SO2R - are you nuts?

Call me crazy, but I've decided to build a single operator two radio (SO2R) station on my small suburban lot.

And I have no towers - just a big redwood tree with an inverted vee at 60 feet, and a ground mounted vertical (still under construction).

The goal isn't to win any major contests. The goal is to build my operator skills so that when I have the opportunity to operate from a shack that is SO2R capable, I can take full advantage of the station's capabilities. In the November Sweepstakes CW contests the last two years, I've had exclusive access to AD6Z's SO2R-enabled shack, but was unable to take advantage of all that aluminum. However, I did make use of the second receiver in my Elecraft K3, and I feel like I've learned enough to at least give SO2R a try.

So, the goals are:

1. Don't spend a ton of money
2. Allow me to practice SO2R on any arbitrary pair of HF bands
3. See rule #1

The first cut on the overall design is:

• Use the radio I have - a Yaesu FT-857D - as the second radio 
• Erect a second antenna as far away from my G5RV as possible
• See if using these two antennas without any bandpass filters works
• Build or buy an SO2R controller

Likely fails:

• My K3 has a great front end, but the FT-857D may not perform well with a strong local signal, especially when I'm running the KPA500 amplifier. Maybe a bandpass filter on the FT-857D will do the trick.
• Operator brain explosion