort! In 
RDXC'07, 11% of my QSO total (abt. 190 out of 1750 Q's) was made with the 
2nd radio without an amp on a piece of wire with an SGC SmartTuner...

73 de Franki ON5ZO / OQ5M 



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