Jeff, AC0C, asked:
> I wanted to find out what kind of so2r controllers you have
> chosen. I'm at the cross roads myself and this seemingly
> simple choice has become more complicated than I guess it
> probably should be. It's an easier pick for CW/SSB - but for
> RTTY, the needs are somewhat simpler as the pc is doing the
> decoding so the need for automatic and isolated switching
> features is of lesser importance.
>
> In a sense, a guy probably could get away without a box at
> all. Just feed rig 1 in to the left ear and rig 2 into the
> right ear. I've run SO2V for a while with out using
> headphones - just left side speaker and a right side speaker
> - and that worked fine.
>
> Of course, this provides no lockout or other cool and
> comforting security features. Or maybe I'm overlooking some
> super critical feature in the mix?
That's right. For RTTY, you really don't need a SO2R controller. I often
just use mono-stereo cabling to put the receive audio from each radio into
the left or right ear of the headphones. However, if you operate SO2R CW
and/or SSB, you will likely have a SO2R controller anyway and that can
provide the mono-stereo audio routing without having to re-configure the
station between modes. My guess is that the MicroHAM line of SO2R
controllers are the most widely used today.
That said, I'm a minimalist and still use the Top Ten DX Doubler SO2R
controller. However, I am migrating my home station to Windows 7 computers
without LPT ports, so I have the low-end MicroHAM u2R SO2R controller that
runs on USB. Another alternative is to use the PIEXX USB-LPT adapter and
continue using the DX Doubler. (See K0DQ's article in the latest issue of
the NCJ.)
Ed - W0YK
_______________________________________________
RTTY mailing list
RTTY@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/rtty
|