Your Groups Home Help SKCC@groups.io / Topics / FYI: POTA es SOTA Subscription Mac IZ2LSO Search Mute This Topic Messages Find or Create a Group FYI: POTA es SOTA Date 1 - 22 of 22 Hashtags Feb 13 #148022 Leslie Hock WB5JWI New Topic New Poll Chats Calendar Photos Files Databases Folks, I’ve seen several mentions here recently about SOTA or POTA. This is just an FYI post for those who may not recognize the acronyms. I learned about them through a video on YouTube after skipping a few CQs because I didn’t know what POTA meant. Since I was ignorant of the groups I thought there might be a few others who didn’t know their meaning. POTA is Parks On The Air. https://parksontheair.com/ Individuals go to various parks and “activate” that park, usually QRP and often in CW. FT8 and SSB are also common. I’ve joined that group and it is fun to hunt the parks. I doubt I’ll do any activations but I enjoy helping them out. The exchange is usually of the "5NN TU” variety but it is fun. SOTA IS Summits On The Air https://www.sota.org.uk/ (US website https://w5nor.org/sota/ ) and with some minor differences is like POTA but for mountain tops. They are less likely to have internet access and so are less able to QSY. Wiki You don’t have to be a member of either organization to answer their CQs so if you hear a CQ POTA go ahead and jump in. Not sure about SOTA but POTA scans LoTW and, if you’re a member, will automatically count your QSO in your total. Les Leslie Hock WB5JWI SKCC 5013 S wb5jwi@yahoo.com lhock@comcast.net REAL RADIOS GLOW IN THE DARK AND KEEP THE SHACK WARM! Reply Like More Feb 13 #148027 Mike WB2FUV Les, Thanks for spreading the word. I will add a few things. POTA (Parks on the Air) stations are often mobiles or are set-up on a picnic table or campsite in close proximity to the car so they may be running more power than a typical SOTA (Summits on the Air), who has likely hiked to the mountaintop carrying all his/her gear. SOTA rigs are often QRP or at least less than 15 watts. Depending on hiking time and conditions, the SOTA activator may be on the air for a very limited time at the summit. The main SOTA spotting page is https://sotawatch.sota.org.uk/en/ As you say, the POTA operator may --but not always -- also enjoy better chances of internet access. The POTA chasers do not submit their logs but rely entirely on the POTA activator to record the contact. If the SOTA chaser expects to earn award points, then he/she must also submit a log which hopefullly matches the log submitted by the SOTA activator. Nothing prevents anyone from responding to a CQ POTA or CQ SOTA for the pleasure of the contact or to give the activator a helpful signal report from your state. When I am on a SOTA summit, I will also gladly reply with an SKCC number if one is sent to me as part of the exchange. It's all part of the fun of ham radio and CW !!! Stay well & 73! Mike, WB2FUV Reply Like 1 person liked this More Feb 14 #148091 Mike WB7SKK I read that they must make a minimum number of contacts for their efforts to count , so your contact may be the one to make their day Reply Like More John Paul // AB4PP Feb 14 #148093 Feb 14 #148105 Feb 14 #148124 Feb 14 #148128 Minimum Number: For activations of POTA you have to have a minimum of 10 (TEN) contacts for a qualifying event. For activations of SOTA you have to have a minimum of 4 (FOUR) contacts for a qualifying event. I have done both and at times you might not get the minimum. Some remote places for the SOTA activations will make you wonder if there is anyone else out there in the ether!!!! John Paul // AB4PP // 32S Show quoted text Reply Like More Gary KG4SFB An activation has to have 10 contacts to count. Show quoted text Reply Like More Steve Rosman POTA activators submit logs, regardless of quantity, from designated POTA sites around the world which includes parks, trails, historic sites, and much more. Need 10+ QSO's in a UTC day to qualify as activated park though all count. Hunters do not submit logs. All QSO's count as long as POTA rules are followed . See pota.app and parksontheair.com for more info. Lots of awards and recognition available. And LOTS of great people. :73 Steve KA2YRA Show quoted text Reply Like 1 person liked this More Bill - WA7WS POTA requires 10 distinct contacts. They have to be with 10 different people. HOWEVER, you can make multiple contacts with the same person on different bands, and they count. Often, when I'm POTA'ing as an Activator, I start on 2m Simplex, then move to 220 Simplex and finally to 440 Simplex before going to HF. I'll usually get 20 or more local contacts on those bands to easily Activate the park. Same with HF.. you can contact the same station on multiple frequencies OR even different modes and they count. POTA is what totally renewed my interest in ham radio... now, combined with learning CW, it is adding a new mode. I'm thankful to the Activators that pick up my less than good CW to give me a contact as a Hunter. 