[CQ-Contest] S&P and the Second Radio

[Robert L. Shohet]

Hi,

There are probably as many "styles" and strategies of how to use
S & P effectively as there are willing ops.

However, it is **NOT** important what percentage of q's you make on the
2nd radio.  The **ONLY** thing that matters is precisely what type of 2nd
radio usage in conjunction with the 1st radio will produce the maximum score
for that operator and for that contest.

Everything affects that equation!

Here is an example.  When I was operating competitive SO2R, the factors
that affected my ability to maximize q's on the 2nd radio were affected by 
the
following:

1) Rate on the 1st (main) radio

2) Levels of QRN on the main radio

3) Signal strengths on the main radio

4-6) the same for the 2nd radio

7) What band am I on on the main radio
and what band am I on on the 2nd radio - this
determines where I need to have antennas pointed

8) Volume of q's/mults have I already worked on the
target area 2nd radio?

9) How many interlopers am I defending my run freq. against?

10) How physically tired am I?

11) How psyched am I?

**12)** Am I able to S &P simultaneously on BOTH radios?
This is a key!  I often spent a lot of Sunday afternoon simultaneously
S & P with both radios on 10/15 and 15/20 rather than run.
This was often far more productive than run and S & P and was
largely responsible for why I often had the largest mult totals.

13) How loud am I on the main radio and how able am I to run effectively?
With my antennas, if I was trying to run on 160 then I was wasting my time,
so I might S & P both radios while someone with a good 160 antenna would
be running there and S & P elsewhere.

14) SKILL level is NOT fixed!  That is, there were some contests when I 
could
easily S & P on radio 2 while maintaining 130+ cw rates on the main radio. 
Other
contests, for all the reasons above, my skill level and competence felt 
lower and
S & P on radio was tough at 100 per hour.

15) Is it a single mode or mixed mode contest?  I found that it was easiest 
for me
to run SSB on the main radio and S & P on radio 2.  It was hardest for me to
run cw on the main radio and S & P SSB on the second radio.

16) Are multiple bands open at the same time to EU and other high volume 
areas?
If yes, then S & P can be effective, especially on the first night/day.  If 
not, then
S & P can be almost useless and alternating CQ's on two bands (rather than S 
& P!)
can be far more effective.  **CAVEAT**  If you are going to do this without
angering other ops, make sure you are either highly competent at this 
practice or
pick frequencies high in the band that are not in high demand so you can do 
it slower.

17) Are you passing mults from the main radio to the band on radio B?  This 
lowers the
S & P efficiency but can greatly increase the score.

18) How much are you taxing yourself by using the 2nd radio?  If you are 
doing it with
10% of your brainpower, is that wiping you out mentally and physically and 
decreasing rate?
Or, are you able to step it up a bit as you get conditioned and increase 
your efficiency
on both radios after a few hours?  I tend to vary the 2nd radio work 
according to all the
factors above as well as my own abilities from moment to moment.  Very much 
like
a marathoner who is constantly monitoring his/her own physical/mental 
conditions and
adjusting the strategy continually.

19) This by no means an all inclusive list of techniques and strategies for 
two
radio operation.  Experiment with something new each contest and try it out. 
If it works
then practice it.  If not, figure out if it was a good idea or not and why 
it didn't work.
Can it be improved?  Should it be abandoned?

Contesting and condx are always evolving as are our physical and mental 
abilities and
skills. Accordingly you should not simply rely on a % of q's on a radio as 
measure of
success.  Op A may have a higher percentage of 2nd radio q's and feel proud 
of that
compared to Op B with a lower 2nd radio percentage but significantly higher 
score!
Does that mean that Op A used the 2nd radio more effectively?  I doubt it. 
It probably
meant that OP B used the main radio more effectively and ran more guys than 
Op A!
Or maybe not!

If someone could repeat the identical contest on different days with a 
different mental
and physical state, the score would be different as would the % of 2nd radio 
q's.

My advice?  Figure out what works best for YOU, NOT someone else!  The only
thing that matters is what usage of both radios can give YOU the maximum 
score
in a particular contest with a particular set of cndx and physical/mental
characteristics that can never be exactly repeated.  After a lot of 
practice, thought and
effort, and if you are fairly self-aware, you will eventually figure out 
what is best for
you in each contest.

73
Bob KQ2M