SOTA

You may have heard on the air waves someone calling
"CQ SOTA CQ SOTA" and wondered what it's all about.

By Steve Warren, 2E0KPO

Summits on the Air, SOTA is an award program for amateur radio enthusiasts, and there are three ways of joining in. Activator, Chaser and SWL.

Certificates are available for gaining 100, 250, 500, 1000 points. At 1,000 points Activators achieve "Mountain Goat" status and Chasers/SWLs are "Shack Sloths". Achieving "Mountain Goat" and "Shack Sloth" status requires considerable dedication and effort and so, trophies can be claimed to mark this significant milestone.

More information SOTA can be found here...

Above: View from GW/NW-003 Glyder Fawr looking towards Snowdon

Activator:

To complete an activation you need to ascend a hill or mountain on the list of approved SOTA summits, make 4 contacts and you have then qualified that summit. You get points for activation, 1 to 10 points depending on the height of the summit. For example, Snowdon - 1085m ASL, 10 points, Bardon Hill - 278m ASL, 1 point. A winter bonus of 3 points can be gained as well during certain times in the year for some summits. You can post your intentions on the SOTA Alerts page, this gives chasers a heads up to when you are expected to arrive on the summit. I also have a handi on 145.500Mhz FM when ascending so I can be contacted and I can also listen out for other activators to get the chaser points on the way up/down or at the summit.

Sounds easy, well think again. Ascending a summit can be hard work, dangerous and often cold. Always check the weather forecast for a few days before your planned date to get the trend of the weather. Prepare yourself, make sure you have the right footwear and clothing. Is your clothing going to be warm enough, will it keep you dry? Often it can feel quite warn in the car park, but on that summit it may not be as sheltered and can be much colder. The weather will change at quite a rate, one minute it will be clear, the next visibility can be down to a few metres. Don't take risks.

Let someone know the route you will be taking, times and so on. Leave this in a safe place so they can get to it if needed.

For example, one mountain I did in February in North Wales. The car park it was sheltered and around 9°C on the summit it was 1°C with a wind chill of -6°C with blowing winds of 20mph. Another summit was clear when I arrived and within a hour you could see no more than 10 metres in front of you and I was being subjected to driving rain. Good navigation skills are needed to get back down safely.

You have to remember, getting there is one thing, making contacts is another. You go through the process of setting up the radio, setting up the antenna, getting seated and then making the contacts. Everything has to be tough and waterproof and be able to cope with the cold and wind. My logbook is a laminated A4 sheet, with a map on one side and the log sheet on the other. I use matt laminates as this lets me write on them in pencil. You are often fighting the wind and cold so everything needs to be tied down.

Above: MW3KPO/P on GW/NW-051 Foel Fenlli. Mast down.

When you are ready, you call out a CQ, often a few times for the first contact. My first call is often answered by a regular chaser and we usually have a quick chat while they put me up on the SOTA Spot page. Then within a few minutes you start to get the mandatory pile up. This can be a real challenge to deal with on a summit, operating the radio, turning the beam by hand, noting down call signs and other details (arms like an octopus can help) and remember your lips are cold, your hands are numb and your brain is trying to instruct your mouth to say something, but it is so cold you mouth does not want to work. Some chasers love to chat and go on a bit, I guess that's because we are a friendly lot, but I don't have warm shack. I have a cold rock under my backside and a howling wind in my right ear, snot dripping off the tip of my nose and ice forming on everything that's exposed on the cold days. Thank god we are not in to video links just yet...

My top tip to chasers when talking to an activator. Keep it short and to the point, there are lots of other times to have a chat.

Above: A summit can be hostile. G/WB-003 Stiperstones. January 2006
Ice and snow with a -11°C wind chill. So cold ice formed on the radio case,
antenna and anything else that was exposed

Okay the summer is better, but you still get the wind and rain and a burnt nose if you are not careful.

When you are on a summit you can also chase for points. If I communicate with another activator on a different summit I can also get the points for chasing. Remember when you are on a summit it is very easy to chase having such a height advantage. I get more chasing points every time I am on a summit than I would ever get when in the shack. So there is some advantage to freezing your bits off.

Above: Sunrise at GW/MW-013 Corndon Hill, views like this make it all worth it.

Often I will ascend the first summit of the day in the dark, or at least part of the assent if it has a technical part, so I can watch the sun come up. The views you get see can be fantastic. This will often give me time to do another local summit as well. I have managed 5 summits in one day so far.

Chaser:

Well what can I say about chasing.

Plan your chase the night before, what time is the first activator going to transmit. Allow at least a half hour before this time to get out of bed and get ready. No point in getting up too early.

Well you need to prepare for chasing. Make sure the heating has been turned on in the shack if it is cold outside, you don't want to get cold. Is the kettle to hand, do you have plenty of tea or coffee. Keep snacks handy as you need to keep your energy levels up, Jaffa Cakes are a good source of energy. Keep all these close to hand as you don't want to leave the radio for more than a few seconds or you may miss that QSO.

Your chair is very important, make sure the cushions are nicely fluffed up, comfort is very important. Wheels will help well in the manic moments in the shack. Saves you getting up and walking to the kettle!

Work out an emergency route to the toilet, this needs to be a quick route as you won't have much rest time between chase QSO's and you will tend to leave the call of nature to the last minute anyway.

A small hand towel to mop your brow when calling during a pile up, it can get very frustrating at times when the activators beam is pointing the wrong way and the fear starts setting in that you are going to miss out on a point or two. A swear box is a very valuable asset, you will make a fortune, while getting skint at the same time..

Now you are ready, park yourself in your nice warm shack and call up two SOTA pages off the internet.

SOTA Alerts page - This is where you get information on who is going to be where.
SOTA Spot page - This is where you find out who is activating and what band they are using right now.

Once those pages are loaded, you can spot and listen for that CQ. Call back and QSY to get your points. Please note, only call back the same time as everyone else does, so the activator gets the full benefit of the pile up. Speak fast and almost clearly. The activator will have no problem in isolating your voice from the QRM, wind noise and chattering teeth, they are experts up there.

Don't forget to tell the activator all your news, equipment you are using down to the finest detail. They have plenty of time up there.

Chasing can be done from almost anywhere but its recommended to chase either in a warm shack or a warm car. Don't be tempted to chase outdoors, exposure to the elements of the weather can be hazardous.

Yes I am a chaser as well!!

Steve Warren
2E0KPO

Further Information on summits.

SOTA Summit Autoroute .axe File -
SOTA Summit Autoroute .axe File Zip Format -
(Use this file in the import section of autoroute to display the summits)
SOTA Summit Excel .xls File -
SOTA Summit Excel .xls File Zip Format-
(Use this file in Excel display the summits or import it to your GPS)

Summits on the Air
OFFICIAL WEBSITE. An exciting new award scheme for radio amateurs.