A great discussion this, thanks all
Geoff vk3sq
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Matt,
While minimalist contacts are fine I have had some busted QSOs because the other station made assumptions and went clear. Not logged as valid.
A valid contact requires the following.
Both stations copy the other call sign
Both stations copy their reports.
Both stations acknowledge receipt of the above.
For a SOTA activator the summit reference needs to be sent frequently and on request.
As an activator I routinely send the report twice. If my report is something like R3 then I send it three times.
I’ve never had a queue of more than 3 so the extra couple of seconds to be sure is a good insurance. My signal can be subject to a noise spike in suburbia or just plain old QSB.
As a chaser I do not call the other station until I have positively copied his call and am hearing him well enough to avoid transmitting over the top of him or someone he is working. I often hear activators on the noise level but with QSB so do not bother calling if the percentage copy is too low.
Disclaimer.
#I’m am not a gun CW operator.
#When I was first learning about radio the self excited Master Oscillator to Power Amplifier was a respectable transmitter. (I have been around for a while.)
73
Ron
VK3AFW
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I agree with G3WGV if that’s not obvious from my earlier post. I don’t necessarily worry about maximizing the QSO rate but omitting most non-essential words during a pileup is my signal to other chasers in line that I am aware they are there, and I’m not chit chatting.
I also agree that SOTA is not a DXpedition, but that is why I usually use a straight key so that I’m usually sending 20 to 22 wpm. Otherwise I’d use a paddle or message keyer and send 27 or 30 wpm. I use straight keys so that I’m ready to QRS for anyone who sends slow code to me.
Also, I think I am in a small minority, but I usually (but not always) call plain CQ and not CQ SOTA. I take any QSO, including rubber stamp with name, QTH, rigs, SKCC number and what not.
Regarding repeats, I may not repeat when I send 599 to stations in the eastern US but I generally repeat otherwise. Most summits are relatively low noise environment and chasers are more likely QRO so they get lower merit than activators do. It’s much faster to repeat one extra time than having one more back-and-forth asking for a repeat. However, when people repeat their callsign during a QSO, I assume that is a signal that I miscopied their callsign previously and asking me to correct. I prefer people check the callsign I send carefully and not repeat theirs if there is no error. (But in reality there are people who pay no attention–I find errors when I look up station information.)
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Agreed John. So yes it’s helpful that US stations tend to tag their state onto their report. I always make a note of this in my logbook if sent; saves me looking up on QRZ later (as I like to log the states for all US contacts).
It’s also rather annoying that here in the UK we have been trying to (further) fog the identification of the constituent nations with the licensing developments.
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Exactly this Ron. That’s the observation I was making above. The chaser QSYs before a good contact is complete because they assume they’ve copied their report correctly. Result - N.I.L.
I guess the urgency of some chasers is entirely down to the busy periods with SOTAwatch Spots throwing up new entries every minute or so!
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Indeed so. It is, of course, Ofcom that has muddied the waters by doing away with the requirement to use RSLs. Fortunately I hear no evidence (yet) that UK amateurs are doing so.
The mess in the US and, potentially here in the UK is entirely down to our respective regulators trying to reduce their workload.
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It’s funny how people complain about bureaucracy and then complain when it’s removed.
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Off topic, but just out of interest - I buy an RSGB callbook every 2 or 3 years so I haven’t bought the 2025 edition. Does anyone know if the listed callsigns still contain the RSL and conversely has G4OBK become GE4OBK? I believe the RSGB obtain the data used to compile a callbook from Ofcom.
73 Phil G4OBK
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I’m impressed. Do you use a (long-lever) desktop-type straight key when out portable? And what is your portable SK placed on?
I like to keep my CW ‘fist’ in reasonable shape so I use a SK from time to time. For SOTA activating – as a change from the usual twin paddles - I occasionally take a small (hence short-lever) SK [a Palm PPK] which requires more force to key [compared to my long-lever shack SK, a Kent KT1 Pro]. Although no problem with the paddles I could never maintain 20-22wpm for a long time with the PPK on my thigh (using a leg strap) or my lap (on a small board) as both surfaces are too soft.
I would like to use a SK for activating more often so if anyone has any tips to overcome the soft surface problem, please tell us. In olden days, I would put the SK (with its magnetic base) on top of my FT817 [even then I would need the 817 sitting on a rock], but I can’t do that with the KX2.
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Hi Andy
Here’s my tiny Russian Spy key I use when activating - the body is about two and half inches long. Its screwed to a small bit of cutting board, and that has 3 small soft rubber feet on it - so it doesn’t rock or wobble. This base extends just beyond the key towards the operator stop it tipping up in use. This means I can easily use it with one hand. I can use it at around 20wpm without a problem.
I nearly always find a decent rock/stone to put it on and spend some time getting it - and myself in a comfortable position… Failing that I have an A4 clipboard which has a list of regular chasers printed on, plus some notes on it, which I can use as a base and rested on my lap. Like you I don’t like it ‘bouncing’ off soft surfaces and didn’t like using it resting on my leg.
David
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My heavy shack-based straight key stays put on the desktop because of its weight. But your portable SK and base looks so light, so I’m surprised you don’t have to use your other hand to stop it jumping about on the up strokes.
But where do you find nice level summit rocks for those rubber feet?
