I am disappointed to note that SOTA Watch is becoming a Beggars and Braggers medium where some chasers are putting pressure on activators to change their operating plans in order to accommodate their quest for more points.
It is now becoming routine to see comments such asPse 17m next?Pse SSB?Pse back to 20m or Pse 40M for EU? Quite often one chaser will spot an activation and half a dozen chasers will then add the comment that they cannot hear him and offer advice on another band suitable to them. It is becoming all about me, me, me.
What happened to the phrase that “The activator is King?†One activator informed me that he felt pressurised when seeing these requests. To the chaser it probably means a simple re-tuning of their rig or re-tuning the antenna from the warmth of the shack, but the activator may have to move out of his shelter in bad weather in order to adjust his antenna. One typical case occurred this month when an activator posted Last calls due to heavy rain, and poor visibility which was immediately followed by Pse back to 40M? from a chaser.
At present we have someone disrupting the CW SOTA contacts by sending SSB SSB over the activator.
Come on folks. As a chaser you are not going to be able to copy ALL activations; there will be some you miss due to propagation, some where you were out of the shack, some you miss due to not using a particular mode and some you miss due to QRM, QRN etc. It is all part of the hobby.
Sadly I am reliability informed that some chasers are following this up with critical e-mails to the activator, which demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of the difficulties faced daily on the summits and makes me ashamed to be associated with such behaviour.
Sadly I am reliability informed that some chasers are following this
up with critical e-mails to the activator, which demonstrates a
complete lack of understanding of the difficulties faced daily on the
summits
Hi Roy
That’s a very worrying development - although perhaps not new. I tend to listen on 7032kHz while in the shack/workshop and have not heard too many problems beyond one chaser who seems to feel that it is his/her job to chase non-SOTA stations off 7032. Most people would find that behaviour to be unacceptable I hope (assume).
…not sure that I like being referred to as a “dog” though!
In reply to G4SSH:
Hi Roy
Not quite sure what you mean by Beggars and Braggers? But what I do know, if you or anyone has a problem , be it with a chaser or activator, then just say it. I am not keen on the “round the houses approach” some people are quite thick skinned and will not get the message. Just say it, name and shame and forget the politics. If for one minute I thought that I was causing problems, I would appreciate a nod in the right direction, but then we can be blunt up north.
73 John M6BLV
The beggars are the ones mentioned above who want the activator to move to a band which is suitable for them instead of letting the activator follow his personal plan.
The braggers are the ones who repeatedly inform everyone that they have copied an activator at their QTH, even though the activator has been spotted with correct details
“Beggars and Braggers” - I like it, very appropriate!
There are two possible solutions, neither of which I like but they would work. Firstly, eliminate the comments field so that there is nowhere for begging or bragging. Secondly, the members of the MT with editing buttons could delete all the B&Bs as they appear, but that means one of us would have to be censor on duty almost 24/7 so its not practicable.
I think it is something that we will just have to put up with.
On readings Roy’s post I scrolled back the spots of the last 48 hours to find out who the culprit might be. I could not find a lot of “beggar and bragger posts”. Either these were deleted or the problem is not that big at all.
Either these were deleted or the problem is not that big at all.
Quite a few of them are short-lived. This may be because the posters delete them, or it may be that the SOTAwatch crew clear them away. That they’re short-lived (for whatever reason) doesn’t make them any much less irritating though.
In reply to G4SSH:
A very simple solution is that when activating, I don’t look at the posts. I have an operating plan and once on the summit I execute that plan and read the posts later. You are only the king of your activation if you act like one, if others dictate your plans, then you aren’t much of king.
There will always be detractors, you can’t let them dictate the pace, ignoring them is the best medicine. Certainly don’t try to legislate them away, then they will only break the law.
I agree with your article…however I dont agree with one part of it " The activator is King"
There should be no hierarchy within Sota as activators are just as important as chasers…I both activate and chase and realise that both roles are as equally important to make the process function efficiently.
Of course it is up to the activator how he/she manages themselves whilst on a summit …as it is also up to the chaser to manage themselves with some kind of professional conduct.
I tend to think it is probably competitor driven , even though Sota is not a competition…as I have been guided on previously.
Any how lets hope your message can somewhat assist any offenders adopt a more civilised approach.
Russ
M6RGF
Sota activations on hold at present due to injury.
Totally disagree Russ. The activator is king, as Roy says, because the choice of band, mode and other parameters is entirely the business of the activator, and none of the chaser. That said the activator needs to try to be heard and will plan elements of the activation to suit the perceived preferences of the chasers in many cases.
