Last year, Joyce/K0JJW and I tried to activate Red Mountain Number 3 (W0C/UR-016) for SOTA in the San Juan mountains. The map showed there was a road to the top, so we were expecting easy access. However, the road is gated off about 2 miles from the summit, requiring a hike. So we hiked almost to the summit but turned back when the thunderstorms rolled in. We retreated to safety and vowed to return another day.
Red Mountain Number 3 as viewed from Red Mountain Pass.
This week, we went back and activated the summit, along with Stu/W0STU and Liz/KT0LIZ. Red Mountain No. 3 sits just southwest of its sister summits: Red Mountain No.1 and Red Mountain No. 2. (Red Mtn 1 is also a SOTA summit, so we’ll need to activate that one sometime.)
We accessed Red Mountain 3 (RM3) by taking Highway 550 to Red Mountain Pass. The road for RM3 is County Road 14 but is not well marked. The turnoff (shown on the map above) is just south of Red Mtn Pass, going to the east (37.89587, -107.71369). County Road 14 is a narrow but easy road, barely 4WD, that leads to the gate (37.89476, -107.70774). We parked there and hiked up the road.
The sign on the gate.
I don’t usually like to hike on roads but this one turned out to be just fine. It was a nice, easy grade and was flat without a lot of rocks poking up. The sign on the gate indicates that the road crosses private property but that hikers are welcome. My GPS app shows that we hiked 2 miles one-way with 1400 vertical feet. We met about a dozen people on the hike, so this seems like a popular summit. We noted other trails and roads in the area and wondered if some of them might provide a better route but everyone we saw just used the same road that we used.
Stu/W0STU examines his VHF/UHF handheld, positioning it for optimum signal level
As you can see from the photos, we had excellent weather that day. This time, no thunderstorms to chase us off the peak!
The San Juan mountains are remote, with not a lot of people within VHF range. We were all using just VHF/UHF for SOTA, so I was concerned we could get skunked on making our four SOTA contacts. There are a few smaller towns within range and we might be able to work Grand Junction from there. I knew that Lloyd/W7SAO in Delta usually monitors 146.52 MHz and we worked him right away. After that, we called our fellow campers, James/KD0MFO and Vic/KD0OGE, working them mobile near Ridgway. We kept calling for a fourth contact and sure enough, Mike/KE5YF showed up on 2m FM. Mike is from Sweetwater, TX and was driving his Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) over Engineer Pass. So we made our four contacts to qualify for SOTA points.
Traditional summit photo: Stu/W0STU, Liz/KT0LIZ, Joyce/K0JJW, Bob/K0NR
Liz and Joyce are hiking on a typical stretch of the road.Bob/K0NR operating 2m FM for SOTA. (Photo: W0STU)
The four of us had a great day on the summit. We took our time and enjoyed the hike and the radio operating. The easy access and excellent views from the top make this an attractive SOTA summit if you are traveling in this area.
There are over 50 summits in Colorado with an elevation of 14,000 feet or higher. These are commonly called fourteeners (or 14ers) and get a lot of attention from outdoor enthusiasts. Some folks have climbed all of them, which quickly leads to the question of What Is A Fourteener? This question is really about what is a distinct fourteener versus when is a summit just a subpeak of another fourteener. The Colorado Mountain Club list of 14ers shows 54 peaks, while other lists include a few more summits. Doing a search on Lists Of John reveals there are 74 locations in the state that exceed 14,000 feet. What constitutes “the correct list of 14ers” is often debated in the climbing community but I won’t try to sort that out here. I’ll use the Colorado Mountain Club list of 54 summits for this posting.
Summits On The Air (SOTA)
Obviously, if these are the 54 highest summits in Colorado, they are all going to be SOTA summits, right? Not so fast, Sir Edmund. The SOTA program generally requires summits to have 150 meters (492 feet) of prominence, a measure of the elevation of a summit relative to the surrounding terrain. From peaklist.org:
Prominence is the elevation of a summit relative to the highest point to which one must descend before reascending to a higher summit.
A simple graphical representation of prominence.
There are exceptions in the SOTA program that allow for summits of 100-meter prominence, but this does not apply to Colorado. Paul/VK5PAS has a webpage that explains prominence as applied to SOTA.
In recent history, the folks that set up the SOTA Associations have done a great job of sorting through what is a valid summit. In the US, there are excellent databases of geographic information that make this possible. Which is to say that in a particular SOTA Association, a consistent method is applied for determining “what is a summit”? This is all documented for Colorado in the W0C SOTA ARM here: https://sotastore.blob.core.windows.net/arms/ARM-W0C-3_3.pdf
Lincoln, Bross, Democrat, and Cameron
Now, back to the Colorado 14ers. There is a popular trek that allows a climber to summit four 14ers in one day, without extreme effort. The trail starts at Kite Lake, heads up to Mount Democrat (14155 ft), then over to Mount Cameron (14222 feet), and on to Mount Lincoln (14293 feet). The return trip passes over Mount Bross (14178 feet) and back down to Kite Lake. (There have been access issues in recent years concerning private property on this loop, so be sure to check that out and respect any closures).
Map showing the area around Mount Democrat, Mount Cameron, Mount Lincoln, and Mount Bross.
If we check out the official list of SOTA summits, we will find Mount Democrat (W0C/SR-059) and Mount Lincoln (W0C/FR-001) listed but not Mount Cameron and Mount Bross. Per Lists of John, Cameron and Bross have prominences of 152 and 315 feet. The col between Lincoln and Cameron, does not drop down enough to provide Cameron with sufficient prominence. Same with the col between Cameron and Bross. Mount Lincoln has the highest elevation of those three summits and wins the honor of being listed as a SOTA summit. Note that Democrat, with the lowest elevation of the four summits, does qualify for the SOTA list due to its 770 feet of prominence. (There is a big enough dip between Democrat and Cameron.)
Now back to the list of 54 Colorado Fourteeners: Mount Cameron is not on the list but it often shows up on other 14er lists. Mount Bross is shown on the list of 54 but is not a SOTA summit. There are seven other Colorado 14ers that don’t qualify for SOTA: Crestone Needle, El Diente Peak, Tabeguache Peak, Sunlight Peak, Ellingwood Point, Little Bear Peak, and North Maroon Peak.
You don’t need to become an expert on calculating prominence to do SOTA activations. Really, the key thing is to check the SOTA list and make sure your intended summit is on the list before you hit the trail.
Rito Alto Peak is an easy 13er about 15 miles west of Westcliffe, CO in the Sangre De Cristo mountain range. This summit caught my attention because it was near Hermit Pass, one of the highest passes in Colorado at 13047 feet. We’ve been taking the Jeep up the highest roads in Colorado, and Hermit Pass was on The List. Looking around on the map, I noticed that Rito Alto Peak was an unactivated 10-point SOTA summit right next to the pass. Not only that, the summit is in the San Juan National Forest (K-4404), enabling a POTA activation as well. So how could we not do a trip up there?
Bob/K0NR climbing up Rito Alto Peak near Hermit Pass
Rito Alto Peak (W0C/SC-004) and Hermit Pass are about 15 miles straight west of Westcliffe, CO. To get there, take CR 160 (Hermit Road) west and then turn south onto FS 160. The turn-off is easy to spot and begins the 4WD portion of the trip. The 4WD road is not particularly difficult from a technical point of view, but the road is very rocky for most of the 9 miles. Every once in a while, the road has a smoother section, only to be followed by lots of rocks. I call these roads “moderate but annoying.” Any real 4WD vehicle should be able to handle this. We drove our stock Jeep Wrangler and it did fine. This is not a road for Suburu-class SUVs.
To get to Hermit Pass, head west from Westcliffe, then follow Hermit Road south.
At the end of the 9 miles of bouncing up the road, we parked at Hermit Pass and started the climb there. (It took us about 2 hours to drive this road.) Of course, you can always hike some or all of the road. Useful climbing info can be found here on 14ers.com. Hermit Peak, to the south of the pass, is NOT a SOTA summit. However, further south is Eureka Mountain (W0C/SC-007), which could also be hiked from Hermit Pass.
Climbing route shown in blue.
The figure above shows the track of our climbing route. There is no trail and there is plenty of talus to step over and around. The route is not critical but we tended to stay on top of the ridge line, sometimes deviating to find a better path. The distance was 0.7 miles one way with an elevation gain of 700 feet. So not too difficult, except for climbing over rocks. Trekking poles are highly recommended.
We spotted three bighorn sheep on the next ridge over.
On the summit, we set up our normal 2m FM station: the Yaesu FT-90 transceiver with 3-element 2m Yagi antenna, and started calling on 146.52 MHz. Joyce made the first contact so she has the honor of doing the first SOTA activation from this summit. You Go Girl!
Bob/K0NR and Joyce/K0JJW on the summit of Rito Alto Peak.
I was a bit worried about getting enough contacts to qualify for SOTA points but that turned out to not be a problem. We heard strong signals from the Buena Vista area (W0BV, KD0MRC) and Florrisant (K0MGL). We also made some Summit-to-Summit QSOs (S2S): WV0X (St Charles Peak, W0C/SC-031), W0ADV (Snowmass Mountain, W0C/WE-003), and W0CP (McQuaid Butte, W0C/SP-109). We also worked K0EEP, K9RZK, W9RIK, and W9NDR. Our Best DX for the day was 104 miles, with W0ADV on Snowmass. Thanks for all of the 2m FM QSOs!
Just one of the many fantastic views from the mountain.
