[CQ-Contest] SO2R in the CW Sprint

[K4RO Kirk Pickering]

On Wed, Sep 12, 2007 at 03:55:27PM -0700, Tree wrote:
> I do find myself at times feeling like we should put a limit on band 
> changes in the sprint and do away with this two radio stuff.  However,
> I don't think enough of the other top ops feel the same way.

Tree, could you elaborate on why you feel this way?
Is it because you feel that some two radio guys are 
making pseudo "round robin" QSO's, with the "intervening"
QSO starting on another band before the first is complete?
And then jumping raight back to the same frequency on the
"other" band for another QSO couplet? Or are there other
reasons?

One thing that really disturbed me was two radio guys
taking off before completing a QSO. In other words, once
they got my number, there were off making another QSO
on the second radio, since they presumably knew my name
and state. They would never QSL the QSO.  More than one 
Top Ten sprinter has done this to me in the past.  I've 
decided to remove those QSO's because IMHO, they are really 
against the spirit of the contest; and frankly, they never 
really completed the QSO with me.  This is an example of 
pushing the envelope TOO FAR, in my opinion.

I remember several years ago at the Dayton contest forum,
N6AA was bemoaning two-radio operation in the Sprint. He
said that the contest no longer had its original character,
namely every operator QSYing like mad after each QSO couplet
looking for the next.  Dick said that the Sprint was now 
basically reduced to a CQing contest, and there was a lot
less S&P happening. If I understood him right, he felt that
skill was less of a factor than it used to be.

I think some folks mis-understand 2-radio operation in the
Sprint. I have tried it enough to know that it's more about 
"maintaining a CQ presence" than it is about agressive S&Ping.

These are comments from a guy who has never made the top ten 
in the Sprint, using one radio or two. Therefore, I don't 
really have a "dog in this fight" so to speak. My main issue
is keeping the Sprint alive and interesting to ALL participants.
If the #1 Sprint guy alive is questioning the use of two 
radios, I'd really like to understand the "why" better.

73

-Kirk  K4RO