I strongly suggest learning the FLE format for transcribing the logs, in which case the distance entry is quite easy - you just add the grid ref with #qf22aa in the QSO record. I did this for my last activation - I paper log too, and transcribed about 40 QSOs in about 10 minutes.
I always use pencil and paper logging and I didnāt find that a problem for the Challenge.
- For non-S2S chasers you need to ask on air for their 6-digit grid ref (or other means of confirming their exact location)
- Once home I transferred my paper log to the (free) Fast Log Entry (FLE) app
- Got FLE to generate an ADIF file and uploaded it to the SOTA database
Examples of FLE-compatible format once typed into a plain text file:
2m CW
1337 G0HIK/P #io84jb <Nick, nr Ireleth-in-Furness>
48 G6AEK #io83mv <Dave, nr Knott End-on-Sea>
56 M5TUE #io84qi <Nigel, Haygarth>
It all went very smoothly for my first Challenge activation of the year now that Andrew VK3ARR has sorted some teething troubles. The Challenge database software calculates the distances for each qualifying QSO and assigns the appropriate points.
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With just two qualifying Challenge activations so far in 2026, containing six applicable SSB/CW QSOs, I just manually calculated my Challenge score, and compared it with that calculated by the Database. The reason for doing this was to check that my CSV upload format was correct and understood. To begin with it wasnāt, but by doing this I was able to refine the format of my CSV upload until the scores matched.
All good to go now. Letās build that score!
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Now I understand how the Chaser Challenge scoring works. But you are worng - I no longer have a vertical antenna for 2m/70cm at my QTH - only horizontal Yagis at present for 2m and 70cm so Iām hoping activators on the whole stick to traditional horizontal polarisation 2m SSB. I know that M1EYP/P, G4OIG/P and others will.
I now understand the scoring system for Chasers operating 2m/70cm CW/SSB from home but I still maintain that it is likely that an activator will walk away with the 2m/70cm Challenge this year and Shack Sloths will slither away and probably lose interest. Iām hoping to get a few in the log this week if you and others turn out, although the present temperature here is -8.4c at 60m ASL and road condx in parts of the north on higher ground will remain quite dangerous at this time.
There will be plenty of points available tonight (Tuesday) in the RSGB 2m AC Contest. So if any activators can get out in the dark tonight from 2000z-2230z and suffer the cold on 2m they will build up a big challenge score. Listen out for me using G4BP.
Phil G4OBK IO94of
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Indeed, for me a 2m horizontal SSB session is often followed by a horizontal FM session. As has been noted, the path through mountainous terrain often skews the polarisation making a change of polarisation during an activation not always necessary.
Although I am confined to barracks at the moment on account of a family issue, I do aim to get back onto the hills up in Scotland running 2m and HF as soon as I can and will provide the required summit locator when requested. Whether 70cm SSB / CW will prove to be worthwhile is debatable, but I would at least like to try the band as I am always pleased to havie 70cm contacts in my log. I now also have 23cm SSB / CW, but that would probably be a band too far unless others are interested.
Whilst I wouldnt describe the growth of 23cm as a mass stampede, its use in sota is definately growing with someone in the UK activating most weekends. Also several pockets of dedicated chasers knocking around too.
Just be sure to post an alert/spot and the chances of success are high.
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I think you are not taking time into account. An activator will spend a limited time on a summit, if doing more than one summit then he will be off the air during travel and access times, but a chaser will still be there during that time and looking for other activations. A keen chaser in a good location and with a decent antenna array should be able to rack up an impressive score. You should also take into account that the many FM chasers will still be there for FM even if they have equipped themselves for SSB, so they would have no reason to āsliver awayā!
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My intention is to use horizontal polarisation. There will be plenty of time in the summer to play with different antennas, but during this cold winter weather I can do vertical SSB straight after FM and limit my time on the summit.
On Sunday on G/NP-008 I worked @M0OVW/P and @G4HQB/P who were on G/WB-004. I think I heard them say they were horizontally polarised whereas I was vertically polarised. Signal reports were lower than when we worked on FM but it was still an easy QSO despite the cross polarisation.
The more I think about this the more I think it might actually help you. For me 2m FM is an add-on. I always start with HF CW where I want to qualify the summit and get some S2S. Iāll then call on S20 and hopefully get some FM QSOs before packing up or trying 15 or 10m CW. If I get no response after a few calls I stop. It wasnāt important to me whether or not I get 2m QSOs. But now Iāll be equipped with two 2m rigs and I may set up a separate mast for 2m (but not in this cold weather!). Iāll spot myself on FM and encourage my contacts to try again on SSB. So Iāll be on FM for longer and also be available for S2S whereas before Iād probably have packed 2m away. Of course, the challenge may not have the same effect on other activators as we all have our own ways of doing things but if it increases 2m activity that has to be a good thing. I would expect activators equipped for 2m SSB will also be able to do FM.
If you are on a SOTA summit then the SOTA reference is all that the chasers need.
This challenge will make me finally get round to making the vertical 70cm antenna for FM that I have been meaning to make for some time and then Iāll try it on SSB too.
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I agree and that was my experience yesterday. I twice worked a chaser 23km west of me with the direct path a mixture of sea and hills, first on 2m FM (5/9) and later on 2m SSB (5/2). I know he was using horizontal polarisation for the later whilst I was vertically polarised for all FM, SSB and CW. Yes, he was a lot quieter but with S0 noise on 2m, he was perfectly readable.
