Now seeking advice about how we two Americans can catch the Italian Fabio at the top of the S2S all-time list. Or is it already a lost cause?
K6EL
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You could try sending a SWAT team to pick him up and exile him to a flat island. Be careful, though, because he has an arsenal of BNC connectors, banana plugs, and clips.
The problem is, he only lets himself be caught on CW or SSB.
Good luck guys!
73
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Iām not 100% on this but there might be a way as its all tied up with how the database works and I could be completely wrong (a strong possibility that I am).
It would require you moving to Italy, or at least shadowing Fabio on each summit expedition and then working all the STS that he would get before he worked them. Fabio would still get the contact count but not get get the points thus stalling him while advancing yourselves.
The above is based on the bottom entry in the honour roll that shows an entry with 1 STS contact but zero points. There may be several reasons for this so the above strategy might prove a very expensive waste of time but do let me know how it goes 
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Sorry Elliott, I donāt quite understand whether this is a serious question or just an attempt to get attention 
The simplest solution would be to view things exclusively through the eyes of a SOTA enthusiast - that is, to set aside the perspective of oneās own ego tied to a nationality.
Of course, it is perfectly understandable that, given the current geopolitical climate, this is an inconceivable proposal.
One might therefore ask: What makes these S2S QSOs - which, in the vast majority of cases, are easily achieved thanks to the sheer number of activators and the generally high quality of technical equipment available - so special to some people today?
Is it perhaps a kind of sporting ambition, a mindset spread by the manufacturersā clever marketing, or something else rooted in human nature?
Hopefully, everyone will have an answer to such questions from a purely personal perspective, and that should really be enough 
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No problem El, you just have to stop taking days off. Me, DJ, and Rich did 3 summits yesterday and no K6EL in the logs.
Well done Fabio, you are crushing it! 
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Hi Eliot,
Ever since I became a ham radio operator, Iāve had a passion for DXing.
During āVersion 1.0ā of my amateur radio career, I achieved great results using a vertical antenna, always barefoot
There were sleepless nights waiting for expeditions to rare counties to go on air, and patient waits amidst frenzied pile-ups to seize the perfect moment to make the contact.
When I discovered SOTAāafter a QRX of over ten yearsāmy enthusiasm returned, partly because Iāve always loved hiking.
Making an S2S contact isnāt always easy with a QRP rig; it often feels like reliving the thrill of working a ānew countryā more than thirty years ago.
S2S is the icing on the SOTA cakeā¦ and being at the top of the rankings isnāt a bad feeling at all!
73 Fabio
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Glad to be one of your s2s QSOās yesterday from Dirrington Great law GM/SS-225.
I canāt chase from home so s2s is a fair proportion of my āchaserā points and for me itās a like minded individual sitting on a hilltop too.
Andy
MM7MOX
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Both activators would get the points. Different activators, same summit.
A chaser contacting both (during the same 24h UTC period) would only be credited the once for that day.
I have yet to meet a chaser though who would purposefully not make a contact because they already made contact with someone on the same summit that same day. All chasers I have had the pleasure to meet on the air are all very supportive.
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Be cool, forget the race, just relax and enjoy life on the summits!
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Of course, people compare themselvesā¦ and naturally, they check the various leaderboards to see where they stand. Me too.
It would be a lie to claim that SOTA doesnāt thrive on that aspect, too.
There was a time when Chris (@DL1CR), Stephan (@HB9EAJ), and I were constantly swapping places on the S2S leaderboard. Stephan is an avid S2S operator; Chris, unfortunately, only has 1-point summits nearby (which makes his achievement all the more impressive!); and for me, an S2S contact is more of a bonusāsomething picked up along the way. Consequently, our paths naturally diverged.
You should find your own personal challengeā¦ completely independent of what others achieve.
After all, everyone starts from a different positionāso, in reality, performance levels canāt really be compared directly between individuals.
73 Armin
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Well, yes and no I think. If contacting big QRO stations with directive antennas is not surprising, I still find S2S contacts a little exciting. Each operator on a summit with no more than a little wire and a few hundred grams radio, completely off grid, is kind of thrilling. And not that predictable, despite the technology involved in our radios.
So I can totally understand that some of us live the hobby through S2S contacts. Well done Fabio !