As shown in the photos, the weather was excellent. We took our time on the mountain and never saw signs of thunderstorms. The climb down was easy and we returned to the Jeep. Then it was 9 more miles bouncing down the road and on to Westcliffe for a late lunch. What a great day for SOTA + POTA + Jeep trip.
While planning for the 2022 Colorado 14er Event, I decided to focus on making some long-distance contacts on 1.2 GHz (23 cm). Last year, Dave/W0ADV and I worked summit-to-summit (S2S) at a distance of 244 km (152.6 miles), which is my best result so far. See my previous post here…
For this year’s event, I wanted to beat that distance so I checked in with the usual SOTA activators that use the 23 cm band, wondering if any of them would be on summits that would support such an effort. I was thinking in terms of another S2S contact using portable FM handheld radios. I identified a few summits in the San Juan mountains that might work, from Pikes Peak or Mount Evans. Also, northern New Mexico has some potential summits, but I did not find anyone interested in activating them.
Bob/K0NR sitting down on the job on Pikes with the ICOM IC-9700 and Comet CYA-1216E Yagi antenna. (Photo: K0JJW)
Knowing that Lauren/W0LD has done quite a bit of VHF/UHF operating from Pikes, I figured he would have some insight concerning summits that are workable from Pikes. We connected via telephone and discussed some options. In that conversation, he suggested I reach out to two hams that have serious 23 cm stations in Kansas: N0LL and N0OY. This shifted my thinking away from S2S contacts to working a UHF station out on the plains. (Kansas has a noticeable lack of SOTA summits.) Pikes Peak (W0C/FR-004) is well-suited to this approach, being easy to access with a road to the top and an excellent radio horizon to the east. I sent an email to Larry/N0LL and Pete/N0OY to see if they were available. Larry replied that his 23 cm gear was currently off the air but Pete said that he was available to give it a try.
The N0OY station deserves the name “antenna farm”. (Photo: N0OY)
The distance from Pikes Peak (W0C/FR-004) to N0OY is almost 400 miles, so the FM handheld radio approach was probably not going to work. My ICOM IC-9700 was the way to go, with 10 watts of RF power to a Yagi antenna. Pete used an ICOM IC-705 to drive a transverter that supplies 50 watts of RF to an 8-foot dish antenna at 45 feet. I chuckled when I heard this because the IC-705 is a popular SOTA rig…just not usually found on 23 cm.
The N0OY 8-foot dish antenna at 45 feet.
Joyce/K0JJW and I made it to the summit a bit early and immediately set up for the 23 cm attempt. Normally, we operate on the west side of the summit, away from the visitors center and most of the tourists. For 23 cm, I wanted the best shot possible to the east, so we walked over to the boardwalk on the north side of the summit. It sticks out enough to give an excellent view due east.
N0OY (EM18ct) is straight east of Pikes Peak (DM78lu), 628 km (392 miles).
Once I was set up, I sent a text message to Pete asking him to start transmitting my direction on 1296.1 MHz. We had agreed to start with CW, our most efficient mode, and perhaps later try SSB. He started with a series of CW dashes and I could easily pick up his signal. Joyce pointed the antenna for me, finding the best direction to peak the signal. Pete’s signal was not terribly strong, but solid copy, only a few dB above my noise floor. Because he was running more power than me (about 7 dB), I was concerned that he would not be able to hear me. I called him using CW and initially, he did not respond. We kept trying and my signal came up a bit at his end and we were able to complete the contact. Conditions were marginal enough that we did not try SSB. (Sorry, Joyce missed out on this one…she doesn’t work CW.)
The weak K0NR CW signal just barely showed up on N0OY’s waterfall display.
SOTA Requirements
Although we drove to the summit of Pikes Peak, we made sure we were SOTA compliant. Our normal approach on a drive-up summit is to load up our backpacks with a portable station and hike some distance away from our vehicle. My IC-9700 is not exactly a compact transceiver but it is portable enough to transport some distance and it can be powered using a small Bioenno battery. I’ve carried this size radio (often an FT-991) on other SOTA activations, hiking a mile or two with it. It certainly adds weight to my pack, but it is manageable. The antenna was a Comet CYA-1216E, about 5 feet long, with 16 elements and a specified gain of 16.6 dBi.
So this is my new personal best for 23 cm SOTA:628 km, 392 miles. My thanks go to Pete/N0OY for getting on the air and giving this a try. His station was doing more than half the work with this radio contact. I’ve done SOTA QSOs like this with other weak-signal VHF/UHF operators. They may not be active SOTA chasers but they like the challenge of completing a difficult contact. I really appreciate them getting on the air with me. It’s all part of having fun messing around with radios.
This raises the question of what’s next?
Maybe I can get N0OY to move his station another 50 km to the east for another attempt. Probably not.
Stay tuned.
73 Bob K0NR
This SOTA Award arrived via email today (Aug 25, 2022)
This year, the Colorado 14er Event had the normal two-day (Saturday and Sunday) schedule plus two bonus days (Friday and Monday) for four activation days. Of course, Joyce/K0JJW and I decided to activate all four days using VHF/UHF frequencies. Frankly, we have not been doing that much hiking this year, so we were careful to lay out a plan that would work for us over four days.
Kaufman Ridge (W0C/SP-081)
On Friday, we hiked up Kaufman Ridge, which is a relatively easy summit near our cabin. I had an online meeting in the morning that caused us to get a late start this day, but we did chase some activators in the morning. On the summit, we worked a number of stations on VHF/UHF using the IC-705 transceiver. It was clear that most of the activators left their summit before noon, as is the usual practice for the 14ers and high peaks.
Normally, we focus our SOTA fun on VHF/UHF but this time I brought along an end-fed halfwave antenna for 20m and made a few 20m SSB contacts, including one with Elliot/K6EL on Mount Davidson (W6/NC-423). That’s right, a rare HF SOTA activation by K0NR. Joyce and I also turned in a log for Parks On The Air (POTA), which was San Isabel National Forest (K-4407).
Bob/K0NR on the trail up Kaufman Ridge.
Pikes Peak (W0C/FR-004)
On Saturday, I wanted to focus on making some 1.2 GHz (23 cm) contacts so we chose Pikes Peak as a good platform for that. Pikes is always fun because of its easy access (yes, we drove up) and its high location towering over eastern Colorado. We had Jon/KM4PEH and his wife join us on the summit, taking turns using the VHF/UHF bands. I made 42 QSOs on the various bands but my 23 cm contact with N0OY was the most exciting. I worked him in Salina KS on 1296.1 MHz using CW for a distance of 627km (392 mi). This is my new personal best for SOTA on that band. See this post for more detail on this contact.
Saturday was a good day for Summit-to-Summit (S2S) radio contacts, as I picked up 13 of them, all on VHF/UHF in Colorado. Joyce and I both worked Dave/W0ADV on Capitol Peak (W0C/SR-060) using 1.2 GHz FM. Capitol is a challenging climb, as shown in Dave’s video here.
Pikes Peak is in the Pike National Forest (K-4404), so we submitted our logs for POTA.
Bob/K0NR sitting down on the job, getting ready for a 23 cm activation.
Mount Antero (W0C/SR-003)
On Sunday, we got up early and drove the Jeep up Mt Antero Road, parking at about 13,600 feet in elevation. This cuts a large chunk of the distance and elevation off the ascent to 14,268 feet. Besides, who wants to hike on a 4WD road anyway? It is still a decent climb over the rocky trail to get to the top.
A view of Mount Antero, on the way up.
This was my fourth SOTA activation of Antero, including its first activation back in 2011. (Actually, I’ve activated this many more times during the Colorado 14er Event, which predates SOTA in Colorado.) The activity was down a bit from Saturday and we were much further away from the large population centers, which is a factor on VHF/UHF. Still, we both made 17 QSOs, including five S2S contacts. We submitted our logs to POTA for San Isabel National Forest (K-4407).
Bob/K0NR working 2m FM from the summit of Mt Antero.The 70cm Yagi-Uda antenna is vertically polarized for FM operation.
Wander Ridge (W0C/SP-042)
On Monday, we activated one of our favorite summits near Cottonwood Pass, SP-042. Usually, I would refer to this as an Unnamed Summit (12,792), which is the name the SOTA database shows. Dave/W0ADV pointed out this summit does have a name: Wander Ridge, so I’ve adopted it for this special peak. The USGS approved that name in 2017 but it has not yet made it into the SOTA database.
Bob/K0NR on the Continental Divide Trail and Colorado Trail, headed to Wander Ridge.
From an outdoor hiking perspective, this was the best summit of the weekend. The hike starts at Cottonwood Pass and follows the Continental Divide Trail south toward the summit. Then, a short off-trail hike takes you to the summit. The weather and views were excellent!
Bob/K0NR and Joyce/K0JJW on the summit of Wander Ridge.
The activity was a bit light but we both made 10 contacts, enough to qualify for a POTA activation (in addition to SOTA). This summit is right on the border of San Isabel NF and Gunnison NF, and we chose to activate it from the San Isabel side (K-4407). We only had one S2S contact, with Steve/K5SJC on Pikes Peak.
All in all, it was a fantastic weekend with four excellent summit activations. It was wonderful to work our old and new SOTA friends on the VHF/UHF bands. My special thanks go to Pete/N0OY for firing up his mega 23cm station to work me on Pikes Peak.
