Summits on the Air

From the "summits On The Air" website at http://www.sota.org.uk/

Welcome to SOTA!
Summits on the Air (SOTA) is an award scheme for radio amateurs and shortwave listeners that encourages portable operation in mountainous areas. SOTA has been carefully designed to make participation possible for everyone - this is not just for mountaineers! There are awards for activators (those who ascend to the summits) and chasers (who either operate from home, a local hilltop or are even Activators on other summits).
SOTA is now fully operational in many countries across the world. Each country has its own Association which defines the recognised SOTA summits within that Association. Each summit earns the activators and chasers a score which is related to the height of the summit. Certificates are available for various scores, leading to the prestigious "Mountain Goat" and "Shack Sloth" trophies. An Honour Roll for Activators and Chasers is maintained at the SOTA online database.
SOTA is designed to be compatible with other mountain users. Please see our environmental statement for details.
Learn how to get involved
Catch up on real time information on who is activating what mountains!
See a full list of Associations to find out which countries are involved
See the Activator & Chaser Honour rolls at the SOTA Database
Browse & Search through the full list of SOTA summits
Find out more about the structure and management of SOTA
Joining In!
Thanks to two of our most prolific SOTA operators for these notes to help you get started with SOTA Chasing & Activating.
Chasing by Roy, G4SSH
SOTA chasing is one of the fastest growing specialist interests in amateur radio today.
Unlike the activators who climb mountains and make QSO's, the chaser doers not require any specialist equipment or fitness to get started and in most cases your existing equipment will allow you to start earning points. SOTA stations use a wide selection of operating bands and modes, including 2m FM, 2m SSB, HF SSB, HF CW and even 10 GHz.
Your home QTH will have an effect on your choice of bands and modes. If you live close to mountains then you can have considerable success with a 2m FM station and a simple antenna, working activators in your own country. However SOTA is international and you can contact activators throughout Europe and beyond if you have access to the HF bands.
The number of points gained for a contact depends on the height of the summit and each summit has a reference number. Activators issue alerts on SOTAwatch to let you know the times and frequency when a summit is due to be activated.
Certificates are awarded for 100 points and upwards. Good Luck and welcome to the fascinating world of SOTA chasing.
Activating by John, G4YSS
Note: You are also advised to read:
Guidelines for Activators
Winter Safety Notes
Introduction
As is so true of amateur radio itself, there are many variations of SOTA activating, which allow it to be as easy or as difficult as you wish it to be. It has been said many times and is now generally accepted, that SOTA is not a level 'playing field.' Thank goodness it isn't! If it were so, there wouldn't be the breadth and variation of targets available for participants of all ages and abilities from the barely mobile to the mountaineer / expeditionary. Yes, from the outset SOTA has been carefully designed so as to offer something for everyone and becoming a successful activator is most definitely not limited to the super-fit. Where's the evidence? There are quite a few disabled activators and at least one successful blind summiteer! One operator's father attended an activation of G/NP-028, when aged 90, even sending a greetings message! At the top of the abilities pyramid, there are seasoned mountaineers but there are also Mountain Goat Award holders who scarcely set foot on a hill before SOTA came along in 2002. The important prerequisites are enthusiasm, the possession of an amateur radio licence and a love of the open-air.
Awards
Each summit is assigned a number of points between 1 and 10. In some countries a seasonal bonus of 3 points per summit helps the score along. Certificates for 100, 250, 500 and 1000 activator points are available but if you reach 1000 points, you can obtain an attractive 'Mountain Goat' trophy with your callsign inscribed on it. In case you're tempted to hang up your boots after attaining the 1000 level, further certificates are available at 2500 and 5000!
Find your own level
Starting out in SOTA activating can be a little like buying a new suit. The tailor makes measurements and a start is made on production. At stages there will be fittings where adjustments can be made. By the end of the process the suit should fit perfectly (until you put on weight, that is!) If you have little experience of either or both of the basic components of SOTA activating (i.e. hill-walking & portable operating) you will to some degree, be on a learning curve. Your first tentative outing might not go exactly to plan but don't be discouraged. With a little patience, a few adjustments and perhaps some advice from 'old hands,' there is likely to be an activating style that fits you personally, suits your pocket and sharpens your skills; bringing enjoyment beyond your imaginings.
Many activators set their sights on the coveted Mountain Goat Award but that's not for everyone. If you live far from the hills, suffer a disability or have little leisure time, it's best to set your own achievable targets at first, such as activating all the lower hills in your own area or selecting the ones where there is good road access etc. Equally, the more experienced might want to limit their efforts to the highest mountains. The really important thing is that you join in, enjoying the challenge and 'buzz' that you'll get from eager chasers desperate to work 'your' summit for the points or 'falling over themselves' to log a 'new one' or 'unique' regardless of how big it is.
Let's get the serious stuff out of the way first...
The topics following, which are pertinent to safe SOTA activating, are detailed in Winter Safety Notes (for the SOTA newcomer.) Please read it.
