Hi Stephan. In May, using 10-watts into a short up-and-across antenna on 20metres SSB from a summit on the Western Isles of Scotland at 7.30am, I was having contacts across Europe with no problem when suddenly up came @VK5PAS from Australia with a great signal both ways - a highlight of my brief SOTA career to date. My DX formula is patience, patience, good conditions, good antenna, more patience and a wee bit of good fortune. Sometimes I am the pigeon, and sometimes the statue!! 
That’s just one thing that makes this hobby so much fun. 73. Mike
5 Likes
In vk5 lately I have made DX QSO to chasers on 15m CW in my morning and long path DX chasers on 20m CW my afternoon activations. My best chance to chase SOTA ops in Japan is my morning time and 15m seems to work best. 17m can be ok too but the noise levels are higher making it a bit hard to hear at times. If 12/10m is open I can work Japan with really low signal levels as those bands a very quiet. Hang in there I hope you get more DX from summits as conditions improve.
Regards Ian vk5cz …
4 Likes
Hello Stephan
If you can’t get through with the HB9 callsign, how do you think I’ll fare with a DL callsign?
No - joking aside
That could be a reason, but I don’t really want to believe it.
Basically, a weak SSB signal is harder to get than a weak CW signal. But even here I sometimes think, why can’t anyone hear me. Especially when I get wonderful RBN reports from DX.
In the DX cluster, you may not be in demand as HB9 or even as DL. As a SOTA station, DX chasers must also be available. For them, it is often rather working or sleeping time.
I assume that many DX stations have the same problems with local interference as we do. With QRP as a DX station, you get lost.
As a CW station, I have the problem that many DX stations do not know / do CW. One morning I heard a lot of VK stations very loud in SSB. But I could have got blisters on the Morse key without success. I then answered CQ calling VK and had my QSOs. Some could not do anything with SOTA. Almost everyone could not believe that I was active in SSB with 10 watts on a wire antenna.
One was even very cautious and checked the callsign DL20SOTA/P first. Many DX stations also have high transmit power and even if you hear them here in the quiet of the Summit with great signals, that is no guarantee to be heard yourself.
With increasingly good conditions - especially on the higher bands - DX will also be increasingly possible… not only because the conditions are getting better, but also because more DX chasers think a QSO is possible and come to the QRG of activators because they think it is possible to hear them.
I think all the SOTA DX events are doing good there too.
73 Armin
7 Likes
- Activate at local dawn/dusk on 20m.
- Use a single band vertical antenna with elevated groundplane.
4 Likes
Depending upon where in the world you are hoping for a contact with, time of day is everything and quite often, long path will give a stronger signal possibility than short path (which normally occur at different times of day).
The band you chose to use also affects which countries you may get contacts into at certain times of day.
Then of course don’t forget Greyline propagation at dawn and dusk on 40m and below.
All of this only if the propagation gods are on your side of course!
Then again - some folks are happy when the conditions are not good for DX, or skip distance is short and the critical frequency is high. Not so much in SOTA but WAB Square hunters are happy when they can get NVIS contacts into closer-in locations within the UK.
73 Ed.
3 Likes
As others have said, early morning / late evening, rather than midday is better. I’ve had good results with a delta loop on 20m, 5W SSB from EI to ZL for a S2S. See here
Note that there is a transatlantic session planned for this weekend, so it may be a good time to try without having to get up very early in the morning.
2 Likes
Thank you all for your answers and proposed solutions!
I think my starting point and my questions were not clear enough.
When there was a special S2S event that I attended, I also could make numerous S2S DX contacts with VK, ZL, N, etc. I also make sporadic SOTA DX contacts with chasers and other activators, but not as many and easily, as I explained in my initial post.
Furter, I think it’s not about the mode, the antenna, the power or the time of the day, since around the same time and with the same equipment, I make DX contacts, just not SOTA-related ones.
Let me explain it with an example: After I made the chasers happy, e.g. on 40m and 20m, I tune around and hear some loud DX stations on the higher bands. I spot myself, work maybe a few more European stations (also very interesting!), but no DX.
I repeat the procedure on an even higher band that is also wide open, but again, no DX. After maybe a quarter hour I give up and tune around. Within a few minutes I make a DX contact with a non-SOTA station and get a reasonable good report.
I repeated this pattern several times since last summer, when the conditions where good. Last Saturday, for a test, I even reduced my power to 1W and worked a DX contest station easily.