Amateur Radio operators from around Colorado will be climbing many of Colorado’s 14,000-foot mountains and Summits On The Air (SOTA) peaks to set up amateur radio stations in an effort to communicate with other radio amateurs across the state and around the world. Join in on the fun during the annual event and see how many of the mountaintop stations you can contact. Be aware that many mountaintop activators will hit the trail early with the goal of being off the summits by noon due to lightning safety concerns.
This event is normally held the first full weekend in August. Following up on the success of the 10-day W0C SOTA event in 2021, in 2022 we will add two bonus days to the Colorado 14er Event. The main two days remain Saturday and Sunday (Aug 6 & 7), while the bonus days are Friday Aug 5 and Monday Aug 8th, for those SOTA enthusiasts that need more than two days of SOTA fun!
The 14er event includes Summits On the Air (SOTA) peaks, which includes over 1800 summits! If you aren’t up to climbing a 14er, there are many other summits to choose from (with a wide range of difficulty). See the W0C SOTA web page at w0c-sota.org.
Important: The recommended 2m FM frequencies have been changed to 146.58, 146.55, and 146.49 MHz, to align with the use of the North America Adventure Frequency for SOTA (146.58). The National Simplex Calling Frequency (146.52) may be used as appropriate. See the operating frequencies page.
Radio operators who plan to activate a summit should post their intent on the ham14er group via the ham14er groups.io website. Also, be sure to check out the event information at http://www.ham14er.org
For a complete list of suggested HF, VHF, and UHF frequencies see this web page.
And there is more!
On the same weekend, SOTA enthusiasts in Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon will activate summits for the Pacific Northwest Not-Quite-Fourteener (PNW-NQF) event. Also on the same weekend, the Southern California SOTA group will hold their SOCAL SOTAFEST. So there will be plenty of SOTA stations to work that weekend.
Warning: Climbing mountains is inherently a dangerous activity.
Do not attempt this without proper training, equipment and preparation.
Bob/K0NR operates VHF/UHF FM from Pikes Peak for the June VHF contest.
For the June VHF contest, I operated Single-Op Portable from the summit of Pikes Peak. I combined this with Summits On The Air (SOTA) and Parks On The Air (POTA) activations. In a few hours, I made 80 QSOs on 6m, 2m, 1.25m, 70cm, and 23cm bands. It was a fun time.
Quite a few of the contacts were made on 2m FM, The Utility Mode. Even though CW, SSB and WSJT modes are more efficient (especially with weak signals), FM is still the least common denominator for modulation. Everyone has it, so there are more QSOs available with that mode.FM is the default choice for easy VHF simplex communication.
Where Be Digital?
Perhaps it was the lack of oxygen in my brain, but I started to wonder:
Why the heck, in the year 2022 are we still using an analog mode for so much of our amateur communication?
FM was invented in the 1930s, which is ancient history from a technological point of view. It has served us well, but it is long past time to move to digital. Of course, we do have many handheld and mobile radios available that support digital voice (DV) modulation. In fact, we probably have too many digital formats to choose from, all incompatible, which has fragmented the market. The three dominant digital voice modes are D-STAR (first out of the chute), DMR (a commercial standard) and Fusion (Yaesu’s C4FM offering). I think these all have their advantages and disadvantages which attract various people to support one or more of them. However, none of them is dominant and universal, like FM. It is interesting that virtually all DV radios on VHF/UHF include analog FM because it is The Utility Mode, the fallback modulation that keeps us all compatible.
Universal Digital Voice
For this post, I am primarily looking at this from a SOTA and POTA perspective, which means simplex operation and not repeaters. (However, you could extend this idea to repeaters, too.) I am also not so concerned about keyboard modes, just DV plus some basic digital telemetry that goes with it. It can’t be too complex or it will not be fast and easy to use.
I propose a universal DV mode that is implemented in all VHF/UHF transceivers (think in terms of your typical handheld or mobile transceiver for 2m and 70cm). And yes, go ahead and also implement D-STAR, DMR, Fusion, or whatever, but give us a universal digital format that just works. The key idea is to have a digital least common denominator mode that replaces FM. This mode can be the defacto standard for “meet me on simplex” and become the Next Generation Utility Mode. How cool would it be to get on top of a summit and push the DV Call button and work stations on digital many miles away? The station’s callsign should be embedded in the digital stream along with location data (lat/lon or grid locator) and some user-defined fields ( SOTA reference or other information). This format should also have really good weak-signal performance, significantly better than FM, for when the signal-to-noise ratio is low. All the technology must be open, to encourage wide adoption, with no proprietary codecs or modulation schemes.
The technology for this already exists and it would not be difficult to implement. The real challenge is the lack of industry coordination and collaboration between amateur radio manufacturers. Unfortunately, I don’t see this changing any time soon.
This post was updated on June 4, 2022, after the summit house construction was completed.
Perhaps this should be called The Slacker’s Guide to Activating Pikes Peak since I am going to describe the easy way to do a Summits On The Air (SOTA) activation on America’s Mountain. If you plan to hike up, you have my complete support but this post is not meant for you.
Pikes Peak (W0C/FR-004) is about 10 miles straight west of downtown Colorado Springs. See the Pikes Peak website for useful tourist information. At an elevation of 14,115 feet, the mountain towers over Colorado Springs and the other front-range cities. (You may see the elevation listed as 14,110 but it was revised upward in 2002 by the USGS.) This means that it has an excellent radio horizon to large populated areas. On VHF, it is possible to work stations in Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming and New Mexico. See VHF Distance From Pikes Peak and Pikes Peak to Mt Sneffels. On HF, you’ll do even better.
Getting There
Access to the summit has three options: hike up, drive up via the Pikes Peak Highway or ride the Pikes Peak Cog Railway. Most people will probably choose the highway since the cog rail only gives you 30 to 40 minutes on the summit. (Normally, you return on the same train that takes you to the top. You can try to schedule two one-way trips but that is a challenge.)
After a few years of turmoil and construction, the summit of Pikes Peak is now back to operating normally but with some changes. The new summit house/visitors center is open and it is a beautiful new facility. The Cog Railway is also operational with brand new equipment. There is a new boardwalk that allows easy strolling on the summit and improved views near the edge of the summit.
Pikes Peak Highway
The highway is at a well-marked exit off Highway 24, west of Colorado Springs. There is a “toll” to use the highway (~$15 per person, check the Pikes Peak Highway website for the latest information and a $2 discount coupon.) Starting in 2022, you must have a reservation (2-hour window) to drive to the summit (roughly Memorial Day to Labor Day). The specifics are likely to change, so be sure to check the Drive Pikes Peak page for the latest updates.
The road is paved all of the way to the top and is usually in good shape. The only caution on driving up is that some people get freaked out by sections of the road that have steep drop-offs without guard rails. It is very safe, but some folks can’t handle it. The main caution driving down is to use low gear and stay off your brakes. There are plenty of signs reminding you to do this and during the summer there is a brake check station at Glen Cove where the rangers check the temperature of your brakes.
It takes about an hour to drive to the summit, assuming you don’t dawdle. It is best to drive up during the morning and avoid the afternoon thunderstorms.
On The Summit
The W0C Association Reference Manual (the SOTA rules for Colorado) used to suggest a “qualifying hike” of 100 vertical feet but this item has been removed from the manual. If you decide to do such a hike, I suggest you proceed down Barr Trail which is the main hiking trail coming up from the east side of the peak. Do not try to walk along the road, as the rangers will stop you. The trail starts on the east side of the summit house (towards Colorado Springs) and is marked with a sign. You have to cross over the cog rail tracks to get to it. (Please try to avoid getting run over by the train as it scares the tourists and makes a mess.)
The summit of Pikes is broad, flat and rocky, so pick out a spot away from the buildings for your SOTA adventure. There are quite a few radio transmitters on the peak so expect some interference. Since this is way above treeline, your antennas will have to be self-supporting. For VHF, giving a call on 146.52 MHz FM will usually get you a few contacts and sometimes a bit of a pileup. Be aware that on top of Pikes you are hearing everyone but they can’t always hear each other. It can get confusing. Another VHF simplex frequency worth trying is 146.58 MHz (The North America Adventure Frequency). On the HF bands, pray for good ionospheric conditions and do your normal SOTA thing.
Your body and your brain will likely be moving a little slower at 14,000 feet due to the lack of oxygen. Don’t be surprised if you have trouble deciphering and logging callsigns. Take it slow and monitor your physical condition on the peak.
Bring warm, layered clothes, even in the summer, since Pikes Peak can have arctic conditions any time of the year. Keep a close eye on the weather since thunderstorms are quite common during the summer months. Lightning is a very real danger, so abandon the peak before the storms arrive.
In May, we met up with our friends Paul/KF9EY and Beth/KB9DOU for a trip on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Joyce/K0JJW and I had been on the parkway before but had not completed the whole route. We all thought it would be a great trip to do together, in about a week, so we would not be in a rush. Both couples have Class B RVs (camper vans), which are well-suited for such a trip.
The Blue Ridge Parkway is part of the National Park Service, construction started in the 1930s and took decades to complete. The basic concept is a scenic road with a maximum speed limit of 45 MPH connecting Great Smoky Mountain National Park and Shenandoah National Park. We met at the Smoky Mountain end of the parkway and traveled north to Shenandoah.
Of course, we included some Summits On The Air (SOTA) and Parks On The Air (POTA) activations. The Blue Ridge area is target-rich with SOTA and POTA opportunities.
Clingmans Dome
Our first Summits On The Air (SOTA) activation was from Clingmans Dome (W4C/WM-001), the highest spot in the Great Smoky Mountain NP. This is an easy activation with a half-mile hike (one way) to an observation tower. See my previous trip report here.
