What is the most commonly used position in SOTA operations?
Sitting on the floor, in a chair, kneeling, or standing?
My favorite is standing.
If the operation is long, I alternate between standing, kneeling, and perhaps sitting.
73 de Dani EA5M.
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Sitting on the floor Dani. But I notice as I get older the standing up is getting harder.
What is strange is I can walk 10km and climb 800m without too much trouble. Then standing after 45-60mins operating is hard work.
This week I was building some self-assembly furniture and sitting on the kitchen floor was no problem but standing up to fetch a piece to assemble was surprisingly difficult. I guess this is a typical issue of getting older.
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…YES
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Sitting.
I’ve usually had to find shelter (or make my own with a tarp) from the wind so standing defeats the point of that. Kneeling doesn’t look very comfortable. A chair is extra weight to carry.
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I usually sit down to operate and rest my weary legs after a hard climb. Sometimes it may be easier to kneel, but I do try to avoid that. I don’t ever recall standing for an entire activation as I tend not to operate on 2m FM with a handheld. I have wandered around a summit with a handheld trying to get the best signal, especially on the odd occasion I’ve used 23cm FM. Rig in one hand, quadruple quad antenna in the other, logging in my head.
My preferred position is lying on my back looking at the clouds in the sky, but only when operating SSB. It’s hard to use a morse key in that position. 
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Sitting…which is made slightly harder by Jet who also likes to sit, usually managing to position himself somewhere between me, the logbook and microphone. … and yes it is now surprisingly hard to stand up (even without the dogs) after sitting. I actually think it is an advantage having a linked dipole as I have to stand to change band!
Beinn Mhor GM/SI-207
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Agree
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Sitting, and I carry a 2oz foam pad to sit on to try and make the best of it.
73, Jared, N7MAW
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I’ve done all plus lying down (in a tent). Old age makes one less tolerant of uncomfortable postures for long. It makes a big difference whether you are just holding a microphone / handheld or using a Morse key or paddles.
- My preference is sitting in my very-comfortable, quickly-deployed Helinox portable chair with ‘operating’ board (with logbook and paddles) on my thighs & knees.
- Next preference is standing up but only for 2m FM and only where I can rest the logbook on something like a stonewall (which doubles as a windbreak) and hold the HT (with RH-770 whip) in my non-writing hand.
- Least favourites are crouching (on my knees), lying down (hard to write or use Morse key), or sitting on a rock or the ground – all of which make some part of my body ache after a while and usually limit my activation time.
The need to get out of strong cold winds sometimes dictates a less-preferred posture, e.g. the leeside of a steep summit might mean having to sit on some low rocks rather than use a chair.
I used to think that when I was younger. Mine weighs about 650g (with the anti-sinking mat - essential on many summits) and packs down to the size of a large thermos flask. I no longer have leg, knee or backside aches or leg cramp. With it I can activate for longer.
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Hi Dani,
Sitting on an insulated mat on the ground.
MM0YCJ
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Initially I thought the IC-705s long mic cable was a pain, but actually it is perfect to alternate between standing and sitting/kneeling. I did remark on the descent of Skiddaw with Paul recently that it is strange I can ascend a mountain but getting from kneeling to standing is a whole different matter! I’ve also used the FT-817 standing using the neck strap to get me off the floor where the worst of the midges were biting - I guess it very much depends on your operating conditions. Cold always makes things worse however!
I have no idea of the validity of this claim but it is said that there is a direct link between strong legs and longevity, so keep ascending those summits!
Mark.
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That’s one of the most on-topic topics marked as off-topic I’ve seen here so far.
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I used to always lie on my DD Tarps magic carpet, it’s not really magic😀 Since I started using PoLo on my iPad mini, I now tend to kneel a lot, using my rucksack as a desk.
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Always sitting. If there’s no decent seat, I make one out of whatever I can find.
If its stones, then I put them back where i borrowed them from.!!!
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Well, it always depends on what is available. So the range is quite wide:
Of course, the foldable seat on a nice day is preferable.
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For me, like a lot of others, it’s sitting, in my case, on a gardener’s kneeling pad on top of a thick painter’s plastic sheet. It all packs well with the antennas, radio gear, batteries and food/water into a 40L backpack.
Agree with the point that after operating, getting back up can be a “challenge”.
73 Ed DD5LP.
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I use this if I’m up for a long session. It weighs 380g & I carry it by wrapping bungee cords around it & my rucsac.
73 John G0MHF
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The above are all fine for flat-topped summits. But for me the real challenge for a comfortable OP is where you’re clinging to a steep face below a pointed peak.
I can sit looking out, back to the face. But then where do I put the radio? Generally on the ground beside me - so I have to twist continuously to see the display and give accurate reports. Which is a real (and unacceptable) risk for my back.
Alternatively I can crouch facing inwards towards the slope, with the radio in front of me. I can see the radio, my back is (reasonably) happy - but the state of my knees after even 10 minutes of this is diabolical!
Finally, I can abandon any hope of giving accurate signal reports. Take option 1, sit facing out with the radio beside me, and guesstimate signal strength.
None of which are ideal. So how do others deal with this scenario?
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Definitely one of the most relevant off-topic threads - agreed.
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And another one for this. It gets me lower down and it often allows me to get out of the wind.
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