[RTTY] SO2R at low point in Cycle

[Jerry]

HI

	Decided to put my 2 cents in.

	During this part of the sun spot cycle, in general, only one band at a
time is operational. This means that the SO2R station is really running
SO1R most of the time. 

	What counts is the mentality of the operator. He is thinking about condx
and band openings. He is not afraid to quickly check another band for
signals. Those who have radios with pan adapters can spot any activity and
make the decisions to move or not to move.

	This is a powerful tool, but requires a mind set.  It is this mind set
that separates the men from the boys and SO2R is only a small part of it. 

	Mike, K4GMH, with only one radio could match the performance of almost any
of the SO2R contesters. He runs high power but can switch bands at the drop
of a hat. Don, AA5AU, runs mostly low power and also jumps from band to
band as if he was using SO4R.  I run mostly assisted because I am old and
lazy. Still have watched how the top players move around. They are not
locked into one band. It does not matter whether they are using one or two
radios. What matters that their antennas are resonant on all the bands they
plan on using. Switching from one band to another can be achieved in
seconds, not minutes.

	W1ZT, at a Dayton symposium said that the important thing for a
competitive finish is to "stay in the chair".   I wish that I could do
that. In most of the contests  my results show  that another hour or so
would raise my position 3 to 4 places. 

	Running two radios is not easy. for example: the second harmonic of 40
louses up the 20 meter performance no matter how good your filtering.
Fancy filters, stubs etc prevent damage but still make if difficult to copy
stations. 

	To summarize: During the low portion of the sun spot cycle only one band
is open at a time and the second band provides only marginal score
improvement. The mind set of the operator can milk any openings whether
running 1 or 2  or more radios.

	Thats all folks de Jerry NO2T