The Weather
If you're not used to the high places, conditions may surprise you; especially in winter. Suffice to say that valley and summit weather is 'like chalk & cheese.' You can expect a temperature drop of 2 deg. C for every 300m (1000 ft) of ascent, perhaps double or treble the wind speed / wind-chill and a high degree of changeability. If you didn't properly prepare for your first ever SOTA sortie, adding low-cloud and/or precipitation to this cocktail will certainly make you take notice the next time you venture out! Get the latest forecast; if possible a local mountain one.
In summer you should take precautions to avoid de-hydration, sunburn and (on still days) even insect attack. One increasing hazard is the common tick, which lurks in undergrowth (e.g. Bracken). These can carry Lyme disease. In winter, wind-chill is a common enemy but snow, ice; bad visibility and short days should all be taken into account too. Lightning is something to avoid entirely and static could shock you or damage your equipment.
Walking gear
Ensure you have the proper outdoor clothing and footwear including, waterproofs, a hat / hood, gloves, food / drinks, navigational & emergency items including map, whistle, survival bag & first-aid kit. A good rucksack, which need not be huge and rucksack liner will help to safeguard your delicate radio kit. Pack a small torch, spare batteries, emergency rations and a survival bag. Carry a whistle. Your route should be pre-planned and advised in writing to a trusted person, to cover the unlikely occurrence of an emergency. There are still plenty of summits which don't have mobile phone coverage.
Experience
If you are completely new to the discipline of hill-walking, take an experienced companion and/or start with something small and work up. For more ambitious activity, ensure that you have the knowledge, training, fitness and equipment appropriate to the conditions that you are likely to meet, with sufficient reserve for dealing with unexpected delays and emergencies.
At the summit
Take steps to make yourself more comfortable for the activation. A sit-mat and extra clothing are good for starters but if you're planning to stay for longer, portable shelters of one type or another are quite popular. Some summits have walls or stone shelters but giving other people as much space and priority as possible is important. Time taken explaining what you are doing is time well spent but you should endeavour to 'blend' as much as you can, both in sight and sound. Set up safely, in the least obtrusive manner and use headphones. Do your best to be a good ambassador for the hobby. A leaflet is available to help you but don't give it away if there's a chance that it might later be discarded and become litter.
Remember. You are responsible for your own well-being, so whether you're 'thinking big' or merely venturing a short distance from the vehicle, further research into mountain safety is strongly recommended.
Now, on a lighter note...
Radio kit
Life is full of choices but SOTA activating equipment can roughly be divided up into a few main categories:
VHFM Handie
Perhaps the simplest, lightest, least obtrusive and (if successful) quickest approach is to take along a VHF or UHF Handheld, fitted with a helical antenna. Here SOTA can deliver a real bonus to make modest equipment perform better. On a hilltop, you are likely to enjoy an enhanced 'take-off' and contacts can come easily, especially if you're high up and close to population centres. If you're a newcomer, 2m-FM can be a good way to 'test the water.' However, on smaller hills which are blocked by larger ones and even on many of the more remote Mountains despite a lofty stance, things may not be so straightforward. A 'rucksack vertical,' free-standing mast & antenna such as a half-wave or a modest SOTA-beam will help greatly but there'll still be certain summits from which you'll struggle to obtain the 4 QSO's required for qualification.
VHF SSB & Beam
The next logical progression is towards the use of VHF SSB gear, a bigger beam, more power and possibly an RX pre-amp. This is likely to uncover 'another world' that effectively remains hidden from the 2m-FM operator. Useful distances can now be covered especially during 'Es' or 'tropo' events but the weight penalty begins to kick in. There are the neighbouring bands of 4m, 70cm, 23cm etc but none likely to succeed so well as 144 MHz. 6m can surprise us at times and a handful find success way up at 10 GHz.
HF
Because at the time of writing, relatively few countries outside Europe have established themselves in the ever-expanding SOTA programme, there is little use made of the high HF bands from SOTA hilltops. The vast majority of ionosphere-assisted activity (in the order of greatest QSO numbers) takes place on the 40m, 80m, 30m and 20m bands. In the UK over the past few years, the reliable but experimental 60m (5 MHz) band has been put to excellent use for SOTA. To operate this band, a full UK licence along with a notice of variation and specialised operating technique on spot frequencies is required. Finally, the knowledge that there exists a small group of 160m band SOTA enthusiasts may come as a surprise to many. All this is likely to change with the sunspot cycle and as more distant countries join the SOTA family.
If the drawbacks of carrying and setting-up HF equipment can be accepted especially if you plan to run significant power, you arrive at a point where it is possible to reliably reach most of the SOTA chasers in our own continent. However, any temptation to reduce the quantity of essential 'safety equipment' to make space for more radio gear should be fiercely resisted; one effective alternative being to use QRP.
Though on the majority of SOTA tops there is little problem, one important consideration is the space required to accommodate in a sympathetic manner, large wire antennas on busy 'compact' summits such as for example, Snowdon (GW/NW-001). Here we should invoke the '25m activation area rule' which exists to help us address this issue and the question of how best to find shelter from the elements.
