Question:
Does the 25m activation zone limit apply to summits that are for example, 107m and 152m above sea level when part of the 25m limit falls below the mandatory prominence level of 100m or 150m?
I am asking this as I will be activating GU next month: 107m/109m. Jersey is not an issue as GJ/JE-001 is 136m ASL.
73 Phil G4OBK
Hi Phil, I think this should answer your question:
Taken from the SOTA general rules pdf.
73 Victor GI4ONL
Phil, the AZ still allows 25m in these cases. So yes, as perverse as it may seem, you could activate GU/GU-002 from a position with altitude 83m!
You won’t though. I’m sure you will find yourself much closer to the summit peak height than that.
Enjoy Sark. It’s one of the best places I’ve visited on this planet in my life!
Of course you are right Tom.
I would like to note that if a lone summit on an island is less than 150 m asl but more than 100 m asl then it qualifies as a HEMA summit, assuming it had been registered.
SOTA management have accepted some summits in this prominence range for reasons given elsewhere. Prominence is a summit qualifying attribute.
If it is also inside a recognised WWFF or POTA reserve then you can have a multiple award activation.
And then there’s IOTA.
The activation zone is independent of prominence for either SOTA or HEMA. It would be bigger for the other awards.
Sark sounds like award heaven.
73
Ron
VK3AFW
Noted Victor and Tom, thank you for the clarification. I have invited one of the non-SOTA GU licencees I have been corresponding with to observe my activation of GU-002 in the hope he will have a go himself. He is a CW operator.
Thanks also to Ron. I will look into whatever else the three summits contemplated offer in terms of other award schemes.
73 Phil
And much easier to reach than Bouvet Island …
73 de Martin / HB9GVW
Equally perverse is that you have to be below 83m to chase the summit. 
Hi Martin, Hi Ron - please give a moment thought to the crew heading out to Rockall at the moment - not a SOTA summit “just” an IOTA (EU-189) but one heck of a rugged rock to get onto and up and there’s very little space when the small rock in the middle of the North Atlantic is climbed.
Good luck to the lads (Emil, DL8JJ, Nobby G0VJG and Cam (non-ham)) and listen out for the MM0UKI callsign.
It’s probably not the most remote radio island location but still the hardest to get to.
73 Ed.
The map below shows the extent of the activation zone of Le Moulin on Sark, GU/GU-001. Created using the @N6ARA SOTA Activation Zone Estimator. I can’t get it to work for GU/GU-002 - network error!
73 Phil
Phil, Victoria GU0BEZ is also an amateur who lives on Sark. She also is an office bearer of the island, so possibly worth contacting.
GL with your trip. Look forward to hearing all about it.
Thanks for the info Fraser. We’ll only be going there on the day boat from Guernsey, for a walk and the SOTA activation. Hopefully we won’t get into trouble, but if we do I’ll mention Victoria’a name!
73 Phil
Hi Ed,
Well at about 8 m asl and 32 m in diameter and located in the North Atlantic there isn’t a lot to commend it as a holiday destination. It is easy to understand why there are only 400 reported QSOs.
It’s going to be hard from here.
73
Ron
VK3AFW
Well with a 5th of the power they will use, I managed a contact (on SSB) into VK3 this morning with Ernie VK3DET - and I am one more “hop” (or possibly two) - so don’t rule out working Rockall from VK3!
(They’re operating CW as well as SSB by the way, so there’s another “10dB of signal” if needed. Getting through the pile-up is going to be the problem!
73 Ed.
P.S. has anyone heard MM0UKI yet? I haven’t. I guess by the schedule, they will only just be landing.
I’ve also heard “rockall” of this station Ed…
73 Phil
I believe the correct expression is “I’ve heard 2/3rd of 5/8th of …” 
I got inspired to my response reading the article in the recent Funkamateur, but chapeau to Rockall. Although not qualifying for SOTA, there is definitely climbing involved.
Martin - the-lazy-guy-activator - HB9GVW
Perhaps someone might set up a climbing SOTA, possibly points equal to the numbers following the decimal point. such as 5.10 = 10 points. Just a thought…
Only works if you are American. How many points for HVS 5a?
I can now hear the Rockall transmissions from MM0UKI - probably Emil DL8JJ as he is a QRQ guy, the operator is doing 30-35 WPM on 14035 CW listening up. 339 in NE England, large pile up, working 3-4 stations per minute. The RBN tells the radio story it seems
Good Luck if you have a go at working the team, Nobby and Emil, I’ll be waiting until I can hear them better, proably a waste of time and leccy to try at the moment. It’s only an IOTA after all, not SOTA!
73 Phil G4OBK
MM0UKI (I believe) is RST 579 here in south DL on 14035 working stations up to 14044 but never signs his call. It wasn’t too difficult to get him with 100 W and a vertical but apparently the skip zone is currently less favorable for stations in the UK. Good luck, Phil!
73, Roman
