POTA/SOTA-conference at Ham Radio 2025

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Hi,

I hope you will allow me to make a few critical personal comments on the POTA/SOTA conference that took place at Ham Radio in Friedrichshafen on Saturday. Firstly, of course, many thanks to Luis, HB9HJU and Jürg, HB9BIN, who did a lot of work to cover all the relevant topics in 90 minutes.

What bothered me personally:
SOTA and POTA have many facets and I accept the fact that for many activators the thought of points, as many QSOs as possible in a short time, mountain goat diplomas etc. are a great motivation. However, there are also radio amateurs (and I would argue that we are not even the minority…) who find SOTA radioing ‘in the fresh air’ appealing, who hike with their family and for whom points are secondary and who, for example, do not choose their mountain destinations based on whether the mountains are easy ‘drive by’… For these radio amateurs, it is rather strange when Luis mentions a ham doing 10 POTA activations in one day (!) as a positive example, explains that the record is 96 hours of continuous activation in a POTA area, etc. Yes, POTA and SOTA can be seen as a competition with leaderboards etc., but the radio amateurs who enjoy simply having fun are rather repelled by such examples.
I think we could interest even more people to POTA and SOTA if we emphazise that its a perfect thing to combine ham radio with other outdoor activities (hiking, bicycle, climbing, nature photography, homebrewing QRP, doing something for the health)
Yes, I agree with Jürg that it would be nice to find more chasers, but SOTA is not a closed universe and it’s perfectly acceptable to tune over the bands and answer CQ calls from non-chasers… Maybe some of these qso-partners we tell we are on a mountain become SOTA-fans as well… :slight_smile:

73!

Peter DL3NAA

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Hi Peter,

I agree wholeheartedly with the stance taken by people like yourself, who enjoy not only the radio contacts and experimentation with radios and antennas, but who also take great pleasure in just “being” in the great outdoors.

Unfortunately, in SOTA and POTA, as well as in practically all walks of life, there will always be the types who are too heavily focussed on winning, even obsessively so. It’s not so much a reflection on those radio award schemes, but more an observation that it takes all sorts, and that “there’s nowt so queer as folk,” as northern English folk are wont to say.

For me, while I was still active in SOTA, planning for the route and discovering new places, doing the hike to the summit, and discovering new plants and fungi, insects and birds, trees and shrubs, grasses and mosses and lichen - all these were more important to me, and gave me far more pleasure, than the the couple of dozen contacts I would make on a typical summit activation. Now that I can no longer activate in SOTA, but must limit my activities to walking slowly into town along the river, I still take great pleasure in identifying the plants, trees and wildlife along the way.

So, Peter, take your pleasures as and when you may find them, and leave the points-driven people to their own games.

Cheers, Rob

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Hi Peter,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts — I find them very much in line with my own. As is often the case, growing a community in a healthy way requires openness and inclusivity.

I wasn’t at the conference and I don’t know the speakers personally, but I imagine that — given the limited time available — they chose to focus on one specific aspect of SOTA and POTA, namely the performance-driven side. I’m sure it wasn’t their intention to exclude or diminish the value of a more relaxed, family-oriented approach.

Personally, I enjoy the challenge of leaderboards and a bit of competition, as it helps me stay motivated to improve my setup, my planning, and my operating skills — especially with SOTA, which often requires much more preparation than POTA.
That said, I always try to involve my fellow hams and, first and foremost, to share the joy of being outdoors and operating in nature. After that, it’s up to each of us to find the “style” of activation that suits us best.

73 de Claudio, IK5VYZ

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Thank you Rob and Claudio for your feedback.
I hope nobody gets me wrong: Its ok that SOTA can also be seen as a kind of competition! We just have to make sure that SOTA is more than a competition and - especially during fairs and public events - we should show different parts of SOTA and not just the “competitive” side. We have a lot of fascinating photos here and also at sotl.as showing the beauty of doing ham radio in nature.
Just some numbers to show what I mean:

In 2024 280 DL-HAMs participated in SOTA.

Here is how many activitations they did:
1-5 activations 143
6-10 activations 40
11-15 activations 19
16-20 activations 12
21-25 activations 9
26-30 activations 14
31-35 activations 10
36-40 activations 6
41-45 activations 4
46-50 activations 3
51-55 activations 6
56-60 activations 4
66-70 activations 1
71-75 activations 1
81-85 activations 1
86-90 activations 1
111-115 activations 2
136-140 activations 1
161-165 activations 2
301-305 activations 1
So half of the people enjoying SOTA did 1 to 5 activations per year.

