Operating Procedure

… as OH2BH said:
" The pileup accurately mirrors the operator who runs the show"
It’s - of course - easier to control the hordes when running a kW into a beam than running QRP with a random wire. But there are steps each activator can take to control his pile-up (other than working by numbers, which should be the last resort i.m.h.o.)
The DX-University offers “best practice for (DXpedition) operators” here:

In SOTA we scarcely work split but we can still use RIT to shift the Rx frequency up or down a bit if the pile-up gets too dense. Be sure, the good chasers will recognize this at once.

Another good essay is here: DX University
Scroll down to " HANDLING POOR OPERATORS"

73, Roman

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If running by numbers I like to start with the number for that day, for example today is Jan 3 so I would start with the 3’s. As an ex-zero having a large call number is frustrating .

OK, so you have good and bad days, and they can be very different for very different reasons.

For example my activation of Isle of Man summit GD/GD-002 Slieau Freoaghane yielded 50 SSB contacts in 50 minutes and I had no problems with chasers trying to ‘jump the queue’. I’m assuming I got a DX spot somewhere along the line and just happened to have good propagation into Western Europe. I’m also made up when my 1-point summit also gets a pile-up.

If I have a lot of chasers I try where possible to keep saying ‘I will work everyone, please be patient’, and actually if anything some of the more ‘enthusiastic’ chasers then seem to get bored and move on. I also find that being a little less manic as an activator in my approach to QSOs seems to calm the chasing too.

The only ‘out of order’ sequencing I do is if someone is calling QRP, portable or S2S obviously. There is one chaser who can hear the Lakes on 2m who occasionally doesn’t have the patience and calls ‘portable’ when they clearly aren’t, no time for that kind of behaviour, and I very quickly develop deaf ears. I have been very impressed with the silence I’ve been afforded on S2S QSOs, sometimes often protracted, and try and keep a couple of callsigns in hand for when I return to the pileup.

There is no solution to the compromised activation where time/conditions are limited unfortunately.

One guarantee with radio, which is possibly why it is so addictive, is that tomorrow will almost certainly be complete different!

Regards. Mark. M0NOM

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Hi Everyone,

Can I thank all for the comments the advice I think some got the impression that I wanted the activators to be calling numerically due to having the number 1 in my call sign sorry to disappoint you but that is certainly not the case.

All I want to do is listen to my radio and if possible work a station on a hill as in a past life I did a lot of hillwalking, I get as much enjoyment out of listening to a qrp station talking to many stations letting me know how my station is performing than actually working it looking the summit up seeing the routes how difficult they are the logistics etc. It can while away the hours in these days of lock down.

I think would ask no more posts as there are differing opinions and I do not wish anymore time spent on it.

May I also take this opportunity to thank the many sota management teams for the fantastic work time and effort that they do in providing the site we are fortunate to have such a dedicated team.

A safe and prosperous 2021 ( oh and plenty of contacts)

73’s MM1HMZ

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Three weeks (or so) later, it’s pretty obvious the balance has shifted, at least over this side of the Atlantic. Even on previously less busy bands there are now usually quite cut-throat pile-ups for activations that get spotted…

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Hi,
I am mainly activator but i also know the chaser side. As an activator it is, in my opinion, usually the better solution to work that aggressive caller (although i would prefer not to work him) so he is gone and all others with normal behaviour can be worked.
What i would opt for is that the chasers would restrict themselves not to use high power, 100 watts is certainly far enough, that would give more chances for the QRP guys to work the activator.
It is also a good point not to start with the big pile-up band, usually 40 m, so when doing 20 and 60 m first, the pile up on 40m is less of a problem, less crowded.

SOTA is fun and should remain fun, i do not want to get upset because of some people who do not know how to behave themselves. If it gets bad, you can always change bands, make a pause etc.

73 s de Bruno HB9CBR

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At the moment every band seems to be a big pile-up band. I’ve been listening to 30 metres this morning, and it’s been every bit as crazy as 40 metres usually is…

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yes - I am often tempted to do exactly that… but usually there is still one or at the station that I can hear anyway and then I ignore this troublemaker for a while. Its success should not be there too quickly.

Last week I had home office and had the IC 703 (<10 Watt) running on the side. I briefly tried to keep up a few times… but it was useless.
I just waited until the pile up was over and qrz was called again. Then it was usually my turn.
But sometimes the conditions had already collapsed. - that’s just the way it is …

73 Armin

Hi all,

The pandemic has resulted in less activations. “Hungry” chasers do not support activators in work. Today I managed to make 2 QSO S2S both while I was a chaser. It wasn’t easy …

73, Jarek

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