Summits On The Air (SOTA) is an amateur radio operating award program launched in Great Britain in 2002, which is now known worldwide. SOTA's aim is to encourage licensed amateur radio operators to operate temporarily from mountainous locations, combining hiking and mountain climbing with operating their amateur radio station from the summits of hills and mountains.
Activation of Roter Knopf on Shortwave, VHF and UHF Those who set up a station on a summit (usually for a few minutes to a few hours) are known as activators, and those who contact ("work") activators on summits are known as chasers.
Points are awarded to the activator for operating from ("activating") a summit, and to each of the chasers contacting ("working") the activator. The higher the mountain is, the more points the activator and each chaser receive.
The rules include that "the method of final access to the Summit must be non-motorised and all equipment must be operated from a portable power source (batteries, solar cells, etc). Operation is expressly forbidden using permanently installed power sources or fossil-fuel generators of any kind". This usually forces the activators to minimize the total weight of their equipment while still bringing adequate antennas and electrical power (usually batteries) to the summits. In addition, a summit must have a minimum amount of prominence relative to the terrain surrounding it. The rules state the elevation must be at least 150 meters or 492 feet. Activators must also be within the Activation Zone which is within 25 meters (83 feet) of the top of the summit.
A dedicated website, Sotawatch, shows real time information about the ongoing and planned SOTA activations ("spots" and "alerts"), and an independent project, the SOTA Mapping Project provides extensive information about the "SOTA summits" on www.sotamaps.org. All activators are encouraged to upload recorded GPS tracks if they have them. This helps others to find their way to a summit, plan estimated time of arrival, and not lose their way.
Activation of Roter Knopf on Shortwave, VHF and UHF Those who set up a station on a summit (usually for a few minutes to a few hours) are known as activators, and those who contact ("work") activators on summits are known as chasers.
Points are awarded to the activator for operating from ("activating") a summit, and to each of the chasers contacting ("working") the activator. The higher the mountain is, the more points the activator and each chaser receive.
The rules include that "the method of final access to the Summit must be non-motorised and all equipment must be operated from a portable power source (batteries, solar cells, etc). Operation is expressly forbidden using permanently installed power sources or fossil-fuel generators of any kind". This usually forces the activators to minimize the total weight of their equipment while still bringing adequate antennas and electrical power (usually batteries) to the summits. In addition, a summit must have a minimum amount of prominence relative to the terrain surrounding it. The rules state the elevation must be at least 150 meters or 492 feet. Activators must also be within the Activation Zone which is within 25 meters (83 feet) of the top of the summit.
A dedicated website, Sotawatch, shows real time information about the ongoing and planned SOTA activations ("spots" and "alerts"), and an independent project, the SOTA Mapping Project provides extensive information about the "SOTA summits" on www.sotamaps.org. All activators are encouraged to upload recorded GPS tracks if they have them. This helps others to find their way to a summit, plan estimated time of arrival, and not lose their way.