[CQ-Contest] S&P Rate

[Dick Green WC1M]

My dedicated S&P rate is much lower than Randy's. It's an area of my game
that needs a lot of work. I can do 50-60 per hour if I try hard, but if I
don't focus on rate and make the right decisions, it can drop way down to
30-40 per hour. This sometimes happens when I'm DXing too much or filtering
for new mults instead of just working whatever I hear (a strategy issue.)
Best I can do is probably around 90 per hour in bursts, but I've not been
able to sustain that rate for a full hour. Like I said, I'm working on it.

For me, second radio production depends on a bunch of factors. 

One factor is the contest. In WW CW, I typically do about 5% of my total
QSOs on the second radio. K5ZD does closer to 10%. A lot of that is due to
my lower S&P rate, but Randy is also much, much better at filtering and
juggling the audio from two radios. Some of my best WPX CW years I've done
7%-8%. I would chalk that up to lower run rates, especially the second day,
more sleep, and a more concerted effort to focus on new mults in WW (perhaps
not the best strategy -- I'm working on that...)

Another factor is run rate. Like others, I have a hard time doing anything
with the second radio when the run rate is over 120-140 per hour. It's much
easier when the rate is lower, especially around 100 or less. But that's not
always the case. Every now and then I'll be making second radio Qs when the
rate is 150+. Other times I'm not doing it when the rate is around 90. These
variations are due to the other factors.

Conditions play a part. If there's a lot of QRM, QRN and/or QSB on the run
radio, I have to put more of my focus there and sometimes can't do anything
with the S&P radio. If the band opening on the S&P radio is weak, of course,
the rate will be low. If the run radio band is open and reasonably quiet, I
can do a lot with the second radio. If the pileups on the run radio are very
deep, of course, it's harder to use the second radio. But every now and then
you get a high run rate where the pileup is thin but stations consistently
queue up and call you one at a time without your having to CQ. That's ideal
for pushing the second radio.

Finally, motivation and fatigue are huge factors. If I'm doing well overall,
I'll hit the S&P radio hard. If conditions have been bad and my numbers are
low, I have a much harder time making myself push the second radio -- and
that's exactly when I should be doing it. At the start of the contest, when
I'm fresh, I'm usually trying to adjust to contest speeds and sometimes
don't get to the S&P radio until the second hour or later. When I'm really
wiped out, which typically happens on Saturday, it's extremely difficult to
make second radio QSOs. Sometimes it's all I can do to make QSOs on the run
radio. Usually by Sunday I've adjusted to the contest and can see the light
at the end of the tunnel. I almost always feel better. The rate is often
lower, too, so that's when I tend to make more second radio QSOs.

Finally, there's the low bands, especially 160. When conditions are tough
there in WW and DX, sometimes you have to stop running and do a dedicated
S&P across the band to pick up the mults needed to be competitive. This is a
function of conditions and antennas, too. On the upside of the sunspot
cycle, I've had to do more dedicated S&P on 160. In recent years, with low
flux and a quiet geomagnetic field, it's been possible to S&P 160 while
running on the other radio. A Beverage can make a huge difference in that
equation. 

73, Dick WC1M

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Richard F DiDonna NN3W [mailto:nn3w at cox.net]
> Sent: Monday, June 01, 2009 9:20 PM
> To: Randy Thompson K5ZD; 'Pete Smith'; cq-contest at contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] S&P Rate
> 
> I agree with Randy.  Once I hit about 120 to 140 an hour on SSB, SO2R
> becomes taxing.  It also gets harder to do it seamlessly without seeing
like
> a clutz.
> 
> At 60 or 90 an hour, SO2R is relatively easy, especially when you consider
> that a SSB QSO takes 15 seconds and that leaves 30 to 45 seconds to spend
> CQing and/or focused on the second radio.
> 
> Its also MUCH easier on Day 1 because its guaranteed that anybody you tune
> across on the first day is a new QSO.  Day 2 on SO2R on 15 or 10 meters is
> much tougher because you've worked ZW5B, LW9DA, PJ2T several times before,
> and if you're band map isn't totally up to date (and especially when
you're
> not assisted), every QSO is a guess as to if you've worked a given station
> or not.
> 
> 73 Rich NN3W
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Randy Thompson K5ZD" <k5zd at charter.net>
> To: "'Pete Smith'" <n4zr at contesting.com>; <cq-contest at contesting.com>
> Sent: Monday, June 01, 2009 7:17 PM
> Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] S&P Rate
> 
> 
> > S&P results differ depending on the contest and the situation.  For the
> > CQWW
> > CW the last two years, I have started the contest by doing S&P on 40m.
> >
> > In 2007, my first hour was an 87.  Most on 40 meters, but then a pass
> > across
> > 80m.  In 2008, the first hour was 116.  That's probably as good as it
> > gets.
> > Looking at the log, I was working multiple stations per minute and per
> > Khz.
> > So it must have been a very target rich environment.  I also had the
> > luxury
> > of knowing every station I called was a new QSO so I didn't always have
to
> > get their call before I called them!
> >
> > I once worked 62 stations in 40 minutes during a 10 meter opening to
South
> > America in a CQWW SSB contest.  Again, lots of loud signals and all
fresh
> > meat.
> >
> > What slows down S&P is the second pass up the band or after you have
> > worked
> > a lot stations.  Each one you hear, you have to check to see if they
have
> > already been worked.  That takes time.
> >
> > When doing SO2R, the rate you can do on the second radio is directly a
> > function of how busy you are on the run radio.  I find that if I can
make
> > 10-15 QSOs per hour on the second radio, that is a lot. But, there are
> > cases
> > in contests like Sweepstakes where I have made as many QSOs on the
second
> > radio doing S&P as I did on the run radio.
> >
> > Randy, K5ZD
> >
> >
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: cq-contest-bounces at contesting.com
> >> [mailto:cq-contest-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Pete Smith
> >> Sent: Monday, June 01, 2009 2:08 AM
> >> To: cq-contest at contesting.com
> >> Subject: [CQ-Contest] S&P Rate
> >>
> >> I'm curious - what do top contest ops hope to do when
> >> operating S&P, in terms of rates per hour, or per shorter
> >> period?  What about SO2R on the second radio while continuing
> >> to run, at some rate or another, on the first?
> >>
> >> 73, Pete N4ZR
> >> New Articles Daily - the Contesting Compendium at
> >> http://wiki.contesting.com The World Contest Station
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> >>
> >>
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