In Switzerland the numbers are a little different: 185 activaters and from these 185 half (90) did 1-10 activations.

Topics at conference have been:
:small_blue_diamond: How POTA redefines amateur radio—blending portable operation with innovation, community, and real-world challenges.
:small_blue_diamond: Creative new ways to do POTA—integrating SDRs, digital modes, satellite contacts, and even experimental antennas in diverse environments.
:small_blue_diamond: Going beyond the usual activation—from multi-day park expeditions to QRP survival challenges and engaging youth through gamified radio experiences.
:small_blue_diamond: Bridging tradition with technology—how POTA complements Summits on the Air (SOTA) while pushing boundaries in digital and remote communication.

Do you think that these are the main(!) interests of people interested in POTA/SOTA?

Hornisgrinde
Hornisgrinde600×800 186 KB

73!
Peter DL3NAA

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Hi Peter,

I did not attend the POTA/SOTA conference, but after reading the description of the presentation, I would have interpreted the target group of this conference to be advanced and/or more ambitioned activators rather than beginners who don’t know about the programme at all yet. I agree with you that absolute beginners might have been overwhelmed by the content, since I know both presenters personally. However, I think the typical newbie probably ends up at a booth of the show first rather than attending specialised conferences.

POTA did not have a booth at the show, but having been part of the team that did the SOTA booth for the last few years, I remember lots of discussions with visitors who did not know about SOTA at all before, and providing them with lots of information on entry level.

The first concern is usually about having to be a ambitioned mountaineer to participate. However I can counter this with my personal experience which I gladly share with every interested person. SOTA is as inclusive as it can be: I often combine SOTA activations with casual family hikes, and have even used it to support my physiotherapy after a hip replacement. After having achieved my mountain goat status, I do not prioritise points anymore either, but rather set personal goals that fit into my family life. If this goal is “having fun with the family and have 4 QSOs in between at a stopover point”, this is as valid as achieving the 20th mountain goat. So technically this is the exact opposite of the competition you describe.

Having moderated countless presentations and conferences both in my work life as well as the hobby myself, I know how difficult it is to fill a short 90 minutes slot with information which fits for both beginners and advanced activators and not losing part of the audience. I would not blame the presenters for their focus on the advanced audience.

So let’s live and let live, have the professionals have their conferences, and for attracting beginners to the outdoor programmes, why not motivate programmes such as POTA to have their own booth at the show?
Or even better: Have someone who wants to promote outdoor operations in general organise a large “Outdoor radio booth”? In such an environment, every single outdoor programme could have their own corner to present what they are doing, smaller, unknown programmes would not have to do the whole work of organising their own booth.

73 Jens HB9EKO

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There will always be people in ham radio who are interested in pushing the technological boundaries of the hobby, and long may it remain so.

As far as POTA is concerned, I really believe the majority of activists are attracted by the relative ease of access to the open air in parks (no sweating their way up hundreds or even thousands of meters of steep tracks to a summit!), and the ease with which a station can be set up. Once there, they can switch on the radio, and sweep up dozens of contacts while sitting comfortably in the shade at some bench or table in the park. What’s not to like?

Unfortunately, it’s often not quite so easy for POTA activists here in S. Germany, but that really is a topic for another forum…

Good idea!

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To add a few more details to what I already wrote:

My main interest is almost exclusively in SOTA. I usually do POTA activations only when a park overlaps with a summit.

Within SOTA, I prefer New Ones, and when I do repeat a summit, it’s usually to test a new setup.

So, reading the topics of the conference and looking at them from a SOTA perspective, there are definitely some interesting points to reflect on (perhaps in a separate thread) when imagining a possible future vision for the SOTA program.

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Can we, please, at least at this site, stop leveling the well-structured outdoor radio activity for mountaineers (SOTA) with all those willy-nilly outdoor radio programs for car owners (POTA, COTA, BOTA, WWFF, WPOTA=WallmartParkingOTA, and so on and so forth).
For those who prefer radio communications without physical efforts, why not going a step further and enjoying radio while relieving yourself: join TOTA=Toilets on the Air (totawatch.de/).

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Yet at the top of those leaderboards are the words

“SOTA is not inherently a competitive activity, it’s about individual aspirations and working towards a goal at your own pace. However, it can be fun to see how your progress compares with that of others, hence we publish our Honour Roll on the internet.”

