Outdoor Adventure USA

SOTA (Summits on the Air)

Ham Radio is more, a lot more than just keying up on your local repeater for the ride to and from work. We have highlighted the benefits of Amateur Radio since we started these nets, and to our delight, we continually find that others see these benefits as well.

This week we are very fortunate to have three speakers who are very active in the Summits on the Air program, see: https://www.sota.org.uk/ . A great deal of information is available on their website, but here is a brief description of what they do:

Summits on the Air (SOTA) is an award scheme for radio amateurs and shortwave listeners that encourages portable operation in mountainous areas. SOTA has been carefully designed to make participation possible for everyone – this is not just for mountaineers! There are awards for Activators (those who ascend to the summits), Chasers (who remain in the warmth of their radio shacks) and Short Wave Listeners.

Our guest speakers are Jerry Hildeman KG6HQD, Kevin Humrighouse W6RIP, and Josh Nass KI6NAZ. Together they will lay out what SOTA is all about, why you should give it a go, and where to get additional information.

Join us!!!

Welcome to getting outdoors and active with your Portable Ham Radio setup!!



SOTA is fully operational in nearly a hundred countries across the world. Each country has its own Association which defines the recognized SOTA summits within that Association. Each summit earns the activators and chasers a score which is related to the height of the summit. Certificates are available for various scores, leading to the prestigious "Mountain Goat" and "Shack Sloth" trophies. An Honor Roll for Activators and Chasers is maintained at the SOTA online database.
http://www.sotadata.org.uk/
https://www.sota.org.uk/
http://www.sotawatch.org/index.php

I am W6RIP and the Region Manager of the W6-SS Region (Southern Sierra Region).
http://www.sotadata.org.uk/summits.aspx

Please ask question if something is not understood. We are here to help you get to a Mountain Top ASAP in great safe fashion.

A few topics that will be covered not only by me are:
Summits on the Air Rules and points.
Peak Planning: Sota website, peakbagger app, youtube videos, facebook hiker groups, Bob Burd website.
Navigation: GAIA, US TOPO, Google Maps for getting to the Trailhead, Map and Compass. Portable Battery Bank
Spotting the Summit Activation: Sotawatch on PC, Sotagoat app for Apple, Sota Spotter for Android, APRS to Sota, Garmin, SMS to Sota, RBN
Wilderness Protocol: Simplified
Water intake: how much to carry and plan resupply, natural springs and Filters
Calorie intake: how much
Coffee on the Trail: YUM
Hiking with your Dog: Obedience, Ticks, Snakes, Paws
Packs: Size, Osprey, Zpacks
Portable Radio Gear: Radio, Antennas, Batteries, cases, mic/headset,
Clothing: Materials, Shirts, Pants/Shorts, Cold Weather Layers like Merino Wool or Smart Wool
Footwear: Socks and Trail Runners vs Boots, Gaiters. leukotape
Trekking Poles: I like them. Saves the knees.
Rain/Weather Gear
Camping Gear: Tents, Tarps, Bivys, Sleeping bags.
Outdoor Awareness: Bears, Cougars, Flash Floods.
Emergency gear: Mylar blanket or bivy, small first aid kit, fire kit
Letting one go in the woods.
Knowing when to call it off: you must know your skills.

I became obsessed with SOTA because of my love to camp and play portable radio. Every Sota Activation is like a active mini field day and it is absolutely amazing what QRP can do on a Mountain Top.

Jerry KG6HQD has some amazing videos that really got me started in SOTA. I learned some lessons real quick about hiking to Mountain Tops with radio gear.

A few quotes to remember.

There are old climber and there are bold climbers.
However, there are no old, bold climbers.

Ounces=LBS
LBS=Pain

Buy once, cry once.

1lb on your feet is equal to 5lbs on your back

I attached links for early viewing of some of my SOTA Activations.

Welcome to my YouTube Channel. W6RIP Radio Adventures.
https://www.youtube.com/user/11DayScrape

My first year of SOTA talk.
https://youtu.be/Gpzuf0lsdQY

I am doing a giveaway to help motivate you to get portable outdoors with SOTA or POTA. Heil BM10 Ultralight Headset.
https://youtu.be/RBqfbKnIGS8

Jerry KG6HQD and I flew to Washington to activate 4 peaks. Two were virgin, inactivated SOTA peaks. 30 miles in 2 days.
https://youtu.be/_QMUTEWJX9k

Mt. Whitney SOTA Adventure.
[https://youtu.be/MtQc9T2kr3M][/url]

Camping overnight on San Gorgonio SOTA Adventure.
https://youtu.be/bPTTVsw5_Ho

Winter Storm SOTA Adventure during our recent awesome winter.
https://youtu.be/gChKHCMmtG0

Kevin,

I look forward to hearing your input on SOTA and portable operations. I greatly admire your body of work and have mentioned your channel on several of my nets here on OAUSA. It will be nice to hear direct from the source.

To everyone, this will be a net not to miss we have some very strong presenters this evening.


Hector

Early check inns for
K9atk brian
K9fog trish
Kd0exi cheyenne
Kd0gpe austin
Great topic kd0gpe and myself k9atk do a lot of SOTA here in Colorado. The last weekend of june we will be on pikes peak doing a SOTA activation during the hill climb
20m 10m and 40m and 2m for the locals on simplex
Awesome topic and a lot of hams are getting interested in SOTA.
The yaesu 817 with the wind fire battery upgrade and a crappie pole to hold up my g5rvjr also a backpacker works awesome

Good evening to the group!

Kevin, Josh and I had some brief QSOs offline to prep for this net and Kevin did a great job with a topic list. Bottom line, I'll be kicking it off after the initial check ins with an overview of the SOTA program, how I landed on SOTA, and why I love it! I'll touch on a few topics then pass the mic over to Josh and Kevin for their parts before we start the Q&A session.

If we don't get to your question for some reason I am always available via my YouTube channel @KG6HQD which is also my Twitter handle, where I'm very active, Instagram handle, and my email is kg6hqd@gmail.com. I'm available and responsive and know Josh and Kevin are as well.

Like Kevin said, we are here to do our best to demystify SOTA, hopefully encourage you to give it a try, and if you do try it we want to give you some fast and dirty pointers from the lessons learned on the trail to make your outing smoother.

My YouTube Channel link - https://www.youtube.com/c/KG6HQDJerrySOTA

www.kg6hqd.us

Josh's YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChAu6C ... xSbL9ytosQ

Kevin's YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBBxgR ... 8U54Z7xVqg

Looking forward to hearing from everybody!

73 - KG6HQD - Jerry

Please check in -

John KN6VL

Bruce KD6GCO

Please check me in early. Looking forward to an informative net.

Thanks for early check in, KF6KOC Randy.

VK2DY, Robert, in Kellyville Ridge NSW (metro Sydney). Early checkin please.

Please check us in.
Kevin KK6DGL
Jack KK6WXQ
John KM6FXI

Thanks