Hmmm. Wonder how many of these I can do?
Not really goals but things to try:
Keep your eyes open on eBay. You often see older stuff going for peanuts from SK sales. In my case I got an early SSB electronics set of modules from an SK sale. But… the guy handling the sale had had no luck trying to shift it as it needs a bit of work. I got for an excellent price. There’s no 23cm c/o switching so at present you switch from RX to TX by moving the antenna from 1 BNC to another. Likewise you need to move the 144MHz IF cable between two BNCs. Also the tin plate boxes were missing lids etc. But it works and makes 1W out on 23cm all modes. I think it wants 1W drive on 2m. So it’s a bit of a faff but it gets you a usable system and 1W from a hill to some simple antennas is a viable system.
Or you could punt about £170 for an SG Lab transverter which is good value for money. Or if you are feeling flush, a Kuhne DB6NT tansverter but they are not cheap. €545 + shipping new!
There’s lots of kit gathering dust so asking on some of the for sale boards can bring in interesting offers as well.
My goals usually change throughout the year. But to start with, I’ve set myself the goal of travelling to the Alps more often (or staying there longer when I’m there) to activate as many unique summits as possible.
I also want to do more activations with simple, home-built QRP radios, which are already available in my shack. And last but not least, I want to try activating on top band. This, however, requires a suitable antenna, which still needs to be designed.
But above all: Enjoy our wonderful hobby!
73, Roman
VK3YE has some ideas for top band antennas vk3ye dot com - Transmitting on 160 metres and vk3ye dot com - 160 & 80m coax cable loop and coupler
I have built a coupler for the coax cable loop but I am yet to try it out.
I have have a couple of nearby summits that have plenty of trees to hang things from and I think 160m qualification should be achievable during our winter (mid year).
3. Release an updated VK port-a-log - it’s been 3 years since the last major revision. (this was also in 2024 goals)
How about making port-a-log available for iphones, Peter.
Elliott, K6EL
That’s a lot more work and cost than incremental improvements. For iOS I suggest Ham2K portable logger.
Sorry - I only code for Android.
Get to 100 Chaser points (I think I have 90ish now)
Activate at least one summit.
Try some CW.
I’ve had some serious health issues during the last 2 years that I’m still struggling with. Managed to get up one mountain (Pen-y-Fan) this year and would probably manage to set up the antenna in the garden on a good day now. I’ve tried chasing on 2 m from the van when waiting for DH doing hill walking. (Like I am right now in the NT car park by Pen y Fan. 
) But that’s been it, sadly.
POTA integration, maybe? 
honestly though I love VK portalog, its been a summit and logging game changer for me, and many others! I can activate and have my logs up to SOTAdata before I have even walked off my final daily summit!
73, Alan
I am sure there Local activators down there, who would gladly help you on a couple of simple activations! G/NW-070 reat Orme is a VERY easy one, just a mooch from the car park to the trig will get it activated! GW/NW-076 Mynydd y Cwm is also a pretty easy one, just a gentle stroll in the woods!
Good luck with it all
73, Alan
When they could be at home, in their shack, making sure I get at least 4 contacts? I think not!
DH has suggested that he’d carry the radio stuff for me (as well as all my other gear…) on several occasions, but it’s been a bit too much to think about radio as well so far. But I’m slowly getting better, so hopefully I can get out on the hills more in the new year. 
Wishing you the best of luck in being able to get back out there in 2025! 
73, Matthew M0JSB
I did my first activation in September 2023 and only really got going with SOTA in 2024. I should finish this year on 447 activator points and around 5900 chaser points. .
My next SOTA goals are to reach Super Sloth in 2025 and attain my first goat by March 2026. I want to do more hills in Scotland and start experimenting with data modes.
I owe a huge thanks to all those that have helped and encouraged me to make the progress I have.
Happy New Year 
My goals for 2025:
During 2024 I discovered FT8 (unfortunately I discovered it late) and I really found it attractive. Because of this, I think that during 2025 I will use it as the main mode in multiband activations. I also want to activate both CW and FT8 on the 430mhz band.
73 and HNY 2025
I actually started SOTA two years ago to get away from the idea of competition (DXCC, contests…) and to put “hamming as fun” back at the centre and realised in 2024 that unfortunately I meanwhile also look at points, statistics etc. in SOTA. 
So here are my rather unusual goals for 2025:
73 and GL for 2025!
Peter DL3NAA
My goal is to qualify all activations on 23cm, SSB or FM. So far I have achieved 100% with 4 unique callsigns worked from VK2/ST-008 Baldy Range, my first summit for 2025.
FYI the 23cm transverter output is 1.5 watts.
Andrew VK1AD
2025 started with my first failed activation ever. We climbed a small mountain yesterday at night, hoping to celebrate under a crystal-clear sky. The snow was crispy, and we made it to the summit in an hour.
Just before midnight, I set up my antenna and plugged in the rig. Horror struck—20m was completely dead, and 40m was alive but super noisy. I self-spotted maybe three or four times within an hour before UTC midnight. Nothing. Not a single contact.
I tried to save the activation by using FT8 with my phone. I hadn’t brought my cables or digital interface, so I had to use the phone’s speaker through my radio headset and try to synchronize manually with the PTT button. It kind of worked, but I was cold and lost my patience before making four contacts.
Lesson learned for 2025: From now on, I will always check the HF forecast before going on activations (and take my FT8 gear if it looks too dodgy, even though I really do not enjoy it, it can be the only way to save work).
I would like my health to be good and SOTA will continue to give me happiness and satisfaction.
As before I wish to meet in person as many new SOTA people as possible.
The rest is just background.
Happy New Year 
73, Jarek