73, WA7WS SKCC #25618 Reply Like 1 person liked this More Ryuji AB1WX Feb 14 #148156 Feb 14 #148167 I wrote about parks on the air a few times since November, when I joined SKCC. I started POTA in September and that's also when I started CW. Since I have no home shack, almost all of my QSOs are done from a POTA park (except for accidental QSOs when testing antenna, etc.), and the other side of the QSO got POTA hunter credit. That includes those who called K3Y/1 when I was the OP. The log was sent to POTA as K3Y/1 op AB1WX and you'll see the credit waiting for you when you log in (I also sent to LoTW as my callsign, as discussed elsewhere). I also do POTA activation using straight key. A lot of POTA people think it's too much to use a straight key to work a non-stop pileup for 2-3 hours but that is not hard. I often switch to a paddle when joining other pileups (hunting), POTA or DX, for maximum clarity. When I am activating POTA using a straight key, some people send their RST, QTH, Name and SKCC number and I return mine. (most POTA QSOs are RST/QTH only, though neither is required) This probably happens once every 30-100 QSOs depending on the day. In fact, I rarely call CQ POTA. I usually call plain CQ and will take whatever kinds of QSOs. But when my frequency is on the POTA spotter, it'll become non-stop POTA QSOs within seconds, unless the condition is bad. Some people seem to worry about minimum of 10 QSOs to count as an activation. First of all, all QSOs count even if it fails to qualify as an activation. Nothing is wasted. Then, it is VERY easy to make 10 QSOs, especially if you use a decent antenna and power. I run 100W into a vertical but work other portable stations including QRP all over the US. (worked 57 DXCC entities with a whip in 4 months.) About the only time I failed an activation was when I forgot about my work schedule and was notified to return before I made my tenth QSO. Although I forgot about work schedule several times, I only failed to make ten only once. I said this before here and elsewhere, but POTA activation is a great place to practice lots of CW QSOs. At the beginning, I could send at my comfortable speed (in my case it was 18 wpm but I heard someone activating at 10wpm on 30m), didn't feel bad asking to repeat or QRS (it's my activation, not theirs, after all), got formulaic brief QSOs non-stop. It's a bit like drinking from a fire hose but it's good for practice (to slow down, go QRP or 30/17m). Without it, I probably couldn't get my CW QSOs started. The hardest part of POTA is zero-beat pileups. Many people don't know to call 30-120Hz off the activator's frequency. So, I often ask for callsign repeats even when the signal is true 599. Another is that enough stations call even if their callsigns do not match the partial call I specified... AB1WX Ryuji Reply Like More Drew AF2Z RyujiGood for you for using a straight key for POTA activation. I don't do POTA but I use hand keys now for calling DX. I used to do the button pushing routine (programmed CW keyer memories) when calling busy DX stations, but a manual key is more fun. Especially if it takes more than a few minutes to get through the pile. Button pushing gets old fast; a manual key is more engaging. 73, Drew AF2Z Show quoted text Reply Like More Feb 14 #148168 Ryuji AB1WX Hi Drew, it helps to have a Yaesu rig with very unsophisticated menu. It's usually a lot easier to send by hand than go through the menu to use the message keyer function, then switch the receiver filter, or turn off the preamp/AGC to lighten the IF overload, and go back to the message keyer, etc. I did use message keyer when I heard Ivory Coast and Namibia last week, but those pileups were so huge that I gave up. I need a battery operated 1.5kW amp and at least a hexbeam. I also got more frustrated with the unsophisticated split operation mode of FT-897D. Near the end of the year, when the band was so crowded with DX stations and stations chasing them, I experienced situations where I had very little chance of correcting the callsign if they copied wrong, or more likely, if my hand slips during the send. Sometimes, a dot gets too thin on straight key, and when I send AB1WX some DX stations copied TB1WX (or is it that their semi QSK very slow?). For those reasons, I still keep a paddle handy. Sometimes good thing happened calling CQ with a straight key. In one morning, my day 2 of straight key, ZB2CW responded to my CQ from Gibraltar. We had a slow QSO with name, QTH, TRX, etc. and as soon as our QSO ended, a lot of European stations tried to highjack my frequency. He was so popular. There was also a Dutch SWLer who sent me an MP3 of that QSO. That is the only time I heard my code on the air. AB1WX Ryuji Reply Like 1 person liked this More Feb 14 #148169 Feb 14 #148176 Gary KG4SFB During the last WES, I do search and pounce. When I run out of targets, I pull up the POTA Spots page and work POTA with my cootie. I am getting better with the cootie since that is all I have been using. Gary KG4SFB Show quoted text Reply Like More Jon KC1FUU Hi Ryuji: I have made a couple of POTA QSOs with you, as you activate around the greater Boston, MA area. We are in very close proximity (RI) ...most