A contact without location remains valid for SOTA - but not for the challenge. That’s a dfferent beast! Special rules for challenges are nothing new, the microwave challenge already involves distance so needs locators.
Challenge rules are in addition to, or replace normal SOTA rules.
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Okay. Is there any reason the adif upload can’t be made to work for the challenge if the uploader specifiers both QRAs? e.g. GRIDSQUARE and MY_GRIDSQUARE
100% this! 2 and 70 CW and SSB for peanuts!
Me? I’ll be using the absolute créme de la mènthe of all moders. The king. The sultan. The Geoff Capes of them all…
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Looks like I’m getting the 70cms moxon out the loft then.
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Most of us are aware of the potential of these bands Brian. However, I don’t see how this will extend the interest beyond the challenge. Taking advantage of anomalous propagation is entirely random and requires zero skill on behalf of the activator. Nice of it happens…. most of the time it doesn’t.
A simpler scoring system would have been fairer to all and rule out the element of chance. A summits x contacts approach would reward those activating different summits and spending more time on the air. Why build in chance and give the prize to the one fortunate enough to be on a summit when the bands are open and lots of DX can be worked rather than the one that makes the greater effort to travel further and stay on the hills longer?
Under the circumstances, I will do what I can to participate in the challenge, both as an activator and a chaser, but I certainly won’t be putting in an entry, even for the few summits I hope to get to next year.
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Like all challenges, it will be automatic.
How can it be if I don’t log locators?
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My mistake because I don’t use ADIF ( use FLE) so I didn’t read the description carefully. You just enter the gridsquare in the ADIF fields. i.e. <GRID_REF:6>IO83KJ. You only need the %QRA% in the comment for CSV uploads.
Andrew is asleep as it’s 5am where he is and will call me all names under the sun when he wakes reads the crock I’ve written.
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I use HAMRS and it automatically searches qrz or hamdb. If a station hasn’t set up QRZ on the UK at least it defaults to user location as London. So If I activate G/SP-015 and work a station that hasn’t set up qrz properly do I have to delete the entry?
CSV log looks like it supports only 6 character maidenhead grid. You say ADIF, but are you asking that ADIF also use 6 character (even though ADIF spec supports 4 character) grid?
Summit ref is great for location. POTA/WWFF sure, whatever. Lat/lon? I guess if other op says something that I can then map to lat/lon. 
Grid squares seems easiest.
Many V/U weak signal ops in the U.S. will know their 4 character grid, because that’s what the contests use. Only the fraction of a fraction who microwave contest will know their 6 character grid. SOTA ops will find their 6 char. But us SOTA ops will start asking folks to dig up their 6 character grid I suspect.
+1 for this challenge. 2 and 440 cw/ssb! Nice!!!
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I know this won’t matter a single bit, but like Gerald, I think the complicated scoring system is a big turn off.
I don’t mind having a dabble on the higher bands but it’s not something I could get massively excited about. That’s not to say I won’t have some QSOs.
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From the description, I can work that station only once for the points and not both 2m and 440. Too bad. It’s always fun to run the bands.
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If it’s upsetting, one can ignore the scoring system and just try to make some 2/70 SSB/CW contacts. The computer will do it and you’ll go “oh look I got twelvety-twar points”. Or zero as you didn’t log locators but in that situation you’ll likely not care anyway but have enjoyed something a bit different.
The keen ones will go out and do it more and then I’ll follow (once or twice 
) and actually bother and that all builds momentum and more activity.
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Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner.
@VK3ARR - Thank you for your efforts with the upcoming challenge. The rules certainly make it interesting, and I look forward to leaning into the challenge and making the most of it.
A quick search of my radio log from the past 19 years shows 40 x 2m SSB QSOs, 7 x 70cm SSB QSOs, and zero 2m or 70cm CW QSOs.
I am really looking forward to the challenges involved in boosting these numbers.
Regarding the additional ‘work’ required for logging QSOs, I think I have a portable logging program that will take care of that for me. 
Also, thanks to the SOTA MT for also supporting a truly challenging challenge.
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I mean, I spent a lot of time explaining that your location will be derived from GRIDSQUARE and MY_GRIDSQUARE, but it will take locations based on priorities (summit ref, lat/long, grid square, pota then wwff).
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- That’s a Hamrs question but if it exports any of the fields mentioned above, it will work.
- No, a normal ADIF upload will work.
- Nope, just submit your logs normally, just with added location data.
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Do amateurs use any other grid referencing scheme than Maidenhead? If so, I have never heard of it being supported by any ADIF or FLE or other logging scheme.
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