so ive been doing single op for years now and finally got a second radio set up this past winter, been messing around with SO2R during some smaller contests to get the hang of it before i throw myself into a serious effort. and honestly its way harder than i expected — not the RF isolation stuff (though that took a while to sort out) but just the mental side of it.

like i get the theory, you run on one radio and S&P on the other during your own transmit cycle, pick up a mult or a new Q while youre waiting. but in practice i keep dropping the run frequency because i get distracted by something interesting on radio 2 and then when i come back someone else has taken my spot. or i get so locked into the run that i forget to even listen on the second radio at all.

anybody have a good way to build the muscle memory for this? im running Win-Test with the SO2R assistant but im not sure i have it configured right either. curious what your actual workflow looks like when the rate is good on run but theres a juicy mult sitting there on 15m while youre on 40.

yeah the mult vs rate tradeoff is something you just have to feel out over time honestly. early in a contest when rate is high, i almost never leave my run freq for anything except a dead-certain new mult that i know wont come back. like if its a zone or entity i need and the band might close, sure, but if its just a state i'll work eventually anyway i stay put.

the thing that helped me most with SO2R was setting a hard rule for myself — radio 2 gets exactly one call attempt, maybe two if propagation is sketchy, then i drop it and go back to focusing on the run. no rabbit holes. Win-Test has that interlock stuff but i found i had to also just discipline myself separate from what the software does. the software keeps you from transmitting on both simultaneously but it doesnt keep you from mentally wandering off, thats all you.

also make sure your headphone switching is set up so you can monitor radio 2 in one ear without it dominating. some guys go full SO2R with both ears split and i just cant do that, one ear on the run one ear loosely on radio 2 at lower volume works better for me mentally.

i went through basically the same thing last year, took me like three or four contests before SO2R stopped feeling like it was actively hurting my score compared to just single radio. the drop in rate while you're learning is real and kind of demoralizing but it does click eventually.

one thing i dont see mentioned much — practice during low-pressure moments, not during a rate run. like find a slow hour in a contest, maybe sunday afternoon doldrums on a domestic contest, and just force yourself to work the SO2R workflow even when theres no urgency. that way the motions get ingrained without it costing you much if you fumble it. trying to learn it during a hot saturday night run on 40 is just gonna frustrate you.