As for anyone being “professional” in a hobby called amateur radio, well that’s just silly!
Tom M1EYP
In car park for GW/NW-031 with M0GIA & M0HGY about to drive home. Think we kept all the chasers happy today with 3 bands - 2m, 12m & 20m, 4 modes - FM, SSB, CW & PSK31, and 2 hours of operation.
In reply to G3CWI:
Its a roadracer that risks his life for the sheer fun and enjoyment of going fast on a closed circuit for no financial reward. As opposed to a roadracer that risks his life for the sheer fun and enjoyment of going fast on a closed circuit for financial reward. Amateur v professional!!
Think “Isle of Man TT” and you’ll get the picture Richard.
I solve this problem very easily… I either don’t have internet access on the hill or choose not to look at it - ever.
I’m also usually “on a schedule” as my long suffering XYL (Sue) is happy for me to activate on one band and work down the pile up, then I usually pack up. If the weather is good and Sue has a book with her, I will sometimes do another band or mode, but not often.
I very much appreciate the chasers I speak to, without them I wouldn’t have an activation of course, but I’m the one who has slogged up the hill and maybe put up with the weather. So I don’t have any qualms about this approach.
Hopefully the majority of chasers understand this.
Oh and finally, I suspect I’m not the only one (by any means) that doesn’t look at the internet when on the hill, so I suggest the people requesting other bands are usually wasting their time?
Fortunately all this makes me chuckle also after waking-up 02.30Z followed by car driving 1-2h and walking 2-3h ;-))
I simply imagine that pure chasers sitting in their armchairs cannot get into the activators mind.
Yes, I would appreciate if chasers (and activators) could carry out our hobby a little bit less stubbbornly.
I also wonder at the flood of spots, comments and detailed stories on the reflector regarding to the 12m band.
Hard to imagine that the involved activators and chasers did not realize any DX contacts before.
Incredible if this would be imitated by all active SOTA activators and chasers.
In other words, it would be wise to contemplate one’s own ego. Thanks!
In car park for GW/NW-031 with M0GIA & M0HGY about to drive home. Think we kept
all the chasers happy today with 3 bands - 2m, 12m & 20m, 4 modes - FM, SSB,
CW & PSK31, and 2 hours of operation.
OT: You made this chaser happy… S2S 24MHz CW GW/NW-031 to GM/CS-025. Who knows what propagation mode that was!
I’ll comment on Roy’s subject when I’ve had a shower and eaten something.
I think this is getting a bit silly, I thought Sota was about having a bit of fun with radio, I thought activators and chasers were equal and went hand in hand with one another,I must have been mistaken. Why does there allways have to be something wrong, is it that people get bored if they have not got something to bitch about.
I have really enjoyed my time with the Sota program, don’t let it turn out like most things in life, full of knee jerk reaction rules! Why not just enjoy
I think this is getting a bit silly, I thought Sota was about having a
bit of fun with radio, I thought activators and chasers were equal and
went hand in hand with one another.
I’ll second that!
I just enjoy myself and hope the chasers enjoy finding me. Simples, as those annoying Meerkats say (British TV advert).
I think this is getting a bit silly, I thought Sota was about having a
bit of fun with radio
I think it is (having a bit of fun). But we still have to have some order or the whole thing becomes a shambles and the fun disappears…
I raised the issue of using the spotting facility as a backchat channel before.
It’s quite clear from the Acceptable Use Policy that there are some who either don’t read it or just decide to ignore it.
The “superfluous” and “not adding useful content” are the key, I believe, to Roy’s posting.
Basically I have no problems with activator and chaser trying to contact each other out of band. I just don’t see the spot facility as the correct channel.
There are plenty of people out there writing apps, developing mapping programs etc. and maybe someone will have the time and effort to create a seperate chat channel for these converstaions to take place, or maybe just set up something on one of the many existing IM system already out there in the big wide world of the web. That would leave Spots for spots and IM for requests, backchat and bragging
I now return you to your scheduled service with small print attached below. (even though we can’t change the font in this forum, but I’ll start a new thread on that someday when the snow keeps everyone at home…!)
72
Pete
Policy on ‘Spotting’
Only operations from valid SOTA summits may be spotted or alerted on the SOTAwatch facility.
Spots will sometimes be removed if they are deemed superfluous, especially on busy days. This will generally be because the spot is not adding useful content but merely repeating information made clear in a previous spot.
Please do not be offended if this happens to you. Again, the motive is to make the facility as useful as possible to everyone concerned.
