Laurel Makes SOTA Videos

Joyce/K0JJW and I did a SOTA activation with Mike/KE0PWR on Aspen Ridge (W0C/SP-084). It turns out that Mike’s wife, Laurel, has a YouTube channel, so she shot some video of our adventure. Keep in mind that her channel is not focused on ham radio, but has a more general audience. Some time later, Mike did … Read more

The Truth About VHF SOTA

I’ve been having fun with mountaintop VHF ham radio for decades, way before Summits On The Air (SOTA) was a thing. It is an activity that I enjoy very much during VHF contests, Parks On The Air (POTA) activations, SOTA activations, and just goofing around in the mountains. Most of this activity has been on … Read more

Extra License Class in Monument, CO

The Tri-Lakes Monument Radio Association in Monument, Colorado, is offering another ham radio license class. This time, we are doing it for Amateur Extra, which involves a lot more material and higher technical content. We are using a hybrid approach that blends live training sessions with online learning using the Ham Radio School online course. … Read more

My Favorite SOTA Tools

The Summits On The Air (SOTA) program offers a good set of tools for chasing and activating summits. Outside of the SOTA program, many different outdoor and hiking apps are also useful for planning and doing activations. The tools I use have changed over time, so here’s an inventory of what I am currently using. … Read more

HamAlert Is My Friend

Many of you already know about this wonderful alert tool: HamAlert. From the HamAlert website: HamAlert is a system that allows you to get notifications when a desired station appears on the DX cluster, the Reverse Beacon Network, SOTAwatch, POTA, WWFF Spotline, or PSK Reporter. No need to keep checking these resources manually if you’re … Read more