We opted for a simple VHF SOTA activation, using a Yaesu FT-2DR handheld transceiver and an RH-770 whip antenna. The observation tower was not too crowded and we were able to make a surprising number of 2m FM radio contacts. We just called CQ on 146.52 and raised a number of home stations, mobile stations, and a few campers. Joyce, Paul, and I all completed at least 10 contacts so we decided to submit the activation for both POTA and SOTA.
Joyce/K0JJW makes 2m FM contacts from Clingmans Dome while Bob/K0NR stands by.
Blue Ridge Parkway
Then we headed up the parkway, stopping along the way for photo opportunities, a winery visit, lunch stops, and short hikes. We stayed at different campgrounds for three nights along the parkway. To activate the parkway for POTA (K-3378), we stopped at a picnic area for lunch and set up for 20m SSB. We used our typical POTA setup: Yaesu FT-991 driving an end-fed-halfwave antenna supported by a fishing pole.
Bob/K0NR making 20m SSB QSOs on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Note the two Class B RVs in the background.
The station worked well for us but it was a little slow completing contacts on 20m. A 20 AH Bioenno battery supplied the DC power for the FT-991 and we kept the RF output at around 50 watts. I used HAMRS on my Windows PC for logging and it worked well for me. (That logging program keeps getting better with each revision.) Paul and Joyce preferred to log using old-fashioned pen and paper.
Paul/KF9EY worked 20m POTA while Joyce/K0JJW does the logging.
Loft Mountain Campground
We camped the last two nights of our trip together at Loft Mountain Campground in Shenandoah NP. This is a rather unique spot in that the campground is located on top of a broad SOTA summit and is inside a national park. The SOTA summit is appropriately named Big Flat Mountain (W4V/BR-009), while Shenandoah NP is park K-0064. This makes for an easy SOTA plus POTA activation.
The summit is located inside the National Radio Quiet Zone, which may require you to coordinate with the NRQZ before operating. However, the W4V Association Reference Manual says that “the typical SOTA activation does not require coordination,” mainly because it is a short-term, temporary radio activity.
Once again, we operated midday on 20m SSB and had reasonably good propagation. Joyce and I made some stateside contacts but when Paul took over, he snagged a couple of European stations. That might be due to his superior operating skill or maybe the band just shifted. Between the three of us, we made 45 QSOs in about an hour or so.
Summary
We had a fun time on this trip, which is another example of blending SOTA and POTA activities with a camping vacation. Our “leisurely pace” strategy worked out well and we were never in a hurry. Of course, there are always more things we could have done. The Blue Ridge Parkway has plenty of interesting tourist, hiking, and SOTA/POTA opportunities. Too many to do in a week.
We have been looking for an opportunity to activate a SOTA summit in our home state of Indiana. Joyce/K0JJW and I were both born there and misspent our youth there. Of course, you might be thinking “there are SOTA summits in Indiana?” Yes, there are three. Two of them are on public land, one is on private land and apparently inaccessible. These three summits are in the southern part of the state, not too far from the hills of Kentucky.
We were headed south towards the Smoky Mountains and passing through southern Indiana and decided to activate Jackson County HP (W9/IN-002). First, we camped at one of Indiana’s best state parks: Brown County State Park, about an hour away from IN-002. The next day we headed to the Jackson-Washington State Forest, where the summit is located. The Indiana Dept of Natural Resources supplies this trail map. As you’ll see, there are a number of trails that can take you to IN-002, but we chose the most direct route, starting at Knob Lake.
There is a State Forest campground around Knob Lake, so that would be another option for camping out.
The red line shows our track up to the summit, starting from Knob Lake.
We headed up a gated road that was labeled “Trails 2 and 3”. This road narrowed into a trail and we took a left turn at the Trail 2 sign. This is slightly tricky because Trail 2 goes off to the left and it continues on straight. The “left” Trail 2 ascends up to IN-002, for a total elevation gain of 465 feet and a distance of 0.7 miles. Go Left.
Once on top, we unpacked our recently purchased Icom IC-705 transceiver. This seemed like a good choice for this activation. While we were sure to try good old 2m FM, there was a good chance that we would get skunked on VHF at this rural and not-too-high summit. Sure enough, 2m FM was silent, even using the mighty 3-element Yagi antenna.
Next, we set up the end-fed halfwave for 20 meters, hoisted by the popular extendable fishing pole. OK, I admit that I had to do some fiddling around with the antenna to get the SWR to behave. Somehow, the test run at the campsite the day before was not sufficient. The SWR was way too high for the “I like 50 ohms” Icom, so some adjustments were required. After an unreasonable amount of fiddling, we put out an SSB signal on 20 meters that seemed good.
The band conditions were not great but they were not terrible. Calling CQ did not seem to work very well, so we tuned around and worked a number of Parks On The Air (POTA) stations to get our 4 QSOs. At that point, we declared victory and headed back down the hill.
This summit was easy to access and an easy hike. If you are in the area and want to knock out a Hoosier SOTA activation, this one is a great choice.
When doing VHF activations for Summits On The Air (SOTA), the radio range is dependent on the height of the summit and the surrounding terrain. The Radio Mobile website from Roger/VE2DBE is a great tool that can be used to estimate the radio range from a particular site. Repeater system owners often use tools like this to predict the coverage of their repeaters. I don’t normally do this type of analysis for SOTA…I just look at a topo map and get a rough idea of how far my signal will go. Then, I decided to spend a little time analyzing a few summits in Colorado to see what I could learn.
Pikes Peak (W0C/FR-004)
Pikes is a 14,115-foot summit that towers over the eastern plains of Colorado, making it an ideal radio site. The Radio Mobile plot shown below shows the solid radio coverage in blue and the fringe area in yellow. I won’t go into how to use Radio Mobile on this post. As you’d expect, you enter the location of the radio site (summit) along with various parameters such as frequency, minimum detectable signal level, transmit power, and antenna gain. I entered some nominal parameters consistent with typical SOTA stations on 146 MHz (2 meters).
VHF coverage prediction for Pikes Peak (W0C/FR-004)
Pikes covers about half of the state of Colorado, reaching out to the Kansas state line. To the west, the coverage does not go as far because the radio signals are blocked by other mountain ranges. In particular, the signal tends to drop off at the Sawatch Range, west of Buena Vista. I’ve activated Pikes many times and this plot lines up well with my general experience. The blue area can be worked quite reliably with a decent station on both ends. By “decent” I mean a 20-watt transmitter on the summit with a small Yagi antenna and a 40-watt radio with an omnidirectional antenna at the chaser station. Working stations near the Kansas state line is usually easy on 2m FM. The highest spot in Kansas (Mount Sunflower, not a SOTA summit) can usually be worked without much trouble. However, longer distance contacts are possible, especially using SSB or CW. I’ve written before about the Myth of VHF Line-Of-Sight.
When using VHF for SOTA activations, it is important to consider the potential stations that will be within range and on the air for you to work. Besides being a high summit, Pikes overlooks the major cities in Colorado, from Fort Collins to Pueblo, so finding someone to work on 146.52 MHz is usually easy. It is common to have a pile up of stations calling you.
Colorado has over fifty 14,000-foot mountains and all those are workable from Pikes Peak on 2m FM.
Mt Herman (W0C/FR-063)
Mt Herman is another popular SOTA summit, with an elevation of 9063 feet, not nearly as high as Pikes Peak. This summit also looks out over the eastern plains of Colorado, as shown in the coverage plot below. Although the range is not as good as Pikes, it still covers the major cities, so again it is easy to do a 2m FM activation from Mt Herman. It is more difficult to work stations to the west. I can usually work stations in Woodland Park and Divide from Mt Herman, but reaching Buena Vista is a challenge.
VHF coverage prediction for Mount Herman (W0C/FR-063)
Threemile Mountain (W0C/SP-107)
VHF activations can be much more challenging when the summit is further away from populated areas. Let’s consider Threemile Mountain, which is 10,020 feet in elevation, located about 20 miles south of Hartsel, CO. This summit tends to get blocked to the east by the Front Range and to the west by the Sawatch Range. Even though the summit is higher than Mt Herman, its radio range is not as good.
VHF coverage prediction for Threemile Mountain (W0C/SP-107)
In particular, it does not cover Denver, Colorado Springs, and Pueblo very well, so the number of available stations to work drops dramatically. There are a number of hams that monitor 146.52 MHz up in the mountains, so if you are patient you can usually make some VHF contacts. This can be a source of frustration for VHF activators, or you can take it on as a challenge.
I have activated Threemile five times and I don’t think I’ve ever worked a Denver station on 2m FM. I have worked some Denver stations from there using 2m SSB, during a VHF contest. Oh, I did manage to work Larry/N0LL in Smith Center, KS on 2m SSB for a distance of 372 miles. See Radio Fun on Threemile Mountain (W0C/SP-107). So you never know what you’re going to get on VHF/UHF.
Conclusions
So what conclusions can we draw from this analysis?
Radio Mobile does a good job of predicting typical 2m FM coverage. My experience on these summits aligns well with the Radio Mobile predictions.
But much longer distance contacts are still possible. VHF is not limited to line of sight. Radio Mobile is intended to predict reliable radio coverage, not the exceptional radio contact.
Be aware of the population density of the coverage area because that is a huge factor for making radio contacts. New VHF activators should start on summits that overlook the major Colorado cities.
