Get Involved

Getting involved is a lot easier than you might imagine, either as a CHASER or as an ACTIVATOR.

SOTAwatch with its Spots/Alerts helps you find out who is Activating

Chasing:
A chaser is a ham radio operator or a short wave listener (SWL) who tries to find an activator transmitting from a summit. The ham chaser earns points by making contact with the activator; the SWL chaser earns points by hearing and logging contacts made with the activator. Chasing can be done anywhere, from the comfort of your shack or from any other location, portable or mobile. If a contact is made and the minimum required information is exchanged, chasers earn points. Chasers have an important role in the SOTA program because an activator needs at least four (4) valid contacts in order to earn activation points for a given summit. Would you like to get more information?

Why not try to get some chaser points right now? Just go to our CHASER page; it walks you through the process step by step.
Or read Guy Hamblen’s/N7UN comprehensive document – How to be a SOTA Chaser (PDF)

Steve/wGØAT on a SOTA peak

Activating:
Activating a summit needs a little more preparation. Selecting a summit, finding the trail-head, evaluating the elevation profile, and organizing maps is just a fraction of all the planning involved to successfully and safely activate a summit. Then there is the issue of selecting the radio and antenna as well as hiking equipment. We prepared a few Activation Suggestions for you with step-by-step instructions that should make your first SOTA activation a breeze. You can download the Activation Suggestions below (PDF). We also suggest you read through the How to Activate section.

Activation Suggestions