Today is SOTA’s 13th Anniversary.
Jimmy M0HGY
4 Likes
Cool 13 funny old age in it.
Referring to the Kevin scene from Harry Enfield when he turns 13.
Happy birthday Sota
Karl 
Ooooh SOTA the angry teenager… wonder if we’ll come out in “Spots”… sorry, I’ll get my coat.
2 Likes
It will go around saying “Summit” instead of Something. 
3 Likes
Another anniversary - today is officially my tenth anniversary of recording a SOTA QSO in the database as a Chaser…this was with John G4YSS/P on Baugh Fell although I did work Richard G3CWI on Long Mynd on Day 1 in 2002… but did not record that QSO. After starting SOTA on March 3rd 2005 I got in to my stride in May 2005 after retiring from full time paid work. I felt guilty just chasing and wanted to put something back, so in June 2005 I started activating, finding that I also enjoyed doing that I have carried on from there…
SOTA continues to keep me interested in the hobby as a whole. SOTA is responsible for bringing lapsed hams back into amateur radio and also creating new licencees who would never have taken up the hobby if it wasn’t for SOTA.
Well done to all the grafters on the SOTA MT - past and present who have made this into a most successful branch of ham radio. What an adventure it has been, with more to come I am sure for 100s if not 1000s of us!
73 Phil
3 Likes
Not too late Phil to log your chaser QSO with Richard G3CWI activating G/WB-005 back on 02/03/02.
Jimmy M0HGY
1 Like
11:34z G4OBK 7MHZ CW
Yes I could do that Jimmy…thinking about it, but I’ve wanted for a while to celebrate my 10 years chasing today… sadly I had some business in York so I only managed two QSOs!
My first activation was in Scotland (Hightown Hill SS-273) of all places on 21st June 2005, so that 10 year anniversary is to come. On my first activation I made 8 QSOs with a SOTABeams 3 ele yagi and an FT-817. We had a Birmingham Mafia then as you know, and I worked two if them! Graham G4JZF is still quite active in SOTA, I rarely hear Don G0NES though these days. I gave up on 2m SSB not long after - I don;t recall tryng 2m CW, although I have since made a few QSOs on that mode with vertical polarisation. I found using a beam for SOTA too much like hard work - with the strong winds we so oftern encounter keeping the beam pointing in the right direction when calling CQ was difficult, but well done to those practitioners among us who manage it very successfully!
It will be interesting if anyone tries activating with a 6 meter alloy yagi in the forthcoming challenge, a fishing pole breaker for sure…
73 Phil
2 Likes
I’ve been taking part in SOTA as an activator for 11 years now, and I’m still not a Mountain Goat! My most recent target was MG by March 15th 2015, somehow I don’t see myself gaining 259 points in the next week and a bit! I’m a year behind, mainly due to the awful weather last winter.
I agree with the use of beams, I hate turning them! Anything more than 5 elements is a total nightmare for light weight ops I find. Sure, if you have a rotator and a strong system to keep the beam in the right direction, it’s much easier. I find the 2m 3 element SOTAbeam is easy to manage, but the 6 element 70cm portion is just too pointy for my liking.
My Practical Wireless certificate turned up in the post yesterday - I was the winner of the IO82 square in the 2m QRP contest 
(psst, don’t tell anyone that there was only two entries in that square!) I used a 5 element yagi on a 15ft mast. I was on Whernside G/NP-004 and was the highest contester! Lol
Happy birthday SOTA!
Colin M1BUU
1 Like
Hi Jimmy & Tom
I’ve done it…
I have now logged my 1st day SOTA Chaser QSO 02/03/2002 with Richard G3CWI/P when he was on on Long Mynd on 40m CW. Richard managed just 5 QSOs on 40m that day! How SOTA has changed…
Also whilst going through my computer log from 2003 - 2005 I discovered a QSO with Justin G4TSH/P on High Willhays on 19/04/2003 and with G3CWI/P again on 22/04/2003 when he was on May Hill. These I have also now logged in the database.
On 22/06/03 I recorded a 6m SSB QSO with Charlie GW0PZO/P on GW/NW-044 Moel Famau, however I find no log in the database for that day from Charlie (who was prolific in SOTA at that time) so I did not log this. In fact Charlie has recorded an activation from Moel Famau on 27/07/03 when he made just 4 QSOs on 2m SSB!
73 Phil
1 Like
Blimey
As a Sota chaser am still in me nappies 
Karl
That looks like a Backpackers Contest date Phil, and my bet is that Charlie would have made 80/90+ contacts, but just logged the first four in the SOTA Database for the points.
Thank’s for the info Tom - I’ll log the QSO then with Charlie G(W)0PZO from that day. It was a Saturday. He didn’t put any QSOs in for it, but of course he returned a month later anyway for his points. I won’t get my asterisk, but it doesn’t matter. Charlie last recorded an activation was in Sept 2012. He favoured Wales usually I recall. A Merseyside operator who is missed…
Bye then… (Charlie’s usual sign off, you no doubt remember it…)
73 Phil
Wrong!
It was “Bye now”.
1 Like
I stand corrected Tom - thanks for putting me right!