Improve your VHF activator station. Every additional dB of signal improves your ability to make those weak-signal contacts on the edge of the coverage area.
As always, get off the couch, gather your radio gear, and head for a summit.
Doing a simultaneous activation of a Summits On The Air (SOTA) summit and a Parks On The Air (POTA) park is becoming more common. There is a lot of crossover between the two programs. Here in Colorado, many of the SOTA peaks are in national forests or national parks, making them an ideal double activation.
Creating one file for logging both programs can be a challenge but I’ve settled in on an approach that works for me. I’ve decided to use HAMRS for this, whether it is real-time logging or transcribing a paper log after the event. HAMRS provides useful templates for both SOTA and POTA, but not both simultaneously. HAMRS still has a few quirks on entering callsigns and timestamps, but I am hopeful those things will get addressed in the fullness of time. If you are using a different logging program, you can probably still benefit from this post.
I wrote about the different ADIF fields that POTA and SOTA use here:
For an activation that does not involve making contact with other parks or summits, the logging requirements are simple. POTA refers to these contacts as Park-to-Park or P2P, while SOTA refers to them as Summit-to-Summit or S2S. Same basic idea.
The ADIF file for POTA needs to have the usual logging information but the special POTA fields (MY_SIG_INFO, SIG_INFO) can be left blank. The filename will indicate the park you are operating from and must meet the standard POTA format. (Example: K0NR-K-4404-20211017.adi for K0NR operating from K-4404 on 17 Oct 2021). If you do have some simple P2P QSOs in there (one park contacting another single park, no double activations), the POTA database will attempt to identify these contacts by comparing the logs of the two POTA activators. I believe this works pretty well but I have not tested it extensively.
For the SOTA log, you must provide your SOTA summit using the MY_SOTA_REF field. If you use the HAMRS SOTA template, it will take care of this for you. Then you can use the same ADIF file for POTA by setting the filename to the right format. If you need to add the MY_SOTA_REF manually, ADIF Master is a good tool to use.
With P2P or S2S
When there are P2P or S2S contacts, things get a bit more complicated. The ADIF log needs to have MY_SIG_INFO for each QSO set to your POTA number and SIG_INFO set to the other station’s POTA number. If the other POTA station is activating more than one park, this can be handled by entering multiple QSOs in the file. (I think this is the cleanest way of handling it, but let me know if you have other methods.)
The SOTA logfile requires something similar, with MY_SOTA_REF set to your SOTA summit and SOTA_REF set to the other station’s SOTA summit.
One ADIF can be created that has all four SOTA/POTA fields set correctly but you’ll probably have to use ADIF Master or a text editor to get this all entered. HAMRS can help you with either SOTA or POTA, using the corresponding template. Normally, I try to determine if I have more P2P or S2S contacts and choose the template (POTA or SOTA) with that in mind. Then, I use ADIF Master to add in the other -OTA program logging info.
POTA does allow for simultaneous activations of more than one park. For example, the Continental Divide Trail is considered a park and it often runs through a national forest, so both can be activated together.) If you are activating more than one POTA park, you will need to create a log file for each park and submit them individually. A SOTA activation can only be from a single summit.
Wrap Up
I treat my SOTA/POTA logs as separate files but I also import them into my master logging program, which is currently Log4OM2. I also upload the file to Logbook of The World (LoTW). It is important to set up a new LoTW location with the grid locator, state and county set correctly. This may create a long list of locations in your LoTW account but provides proper confirmation for stations chasing grids, states, and counties.
These are some things I’ve learned along the way and I hope you find them useful.
73 Bob K0NR
Update 14 Apr 2022: Mike/KD5KC pointed out that AC-LOG from N3FJP can be configured to handle the SOTA and POTA fields simultaneously.
In January 2021, I wrote about the North America Adventure Frequency (NAAF) which originated in the North America SOTA community. About a year later, how is this working out? Is anyone actually using it?
A few key points to remember:
The NAAF is 146.58 MHz.
This frequency is in addition to, not a replacement for, the National Simplex Calling Frequency 146.52 MHz.
Local usage will likely vary depending on needs.
Program 146.58 MHz as The Other Simplex Frequency in your radio.
I’ve noticed that quite a few SOTA activators are posting Alerts and Spots with 146.58 MHz. For example, K2CZH and KN6OUU posted these SOTA Alerts:
Here N8FN and WJ7WJ are spotted on 146.58:
Of course, the National 2m FM Calling Frequency (146.52 MHz) still gets a lot of use. I tend to use Five Two when I am activating in rural areas, some distance from the major cities. The frequency is usually quiet AND there are a number of folks that tend to monitor it. I use the NAAF when I’m near the big cities (Denver, Colorado Springs, Boulder, …). Putting out a Spot is usually important, to get the attention of the more dedicated SOTA chasers watching SOTAwatch. That is, I don’t think there are a lot of people monitoring the frequency (compared to 146.52), so a spot on SOTAwatch gets them on frequency.
Some of the Parks On The Air (POTA) activators are also using NAAF. Here’s an activation alert by KD7DTS from the POTA website:
So I think the NAAF is working as intended. It is not a replacement for 146.52 MHz but a standard choice for portable operating when you want to stay off the calling frequency. Thanks to everyone that has given it a try.
I previously wrote about some of the tools I use for managing SOTA and POTA logs. See Tips and Tools for Managing Logs. I continue to learn about the file formats and various tricks for generating the logs. Some of this is not well-documented…at least I haven’t found it…so I am sharing what I’ve figured out. My apologies in advance if I get any of this wrong. Reader Beware!
Lately, I’ve been trying to figure out how to do one log file for both SOTA and POTA. I am not aware of a logging program that will handle both simultaneously. (Let me know if you do.) The ADIF file format can handle this and is the way to go for such a log file. Also, an ADIF file can be imported into other logging programs and Logbook of The World. The complete documentation for ADIF can be found here: https://www.adif.org/
SOTA Logs
Our combination SOTA + POTA activations usually start out as a SOTA activation. Then, if the SOTA summit is inside a POTA-designated park, we may try to do both simultaneously.
The SOTA database supports uploading ADIF files, including support for Summit-to-Summit (S2S) contacts. The figure below shows a recent SOTA log, in ADIF format, displayed by ADIFMaster. The 6th column is MY_SOTA_REF, which is the SOTA reference for the summit I was activating. In this case, it was W0C/SP-084 and is the same for all of the QSOs. The 9th column is SOTA_REF, which is the SOTA reference of the other station’s summit, if any. Most of the rows are blank, because the other station was not on a summit. However, N0TZW and N3ALT were on W0C/PR-031 that day resulting in a pair of S2S contacts. If you get these fields set correctly in the ADIF file, the SOTA database will log the activation and the S2S contacts correctly.
POTA Logs
For simple POTA activations, you just need to get the QSO information correct and the file name indicates the park you were operating from. For example, the file name K0NR-K-4404-20211017.adi indicates the station callsign (K0NR), operating from park K-4404 on 17 Oct 2021. The POTA system will try to identify Park-to-Park (P2P) radio contacts in the file, by comparing activator logs. My understanding is that this works only for the simple case of two activators working each other, each operating from only one park.
The figure below shows a POTA log using ADIFMaster. The 7th column is MY_SIG_INFO, which is the POTA designator (K-8295) for the park I was activating. This is the same for all of the rows. The eleventh column is SIG_INFO, which is the POTA designator for the other station. Most of these are blank because the other station was not in a park. However, there are six QSOs shown that were Park-to-Park. Note that the QSO with N7OOS was entered twice, with two different park numbers. This is because he was doing a double activation that day…putting two parks on the air at the same time. Yes, activating multiple parks at once is possible, even common, in POTA. A good example is when a national scenic trail runs through a national forest. One operating location is in both parks simultaneously.
It might be possible to have two POTA designators tagged to one QSO, I am not sure. But I think it is cleaner to just enter it as two separate QSOs. I know the POTA database will interpret it correctly. When I imported the file into Logbook of The World, it complained there were duplicate QSOs, which were easily ignored.
The 6th column in the figure is MY_SIG, which indicates a special interest activity or event (e.g., POTA). In the general case, the logging program would use this field to interpret the meaning of SIG_INFO and MY_SIG_INFO. It appears that the POTA system does not require MY_SIG to be set to POTA and will just go ahead and interpret SIG_INFO and MY_SIG_INFO for POTA use. Not shown is another field called SIG, which is the special interest activity or event of the other station. I thought I would mention these SIG fields in case you encounter them. I don’t think they are required in a POTA log.
Creating a SOTA/POTA Log
When doing a combination activation, I’ll set up the logging program for SOTA or POTA based on whether I expect to have more S2S or P2P radio contacts. For example, if I just expect to work a few summits and many parks, I’ll use HAMRS with the POTA template. That way, all of the parks get entered correctly from the start. I will note any S2S contacts in the comment field and come back later to fix them.
The easiest way to manage ADIF files is via ADIF Master. You can also edit the files manually using a basic text editor but that can be error-prone. To add a new field in ADIF Master, you insert a new column (right-click on a column, then left-click insert column). Then create a label for the column by right-clicking the top of the column, followed by Custom, entering the name of the new ADIF field.
Here’s the short list of ADIF fields that may need to be used:
MY_SOTA_REF is your SOTA reference, the summit you are activating
SOTA_REF is the SOTA reference for the other station, assuming its an S2S radio contact. If you submitting a Chaser log, this is the SOTA reference for the summit you are chasing. Your MY_SOTA_REF would be left blank.
