My Start with POTA and SOTA

It took two and half years to finally start doing activations for Parks and Summits On The Air (P/SOTA), but once I started, I realized how much fun it was as well as the benefits I gained from doing it. My first activation was a combination of both a park and a summit at the same time. Before I started, I looked up what the proper procedure was for this situation, to which I did not find much besides some calling for both on the radio and others choosing one or the other to call. In the end, I realized it doesn't matter, either way I would be getting contacts. I started calling for both POTA and SOTA with every call but eventually just picked one or the other to say. When people found my spotting information online, I made sure they would see I was doing both so they knew what logs to look for themselves in. Once I started, the contacts just kept coming and coming. I only did it for a little bit that day but ended up with about 30 or so contacts, two of which were DX (outside the US). It was a bit of work to hear them clearly since HF propagations were not the best, but we stuck through it and managed to make it happen. When I got home to start uploading my logs, I looked up their callsigns, which is when I found out one was all the way in Chile, and the other in Sweden. I was amazed at the fact I managed to reach them all the way from Oklahoma, although it probably helped that I was also at the top of a summit so I had higher elevation. Those were my first ever contacts outside of the US, which is what led me to continue on with more POTA and SOTA activations in the future.

These activities are also beneficial for testing out my equipment as well as my setup to make sure I would be ready in the case of an emergency. Climbing a summit and being on foot made me realize it would be difficult to carry multiple batteries out if the time came along with everything else I would need to bring. I decided I need to invest in solar panels for portable use. It also allows me to test out various digital modes for keyboard to keyboard traffic and email. These will help out in the event conditions are not great for voice communications. I have tested connections to email gateways while out at parks to send emails for check-ins into a net and I have had success in doing so, to include receiving responses back from them. I have also done the same with the keyboard to keyboard chat programs. These digital options open up a world full of possibilities for communications capabilities which can help fill in major gaps where voice is impractical. My goal is to eventually get to a point I have a solid communications plan with my local emergency group through all the different modes, all while carrying as little weight as possible.

Of course with any outdoor activity, you have to get scenery photos.

73
Anthony KL5HZ