Building a Single Op, Two VFO Digital Contest Station (SO2V)
Following on from the blog post about how to progress in RTTY Contests, I decided that SO2V was the cheapest and easiest way to get extra stations in my contest log. I already have the Yaesu FT-2000 Transceiver which is Twin-Receive capable, so an additional Soundcard input is all that is needed above what I have already.

Station Logging is via N1MM+, again SO2V capable so just needs configuration. This is available from the N1MM+ documentation website.
Audio
The Yaesu FT-2000 provides second receiver audio via the rear AF socket, on the Right channel of a TRS plug. As I take my main VFO audio from the Packet port currently into a G4ZLP interface, I built a new cable for my Signalink USB, to pick up the additional audio input, and take into the PC.
[AF Out Socket] > [TRS] (Main/Sub/Gnd) to [Signalink USB Interface]
Software
Software changes are also needed for RTTY decoders, with another folder for MMTTY , GRITTY and 2Tone applications, and the secondary DI config setup for the additional audio input.
Screen Layout is important for Context switching, therefore I have VFO A on the Left Screen, VFO B on the Right, which are a mirror image for window placement. This may develop as I use the set-up.
Operating
N1MM+ operating for SO2V requires a number of new keystrokes. The main one is CTRL + < or > to move between TX VFO. There are others that you need to review on the N1MM+ Documentation Site.
Contesting
As ever, the best way to get an understanding of just how SO2V works, is to enter a contest and try it ! In this case, the EAPSK63 contest was a good place to start, as geographically I'm never going to get a great placing in this contest and it is similar enough to RTTY, but less complex as there is only one decoder to configure, FLDigi in my case.
I started off with just the main VFO, and listening around on the sub VFO to understand how usable it was. One of the down sides of SO2V from SO2R is that you loose receive on the second VFO on TX. This means that you do miss quite a bit of the other VFO signal decodes, but there is enough between CQ calls on the main band to be of use.
With main VFO set to CQ repeat, it is then easy to tune around another band looking for stations, and more importantly multipliers. I started with main VFO on 20m, Sub VFO on 10m but there was not much to work on 10, surprisingly. A shift to 40m did bring some more stations, enough to understand the S+P on one band, Running on the other. With 20m degrading with the daylight, 40/80 were then up, and more activity followed.
Running with S+P in the gaps started to work well, and when the rate dropped, I then turned to Running on two bands. This is as daunting as it sounds, and thus took some time to work through the keystrokes and procedures, but again learning by doing, it resulted in a lot more QSO in the log.
Summary
Overall, the SO2V experience was a positive one, and almost certainly improved my score significantly. The mental load however is high, and whilst with practice this should be easier, I was very tired after only 15.8 hours in the contest, with sleep in the middle.
The downside of SO2V, loss of receive on TX can be managed, but is a significant factor between SO2V and SO2R. That said, I don't have two Multi-band Antennas on HF to allow SO2R, or the investment into a SO2R controller at this time, so SO2V gives me a chance to at least try to compete with SO2R stations.
Improvements after one contest. – EAPSK63
I reused my SignalinkUSB for the Sub VFO audio channel, and this is OK, but the radio output is very low, and the SignalinkUSB does not have enough gain to bring the signal up, and at full level is quite noisy. I need a better external USB soundcard so will keep an eye on Ebay for a pre-loved Focusrite Scarlett or Presonus Audiobox USB 96 unit.
The SO2V keystrokes on N1MM+ are quite a feat to keep up for multiple hours. For Dual Band Running, CTRL and F1 are distant enough to hurt after a while, so I need a programmable Keypad. The ELSRA Keypad looks like a good choice, and highly configurable. Not sure how it will cope in an RF situation, but I have very low RF in the shack, so should be fine. At £37 from Amazon, looks to be a cheaper alternative to the more expensive units.
73 de M1VPN, damian.