SIG is the name of the contacted station’s special activity or interest group (e.g., POTA)
MY_SIG is your special interest activity or event (e.g., POTA)
MY_SIG_INFO is your park number that is being activated.
SIG_INFO is the park number for the park you are working (P2P).
By editing my log files using ADIFMaster, I’ve been able to create log files that can be submitted to SOTA, POTA and LoTW without errors. It takes a little bit of work to get the file right. Before you submit a log file, it is always a good idea to view it using ADIFMaster, to try and spot any obvious errors. This is especially useful for POTA logs, when the turnaround time can take up to two weeks.
This is what I’ve learned. How about you?
73 Bob K0NR
22 May 2023 Update: The POTA folks have been busy creating a way for you to upload your log file directly, so you no longer have to email it in. The specific file name is not longer required and the turnaround time is essentially immediate. My comments on the format of the file are still valid.
I am a big fan of the Arrow II style antennas for VHF SOTA. Initially, I used the dualband 2m/70cm antenna for satellite work as well as mountaintop activity. This started before SOTA was even a thing, as I hiked in the Colorado mountains and made radio contacts just for fun. These days, we normally carry the 2m-only version of the antenna, with split boom and 3 elements. My personal seamstress (Joyce/K0JJW) worked up a really nice rollup case for it. Sometimes, we’ll take along a separate 5-element 70 cm Yagi, which can remain fully-assembled and strapped onto my pack.
Stuart/KB1HQS has been experimenting with various modifications of the Arrow II antennas. Recently, he put together a video of his mods, well done and interesting:
Ultimate Arrow Antenna Modifications
All antennas are a compromise between cost, size, weight, performance, convenience, and durability. I have found that the 3-element Yagi from Arrow fits my needs really well. I have not been motivated to modify it. The Arrow antenna has a gain of about 6 dBd and is 37.5 inches long. We handhold the antenna and that is about as big/long as I’d like to hold. I am still in search of a higher-gain antenna for those special situations when I know that a few more dB of gain could make a difference. I’ve not really found anything I like. A longer boom would likely require a mast and, therefore, a guy system, which adds more weight and complexity.
K0NR operating 2m FM from a summit using the Arrow II 3-element Yagi antenna.
Antennas are a never-ending source of options and experimentation, so go out and try something new.
Joyce/K0JJW and I have been doing combined Summits On The Air (SOTA) and Parks On The Air (POTA) activations. Most of the SOTA summits we activate are inside parks as defined by POTA. Our primary focus is using VHF/UHF from SOTA summits with POTA is being a nice addition. Although the two programs have a lot of similarities, there are some significant differences that need to be understood.
SOTA / POTA Differences
Let’s compare the two programs to understand the differences, so you can have a successful activation with both. We will focus on differences when doing an activation so this is not an exhaustive list.
Summits Vs Parks. Well, this is the fundamental difference. Summits tend to be small in area, defined by a specific lat/lon coordinate and the surrounding activation zone (AZ). The activation zone is roughly defined as the area surrounding the actual summit, staying within 25 vertical meters. Parks can be almost any size and may cover many square miles. Both SOTA and POTA maintain lists of official summits or parks, so it should be clear whether one of these is valid for an activation.
Accessibility. While there are drive-up and easy walk-up summits, most SOTA summits require a hike. Many of them are physically challenging. Parks often have easier, park-like access. Or you can always do a 50-mile backpack trip for a POTA activation.
Equipment restrictions. SOTA allows you to reach the activation zone in a vehicle but you must move away from the vehicle an unspecified distant and operate totally independent of the vehicle. On drive-up mountains, our practical application of this rule is to load up our normal SOTA gear into backpacks, hike away from the vehicle, and set up for the activation. SOTA requires the use of portable power sources but not fossil-fuel generators. This pretty much means battery power, perhaps augmented with solar panels. POTA does not have such restrictions, so if you meet the SOTA requirements you’ll be valid for both.
Scoring. SOTA emphasizes the accumulation of activator and chaser points, while layering in other challenges such as Summit-to-Summit (S2S) scores. Each summit has a point value assigned to it, based on elevation. In POTA, all parks are created equal and the main focus tends to be on the number of activations and the number of parks hunted (chased). POTA also has awards for the number QSOs. For example, the Kilo Award is achieved by making 1000 QSOs from a single park (usually over multiple activations). Both programs have quite a bit of variety and flexibility built into their awards and operating objectives, which is one of the reasons people enjoy the programs.
Successful Activation. SOTA requires only one radio contact for a successful activation. But to receive point credit for the summit, which is what most people are after, you need to make at least 4 contacts. So most SOTA activators define success as getting at least four contacts. The 4 SOTA contacts must be with 4 different stations, with no credit for working the same station on multiple bands. In contrast, POTA requires 10 QSOs for a successful activation. POTA does count QSOs with the same station on different bands. For example, an activator could obtain the required 10 POTA QSOs by working just two stations on 5 different bands.
Same Location QSOs. A SOTA activator does not get credit for working another station on the same summit. That is, the other station must be outside of the summit activation zone to be counted. POTA allows an activator to work another activator in the same park for QSO credit. In fact, the activators can receive park-to-park credit for such a radio contact.
VHF SOTA and POTA
Racking up lots of contacts on VHF/UHF from a summit can be a challenge, dependent mostly on the range of your gear and the ham population in the area. Most of the time, we can get four contacts without too much trouble but at times even that can be a challenge. Getting ten contacts for POTA raises the bar higher.
Bob/K0NR displays the SOTA and POTA flags on Mt Herman (W0C/FR-063) in Pike National Forest (K-4404).
We noted that most of the hams we work on 2m FM are also workable on 70 cm FM. So an easy thing to do is to ask 2m chasers (hunters) to switch over to 70 cm and work us there, doubling the number of POTA-valid QSOs. Interestingly, the SOTA QSO count recorded in the database includes these QSOs. (But you must have contacted at least four unique stations to get the summit points.)
Because Joyce and I usually activate together, we can also work each other for POTA credit. I have discovered that many POTA activator teams make it a standard practice to pull out a couple of handheld radios and work each other on 2m FM when they first set up. OK, maybe that’s not the most exciting QSO of the day, but it is allowed. With a dual-band HT, you can make two QSOs this way. And it is a good idea to put out a call on 2m FM to work any locals that might be hunting parks. On a summit, these QSOs would not be valid for SOTA, unless one of the operators leaves the activation zone. Yes, we’ve done that, too, taking turns hiking down out of the AZ to make a quick contact.
Summary
This covers some of the things we’ve learned about doing combined SOTA and POTA activations. Again, this is with an emphasis on VHF/UHF operating. You should study the SOTA and POTA rules carefully because this article does not cover everything. However, some of the issues I’ve outlined here are not obvious from the SOTA and POTA rules, so I hope you find this article helpful.
Adam/K6ARK recently posted this video of his 2m SOTA activation in California. Adam does a really nice job with his videos and this one is no exception. During this activation, he worked KE9AJ in Arizona at 256 miles. This was an FM QSO, with KE9AJ running 6 watts and K6ARK running over 120 watts.
In the video, he shows the 8-element 2m Yagi antenna, which has a clever folding boom design (homebrew, I assume). You’ll notice that he is carrying quite a bit of gear in his pack, including a 160w amplifier, a Yaesu FT-857, several batteries, the Yagi antenna, and antenna masts. Adam has posted other videos of VHF SOTA activity, so check out his YouTube channel for them.
Note that at 256 miles, this is definitely propagation beyond line of sight. We’ve talked about this before: The Myth of VHF Line-Of-Sight.
This has me thinking about some of my best VHF SOTA activations, which I will list here.
Sneffels to Pikes
In 2012, for the Colorado 14er Event, Joyce/K0JJW and I climbed Mt Sneffels (W0C/UR-001) at 14,150 feet in elevation. I worked Stu/W0STU on Pikes Peak (W0C/FR-004). We both were running 5 watts on 2m FM, with 3-element Arrow II antennas. I had an FT-817, while Stu used an HT. We made the QSO without too much difficulty, at a distance of 160 miles. Stu put together this video that shows the action on both summits.
Capulin Mountain
Capulin Mountain (W5N/SG-009) is out in the middle of nowhere New Mexico, a long distance from populated areas. My goal was to activate it (and get the points) on VHF, but I knew it would be a challenge. I put the word out to the weak-signal VHF community and used my FT-817 (5 watts) and 3-element Yagi to make contacts. My best DX was with Arne/N7KA at 184 miles. I could hear him fine on SSB but he could not copy me, so we switched to CW to complete the QSO. Arne used a 2M12 Yagi antenna with 700 watts of power vs my 5 watts.
This turned out to be a good lesson in what happens when the two stations are imbalanced with respect to RF power. My 5 watts vs his 700 watts is a difference of 21 dB. No wonder I could hear him just fine but he was struggling to copy me. Flipping over to CW narrows the receiver bandwidth, improving the signal-to-noise ratio, and was enough improvement to make the QSO.
Mount Scott (W5O/WI-002) is a drive-up summit (elevation 2464 feet) in the Witchita Mountains of Oklahoma. It sticks up high enough to have a good radio horizon in all directions. We stopped there to do an activation in March 2018, using the Yaesu FT-90 (set for 30 to 50 watts) and the 3-element Yagi antenna.