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Hi,
Are the results of a European station and those of a North American station comparable?
I donāt think so.
Fabio benefits from the proximity of activators, numerous every day, notably from DL, HB and OE.
Moreover, he is outside almost every day and stays on the summits for a long time to chase the S2S, with insistence.
So, itās hard to catch up with himā¦
Treat yourself far from the competition.
73 to all.
Chris F4WBN
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I find S2S and completes the stimulus now. Myself and Paul W6NEA were on our way back from Friedrichshafen a few years and we flew Edinburgh<>Geneva. We stayed the last night in a hotel in France just 15mins across the border from Geneva. Iād spotted a few easy summits within 30mins drive and we activated Le Grand Piton F/AB-485. I thought at the time āthatās a summit Iāll never completeā. So when I worked Kurt HB9AFI 2 years later I was surprised to see the summit ref was for this summit and it was now a complete (an S2S complete too). That is much more rewarding to me than being top of the table. Then I managed an S2S with Ben GW4BML when he was on Soay in St. Kilda. That was just being in the right place and right time because Ben only had 2 S2S QSOs amongst all the people calling for a QSO. I wont be completing Soay and probably wont hear anyone on it for many years, if ever. But I have chased it and thatās a win for me in my book.
I donāt care that some people are super keen and competitive because I can āhang from their coat tailsā picking up S2S contacts and sometimes completes. Thatās a win-win situation, a win for me getting more S2S/completes and win for them getting higher in the tables. Thereās no downside for me.
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Elliott!
You ātop-o-the-boardā S2S guys get out more days than not, and youāve been doing it for an entire SOTA career. If you want to catch and pass Fabio, youāll have to out live him. My adviceā¦ take care of your healthā¦ donāt do drive upsā¦ pray!
Btw, thanks to all of you for so many past S2S Qs!
Ray KD8EQA
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Hi Elliott, regarding whether itās a ālost causeā, the short and simple answer is āYESā. The reason is right there in the title of this thread: āSummit to Summit Raceā. For it to actually be a āRaceā, weād need to do some kind of tabula rasa and have everyone whoās into S2S start from zero. For example, some sort of āS2S Challengeā. But even then, there are countless factors that give some people an āadvantageā over others. Simple: in Europe, the proximity between associations makes S2S possible from HF all the way to V/UHF. Now, to avoid these āadvantagesā, weād have to apply rules that would turn SOTA from a program where we all have fun into just another contest ā and many of us try to stay away from contests.
And thank you for the many S2S weāve done
73 de JP3PPL
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Now that I am feeling the strain on my lumbar spine, I look back somewhat wistfully at my s2s logbook entries - for example, at the following ones (SOTA s2s was introduced in 2013):
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April 14, 2013: My very first s2s QSO was with DF2GN/P, Klaus, on 12m
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May 27, 2013: First overseas s2s QSO with the well-known W4ZV, Bill, on 17m
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November 6, 2013: First s2s QSO with K6EL, Elliott, on 12m
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June 5, 2015: First Australia s2s QSO with VK2IO/P, Gerard, on 20m
ā¦ and, a bit later ā¦
- July 30, 2019: First s2s QSO with IK2LEY/P, Fabio, on 60m
I really enjoyed these SOTA s2s QSOs, especially in the early years. Later on, however, the fun faded somewhat due to the activator ās2sā, ā¦, ās2sā calls demanding preferential treatment.
Everything and everyone has their time, and thatās a good thing. So, having recently turned 80, I intend to have fun with POTA in the many lovely parks from now on.
I wish you SOTA enthusiasts continued enjoyment of this hobby. Take care in the mountains.
73 gl, Heinz
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For me S2S gives me something to go for when I have run out of activator points. There are only so many summits within range of home so there comes a point in the year when I cannot get more activator points except for holidays or perhaps the occasional special trip. But with S2S I can walk up to my local summit G/NP-028 for the 15th or 25th time that year and still have points to aim for. Iām never going to be the leader in activation points but I can be the All G CW S2S leader and I can aim to work up the table for All G All mode S2S.
Of course itās great to just go out and play radio for a couple of hours in the great outdoors. But having something to collect makes it more fun. Some people collect stamps, I like to collect S2S points.
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