And the ethos behind SOTA is the first item in the rules

"The purpose of SOTA (the Programme) is to encourage Amateur Radio based activity from
the summits of hills and mountains in countries around the world and to provide an award
system for Radio Amateurs in all DXCC Entities. (see http://www.sota.org.uk/) The Programme
is intended to encourage activity from clearly defined peaks, including major mountains. To
enable participation in the Programme to be as wide ranging as possible, lesser peaks may
also be included. An incremental scoring system recognises the higher peaks accordingly. The
Programme is intended for portable operation (/P) and does not accept operation from a
motor vehicle.
The Programme provides for participation by Activators who make QSOs from the Summits,
Chasers who make contact with the Activators, and Short Wave Listeners.
In addition to Amateur Radio Awards, the SOTA Programme encourages activity in amateur
radio operation, increasing knowledge and skills in the use of equipment, particularly in
antennas, as well as encouraging new skills, for example, in operating CW and data modes
(for those who do not already possess them).
"

Except we, the management team, go to some lengths to ensure it is not seen as a competition. In the last challenge (have QSOs with as many different people from/with as many different SOTA summits as possible on 10m) the rules were specifically structured to remove any perceived competition element. There were no winners, nobody came first.

Looking at websites and rules, it looks like all your comments have been in the minds of the people devising and running the program since its inception 22 years ago.

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You and your team there on Mt. Olympus have a great sense of humour, Andy!

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First of all, I would like to say that, despite some shortcomings, I consider SOTA to be the best program available in the entire spectrum of x-OTA (and similar) programs. It is clearly structured and has defined rules.

The shortcomings have their history… and most of them are justified!

All programs, of any kind, that have a list/ranking of any kind tempt you to be “sporty.” You may or may not fall for it.

But I sincerely hope that you keep an open mind during every activation. Be it for mountain peaks, windmills, lighthouses, or the unique landscape that has transformed it into a park or nature reserve.

Many activators have no or very limited opportunities to engage in amateur radio at home. I do too!

Besides participating in such a program, amateur radio itself is a broad field. (I always like to compare it to cycling… road cycling, artistic cycling, cycle ball, mountain biking, cycling tours,… it’s all cycling.) … And everyone can find their own world there - and if they want, they can also do it outdoors in a program like SOTA.

Personally, I’ve discovered many new landscapes through SOTA that I wouldn’t have experienced otherwise… I’ve made new friends - and that’s completely independent of the points. And of course, I also visit a castle or a church if it’s on the way. … and of course, I enjoy the flower meadow in early summer when I hike to the summit. Just like the fitness it brings me! - But I also enjoy the special QSO!

At the beginning of March, I tore my meniscus while running down from the summit. I wasn’t active for a while. During this phase, I researched which parks I had visited for my activations and uploaded these activations to POTA. (So ​​to speak, the bycatch of SOTA)

I was amazed by the “generosity” of POTA… in its rules.

During my convalescence phase, I actually activated POTA exclusively. And discovered new things (places, landscapes, etc.) and I’m grateful for that.

Of course, SOTA is my passion… but perhaps one day the time will come when my fitness no longer allows me to go up the mountain. Then POTA could be an alternative!

73 Armin

btw: — I had 302 activations last year … but it wasn’t a competition! …it was pure fun

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Armin,

Could you give a brief outline of how and with which software apps this was done?

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Hallo Heinz

First, I used sotl.as to see which summits I had already activated. These then had to be compared with the POTA areas.

This is easy to do for DL, HB9, HB0, and OE. DK5UR has done an excellent job: https://pota-map.info/

Otherwise, I used the POTA map itself. Maps are provided for each park in F and I. This makes it easy to determine whether the summit is located within a park.

In other countries I often couldn’t find a map for the parks (not even via Google) and couldn’t determine if the summit was still in the park… and I couldn’t enter any data.

When I had a SOTA activation with more than 10 QSOs, I downloaded them as a .csv and converted them using ON6ZQ’s software (many thanks for that). ON6ZQ | SOTA to ADIF log converter

I then uploaded this file to POTA.

POTA is very generous in this regard: You don’t need to have announced or spotted the POTA activation. Multiple parks can be valid with one activation. Activations made before the park’s validity date are also valid. (… these are, for example, rules that I would change to make POTA more challenging… but that’s my feeling and POTA has a different attitude)

I was unable to upload many parks because I did not have the required 10 QSOs… and for many of them the park boundaries were unclear to me… and I also usually only uploaded one activation and not the Southern Black Forest 500 times.

73 Armin

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Thanks Armin, I wouldn’t have thought that converting to ADIF would only require adding a single keyword. So, with ON6ZQ’s program, it’s really a simple process.

By the way, I still don’t understand how/when the All-Time Statistics in the POTA profile are updated …

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POTA also has its little secrets :rofl:

73 Armin

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