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Could it be this is because they followed a CW-course which uses this as templated format? Or maybe something from POTA? Or maybe because the number in the call doesn’t necessarily reflect the call-area since they let go of that (a KH6 might be in Florida and not Hawai’i for all we know). Anyway, for me it’s poinless since I only know where California, Hawai’i, Texas, Florida and Arizona are, and the rest I have to look up on the map 
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Maybe, but many are hams who have been licenced for 20-30yrs. I like it because it adds context to calls. I know the US call areas well from dealing with SOTA registrations so I know where the number suggests a station will be. I also know where the states are, there’s only 50 plus DC and KP4 so it’s not much to remember! Working a 7 call on QRP HF is good but the 7 call area is rather large and the population density is very low in some states. So getting an Idaho compared to a Washington State just adds a little more spice to the occasion.
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Andy
The stones don’t have to be flat except the working surface… I do spend quite awhile propping stones up and getting a solid enough surface, but that doesn’t even need to be perfectly flat or level because of the tripod arrangement of the small rubber pads. The key definitely does not jump about. Only me after completing an activation in cold weather. 
Maybe `i have a lighter touch on the key. Didn’t you tell me your home key is an RAF D type.?
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I try to press the Palm PPK key as lightly as possible and have played numerous times with its pressure and gap settings. It works fine at home with the PPK on a small steel plate glued to my ‘operating board’ (made from the hardback covers of an old Next catalogue). No jumping about or (many) sending errors with the key/board on the table. It’s finding flat(ish) hard surfaces out there ‘in the wild’ that makes my activations a bit of a faff using the SK (compared to dual paddles which I can stroke gently with finger and thumb).
I might try adding rubber seat to the op board.or making a separate (smaller) board just for the SK, like you did.
I’ve definitely given up with the SK with the thigh strap. My thigh muscles are obviously too soft!
P.S. My home key is a Kent KT1 Pro.
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Hi Phil, just checked, no change to callsigns in the 2025 Call Book.
73 John
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My current SOTA key is USSR Army key I bought two for USD30 including shipping from an eBay seller in Lviv, Ukraine. It took quite many days to get the parcel out of their country, but it got here in Boston in a few weeks. I use these with a piece of 3M Dual Lock tape (securer than Velcro with much less play) on a clipboard I made for logging.
(Also shown in the above photo, the red paddle is American Morse Mini-B single lever paddle)
My current bicycle POTA key is Rockwell Collins field radio key that I bought from an eBay seller in Toronto. This key is well sealed. I use this on a leg strap that I made with nylon webbing and buckles, rather than the green one that came with the key.
I’ve also used a US Navy Flameproof (with 3M Dual Lock on a clipboard) and J-38 clone (custom leg strap).
I’m fine with any of those keys. USSR Army key is the lightest and smallest.
My backup key for SOTA is a Burgess light force micro switch (limit switch). It’s not as nice to operate but I can make a bunch of QSOs at 20 wpm if necessary, and it weighs 25 grams including the cord.
I also use a few other heavier/nicer “desktop” keys when I do POTA from SUV or bicycle, but after using all these, I am really fine with any decent key…
I get tired if I send at 22wpm for long, but 20 is comfortable, and 18 is relaxing and easy. But on the SKCC list I see some saying they are comfortable sending 25 wpm. But I don’t know how much to believe what I read on that group; true facts are mixed with a lot of glory day stories. I’ve seen people claiming they were sending 30wpm with straight keys in the 1960s.
On the back side of my leg-mounted keys, I use high friction tape called CatTongueGrips. I also put this on the back of my clipboards. The strap must have some tension to make this tape to work the best, but this tape helps a lot. I changed the strap of Rockwell Collins key because the nylon buckle is easier to adjust tension and also attach/detach. The photo of J-38 clone was taken before I moved the strap to run below the contacts (less movement during send and works better that way; Rockwell Collins did that correctly.).
I also had my J-38 with magnets attached at the bottom, which I could use atop TS590 for POTA, when the rig was placed directly on the ground. But I like the leg mount better generally, except it is a bit extra work when I get up to change the antenna setting.
The practice to send two-letter state abbreviation (current US postal service abbreviation) was fairly common when I started POTA (when I started CW really) in late 2021. Some insist in using old (pre-1963) US postal abbreviation (2 to 5 letters long) or add N/S/E/W in front of the two letter code.
I feel the mismatch between the callsign area number and the actual operating QTH increased significantly in 2022 when a lot of people moved away from cities to work remotely or quit working.
I wrote POTA CW QSO guide: CW Guide - Parks on the Air Documentation
There is nothing new there, but treating the hunter’s state code as if it were the OP’s handle when sending 73 was less common back then than now. But a lot of people use message keyer to send the ending message and take a log or eat snack (as seen on various YouTube videos).
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Here’s my tiny Russian ‘spy key’, in use. A small base made of light weight plastic, long enough at the operator end to stop it tipping up in use and 3 small rubber feet and a decent rock or two to make a ‘platform’,. As the 3 feet are rubber and it doesn’t have to be on totally level surfaces and doesn’t slide off. In the unusual event that there isn’t a lump or two of stone then my crib sheet with sota chasers etc., is stuck to a bit of plywood (A4 size ) and that is rested on my knees/thighs - which aren’t too wobbly. The key goes on that It doesn’t need a 2nd hand to hold it steady - the rubber feet do that!.
Photo taken today whilst activating G-TW-001. I was going to video me using it but it was too damn cold +3c and very windy.
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What kind of information is on the reference table? Is it pasted on a piece of cardboard?