often 50-60 mi. Impressed you send much of the time with a straight key as your copy is much better than the signal reports we exchange. Next time I hunt you, I will exchange my SKCC number. '73, Jon KC1FUU LICW #1938 Life Member SKCC #24698 T ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sent with [ProtonMail](https://protonmail.com/) Secure Email. Show quoted text Reply Like More Feb 14 #148178 Kevin W2NC I'm one of those people who doesn't know to call 30-120Hz off the activator's frequency. Thanks for the info. Loved your post. Kevin W2NC Reply Like More Feb 26 #148555 Dennis (KD1JT) On Sun, Feb 13, 2022 at 03:05 PM, Leslie Hock WB5JWI wrote: Not sure about SOTA but POTA scans LoTW and, if you’re a member, will automatically count your QSO in your total. I'm not so sure about this. I have nearly 200 activations and none were "automagically" confirmed on LoTW. To my knowledge POTA does not interface with other logging programs. If one understands the bare minimum requirements for POTA, it makes sense. I upload ALL my QSOs with full demographic info and such from all my special interest groups once every month to LoTW. Reply Like More Ryuji AB1WX Feb 26 #148556 Feb 26 #148559 Feb 26 #148560 Agreed, in POTA, each activator must submit their log to their area coordinator, who in turn send the log to the POTA database. Then, the activation and the QSOs are counted and each participant's scores/award status get updated nightly. POTA QSOs don't require anything other than exchange of callsigns, but the system does require the park reference number from the activator's logs. LoTW does not have that info. I can upload the log to LoTW, which is a lot faster and reflected in their database in minutes. POTA database update can sometimes take many days by having the submitted log files sitting in the holding tank when the area coordinator is busy (which was often the case in 1 area until last month). AB1WX Ryuji Show quoted text Reply Like More Gary KG4SFB Dennis, I know nothing about LoTW and yes POTA is call and RST, period. There is a youtube video of a fellow customizing N3FJP AClog that populates demographic info and he adds POTA sections. I don't know if this would work with LoTW and I may be totally off base. Just throwing it out there. N3FJP ACLog for POTA Activators - YouTube <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VePKcyP8ppw > Show quoted text Reply Like More Leslie Hock WB5JWI You are correct that the activator has to submit their log. According to the POTA web site the hunter does not need to submit a log and their software checks LOTW for matches. After I joined POTA they even went back and picked up a QSO I had before I joined and added it to my hunter score. If I gave the impression that activators didn’t need to submit their logs, I apologize for my imprecise statements. Les Leslie Hock WB5JWI SKCC 5013 S wb5jwi@yahoo.com lhock@comcast.net REAL RADIOS GLOW IN THE DARK AND KEEP THE SHACK WARM! Show quoted text Reply Like More Feb 27 #148594 Richard - N1RBD On Mon, Feb 14, 2022 at 10:12 AM, Gary KG4SFB wrote: An activation has to have 10 contacts to count. Only for POTA. SOTA is 4. Some history of the 4 QSO requirement. SOTA was originally VHF only when it started in Europe. That's why the requirement for an activation seems low. Reply Like More Feb 27 #148595 Richard - N1RBD On Mon, Feb 14, 2022 at 11:16 AM, Bill - WA7WS wrote: I'll usually get 20 or more local contacts on those bands to easily Activate the park. Are you operating from summits? The only time I've gotten enough VHF contacts for a successful activation is when I'm doing a combo POTA/SOTA. Reply Like More Feb 27 #148596 Richard - N1RBD On Sat, Feb 26, 2022 at 08:05 PM, Leslie Hock WB5JWI wrote: You are correct that the activator has to submit their log. According to the POTA web site the hunter does not need to submit a log and their software checks LOTW for matches. POTA logs are not compared in any way using LOTW. In fact, the only matching that is performed is when there are park to park contacts between two POTA activators. Hunters get credit even if they don't personally log the Q. Reply Like More Feb 28 #148620 Feb 28 #148627 Ray W8RD AClog's latest release (today) has added enhanced funtionality for logging POTA QSOs. http://www.n3fjp.com/news/news2022-02-28.html Reply Like More OwlCricker - K7ULM FB Richard, low power portable ops are fantastic. There are several of my friends who have caught the SOTA/POTA QRP bug. Some are regularly running 2.5w and having a blast. Keep up the good work and hopefully we will connect from the parks. K7ULM Dick On Sun, Feb 27, 2022, 11:42 AM Richard - N1RBD <groups.io@richard.dervan.net> wrote: On Mon, Feb 14, 2022 at 11:16 AM, Bill - WA7WS wrote: I'll usually get 20 or more local contacts on those bands to easily Activate the park. Are you operating from summits? The only time I've gotten enough VHF contacts for a successful activation is when I'm doing a combo POTA/SOTA. Reply Like Previous Topic More Next Topic 1 - 22 of 22 About Features Pricing Updates Terms Help 1 © 2022 Groups.io
