Eleven years ago I stumbled across N6IZ on Mt. Shasta doing a weird “SOTA” activation thing - at least weird in the fact that I’d never heard of it before! I was immediately hooked and started “chasing” summits running my usual QRP levels (3-5 watts). In the last couple years my summit-chasing has slowed down to work and related business travel and other amateur radio pursuits, but I still enjoy SOTA as much as ever. Thanks to so many intrepid activators on 5163 summits, I just hit 30,000 chaser points - all with QRP. (QRP is another of my apparently incurable, and somewhat masochistic afflictions.)
Special thanks to WG0AT for his videos in the early years that really cultivated my growing SOTA fascination and motivated me to activate some summits of my own. Although this flat-lander has few opportunities to get to the mountains, SOTA has allowed my family and me to combine our shared love of hiking in the mountains with QRP activity! I sure would like to get MG, but that will probably have to wait until retirement.
It is amazing how much the SOTA activity has increased in the last eleven years, but it is great to hear some of the same folks on over all those years. I’ve really enjoyed “the ride” and fully intend to keep chasing and occasionally activating summits.
I just started activating summits this year and with CW in the last week and a half, I’m still under my first year of being licensed and I agree with you whole heartedly this community is absolutely incredible from chasers to the activators and the Youtube videos are big inspirations as well.
I bought a IC 703 off a bloke and was messing in my yard working qrp cw for a few years. I watched some You Tubes about the IC 703 and came across Steve and his two goats on a hill calling CQ SOTA. My first search for SOTA led me to a tractor but I did find the right place and saw the email us link. Asked the question is SOTA in Australia ?? well they answered telling me Wayne VK3WAM had just submitted the list of summits for VK3 and it was going through the approval process. I made it my business to find and contact Wayne who kindly offered to help get a list of vk5 summits going too. Well I should say he did the list I just watched with amazement at his computing skills at the time. It meant a visit to Melbourne to his house and he put me up for the weekend and we went about getting the vk5 summit list ready. That was May 2012 and vk5 came on line October 2012 so next year will be 10 years. I have activated 263 summits in that time and heading for 9000 chaser points and as Randy said I am also still keen to do more summits in 2022 and keep chasing as many Activators as I can, it is a great part of this great hobby for sure.
Most times during my day on 40m the only activity on the air is SOTA or Parks activating it sure helps keeping the bands alive.
Regards
Ian vk5cz …
That is a lot of summits as well as a lot of chaser points Ian! As you said, SOTA provides a great opportunity to do something when the bands are otherwise a little dead!
Excellent thread, and it definitely speaks for me too. There is no doubt that SOTA has significantly reshaped my life (and body!) over the last two decades and been responsible for many new friendships. Plus as stated above, it’s a fantastic community and I’ve learned so much more about amateur radio and mountaineering/hillwalking accordingly.