We easily worked a bunch of stations on 146.52 MHz FM, including K5RTN in Brownfield, TX. Later, I checked the distance to Brownfield and found that it was 245 miles, which is still my best SOTA DX on 2m FM. There was probably some favorable propagation that morning, perhaps some ducting, for this to occur. K5RTN was operating from home and I am not sure about his power and antenna.
Threemile Mountain
During the 2021 January VHF Contest, we decided to activate Threemile Mountain (W0C/SP-107), which is usually accessible, even in the winter months. Because it is in the Pike National Forest (K-4404), I did a combo operation of SOTA, POTA, and VHF contest. At 10,020 feet in elevation, it is not the highest summit in the region but it has a good radio horizon in all directions.
Also, the hike is relatively short, so I packed the Yaesu FT-991 and a 20 Ah battery, which gave me more power (50 watts) on 2m and 70 cm. Not only that, I actually fired it up below 50 MHz and made some HF contacts, using single-band end-fed halfwave antennas.
I was working a few stations in Denver on 2m SSB when I heard Larry/N0LL calling me from Smith Center, KS. Larry is a well-known Big Gun on VHF with excellent antennas. I’ve worked him in past contests on various bands and modes but I was surprised how strong he was coming in at Threemile Mountain. We probably had favorable conditions on 2 meters that day but nothing exotic, to make a 372 mile QSO. I’ve worked longer distances on 2 meters but this is my best DX for SOTA.
Most ham transceivers have decent receivers, so the choice of radio on the receive side is not that critical. (OK, you can add a preamp in front of the receiver to improve it.) The big difference for making QSOs (or not) on 2 meters is antenna and power level.
Improving your antenna is normally the first step in improving your VHF SOTA station, because it helps on both transmit and receive. Joyce/K0JJW and I almost always use the 3-element handheld Yagi from Arrow Antenna. Arrow does not specify the gain, but various sources have measured it at 6 dBd. We have made many QSOs over the years where the extra 6 dB made the difference. An omnidirectional antenna would have come up short. I’ve been looking for a higher gain antenna to use for SOTA but have not found one that I like. Adam’s 8-element antenna is tempting but longer antennas pretty much require a mast, which adds weight to the pack. One of the benefits of the 3-element Arrow is that it is handheld, so we don’t carry a mast. Of course, having two of us activating together really helps…one person can hold the antenna while the other operates and logs. A handheld antenna with a single operator can be a challenge.
Concerning power level, the Capulin QSO with N7KA illustrates what happens when two stations are imbalanced with respect to RF power. After this experience, I did purchase a small 2m amplifier that boosts the 5 watts from the FT-817 to 35 watts. It is compact and not too much of a DC power hog. I think we also heard an imbalance with the QSO between K6ARK and KE9AJ. KE9AJ’s signal was a bit noisy at K6ARK while K6ARK’s signal was full quieting 59 at the other end. This is not a surprise with K6ARK at around 120 watts and K6ARK at 6 watts (13 dB difference).
For higher power on 2 meters, you generally need to bring a bigger radio or an amplifier. The popular HT is generally limited to about 5 watts. For 2m FM, we’ve been carrying the Yaesu FT-90, which is a pretty compact radio and can put out 50 watts of RF power (FM only). On the Threemile Mountain activation mentioned above, we took the FT-991, which is not very SOTA friendly, but it also does 50 watts on 2 meters…and all modes.
Battery capacity also comes into play as higher power requires more DC current. The FT-90 manual says it draws 9.5 amps at full 50 watts of power on 2 meters. (We usually run it at lower power but will punch it up to 50 watts when required.) The FT-991 manual says it draws 15 amps when transmitting at full power on 2m or 70cm. My 160 watt 2m (Mirage) amplifier can draw up to 30 amps on transmit. Wowzy, that’s some real current! The point is that as you increase power, you need to look at your battery situation more carefully.
It might sound like I am suggesting that we should maintain a power balance between the two stations. That’s not the case and is often not even practical. When one station is much stronger than the other, it can be used to advantage. The stronger station is easily heard and the weaker station can point the antenna in the right direction to peak up the signal. The weaker station consistently hears the stronger station, so now the challenge becomes to just get a few seconds of successful transmission in the opposite direction. You keep trying until the weaker station manages to get through. Compare this to having two lower power stations trying to make a contact. They may not even hear each other at all because the antennas are not pointed optimally. When they do hear each other, they are both struggling to hear the other station and complete the QSO. This lowers the probability of completing the contact.
So how much power should you run on 2 meters for SOTA? Of course, More Is Better, except for the extra weight in your backpack. The difficulty of the hike comes into play…on shorter hikes, weight does not matter so much. I am finding that 5 watts is on the skimpy side. On the other hand, going much above 50 watts requires larger batteries, so I am thinking the sweet spot is around 30 to 50 watts. If I do happen to work a base station running 1kW, my signal will be 13 dB lower with 50 watts (worst-case scenario). This is just my opinion, your mileage may vary.
Summary
So can we all agree then that VHF signals can go beyond line-of-sight? These examples are basic tropospheric paths and do not include the exotic propagation modes such as meteor scatter, sporadic-e, aurora, EME, etc. I’ve used most of those modes to work longer distances but not during a SOTA activation. Most hams know that SSB and CW are more effective than FM when signals are weak. In fact, FM weak-signal performance is lousy. Still, we see multiple examples of making some long-distance contacts with FM.
Lately, the majority of my radio activity has been SOTA and POTA activations, sometimes simultaneously. The logging requirements for the two programs are different so I often need to adjust the log file before submitting it. Even more common, I need to double-check and fix errors in my SOTA and POTA logs. Some of this comes from the idiosyncrasies of the logging software but often the errors are introduced by the operator. (That would be me.)
The SOTA CSV Log Editor
Here are a few tools and tips to assist with your portable logging.
SOTA and POTA Logging Tools
For SOTA, Joyce/K0JJW and I normally just use a paper log. If the number of QSOs is small, the paper method is easy and reliable. Later, I use the SOTA CSV Log Editor by G0LGS to enter the information into a CSV (Comma Separated Variable) file. This program is reliable and easy to use. This Windows program uses CSV for the log files but it can also export the log in ADIF (Amateur Data Interchange Format).
For POTA activations, we tend to have a larger number of QSOs so I try to log them in real-time on a computing device. The HAMRS logger is a relatively new logging program by Jarrett/KB0ICT. It runs on multiple platforms, including Windows, Linux, Mac, iOS and Android. I’ve been using it on Windows, an iPad, and my iPhone. The user interface is tuned for portable operating with just enough features and not a lot of fluff. There are some bugs here and there but Jarrett continues to release bug fixes and new features at a steady rate. I have not encountered any serious issues and I really like the implementation. HAMRS exports files in ADIF format.
CSV Files
A CSV file just has the variables of interest separated by commas, usually one QSO on each line. These files are a bit cryptic but can be read by humans with just a little effort. Below is a CSV file generated for a SOTA activation. Note that the first line contains the header information that defines the variables in the subsequent lines.
An example of a CSV file from a SOTA activation.
Sometimes it is very helpful to just be able to edit a CSV file directly. For example, if Joyce/K0JJW and I worked the same set of chasers from a summit, I can create a new log file by doing a find/replace of my callsign with her callsign. For this, I use a simple text editor such as Windows Notepad. Its native file format is plain text so it won’t inadvertently add in additional formatting or characters. Excel (or another spreadsheet) will handle this format but make sure you output a clean CSV file.
ADIF Files
ADIF is the most flexible and portable file format for ham radio logging. It can be uploaded to Logbook of The World and imported into most comprehensive logging programs. ADIF files are a bit more complex, using Data Types, Enumerations, and Fields to produce a flexible file format that is also human-readable.
ADIF file from SOTA CSV Log Editor, for a SOTA activation.
Again, a simple text editor (Notepad) is useful for making edits to an ADIF file. The particular file shown above was exported from the SOTA CSV Editor with each field on its own line. This makes each QSO easier to read but the file has a lot more lines in it.
The program ADIF Master is very good at viewing ADIF files and making changes to them. I often use it to do a final check of the log before submitting it.
ADIF Master is very useful for viewing ADIF files from SOTA, POTA or other events.
When ADIF Master saves an ADIF file, it puts each QSO on one line. The fields and variables remain the same, but the spacing changes. This reduces the overall length of the file (number of lines) but it can be more difficult to read.
ADIF Master flattens the ADIF file by putting one QSO on a line.
Sometimes you might need to convert between CSV and ADIF file formats. There are online tools to do this but I have not used them enough to comment.
I am not going to try to explain the various fields and labels used in these file formats. For the ADIF format, take a look at the detailed specification here: https://adif.org/. A few times, I have needed to find a specific field that was missing and add it to an ADIF file. ADIF Master can do this for you, but you must know the exact name of the field.
These are a few things I’ve learned along the way playing around with SOTA and POTA logs. I hope this is helpful.
Visiting Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks is a favorite trip for us. It is a 9-hour drive to get there from Colorado, so we can make it in a day. In September, we visited these two parks with a blend of activities in mind: RV camping, hiking, viewing wildlife and ham radio. The ham radio part means Summits On The Air (SOTA) and Parks On The Air (POTA).
The Teton mountains tower above the Snake River.
Our trip started from Monument, CO, followed by a stop at our cabin near Trout Creek Pass. Heading north, we spent one night at Steamboat Lake State Park (Colorado), which broke up the road trip into smaller sections.
A few of the many buffalo (bison) in Yellowstone National Park.