So to me, it seems that relying alone on SOTA-spotting is not very productive for working DX.
This I guess, could be the elephant in the room 
.
Is it really because there are not enough SOTA chasers? Should I also spot for GMA, FF, Parks on the Air, etc. when possible? Any experience with such approaches or other ideas?
73 Stephan
We’re just coming out of a longish sunspot slump during which DX propagation has not always been exactly great. Maybe chasers don’t always think to try chasing DX activators?
Usually, when chasing CW activators, I just tune to the frequency spotted on SOTAwatch and listen for the activator, but if the activator’s DX then sometimes I use RBN directly, rather than only relying on the spot RBNhole has copied to SOTAwatch. That way I can see where an activator is being heard, and decide whether to try chasing. If only skimmers an ocean away are hearing the activator then my chances aren’t so good, but if a skimmer relatively near to me is hearing the activator then maybe I stand a good chance, too.
Occasionally I have cause to look at one or other of the more general DX Clusters. From time to time I see a SOTA activator spotted. Presumably those spots outside of SOTAwatch could bring in callers who don’t normally chase SOTA. If you’re after more chasers from further away, maybe getting a spot on a general DX cluster will help?
Some thoughts:
-
My first thought relates to the capability of the DX stations that you hear from a summit and that you are able to work with 10 watts. Are these not in the main well equipped? I am thinking of high power and antennas with gain positioned on high towers here… such as may be deployed by contest stations. Most of the hard work is being done at their end. You may hear a lot of DX, but only the better equipped stations.
-
I would think very few SOTA chasers are equipped to the level outlined above, so probably will be unable to hear the activator. I know from experience that my modest home station rarely hears DX activations, whereas I often hear EU chasers that I know to be better equipped make the contact.
-
The reason why S2S events work is that the noise levels at both ends of many of the contacts are low enabling relatively low powers to be used. Contacts between DX chasers and activators are probably greater in number as the activity is concentrated with a higher number of both activators and chasers on air. The activators may be running a little more power than normal to antennas that favour the direction between the activator and DX chaser. Under normal circumstances, how many of us align our antennas to favour potential DX or use more than 5 to 10 watts?
-
The issue of time on the summit has been mentioned. When time is limited, the activator will generally work the stronger chasers first. If they are being heard by a DX chaser, the chaser has to break the pile up. I am sure that some get frustrated after making a few calls and go to look for contacts elsewhere. So, if the activator continues until the entire pile up has been worked, the DX chaser will probably have left the frequency.
There are so many variables in play when making DX contacts, that I am convinced that outside of the S2S events, chance plays a very large part. I am usually surprised when I am called by a DX chaser when it runs against expectation… for example when I have worked across the Atlantic on 10MHz CW while running 5 watts to an inverted vee dipole.
I had a strange result in the Trans-Atlantic S2S event held in April this year when I did not work any DX chasers, but made a reasonable number of Trans-Atlantic S2S contacts. Were conditions marginal, such that a low noise environment played a large part in what was achieved?
As far as spotting is concerned, in my experience the DX cluster has been a mixed blessing. It usually increases the number of contacts, but not necessarily the DX… a matter of quantity rather than quality. I certainly feel SOTAwatch is best suited for our purpose.
73, Gerald
3 Likes
I once worked Bill W4ZV using a RockMite on 30m! That was a shock!
I think the draw of POTA and other schemes has thinned the chaser crowd a little.
73, Colin
2 Likes
Hi Stephan,
It is absolutely fine to spot yourself on one of the many DX Clusters as well as SOTAWatch and as you say, this is more likely to attract DX calls.
73 Ed.
1 Like
This could be a good idea… to spot yourself wherever possible.
This might attract some people who would otherwise not turn to your frequency - and the number of chasers might increase overall.
And if the conditions are right, then you can also bring this hint as a spot to SOTAwatch3… “good to hear in…”. Also this could cause chasers to listen to EU activators.
During the last weeks there are some activators from NA to hear my at home… it was too weak for a QSO … but the time is coming!
When I activated the lowland summits in northeastern Switzerland in August, I was chased by JH2MXV several times in the early afternoon… that wouldn’t have happened last year
73 Armin
2 Likes
Maybe they are not confident in their stations and so just don’t try?
