Want to have the best chance of getting the minimum of 4 contacts on a summit to be awarded the SOTA points? The secret is to get spotted.
A spot tells people that you have been “spotted on a summit”, and are on a frequency NOW. Chasers load either sotawatch or sotl.as in their browser and wait for activators to show up. Some, like me, also put your call-sign or region into Hamalert so they are notified as soon as you appear on sotawatch or RBN. More on that later.
Creating a spot for yourself is the most important thing you can do to ensure getting contacts, especially when running QRP SSB. You'll have a pileup most of the time. SSB is hard though and you can still get skunked. But if you are operating any day of the week before 1PM, you are almost guaranteed to lure in some chasers.
Alert:
You sent an alert for some future time and guess at a frequency. You can go far into the future. It tells people that you are going to be on a designated summit around a particular time and to look for you. Chasers can hunt around that frequency at the designated time. They know it might be busy so they hunt around for you. If you are running SSB, that's all you get. If you are running CW, there is a bonus.
If
you run CW and create an alert, when you start sending "CQ de
<your_call_sign>" one hour before or three hours after your alert
time, automated listeners attached to computers on the internet, rbn, detects
that you are calling out and put you on RBN spot page. A
second program, rbnhole, watches that RBN list very closely AND if you have an
alert within the window described above, it creates a spot for you on sotawatch
on that summit on the frequency that you are currently using. This is super handy but only if you run
CW. If a CW operator is going into the
back country and knows that they won't have cell phone access, they will create
an alert and let the magic of the RBNhole computer do it's thing. Guaranteed pileup on 20 and 40 during the day
on a weekend.
There
are multiple strategies you can use to create an alert.
How to create an alert:
1. Alerts can be created by going to https://sotawatch.sota.org.uk/
2. You can also create one at https://sotl.as/spots/sotawatch
3. You can use an app on your phone. If you have an iPhone for example, you can
use sotagoat.
4. A friend can also create one for you if they have
an account.
5. And why not let friends know you are headed out and give a listen.
Spot:
A spot is the lifeblood of a QRP
SOTA operator. It tells others that you
are on a summit right now. You can do it
yourself (called self-spotting) or others can do it for you, sometimes you
don’t even have to ask.
Anyone
can go to https://sotawatch.sota.org.uk/ or https://sotl.as/spots/sotawatch, or via
phone apps and look for stations to chase (all the data is from the same
source). If the spot is fairly new,
(like created just a few minutes ago) the activator is probably out there on
that exact frequency. The chaser listens
for your CQ or you talking to others. If
they can here you, they can probably work you.
Because many SOTA operators run low power this REALLY helps. As I mentioned, I didn't know any of this when I started out, failed a couple of times and then started taking a 100 watt rig to summits for a while (heavy and not needed). I will say though, bringing a 100w rig can be a lot of fun during a contest or just to see how far you can reach with a little more punch.
How to create a spot yourself:
Note: To create a spot, the
person will need an account on sotawatch.sota.org.uk.
1. Spots can be created by going to https://sotawatch.sota.org.uk/
2. You can also create one on https://sotl.as/spots/sotawatch
3. Sometimes when someone hears you out there doing
SOTA, they will create a spot for you without you asking. This is super cool. I've had this happen and have done it for
friends.
5. Use your HT on VHF to contact any ham that can
create the spot for you. You can use a
repeater in the area or simplex on 146.52.
I've done this and hams are always super helpful, especially up in areas
where you can almost always raise someone on the HT simplex or repeater. I've done this multiple times. In the LA area, there are operators listening
out for SOTA operators on 146.52 all the time.
It's no guarantee though.
6. If you run CW
and create an alert, when you start sending "CQ de
<your_call_sign>", automated listeners attached to computers on the
internet, (called reverse beacon network,rbn), detects that you are calling out
and put you on RBN spot page.
A second program, rbnhole, watches that
RBN list very closely AND if you have an alert set for one hour before or three
hours after your you are noticed by RBN, it creates a spot for you on sotawatch
on that summit on the frequency that you are currently using. This is fully automated, and is super handy
but only if you run CW. (note, it only
creates a spot if one hasn’t been created already).
If a CW operator is going into the back country and knows that they won't have
cell phone access, they will create an alert and let the magic of the RBNhole
computer do it's thing. Guaranteed
pileup on 20 and 40 during the day on a weekend.
7. Send an APRS text message from your APRS capable
HT radio. I've done this, but I don't do
it anymore since it's useless in many of the back country Arizona summits I
operate within. In California near metro
areas, it works pretty well. I think you
have to be setup in smsmgate prior to using.
To keep spammers out they create a white list of numbers they
trust. Do a quick search to get more
info on setting this up.
8. SMS message to a special address and format with your cell phone. This has to be setup in advance by an opp to
allow your number to text the machine.
(see note above)
9. You can use a Garmin Inreach satellite communicator to send a SMS text to the spotting network. You'll have to be setup to do this. To keep spammers out they create a white list
of numbers they trust.
(I've done this and it's super cool)
Plus, that Inreach device serves as a risk mitigation option for rescue
if needed.
10. A friend can also create a spot for you if they
have an account, you just have to contact that friend by radio, text, phone,
satellite call, or whatever other method you have. I’ve used social media accounts to let my ham
buddies know I’m looking for a contact too.
They just need an account on sotawatch.
I may be missing a method on how to create a spot but as you can see, there are multiple ways to do it. If you spot, hams will most likely chase.
If you don’t get spotted, all is not lost. Try answering CQ of other stations. If there is a rag chew in progress, wait for them to wrap it up and then call one or both whey they are done.
Bonus answer for the question you
didn't even ask :)
You
want to know when your buddy is out there doing sota, go to https://hamalert.org/ and setup an ham alert for them. Alerts can be sent to the phone app and you'll
know within a minute when your buddy is on the air. Tell your ham friends to setup an alert for
you. The cool thing about ham alert is I can have the app on my phone ping, my
watch pings, and sometimes, I even setup an email alert to ensure I don’t miss
some activators.
I
hope this helped at-least one person out there.
If so, feel free to leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you.
73,
N1CLC
Chris
Claborne
(aks
christian claborne)
SOTA Spotter works well for android users de AI6XG
ReplyDeleteFANTASTIC information here. I never knew how RBN knew the SOTA summit I was on. I thought it had something to do with GPS but now I know it got that info from the ALERT. Activating/Operating is so much richer when you understand what's going on in the air.
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