Despite the oft-quoted 20-30 dB attenuation for crossed polarisation, I reckon thatās for unobstructed line-of-sight. For most of us, especially in the mountains and near the sea, the polarisation is twisted en route by reflections and there are often multipath alternatives.
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It is perfectly true that rotation of polarisation will help making contacts using antennas in differing polarisations, but this is usually quite lossy. If you bear in mind that this challenge rewards long distance QSOs, it is worthwhile putting some effort into having the best antennas that you can carry.
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Somewhere in the back of my head, I remember a quote that said the difference between being on the same polarisation and on opposing polarisations using beam antennas at each end was 10 dB. So that means about 1 1/2 s-points less signal, which on weak DX could make the difference between a successful contact and not. When line-of-sight signals are strong, IMO, cross-polarisation is probably not going to be a real issue.
As often with activations, there has to be a compromise between convenience and efficiency.
73 Ed.
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At my age just doing winter activations is āputting some effortā in. As Richard said and I too in my yesterdayās post, Iāll not be carrying, assembling, erecting, de-erecting, disassembling and packing my 2m Yagi on a frozen windswept summit but I will be from time-to-time when the weather gets a lot kinder to folk like me in their 70s.
Iām very aware that the Challenge rewards dx QSOs so itās just as well I couldnāt give a fig about the points. I really enjoy having VHF/UHF contacts with CW and SSB [like the old days!] no matter how close or far. For me, enjoyment (and personal comfort on summit) trumps my competitiveness.
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I have created a new thread specifically for questions regarding the rules, clarifications and bug reports at 2026 Challenge Rules and Bugs to help make it easier for the MT to spot issues rather than operating hints and non-specific issues.
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433 Alive activity day is scheduled for 22nd Feb, so an ideal day to test such a construction.
I should be out and intending to try some 70cm ssb as well as the regular FM.
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For 2m 1st Jan 2025 to 6th Jan 2025
256 QSOs logged for 2m CW/SSB
33 QSOs logged for 70cm CW/SSB
For 2m 1st Jan 2026 to 6th Jan 2026
1246 QSOs logged for 2m CW/SSB
130 QSOs logged for 70cm CW/SSB
So in the 1st 6 days we have seen an ~80% increase in 2m CW/SSB activity and ~75% increase in 70cm CW/SSB activity.
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I looked at the first six days of the challenge, these figures are approximate, I tried to avoid dupes but no doubt some got through a quick and dirty count.
On 2m there was up to 280 FM activations and 107 SSB/CW activations. On 70cms there were 25 FM and 10 SSB/CW activations spotted. This highlights the low 70cm activity, and shows that there is little likelihood of SSB/CW activity leading to a shortage of FM activity. All in all, a good start.
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Isnāt the percentage increase for 2m more like 387% - (((1246 - 256) / 256) Ć 100)?
An 80% increase on 256 would be 461 - (256 + (256 * (80 / 100)))
70cm is ~294% increase
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Possiblyā¦ Iāve been enjoying the home-made Sloe Gin for some hours tonight. Itās very more-ish but sadly quite stupefying.
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Hi Ed,
The loss due to 90 degree off-alignment in free space (no reflections from nearby buildings, satellites, mountains or earth moving equipment) is potentially infinite. Itās tan(90 degrees) (infinity) converted to a decibel loss. In practice that is very hard to achieve. Using limits we can say it approaches infinite cancellation as the angle approaches 90 degrees and assuming there is only one signal path.
Calculating for an 85 degree twist gives you only about 20 db loss and the loss from 45 degree offset is 3db. Donāt know about you but I rarely use a spirit level to adjust my antenna polarity to precisely horizontal or vertical, not at that level of accuracy.
Like balancing a balanced modulator in an ssb exciter, itās something that never can be perfect, due to drift in component values, dielectric changes and diode/transistor variations.
It can be compared to the difficulty of achieving a perfect balance in a ābalanced lineā transmission line.
Ideally we would use circularly polarisation and cop the 3db loss, but then weād have to align our antennas towards each other and use the same sense rotation (clockwise or anti). Experiments with circular polarisation show that fading is much reduced compared with either horizontal or vertical. That must be due to polarisation changes over the path, due to refraction and reflection in a changing troposphere and mountainous paths. Instead of attenuation when the signal changes polarisation, the circularly polarised antenna just receives it equally well whether itās 0, 45 or 90 degrees off horizontal.
Between our summits in vk1/vk2 numerous experiments have found that tilting even a HT so that its antenna is horizontal and broadside to the incoming signal produces better signal levels - even if the transmitting station is āverticalā. And if both ends go horizontal, the signals increase further. It doesnāt happen this way for clear line of sight S2S paths, itās only when itās a path that forces the signal to scrape over some hilltops, perhaps with multiple reflections off other peaks, etc, that the horizontal preference becomes apparent.
So my intention is to use horizontal all the time this year, either with a 3 el yagi or with a one element rectangular loop. I made a contact this morning that was about 300km using the loop, and my tx was the ft817 at 5 watts. The other station was a well equipped ssb dx station with multiple yagi and āampleā power. But he gave me a 5x3 signal report so my puny signal was able to reach him despite 5 watt output level.
HNY
73
Andrew VK1DA/VK2DA
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