I would not even consider so2r with a pair of verticals. Save the money. Do you gave an amp? If not that will increase your transmit signal strength by 13 db. Better yet a small tower and rotable antenna will provide 6 db or so increase on rx an tx. You will be plagued with interstation interference that could likely reduce your possible score. Participate in qso parties to sharpen your skills. Can you do 100 q’s per hour on ssb? How about cw. Operate with a friend as multi single. Great way to improve your score. There are numerous publications rooted in Contest University. In fact try to attend CU at Dayton. SO2R is difficult at best to master. You will need decent audio handling capability to separate the audio into each ear. Some of the best can do over 250 per hr on ssb and 150+ on cw. Its hard to master. My $.02 worth.
Rick
NQ4I
Sent from my iPhone
> On Jul 23, 2019, at 1:13 PM, Bill Coleman <aa4lr@arrl.net> wrote:
>
> I’m not an expert in SO2R operation, having only dabbled. But, I have some comments:
>
>> On Jul 23, 2019, at 10:55 AM, RJ Hubbard <rj.wf4w@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> I've begun to notice that many of the reported scores on 3830 have the SO2R checked so it seems to be an earmark of the top scorers. My operating time is often limited so the only way to get that score higher is to work more Q's and get more Multis. . . SO2R seems to be the way to do that.
>
> Spending more time in the chair operating is probably easier. SO2R might add 10-20% to your score, depending on the contest. Spending twice as much time might add 30-50% to your score….
>
>> I currently have a 7610, ALS-600, 6BTV, & OCF Dipole. I use n1mm for contesting. My assumption is that I will buy another Icom due to familiarity, ease of integration into N1MM, and I already have RSBA-1 so I can control both rigs from the desktop. I also assume I'll need to buy a couple bandpass filters and perhaps some switches. I also have another 6BTV I could install... I'm not too concerned about the hardware & software side of it. . .
>
> Having good antenna choices is key to quality SO2R operation. That’s difficult to do with your typical city lot amateur installation.
>
>> My lack of knowledge is around SO2R operation... let's take last weekend's NAQP RTTY contest as an example... I assume SO2R ops are on a run freq. on Rig1 Band A and using Rig2 Band B to S&P. Given spotting is not permitted in SO category. the proper way to do that is decode and only work needed multipliers?
>
> RTTY is kind of a special case when it comes to SO2R. Because you don’t actually have to be paying attention to a RTTY signal to decode it, like you do with Phone or CW. Because of this, there are some SO2R and even SO3R operators.
>
> There’s no prohibition on working non-multipliers on the second rig. If Rig1 is calling CQ and getting few callers, you can work anyone on Rig2. The key is to only have one transmitted signal at any one time.
>
>> What about in contests , like the IARU HF Championships, where you can only change bands every 10 mins or so? I assume that negates SO2R operation (aside from monitoring 2nd band)?
>
> That rule ONLY applies to multi-operator stations. Single-operator stations can change bands as many times as they like.
>
>> So help me out here... help me understand the benefit of SO2R, how best to use it, and WHEN to use it. Perhaps my assumptions are wrong?
>
> The key advantage of SO2R is you can keep CQing on one band while S & Ping on another band. When the call rate goes up when CQing, you’re not going to have a lot of time to use the second radio.
>
> The challenge of SO2R is 1) having an interference-free installation that permits you to transmit on one band while receiving on another and 2) being able to effectively interleave the operation of both radios.
>
> I’ve done SO2R in the ARRL 160m contest, where I CQed on one radio, and used the second radio with an RX-only antenna to populate the band map. When I would take a break from CQing, I’d run through my “spots” and work them. This at least kept me from wondering if there was something else going on on the band I was missing when the Q rate was slow.
>
>
> Bill Coleman, AA4LR, PP-ASEL Mail: aa4lr@arrl.net
> Web: http://boringhamradiopart.blogspot.com
> Quote: "Not within a thousand years will man ever fly!"
> -- Wilbur Wright, 1901
>
> _______________________________________________
> SECC mailing list
> SECC@contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/secc