CW
Since activators have obvious weight & power limitations their use of CW, with its greater reliability in marginal conditions and/or QRP situations, has grown in SOTA as a result. Quite a few summit operators have trained themselves from scratch or brushed up on their Morse. Be they activator or chaser, all have benefited from fuller logbooks and the satisfaction of a new skill turned to good advantage.
Power supply
The most common battery types currently used for SOTA QRP work are Nickel-Metal Hydride and Lithium. Until battery technology truly catches up, offering us lightweight, heavy-current power at affordable prices, many activators are stuck with the popular but heavy SLAB (sealed lead-acid battery - often 7.5 Ah) for use with 100-Watt rigs. It's worth keeping an eye out at radio rallies, to see what's available.
Rigs
Obviously, VHF/ (UHF) handheld transceivers are eminently portable and unless its 4m, 6m or the bands above 70cm you're after, there are plenty to choose from. The more rugged 2m-only or multi-banders, which can run 5 Watts and at least claim to be waterproof, are perhaps the most suitable for first-line use in our branch of the hobby but there are plenty of lighter ones for use in backing-up a primary rig. Running SSB from an old, trusty FT290 through a linear is another viable option. You'll need an SMA-BNC adaptor to connect an external antenna to the more modern rigs.
Thankfully in recent years, HF transceivers have 'shrunk' in size and weight, whilst greatly increasing in usefulness by incorporating the 6m, 2m & 70cm bands. Worthy of mention is the FT817; an HF/VHF/UHF QRP rig which was surely created to revolutionise SOTA operations! The FT857 is similar in many ways but runs 100 Watts and some SOTA regulars put their IC706's to good use.
Antennas
For VHF, many people use a lightweight beam. SOTAbeams of Macclesfield make a range of these with masts to go with them. For HF, the trend tends to be towards home-brew using thin wire (perhaps 20, 22 or even 24 AWG) and lightweight coax (e.g. RG 178 or RG316). Link antennas, based on a resonant dipole for the lowest band desired, with pull-apart connectors for the bands above it, have become quite popular. A link dipole, carefully designed and covering the 80m, 40m & 30m bands for example, can weigh less than 400gm including a spool. Roughly an equal number of HF activators carry a miniature (often automatic) ATU to allow matching and multi-band operation using either balanced-line fed doublets or long-wires.
Antenna support
Many of the masts carried for HF tend to be based on lightweight, sectional GRP fishing-poles, which are usually guyed by one means or another. However, in very high winds the strength of their thin, upper sections can be called into question so these might best be temporarily discarded in such conditions. Shorter adaptations of these are good at supporting VHF beams and a few operators use two walking poles fixed together to form a low centre-support for wire antennas. Whatever system is used, there are the inevitable compromises between weight, bulk and windage versus performance, durability and height above ground.
What to expect
With the exception of certain hilltops which play host to commercial transmitting equipment, the refreshing low-noise HF radio environment of a typical SOTA summit added to a receiver powered by batteries, has to be experienced to be believed! Here, the HF activator enjoys a huge receive advantage over fixed stations and if conditions are poor it will be the chaser who struggles to complete the QSO. At weekends in particular, you can often expect a pile-up but remember that it's the activator who must set the pace because only he/she has the full overview of summit-conditions, safety issues and time constraints.
Chasers, logging & spotting
Life would be hard without (declared) chasers but that's just what the early activators faced. Nowadays, band conditions permitting, you can usually be confident of being chased; the introduction of alerting and spotting systems all but guaranteeing it.
The relationship between activator and chaser is one of mutual respect and the drill is to validate each QSO by giving the SOTA reference, accurately logging callsigns and properly exchanging reports. If required, a specialised 'Waterlog' is available for use in the rain. Chasers can be of great assistance to you; QSP'ing your weak signals on request (apart from the report of course.) It can make for a more efficient activation, when your callsign, summit ref and QRG are spotted for you on SOTAwatch, early in the proceedings but alternatively, there's the option to self-spot using a mobile phone. If summit-to-summit (S2S) working is your speciality, chasers often help by passing details of current activity to you over the air. Finally, the people you work can become an important emergency communications option, if any problem should develop.
Alerting
Alerting your planned summit arrival-times can help you too but certain activators may feel pressure to 'deliver the goods' on time. If there is a down-side to alerting and spotting systems, it might be that chasers are less inclined to search the bands for the random, unannounced appearance of an activator. Individuals should decide for themselves but the facility (available in SOTAwatch) is used to very good effect by the vast majority of activators.
Frequencies & the Reflector
If you are a newcomer and want to know what frequencies are in current use for SOTA, look at future alerts and spots from recent SOTA expeditions. Don't be bashful about asking for advice on the SOTA reflector either; a constructive and informative answer is normally forthcoming.
Well, that's it. It's impossible to cover every aspect of summit activating but hopefully we have at least given you some food for thought. Perhaps quite soon you'll be heard on your favourite band, taking part in this fascinating and exciting programme, from a summit of your choice.
Finally: Two words of warning. It's addictive!
Good luck and take care on the hills.

73, G4YSS.