Grand Teton NP
Grand Teton NP listed 27 activations for POTA (POTA K-0031) which is really not that many activations for such a well-known national park. The park and the surrounding national forests have many SOTA summits available, some quite difficult to climb (such as 13,770 foot Grand Teton). We camped two nights at Colter Bay RV Park, inside the park. This is a decent RV-style campground with full hookups and campsites packed in a bit tight.
Joyce/K0JJW campsite operating POTA from the Grand Teton campsite.
Our usual POTA station is the Yaesu FT-991 driving a single-band end-fed halfwave (usually 40m, 20m or 17m) supported by a fishing pole and powered by a 20 Ah Bioenno battery. Joyce/K0JJW likes to use a paper log but I usually log my contacts with HAMRS, either on my notebook PC or an iPad. HAMRS is a relatively new logging program that runs on most operating systems (Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, etc.) It is tuned for portable operating, with templates for SOTA and POTA. Check it out, if you haven’t tried it.
One unfortunate surprise while operating from the campsite was a ton of RFI coming from the electronic devices in use by the herd of RVs. The noise floor on 20m was S5— not so good. It seems that today’s RV enthusiast brings along complete wireless network support with internet access points, WiFi routers, and their associated Part 15 emissions. Oh, well.
After setting up on 20m SSB, K0JJW and I both completed 10 QSOs with some difficulty. We were clearly being heard but we had trouble digging signals out of the noise.
Next up was a VHF SOTA activation on Signal Mountain (W7Y/TT-161). This is an easy-to-access drive-up summit with a great view, highly recommended with or without a SOTA activation. We debated on whether to use HF for SOTA on this trip. Normally, we’ve stuck to VHF/UHF on SOTA summits, as part of the Height-Above-Average-Terrain experience. However, knowing that Northwest Wyoming is a bit sparse for VHF activity, we could easily get skunked on a SOTA activation (less than 4 QSOs). Despite that, we opted to stick with VHF for SOTA and focus on a successful activation (1 QSO or more), with or without the SOTA points. On Signal Mountain, we worked two stations on 2m FM, including Steven/KB7ITU in Rexburg, ID, about 60 miles away. (Hey, we worked another state on VHF!)
Speaking of VHF, we used our dualband mobile (IC-2730A) to listen to the national park repeaters while we travelled through the park. Our dual-receive radio always has 146.52 MHz on one side and “something else” on the other side. When inside large national parks, we’ll set the second receiver to a national park frequency. These are generally conventional FM in the 162 to 173 MHz range. I won’t list the Teton and Yellowstone frequencies here but you can find them with a little searching on the interwebz. For example, see wiki.radioreference.com for Yellowstone NP frequencies.
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone ( POTA K-0070 ) had only 22 POTA activations, not that many considering it is the nation’s first national park. It also has quite a number of SOTA summits of varying difficulty.
We camped two nights at Grant Village campground, a basic national park campground. The campground had no hookups but the campsites are well spaced with many trees and flush toilets. (The only problem we had was when the park service booked another group of campers onto our campsite one night.)
Joyce and our RV (Rocky Victoria) at the Grant Village campsite.
During a previous visit to Yellowstone, we activated Lake Butte (W7Y/PA-219). On this trip, we had our eye on Mount Washburn (W7Y/PA-163), a well-known 10k summit and popular hike, but the road that provides access to it was closed for the summer due to construction. (OK, maybe next time.)
Bob/K0NR operates 2m FM from the unnamed summit W7Y/TT-139.
Instead, we decided to try an unnamed summit 8770 (W7Y/TT-139) that was relatively easy to access but had not been activated for SOTA. We found some trip reports that said there is a nice trail to the summit and the only complaint was that the summit does not have a view due to the many trees. We parked at the Divide Trailhead, about 12 miles west of Grant Village. The trail is 1.8 miles in length (one way) with 700 feet of elevation gain. So not too difficult but a real hike. The summit is broad and sure enough with lots of trees, so no view. Practice normal bear precautions on this trail.
Practice standard bear precautions in this area.
Again, we opted for VHF SOTA, knowing that we might not get enough radio contacts for points…but we only needed one contact to qualify as the first activation. We worked two mobile stations passing through the park on 146.52 MHz. Yes, it is good to always be monitoring the calling frequency. You never know who is going to show up.
For POTA, we noted that the Continental Divide Trail National Scenic Trail (K-4558) passes through Yellowstone NP, which would allow for a double activation. The CDT has always been special to me as it passes through Colorado and provides some of the most scenic hiking in the state. It only had 15 activations listed at that time, two of those were ours from when we activated it a month earlier, in Colorado. We choose the Old Faithful area as a good place to activate Yellowstone NP ( K-0070) and the CDT. We set up near the edge of the parking lot, away from the crowds. Again it was the FT-991 driving the endfed halfwave on 20m SSB. It was midday, so we expected good 20m propagation (and a nice pileup for Yellowstone) but the band was not cooperating. We both made at least 10 QSOs for a successful activation, so we count that as a win, but the pileup never happened.
Besides the radio operating, we had a good time touring through the park and looking for wildlife. We saw tons of buffalo, not quite so many elk and deer, but no bears or wolves. We have had better wildlife viewing on previous trips but it was still fun.
Heading South
Then it was time to start home, heading south out of Yellowstone back through Grand Teton. Of course, we were monitoring 146.52 MHz, when we heard Lorene/KG6MWQ on unnamed summit 7586 (W7Y/TT-164). She was on the summit with AE6NH, operating both HF and VHF. It was great to catch a VHF activator in Yellowstone. This was the first activation for TT-164, so congratulations to both of them.
Two POTA activators smiling for the camera (Joyce/K0JJW, Bob/K0NR).
We decided to make a stop at the Colter Village area on the way through Grand Teton NP. Our first priority was to use the shower facilities there. Our second priority was doing another POTA activation.
Yaesu FT-991 set up on small camp table, with microphone and two sets of headphones.
This time we set up in a large parking lot, away from anything that might produce RFI. Again, it was 20m SSB using the halfwave antenna supported by a fishing pole. We sat near the RV on our camp chairs and table. Our typical configuration is to have two sets of headphones so both of us can copy well. We just use the standard handheld microphone which is easily passed between us when we change operators.
Typical antenna setup with fishing pole inserted into a plastic pipe attached to the RV ladder. A wire antenna is hung from the end of the pole.
Later in the day, we exited the park and headed south through Jackson, WY. We stayed overnight at a farm near Afton, WY which is surrounded by Bridger-Teton National Forest (K-4535). Of course, we needed to do one more POTA activation. We searched around for a usable spot to park and then fired up on 20m SSB. Propagation was OK but not great but we got it done.
The next day, we were up and going early, driving the rest of the way home to Monument. It was a wonderful road trip that blended sightseeing, hiking, camping, and ham radio. Let’s go do it again!
Joyce/K0JJW climbing London Mountain, with Mosquito Peak in the background (right).
We had a great time going after the W0C 10-10-10 SOTA Challenge. (See 2021 Colorado SOTA and 14er Event ) For activators, the objective was to activate 10 summits higher than 10k feet in 10 days. It turned out that some previous commitments would not allow us to do 10 days of activating, so we smushed 10 summits into 6 days. With careful choice of summits and doing multiple summits in a day, we put together a plan.
Bob/K0NR and Joyce/K0JJW on Puma Peak.
Saturday and Sunday started off with the Colorado 14er Event, so we opted to do Pikes Peak on Saturday and Mount Evans on Sunday. These are both drive-up summits, so not a lot of hiking. As previously reported, we had some good luck with 1.2 GHz from those summits. Then, on Monday we hiked Puma Peak and Little Puma, two 11k summits in South Park. On Tuesday, we did three summits on one day: Dicks Peak, 10090 and 10715. These three hikes were not particularly difficult but doing all three made for a full day.
Map of the ten summits that were activated.
On Wednesday, we took the Jeep up to Mosquito Pass and hiked two 13ers: Mosquito Peak and London Mountain. We had previously activated those two summits in 2018. Finally, on Thursday, we did our tenth summit with Walt/W0CP and Jerry/K0ES, one of our favorites: South Monarch Ridge. Walt and Jerry worked the HF bands while we did VHF/UHF. That was a slacker day, because we rode the tram up from Monarch Pass.
Bob/K0NR standing next to the Jeep with Mosquito Peak in the background.
The weather was consistently fantastic, with no thunderstorms in sight. The smoke from western wildfires was thick at times and can be seen in some of the photos.
The Bands
As usual, we operated above 50 MHz, focusing on 2m, 70cm and 23cm FM operation. Most of the contacts were on 2m FM but we had significant activity on the other bands. The 1.2 GHz work was really fun: Using 1.2 GHz in the Colorado 14er Event. I made 162 contacts and Joyce made 94, for a total of 256 for the week. Not bad!
Six activators met the challenge of doing at least 10 summits during the event. That was our goal…not pursuing the top of the list but we did want to get 10 summits done. I am fifth on the list and K0JJW came in at sixth. We had the same number of SOTA points because we did the same summits. I had more QSOs though.
It was a fun event and we were happy to be able to activate 10 summits. Fortunately, the weather was good, otherwise we might have gotten rained out on the longer days.
We accessed Red Mountain 3 (RM3) by taking Highway 550 to Red Mountain Pass. The road for RM3 is County Road 14 but is not well marked. The turnoff (shown on the map above) is just south of Red Mtn Pass, going to the east (37.89587, -107.71369). County Road 14 is a narrow but easy road, barely 4WD, that leads to the gate (37.89476, -107.70774). We parked there and hiked up the road.
