In reply to G7LAS:
Well if you have an Android phone and a HF rig, why not to use pskmail aprs or email?
The aprs can be received by any station using pskmail, not just the servers.
To aprs status you can easily put additional information:
http://aprs.fi/#!call=a%2FOH9FZU&timerange=604800
Imho self spotting with cell phone is almost like cheating…
But if you really need it, why not using some good old phone with big antenna and prepaid sim card?
Jani OH9FZU
In reply to OH9FZU:
But if you really need it, why not using some good old phone with big antenna
What like this? Hiking in the mountains: tips for beginner hikers - Mountain Day
Andy
MM0FMF
In reply to MM0FMF:
Perhaps, but, I use old Nokia N900 and when I set it to 3G only the coverage is better than with 2G only…And it’s not the only phone that behaves like that.
Jani OH9FZU
In reply to OH9FZU:
if you are on top of a mountain most of the time you hear too many signals, e.g. in HB9 at my V/U/SHF-Contest-location (close to HB/SO-009) I can hear all 3 mobile providers of HB9, all from F, DL and OE. To make a successfull phone call I have to search for a hiding place where I can only hear your favourite provider.
And for UMTS data access we are using a logper antenna 
73 de Dominik, HB9CZF
In reply to HB9CZF:
Set your cell phone network selection to manual, roaming off?
Jani OH9FZU
In reply to OH9FZU:
switching off roaming will not help. The mobile networks are build for small cells down in the valley and if are only on RX with the mobile phone you are listening on a common channel where all the signalling is done. In case you start TX-ing a QSY will be performed.
Now the issue on a exposed mountain is that you hear too many signalling channels which are TX-ing uncoordinated. It’s like the hidden station challenge back at our Packet Radio days on 2m.
73 de Dominik, HB9CZF
PS: I only knew all these details back from the GSM days but I expect it is similar for EDGE, UMTS, …
In reply to HB9CZF:
Ok, so pskmail would be actually quite useful 
And if I understand correctly, you can use any band and frequency.
Setting up a temporarily 2m ssb station to pick up your aprs message from the mountain should be quite easy.
Jani OH9FZU
In reply to OH9FZU:
Something similar was going through my mind. We are meant to be radio amateurs so why not use what we have?
Unless you are doing a multi day excursion you will not be that far from your transport so why not use a handheld back to the car and get your radio in the car to either convert & message by APRS, use it as an APRS node (APRS not always available especially north of Edinburgh/Glasgow) or get it to trigger a message via a mobile phone & Andy’s SMS service. (Yes, unattended operation etc etc, but can be worked around)
Other possibilities are there for thinking about
73
Barry GM4TOE
In reply to GM4TOE:
Caroline 'WRW had a good system using VHF to her car and then digipeating onto the HF APRS network. Lots of nice radio there.
73
Richard
G3CWI
In reply to OH9FZU:
Setting up a temporarily 2m ssb station to pick up your aprs message
from the mountain should be quite easy.
The probability is that you would spend far more time fiddling with that than doing the activation itself!
73,
Walt (G3NYY)
In reply to G3NYY:
All I have to do with my system is remember to switch to the right memory position on the mobile rig; the rest of the system looks after itself.
Carolyn
In reply to G3NYY:
You are right it would take time away from working.
But then again if you want to use self spotting it does the same thing.
Most efficient way is to work different bands and modes and not giving one thought to the chasers.
Activator self spotting and chasing the chasers??
Just forget the whole self spotting, scheduling and pinpointing your frequency method, relax and work normal stations.
The normal station points are the same for an activator and it makes the chasing a challenge instead of scheduled qso.
There’s no joy shooting ducks in a barrel.
Is shack sloth an “award”…
Jani OH9FZU
In reply to OH9FZU:
A spot on SOTA attracts a pile-up of SOTA chasers, a pile-up of SOTA chasers attracts an even bigger pile-up.
If someone spots you on the DX cluster, then the fun really starts
73 Mike
MM6MMM/M
In reply to 2E0YYY:
So instead of selfspotting to SOTA, you should selfspot to DX cluster.
It’s just the idea of selfspotting(working schedules) that bothers me, it doesn’t feel like I achieved something.
Like working JA from a contest station with big antennas and kilowatts, it’s just point and shoot, do the same from SOTA peak and you can’t stop smiling.
Jani OH9FZU
In reply to OH9FZU:
It’s just the idea of selfspotting(working schedules) that bothers me,
So don’t self spot.
Self spotting is not about getting contacts for the activator, that is almost trivial to achieve in Europe now and not that hard in the US. (SOTA interest in the US continues growing at an impressive rate.) Such spotting is about get getting contacts for chasers. They don’t have to nurse the radio all day but can do something else and periodically check the spotting systems for info.
Having reached the mystical 1000 activator points, I’m not motivated by them anymore. I wasn’t too motivated by them before. I do SOTA for the walk and the radio is the bonus. However, having done many of the nearer and easier summits, I don’t want to drive for hours then carry a sackful of radios out into the middle of nowhere for just 1 QSO. (I only need 1 QSO to claim a unique). I want as many chasers as possible to get the points. Being able to announce where I am operating NOW is what’s important especially if you move off the common monitored frequencies in Europe. I don’t spot if I call near 7.032 as it’s nigh of impossible not to be chased. 14.061 is not bad either.
But this weekend with big contests on 20m and 15m CW it was difficult. I could, as someone suggested, have worked 4 contest stations but contest stations aren’t chasers. I want to give chasers the points. Not being able to alert for 17m CW was a pain as propagation was good enough to have let me work all over Europe and easily into the US. This is when self-spotting is brilliant, for those occasions when SOTA chasers would miss you.
it doesn’t feel like I achieved something.
Well considering I wrote the software that runs on my phone and the software that runs on my server to handle SMS spotting, I do feel I have achieved something.
Andy
MM0FMF
In reply to OH9FZU:
Hi Jani,
As far as I know on VHF and microwaves the contacts are agreed more in before hand of the activation and the propagation/planning is more critical. That is why these are called “noise bands” and they are quite different from shortwaves on 20 - 40 meters. For various technical reasons it might be useful to self-spot also on the shortwaves, though I have not done that so far in my activations.
73, Jaakko OH7BF/F5VGL
In reply to OH9FZU:
Hi Jani,
BTW in your case that means that for the 2 m QSOs you will probably need to tell somebody with a beam (from Oulu/Rovaniemi) to listen to you while you are activating summits up there north. Then you might get contacts on the two meters band too. Or on four or six meters - as you like.
73, Jaakko OH7BF/F5VGL
In reply to OH9FZU:
Hi Jani,
I don’t always self spot on HF right away. Sometimes , l’ll call CQ and try to work some DX first. Not always possible though.
73 Mike
MM6MMM