I only have a portable set up, so if I want to do some chasing I get my usual SOTA gear set up in the garden. If wind, weather and time table allow I might leave the antenna up and just bring the radio in with me. So when I see another spot, I have to grab the radio and leg it up on the lawn and plug in before I can chase. Sometimes that’s enough time for the activator to move on! I definitely appreciate activators who stay put for slightly longer, but having been on the other side, where 15 min might be all you can manage before it’s time to pack up and head out of the wind, I also very much appreciate that this might not be possible. Still, I think that added challenge is part of what makes chasing as much fun as it is!
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I’ve read your post (snippet above) several times. I was genuinely interested to see your perspective and I am glad I asked and even more pleased you took the time to craft your views.
I suppose I work on the basis that if I am getting out OK that someone will be free in the first 5 mins after my Spot has registered on SOTAWatch… once I’ve got one person then I know I’m getting somewhere and I’ll tend to hang about on the band for a bit longer to let the momentum build and allow people to come over to look for me from other activations that may be going on at the same time.
I’ll certainly factor all this in though.
As you say, if it was really easy it wouldn’t be as much fun!
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Yeah, it’s the long gaps without responses that test one’s patience. That’s where automatic feedback (like RBN for CW) makes a bit of difference. If, despite a lack of responses, you see yourself coming through on RBN then you know your signal’s getting somewhere, and if you don’t then it’s time to check for problems or try a different band. Not so easy on SSB…
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100% agree with you! in my 27/11/2021 activation the weather was so cold and windy and the pain in my hands was terrible that I couldnt operate a little more.
I thought I was operating for more than 30minutes but when I checked my log I noticed that I just operate only for 7 minutes! So, you can imagine the perception of time in my last activation (25/12/2021) I got my first QSO, a local one after 15 min of CQing (RBN spot appeared after my first CQ!) For an hour I was sending tons of CQs just for 12 QSO and yes, I felt I was there all day!
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Hi Fraser,
good point with the slots.
I try to keep the sequence of the announced band(s) (changes). The size of the slot depends of the amount of callers. After working the available callers I use to QSY to the next band.
But I might try your approach giving a minimum time for a slot. This sounds reasonable.
However in a bigger pileup it might put you under pressure to finish the slot in time.
73s
Ingo
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Good point - make sure you do not have overlapping periods of 2-3 spots. It might make sense to have a source where all activations of the day are listed… Here, or QRZ.com or similar source…
Quite a few activators use the 3 CQ rule… call CQ three times without a response, then move or go QRT.
I think you have to make a judgement on this as you can call three CQs, work one, call 3 CQs again, work one… ad infinitum.
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In my case it depends on whether I have already worked many chasers on a given band or none. If I have been for quite a long time working the pile up and then the thing seems to dry out, I may send out 2 or 3 more CQs and then announce QSY or QRT if nobody else replies. On the other hand, if I have not worked anyone yet but I have the feel that there must be propagation conditions, I often find myself looking at the clock and establishing a due time about 10 minutes later. Sometimes, the due time arrives and I decide to extend it even longer. Just because I’m the only one concern and I can 
If I’m CQing on a band I don’t like much in that moment for whatever reason or I don’t expect interesting things to happen or I expect more interesting things to happen on some other band, I will probably decide not to extend my CQing for too long.
At the end of the day it’s very much up to me, my mood, my time, my feel of how things are going… That’s why I often set my alert without specifying bands/modes and just saying HF-cw-ssb and adding the comment “I’ll decide bands/modes on the go”
However, I mostly try to remain at least 10-15 minutes on a chosen band because I also play SOTA as a chaser and I know very well that it’s not always possible going to a spotted activation right away.
73,
Guru
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On recent activations, I have learned the guaranteed way to attract chasers is to announce QSY or QRT. After working a pile on a given band and then sending a few CQs with no response, if I simply send QSY or QRT I am assured of a call. My favorite is if I am using a linked dipole, announce QSY and get up to change the links only to hear a late caller or see a new s2s spot on the band I just left. Hihi.
Stay well & 73!
Mike WB2FUV
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That’s true, Mike,
I have also experienced such thing. Some chasers are just listening to the activation while they are doing other things at the shack just waiting for a possible call at the very end. When the pileup dries out and the activator announces QSY or QRT, then they wake up and give you the call before you have left…
I remember Victor @GI4ONL doing this to me very recently. I was most pleased with your call, Victor!
73,
Guru
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Hi Mike,
It works on SSB activations as well.
Spot, Call CQ - a dozen or so chasers kindly call me … CQ for 5 minutes with no calls , then announce “Last call before QRT” (or before switching band) and then the chasers start appearing again - amazing - another unexplained mystery!
73 Ed.
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Nah Last call opens up propagation, everybody knows that. Hihi
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Just felt like Coyote after the bands-runner again:
I had just chased Michael DB7MM on 20m SSB when I saw KW4JM spotted on 15m. I turned my yagi from 40º to 295º, tuned the antenna on the new frequency and when I was ready to listen for him, a new spot showed up of him on 17m, only 4 minutes after the previous one for 15m.
Dear activators, that’s too fast a change and there’s no way to follow you at this speed.
Please, slow down a bit. Thank you!
73 & HNY,
Guru
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the jump on the 80m was at my request, sorry for the difficulties sq9mdf
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Hi Guru,
Spots on 15m often do not get through on first try. The activator might have been calling for some time before the spot and might not realize that his spot was “late”. Frustrated by no response on 15m he then moved on…
Just my thoughts from the activator side.
73 Heinz
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Hi,
That is exactly what I experience as a chaser. However, certain activators have some kind of pattern in which they change bands + frequencies on the band they prefer. So if nothing else is happening on the bands, or I estimate that a contact on a certain band is impossible for me to make, propagation wise.
I sit and wait around the frequency I expect the activator to come up.
Possibility: set your filter on wide so if he comes up not exactly on the frequency you expect. This sitting and wait has another avantage: TRX ready tuned for the band, no tuning required when activator appears. The sit and wait has another avantage, you have a hightened chane to be the first in the activators log.
What I also do or have: at the same timeon computer screen:: SOTA spots open, GMA dashboard open, WWFF cluster open, GMA watch open.
Keep in mind I chase with 5W QRP and 3m long whip, which means it an take considerable time for me to get through the pile up, sometimes 45 minutes.
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Sometimes, with CW activations, that last CQ on a band to see whether there’s anyone else waiting triggers an RBN spot (because it’s been a while since the previous one), and then a CQ on the next band triggers a new RBN spot (because of the change in frequency).
Presumably this kind of delay is down to the responsiveness (or otherwise) of RBN’s CW skimmers? I think some skimmers cycle through a number of bands, so they’re not listening on any particular band all the time. If there are enough skimmers around that doesn’t matter much, but if skimmers are few and far between then that could mean CQs being missed…