[CQ-Contest] SO R or not 2R?

[Ted Bryant]

"...Of course, there's also the issue of when to practice, and how?..."

The answer to this is easy - the NCCC-sponsored Thursday night (and sometimes Friday) sprint
practices were started expressly for this purpose. Try them, you'll like it, guaranteed or you money
back.

Go to: http://www.ncccsprint.com/default.htm  for the latest info.

Ted W4NZ

-----Original Message-----
From: cq-contest-bounces at contesting.com
[mailto:cq-contest-bounces at contesting.com]On Behalf Of Warren C.
Stankiewicz
Sent: Friday, September 14, 2007 4:43 PM
To: cq-contest at contesting.com
Subject: [CQ-Contest] SO R or not 2R?


I've been reading with great interest the recent discussions on the uses and abuses of SO2R
operating, and some truths become apparent:

Certainly, it's an acquired skill. It also appears to be a skill some operators have a difficult
time acquiring. The solution: it's always important to work on your operating skills, no matter
where you are on the contesting ability chart.

Of course, there's also the issue of when to practice, and how? Certainly, while operating SO2R
poorly in an event such as the Sprints may be obnoxious to many, would you rather see it there, or
deal with it in CQ WW or SS? Surely, if this is an issue affecting Sprints and NAQP, we need to
develop more operating events where people can practice this sometimes diificult-to-master
technique.

I feel there is a larger issue of which poor SO2R operating is merely a symptom--an addiction to
running. Too many people have fallen into the habit of simply plopping on a band and calling CQ.
Without having to learned to S&P, or perhaps, without having to learned to *listen*, many ops simply
earn a bad name for themselves and increase frustration for everyone else. You have to walk before
you can run, folks. Yes, running on a band is more fun, but winning is even more fun. The best ops
know this.

I don't operate SO2R, although it would be easy to do with some outside help. I still know too many
people, though, who could beat me with just one radio, and beat me easily, for me to go through the
trouble, time, expense and effort to try to reconfigure everything. Yes, I agree that every little
bit, every single QSO you can squeeze out, makes a difference. But if you're not good at operating
one rig, what makes you think you'd be any better at operating two simultaneously?

With malice towards none,

Warren, NF1J/6

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