Steven Wilson

so ive been doing SO2R for a few years now but i still feel like im leaving a ton of points on the table especially during the middle hours of a contest when propagation is shifting and i cant decide whether to keep running on 20 or start hunting on 40. the two radio setup itself isnt really the problem anymore, got the interlocks sorted out and the audio routing is mostly fine, but its more the mental side of it — like knowing when to actually pull the trigger and start a run on radio 2 versus just S&P'ing around while radio 1 holds the frequency.
anyone have a system for this? i feel like the rate meter is lying to me half the time. running at 80/hr looks great until you realize 15 opened up and you missed the whole thing because you were babysitting a dying 20m run. also curious if anyone has opinions on when to just abandon a frequency and go full S&P on both radios. feels wasteful but sometimes it just makes sense.
using wintest btw if that matters, and my second radio is just a backup rig so the keying overlap stuff is still a bit janky

oh man yes it absolutely gets easier, dont even stress about it. my first contact i forgot to say over and just sat there breathing into the mic for like 5 seconds before the other guy said uh go ahead. and i had been studying for months. the thing is everybody on the repeater has been there, they all did the same thing, nobody cares. just get on there and do it again today, seriously dont wait. the more you wait the more it builds up in your head. also yeah memorize your call, write it on a sticky note and put it on the radio until it sticks

Totally understand the nerves, I felt the same way my first time. So basically most nets will have a net control station (NCS) who opens things up right at the scheduled time, usually says something like "the [whatever] net is now open" and then they'll ask for check-ins. That's your moment — just key up and say your callsign. You don't need to say anything fancy. Just your call, maybe your first name and location if it's that kind of net.
As for not having anything to say, that's completely fine. Lots of people check in with just "no traffic" or "nothing further" and that's totally normal. The NCS will just acknowledge you and move on. The 7pm Monday thing on a repeater club site is almost certainly a social net or an ARES check-in, probably not a formal traffic net. Those are usually a bit more relaxed and honestly a great place to start. Just listen for a few minutes before the hour so you're on frequency and ready.

im kind of in the same boat as you so maybe not the most useful reply lol but i found the Koch method on LCWO helped me more than anything else once i stopped cheating and actually kept the speed set high. i kept dropping it down when i got frustrated which i think just made things worse. my elmer told me to sit with the discomfort of missing stuff and thats been better advice than i expected honestly. also the Just Learn Morse Code app has some decent word practice if youre tired of random character groups, copying actual words felt way more motivating to me than QSO practice strings