S2S Notification/Emails

Awhile ago I started a topic about S2S and whether or not the other guy even knows etc:

As time allows, I will browse through SOTA watch while on a summit to try for S2S and I will occasionally browse the site when I am logging to see if any of my contacts match up with other activators. As much as I love logging, I am not always in the mood to cross reference everything and stuff gets by.

I know it is good form to announce the S2S contact etc, but I have found that sometimes that info gets lost in the chatter/pile ups. When I know I made an S2S, I email the other guy to confirm that he knows. A couple of times, they didnā€™t. The same just happened to me. This morning I received an email letting me know that the contact was S2S, without that I would not have known.

I was wondering if others do follow ups with email etc for things like that.

Mike
N1IDN

I sign MM0FMF/P and I hope the /P is a bit of a hint that I may be on a summit. It should be enough to trigger questioning in the QSO partner. Signing /P is voluntary for UK hams nowadays and I know many US activators drop the optional /P. Whenever I hear /P in a chaser call I ask ā€œSOTA?ā€ if they donā€™t offer a summit reference. So maybe signing with /P would be a help.

3 Likes

Mike,

I just make sure to send s2s a number of times until I am sure the station knows that I am also on a summit. I look up the REF when I get home. As long as he knows u are also on a summit it all works out.

Pete
WA7JTM

In vk land we mostly ask the other station on a summit by sending S2S or someone calling will send S2S to me if they are looking for summit 2 summit qso. Often or most of the time I am watching SOTAwatch on my phone when activating and usually know who to keep watch for on a summit at the same time I am activating. Usually their summit reference is on my phone or we often do the number swap along with the report just to be sure. Itā€™s quite exciting to make a dx S2S, I have made a few to Europe during my activations with low power and a piece of wire.
Ian vk5cz ā€¦

I canā€™t really understand how you could not know!
All my S2Ss follow the same same procedure - exchange summit info at both sides, thank each other for S2S QSO, say 73 and GL and move on to the rest of the pile up.
Thereā€™s no need to check logs or email; all the info is already to hand :smile:

73

Pete

I didnā€™t know because the S2S reference was apparently lost in QSB as the other activator mentioned in the email that he did send it, I however didnā€™t hear it.

I always send an email when I make the contact, I think I will continue with that. I will also check SOTAwatch as well.

I tend to over think things, likely I am just doing that here.

Mike

Agree with the other comments - here in VK the magic words of S2S are enough for those other than first time activators to tell all other chasers to standby and go ahead the S2S. It can become a little difficult when there a multitude of activations going on (this years New Years Day SOTA party was a perfect example of that), but generally everyone here gives priority to S2S contacts including chasers tipping off the activator to a S2S calling in if they cannot get through the pileup.

Matt
VK1MA

When on the chaser side of things. Many a time during or just before making contact if I have heard a S2S calling through and if I have broken through to the activator. I always try make sure there alerted to the fact a S2S is trying to make the trip as well.

Did have one situation on a summit meself on where i was working at least 5 activators on same summit in romania and freq. Ok after working one on same summit points no longer valid but to those 5 others it is. But end of day when an S2S is going on please put your mike down and wait.

Now to the other Bit P for Portable. Very important to me as when I hear portable my ears prick up it may be a sota, it may not be but do like to check.

Plus we should remember a lot, if not most of these sotaā€™s are quite QRP stations lot of them only run 5w or 10w and as yesterday showed conditions dropped and the first victims of this was the QRP stations. Being a small 10w station myself and me over sized wet bit of string appreciate others mentioning to the activator there,s a Qrp station calling in by other chasers and thanks for that help. But we have been spoiled last 9 days here of good weather and good contacts with many many Sota stations till the weather turned and propagation conditions.

Karl

Mic

Looks like both are actually valid. The Oxford Dictionary shows ā€˜mikeā€™ as originating in the 1920s, while ā€˜micā€™ came into usage in the 1960s.

A web search will turn up countless references to both permutations, as well as myriad questions (and even heated debates!) regarding which is superior. :wink:

[Note that the above hyperlinks lead to US pages due to my location; hopefully their site is smart enough to accommodate users from other countries.]

1 Like

True, but in engineering circles that would loose you a few sales immediatelyā€¦

Jonathan

I always thought the name mike when applied to microphones was named after Mickey YYY. You live and learn.

I strongly favor the method described by Pete WA7JTM. The S2S chaser sends several ā€œs2sā€ along with his call. This should signal both the activator to listen for him and it SHOULD also signal the other chasers to standby and stop calling and help the s2s qso complete.

FWIW, itā€™s very disappointing but my experience here in the USA is that chasers, with rare exception, ignore the presence of an s2s chaser on frequency, and Iā€™m sure many of them are hearing the ā€œs2s s2sā€.

Barry N1EU

A purist would argue that a fully valid S2S QSO would have the refs exchanged both ways correctly at the time of the contact. If one or both stations did not realise that the other station was SOTA, then is it a S2S QSO? Discuss.

Iā€™m not always a purist BTW, just when it suits meā€¦

I see what you did there.

Purists ought to take guidance from the rules. Is it officially stated somewhere that any SOTA exchange must include the reference? If so, then there are thousands of invalid contacts in my log, and in yours. Is it officially stated somewhere that an S2S exchange must include references? If so, then we ought to be doing it that way, If not, then end of discussion.

Rather than searching the rules myself, Iā€™ll leave that to anyone inclined to make it an issue. 73

Gary, K9ZMD
Ridgefield, WA

I only have a few S2S, most CW but at least one that was voice. In the case of the voice, I called the other activator and he made it clear to other chasers that he was taking the S2S first. In the case of CW, it doesnā€™t seem to work that way here as N1EU stated.

After I posted the original thread a few months back, I changed my operating procedure. If I am initiating contact, once I am acknowledged, I will send S2S during the exchange to make sure the other guy knows. The other day, the other activator told me he sent S2S, I didnā€™t hear it, either because he was drowned out by other chasers or QSB. In any event, an attempt was made and missed.

Mike