would like to thank all for the support and the great time and QSOs!
It was hard but it was fun.
Here is brief statistics:
11 new activations.
Action 45 hours (6 hours of it sleeping.
535 QSOs.
I would like to propose a special character in the call for introducing mountain radio:
/s (for summit) such as DL8JJ/s
This would be a Special letter for summit operations worldwide. It will cleary mark SOTA Operation and will increase the attention.
I find /p is not the right for it, because with /p, it is also the same when you sit on coutsch in the hotel rooms and make some QSOs…Hi.
SOTA is something very special and I feel a special sign for it better.
What do you think?
cu
Emil de DL8JJ
„Ronneberg“ SOTA DM/HE-552
„Komberg“ SOTA DM/HE-551
„Katzenstein“ SOTA DM/HE-541
„Hoeberueck“ SOTA DM/HE-537
„Dammskopf“ SOTA DM/HE-515
„Altenburg“ SOTA DM/HE-165
„Wildsberg“ SOTA DM/HE-143
„Steinkopf“ SOTA DM/HE-139
„Auf der Schärfe“ SOTA DM/HE-131
„Eichelsberg“ SOTA DM/HE-128
„Katzenstirn“ SOTA DM/HE-105
I find /p is not the right for it, because with /p, it is also
Suffixes are a matter of considerable debate. In some countries specific suffixes are written into licence documents, so you have to use the ones specified in the licence, and if you use any others you’ll be breaking licence conditions. In other countries nothing much is said about them in the licence, and folks use whatever takes their fancy. Many countries are somewhere between those extremes.
There’s also the matter of being understood. A few suffixes are well understood worldwide. /P is one of these. /S is not.
If you want to distinguish a summit activation, call “CQ SOTA” and folk will pick up on it.
In reply to M0LEP:
Rick,
of course yes. Idea or dream…i do not know, but i’m shure, it will be great!
I call SOTA every time, when I’m running. “/p” is a “broad meaning” and not specifired the SOTA-OP.
For years also “/p” was something new in the HAM comunity, now is a normal think…Hi
If i call someone (S&P), they do not know, that I’m on the top of the mountain.
If you send /m all know-mobile op. Why not something for sota…
I think, if the SOTA comunity send a official inquiry to the ITU etc. will be nice to see what happend.
Furthermore, several ops would not bother to “read the rules” and would start using /S in all manner of non-SOTA situations - operating from a parked car on a summit, operating from a summit that is not a listed SOTA summit, operating from somewhere in the vicinty of a hill but not in the AZ, etc.
Of course, this happens already, but /S would not eliminate this, quite the reverse.
On Thursday, we were driving down the motorway and heard someone calling CQ SOTA from Dunkery Beacon G/SC-001 and giving the SOTA reference. It turned out that they were operating from a van and not in the AZ!
In reply to M1EYP:
I never say portable when I am on a summit some have asked me why before.
CQ SOTA sounds good on SSB and it has a nice ring in CW IMHO.
If call/s could be seen as in breach of LCD then is call/qrp the same.
CQ SOTA is the best way I think in all modes, surely Emil I mean you no disrespect but if you have the energy and will to do a Marathon of 45 hours of operating adding OTA to the call is not much extra effort, and we all under stand what it means.
73 de Ian vk5cz …
Hi Emil, nice idea with the /S - for it to be international however you will need to approach your IARU country representative and I suspect it will be too late to get this into the next WRC meeting.
Another option that I think could be implemented without any licence changes would be to end the call with “Portable SOTA” - so you would call as “Delta Lima eight Juliet Juliet, Portable Sota” in this way you not only use the approved portable suffix but append the fact that you are a SOTA activator. I suppose " slash P Sota" would be OK also.
In reply to VK2JI:
Hello Ed & al,
yes I’m a agree with you.
As well known special / m / mm I think that a mountain radio activity Needs also a special identifier.
If you look on the cluster messages, you can quickly see who is currently on a summit. You can then also filter and build a filter in the logging program.
I’m making a big difference, when you know how hard it is to be on the summit, on any wether at any time and do ham Radio for few minutes. Exactly this is the reason to worth a special character. Yes it is also idea /p sota to send ( i do mostly CW) but some Oms will be log with “/p sota”-This my be a Problem for Logs an upload etc.
I do not know who & how approval Woks, but if many peaply find this well, and some Organisation like SOTA and others woldwide found this well, should be possible.
Requirement is to think positive…Hi
cu
Emil, de DL8JJ
In reply to DL8JJ:
As I am only working SSB and you are working CW we are talking about different worlds. So my comments may not be appropriate.
I would like to propose a special character in the call for
introducing mountain radio:
/s (for summit) such as DL8JJ/s
/m, /mm, /p are official, whereas /s, /qrp, … are not. While it may not be legal to use /s in some countries it at least will cause confusion at all who do not know about SOTA.
In SSB giving “stroke s” is a pain. /p is given “portable”.
This would be a Special letter for summit operations worldwide. It
will cleary mark SOTA Operation and will increase the attention.
One can discuss whether this is the right way but to my mind a Spot in SOTAWatch (or DX-cluster) causes the maximum increase of attention. Normally this immediately turns a lonely frequency into a pileup.
SOTA is something very special and I feel a special sign for it
better.
Well, there several other programs dealing with summits which are as special as SOTA. So should we introduce /g for the German GMA and /h for the UK humps? The Saxonian Mountain Competition could also sign /s or perhaps even /sbw (Sächsischer Bergwettbewerb)?
And our IOTA friends should propably use /i or /iota and the castle activators /c or /cota /wca not to forget the WWFF activators /w?
Finally I am not sure whether this really eases things up. In SSB calling “CQ SOTA, CQ Summits on the Air” seems to be the better solution for me. Giving the summit reference in the CQ would be a good idea, too. Ok, this is focused on SSB very much.
What do you think?
There is only one situation I feel a special designator is required: Trying to get through a pileup for a S2S QSO. In cases /p does not do the job a “summit to summit” often helps. I know this will be disregarded by others but to my mind it is accepted by the SOTA community.
In reply to DB7MM:
Hello Michael,
thanks for replay! Good points also, thanks.
I mean with SOTA in words (summit on the air), not direct a special Organisation. All organisations have ONE aim - go to the summit and do HAM Radio. My idea is not to make the pileUp bigger, but bring more attention that you are currently on a summit and not elsewhere. Like /m - all knows well you are in the car and /mm - you are on boat. Way not for “you are on the top of the hill”?
In CW and SSB, also digi modes will be logget as “/s” independent, how you are calling and i think will be fine and clear, this is a summit operation.
/p is to
Of course every every organization has its own rules and this is completely OK!, but a summit will always been and remains a summit. And the HAM Radio from summit will steel something very Special thing. Hence my Suggestion.
cu
Emil
This is not going to happen Emil. /S is not acceptable in many administrations. Moreover, /P has been working very successfully for 12 years of SOTA already. Of course we know that other things that are not SOTA use /P as well, but /P has become very linked to SOTA.
This format works very well and is widely recognised:
“CQ CQ SOTA DE M1EYP/P M1EYP/P SOTA G/SP-015”.
It is effective in all modes and has been the widely used format for many years. There is no need to change. And it won’t change, because many hundreds of people are successfully doing it like this anyway, and because /S is not recognised nor legal in many places.
So you can continue making your argument if you wish, but you are wasting your time because nothing will come of it.
