Hello everyone.
I recently saw a SOTA activity carried out from the interior of a mountain refuge.
According to Section 3.7 of the General Rules. It should interpret a mountain refuge as a automobile.
Can anyone clarify this situation? is allowed?
This is a difficult one, Dani. There are so many different ways of looking at it.
Nobody would deny an activator to use a tent or âbivvy bagâ on a summit, and it is customary to take advantage of any shelter that the summit offers. I have seen activation photographs where the station has been set up on a picnic table outside a summit cafe which serves skiers, which is acceptable but a bit uncomfortable for a purist. If the photograph shows the mountain refuge in question then it looks to be a sunstantial and well maintained structure, and this may well be uncomfortable to a purist but is not against the rules.
I would offer the thought that this should only be against the rules if the structure has power available, otherwise it should be seen in the same light as a (very) substantial tent.
The use of mains power is not allowed. Having it available is not the same as using it so your argument is moot Brian on that point.
We allow people to use fire lookout towers etc. on summits including hanging antennas from them etc. As all can use the tower, so no one person gains an advantage. Same with this refuge, if all can use it then no one person gains an advantage.
Au contraire, Andy. This is my reasoning: If a mountain shelter has services then it is no longer a shed but a habitation. If we take a summit with houses on it, such as G/WB-021 Ruardene Hill, it would not be permissable to operate from inside one of those houses even if using battery power, it would no longer be within the spirit of SOTA. The importance of this is that some alpine (and other) summits have bunkhouses and other facilities such as cafes within the AZ - it might be possible for any visiting ham to operate with battery power from within these facilities but would it be in the spirit of SOTA?
By the way, I think you used the term âmootâ to mean irrelevant. This is not just a modern inaccuracy but a total reversal of meaning - the anglo-saxon and medieval usage was of a meeting for debate or a court.
I donât see see such restrictions in section 3.7. My explanation is that operating from any building is allowed as long as a portable power source is used.
There are no such restrictions in section 3.7, Hans, the matter has not been considered until now. There is a catch-all clause at the bottom of the Code of Conduct â3.7.3, âThe Golden Ruleâ is that all participants are required to operate in a manner that is in keeping with the spirit of the programme.â
The rules, as they stand, would permit operation from the hut. If it had mains power available, then it shouldnât be used. Brianâs stance that the availability of mains power renders a hut unusable has some merit, but would require an update to the GR in order to action.
I agree that âmootâ should be used to mean âdebatableâ, rather than âirrelevantâ. I think like the word âanticipateâ, which is used incorrectly as a synonym for âexpectâ, common usage is blurring the meaning of âmootâ.
In this situation, it is debatable whether the spirit of SOTA is defined, or indeed definable. It is whatever each person wants it to be, or whatever the MT wants it to be. The meaning is moot.
Whilst analysing a possible future association I noticed a rather posh hotel possibly within the AZ on the highest summit. So I envisaged activating with a handheld whilst enjoying room service (champaign) breakfast in bed! So not even if you turned the lights out and activated from under the sheets with a head torch? Bother!
As I recall my home town has a moot. Perhaps further north that would be a thing.
2 Having little or no practical relevance:
âthe whole matter is becoming increasingly mootâ
which would mean your both right. But donât get onto the differences with the word âsetâ. I believe (i may be wrong) it has the most meanings of any word in the dictionary.
I guess itâd be alright if you stood under a cold shower whilst operating
As an activator, I wouldnât be offended to find that someone else had operated from within a building in the AZ (not mains powered, obviously).
Itâs not as though this is a great loophole to be exploited. Very few summits - I suppose - would offer this sort of facility, so Iâd just see it as part of the rich variety offered by the SOTA programme.
Returning to the subject: I do not think that we need to make any change to the General Rules. The âSpirit of SOTAâ is a nebulous concept but I think we can all recognise what it means. SOTA can only run on trust. In the absense of more information we assume that in the case described by Dani the activator obtained nothing more than shelter from the refuge.