“8. At least one QSO must be made from the Summit to qualify as an activation. In order for the activation to qualify for the points attributed to that Summit, a minimum of four QSOs must be made, each of which must be with a different station.”
Not clear to me what the difference is if I am an activator. e.g for what use is a single qso activation? Doesn’t qualify for any points, for activator, right? But maybe for chaser? Would someone pse amplify? Also pse confirm that after 4 qsos for the summit points, no further points are accrued for activator, except bonuses such as seasonal.
Also, are the qsos verified by chaser logs? or is it all honor system?
tnx in advance
Hi, Chuck, and welcome. A single qso may not earn points, but it still counts as an activation. The summit will count as a unique, and if the contact was with another summit it gives you both a summit to summit (S2S) score. After the summit points, except for a possible seasonal bonus no further points will accrue in that year, on subsequent years you may score again. Repeating a summit in the same year will, however, give you opportunities for S2S contacts.
In the database, if there is a match between a contact in a chaser log and an activator log the contact will automatically be marked with an asterisk.
Welcome to SOTA, but please note that it a very addictive activity. You have done the right thing by reading the rules carefully - not everyone does.
One other plus for having only 1,2,or 3 QSO’s only is that if the summit hasn’t been activated before you are recorded as the first activator. Once you reach 4 QSO’s you score all available points - summit points plus seasonal bonus if it applies. If you frequently quit after 4 QSO’s without a good reason you may find chasers boycotting you. I know it’s not always possible to stay on for 30 minutes or until no more responses come back to your calls as weather and other restraints may call for a quick activation.
The chasers of course score their points regardless of how many contacts you make.
Also, are the qsos verified by chaser logs? or is it all honor system?
Yes and Yes.
Chasers like to see the confirmation stars in their log signifying you have uploaded your log and they are in it. Some will email asking why if they are not in the log. If they don’t log the contact of course you yourself have no independent confirmation. The awards manager has his own methods of checking your eligibility for an award so it’s not essential every chaser uploads his log…
Like all AR activities honorable behavior is expected. Mistakes are forgiven but cheating can get you taken off the SOTA database.