It is only KST though I’m pretty sure. I don’t think you can self-spot on other facilities - like SOTAwatch. Alerting and advertising in advance is fine as before. Spotting another SOTA activation simultaneously in progress is fine unless they happen to be a member of the same contest group or club as you.
OMG - it took me 9 activations before I made 72 QSOs on 2m SSB this year, and you did it in one sitting. I guess I am operating in the wrong part of the world 
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It mostly comes down to whether you do contests or not, even here. I’d guess (based on very little evidence) that a large majority of all the VHF contacts made by UK stations are contest QSOs…
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I’d beg to differ. The majority of VHF contacts will be casual FM QSOs. It is true that the majority of my own 2m SSB contacts are from contests, but I’m still very much one of the only UK ops that regularly combines a SOTA activation with a contest participation.
This year with the Challenge, many more of my 2m SSB contacts are non-contest QSOs.
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I suspect my log’s not that good a guide. I never used to log U/VHF FM contacts unless they were made as part of some defined activity like SOTA. Then one of the clubs I was a member of started a league table where contacts with other club members counted extra, so I started putting club Nets into my log. However, they were typically once-a-week affairs, and seldom made for more than half a dozen contacts each time…
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It changed this year to include the cluster for most RSGB VHF contests Tom. See 4th bullet point. Other spotting facilities are not specifically mentioned, so not sure if it’s allowed on SOTAwatch? I’ve emailed Andy G4PIQ to ask.
73, Phil.
As per my previous post from the general rules, it does say “DX Cluster, or any similar spotting network”
I would say that SOTAwatch is a similar spotting network.
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Hi Stuart, yes that definitely looks like SOTAwatch is covered. I didn’t get as far as reading the general rules, just the ‘What’s New’ section, which is a bit more ambiguous.
73, Phil.
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Just had it confirmed by a member of the Contest Committee that self-spotting on SOTAwatch is legit for the VHF/UHF UKACs / FMACs in 2026.
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Excellent. Thanks Tom.
Looks like a potentially good SOTA summer Fun Evening tonight.
3, possibly 4 SOTA activators out (2 not yet alerted), at least 3 different summits being activated. In alignment with tonight’s contests, it will be mainly 2m FM 1800-1855z and 2m SSB 1900-2130z.
Now we know there’s going to be multiple S2S activity, maybe YOU can be encouraged to nip out to your local summit and join us on the air?
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