so ive been doing serious contesting for about 4 years now and finally built out a proper SO2R setup this past winter. two radios, bandpass filters, the whole deal. ran it in ARRL DX CW last month and honestly i came away with mixed feelings about whether it actually helped me as much as i thought it would.

the thing is, when the run rate on radio 1 is above like 120/hr i barely have time to do anything meaningful on radio 2 anyway. i end up just half-listening for multipliers and missing calls on the run frequency because my brain is split. then when the rate drops i start hunting on 2 and it gets better but by then ive already cost myself some points fumbling around during the busy period.

im curious how other SO2R guys handle the transition - like is there a rate threshold where you mentally flip into more aggressive S&P mode on the second radio? or do you just keep it going the whole time regardless and accept some inefficiency early on. also wondering if anyone uses a specific logging software feature to help manage this, i know N1MM has some SO2R stuff built in but i havent dug into all of it yet.

the threshold thing is real and it took me a long time to get comfortable with it. roughly speaking if im running above 100/hr i treat radio 2 as purely a mult finder - i tune it slowly, park on something interesting, and only actually operate it during natural gaps like when someone asks for a repeat or theres a QSB dip. below that rate i go more active on it. some guys set hard rules for themselves but honestly after enough contests it becomes more of a feel thing.

the N1MM SO2R integration is worth digging into btw. the alt-D and related stuff for switching focus between radios is genuinely useful once you build the muscle memory. took me probably three contests before it stopped feeling like i was fighting the software. the audio switching setup matters a lot too - if youre monitoring both radios at once your brain fatigues way faster than if you have a setup that lets you focus one ear on each. some guys swear by the stereo headphone split, others hate it, just gotta find what works for your brain.

honestly the bigger thing people dont talk about enough with SO2R is the RF management side. if your filters arent doing their job you'll be dealing with desense and intermod the whole contest and no amount of operating strategy fixes that. i spent way too long blaming my technique when the actual problem was my bandpass filter setup wasnt quite right for the band combo i was running. once i got the attenuation sorted between the two radios everything else clicked into place a lot faster.

on the rate question - yeah there's definitely a crossover point but i think it varies more by band conditions and contest than anything else. like in a domestic sprint where runs are shorter anyway you almost have to be more aggressive on radio 2 from the start. in something like SS or DX CW where you can hold a frequency for a long time the dynamic is totally different.