Looking at my SOTA log, there are 259 QSOs made from DM/NS and DM/TH with 166 unique G/Gx stations on 144 MHz. As far as I can tell, none of them is a dedicated SOTA chaser. If there is a chance of tropo condx, I mention it in my alert or even post a note on the Reflector. When I’m out and there actually is tropo, I spot something like “beaming UK” or “tropo condx to …”. Nobody seems to care. Or do they just think I’m joking?
Similar experience with other entities (PA, OZ…), even Bavaria. Tropo isn’t even needed to work average Bavarian home stations from DM/NS summits on VHF (not even talking of DM/TH), but SOTA chasers are absolutely rare.
Tja… 
Edit: numbers corrected
Thanks again for your input!
I think there are many valid points:
Very well possible.
I thought self spotting on a DX cluster is discouraged, but maybe I’m wrong?
Yes, they usually use at least 100W, and their antennas are likely better than mine.
True.
Yes, possibly another reason.
I assume you mean other scheme spotting facilities like FF, POTA, etc., since one shouldn’t spot on a DX cluster, but maybe I’m wrong.
Making more noise brings definitely more attention, but as @G4OIG mentioned, not necessarily more DX. Of course, making more noise makes only sense when there are really good conditions!
In this context: I really like the SOTA infrastructure and the easy and well thought out procedures. I guess I have to check again GMA, FF, POTA etc. about their spotting possibilities, but last time I checked with FF, it seemed to me overly complicated and tedious.
Also, in summer, I can spend a long time on a summit, but not when it’s chilling cold. Therefore, applying these recommendations makes only sense when there is nice weather.
I tried that a few times, without success. I think that very few chasers and activators read the comments. When I activate, I usually also just quickly glance over the spots.
Definitely, especially on the higher bands!
This could be another possibility.
See above, only a few seem to read the comments.
73 Stephan
1 Like
Hi Stephan,
I‘m usually posting Sota activations also with GMA and if possible with WFF or COTA. If conditions are good I use to work DX. VK in the morning. ZL sometimes at around 10:00 UTC, and North and South America from around 11:00 UTC to 16:00 UTC.
Not sure if all the programs are the reason for DX. However, it helps in the afternoon or evening to reach the requested number of qsos quite fast.
73
Ingo
1 Like
There is no rule saying that you may not spot on the DX Cluster. You are a DX station to some of the people watching the DX Cluster - you are out in the countryside, away from Metro noise and therefore may be the best chance for that distant station in say India, to get a contact with Switzerland for the first time etc. etc.
The only restrictions on using the DX Cluster for spotting yourself, as far as I know, are for those taking part in contests in an “unassisted” class. Otherwise, the DX Cluster operators are happy to carry all spots - Home stations, portable stations, special event stations - all stations.
I would not spot on another award scheme’s cluster unless the summit I am on happens to be in their scheme as well (e.g. castle ruins on a summit in a national park). - and you would need that relevant COTA/WCA or WWFF/POTA reference to be able to place that spot.
73 Ed.
2 Likes
Self spotting is not generally allowed in contests. For example, for CQ WW DX under general rules for all entrants:
- Self-spotting or asking to be spotted is not permitted.
1 Like
Hi Richard,
I agree, self-spotting is generally not allowed in the big contests but there are smaller ones where it is allowed - as always read the rules. In fact, it’s the SOTA rules that apply here and I can find nothing in the SOTA rules that says one cannot spot wherever you want to. As the subject of this thread is how to make more DX contacts during SOTA activations - using the DX Cluster is one such way to assist in achieving this.
73 Ed.
2 Likes
I was and will further look into that, but only when there is good weather to stay for a longer time on the summit AND the band is open AND there is no SOTA event (like tomorrow, for example).
OK, I thought it’s discouraged, but now I learned something new!
Of course.
Yes, I read that as well when glancing over the rules of CQ WW DX.
73 Stephan
There is probably some factor of chasers seeing a DX call and expecting theybeind be able to hear you.
Some keys to more DX:
Operate in the morning or evening.
Run power (100w).
Use a very efficient antenna, ideally with gain (bobtail curtain, half square, high dipole, etc.)
Use the right bands as the right time of day. (check VOACAP)
In your spots, post the power you’re running, the direction your antenna is pointing, and who you are trying to reach based on propagation conditions. For example, I regularly spot with a comment that says something like “VK/ZL? 100w + gain antenna." It often works…
Good luck, and I hope to get you in the log S2S some time!
Adam
K6ARK
1 Like